For Vancouver Giants goalie Brendan Jensen, this week has been all about the chance to showcase his skills on the stage of Vancouvers other hockey club, the Canucks.
Giving him a green, white and blue jersey, the Canucks have sent Jensen to Penticton as one of three goalies on the roster at the NHL clubs rookie camp, the Young Stars tournament that continues until Thursday.
The tournament marks the Canucks second year hosting what is essentially a showcase for young prospects who are drafted or affiliate players and others who are invited by the team, such as Jensen. Also at the camp are prospects for the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers.
Its going to be competitive but I'm just looking forward to going out there and practicing well, said Jensen during Fridays training camp at Rogers Arena. And if I get an opportunity to play, I'll play my best.
Keyword: if.
Jensen, six-foot-one, 188 pounder from El Granada, California, knows the invite is an opportunity to present his skills and re-focus an uncertain future with the Giants. The uncertainty lies in whether or not hell get any ice time in Penticton with the Canucks. Hes third in line between two starting goaltenders, Karel St. Laurent and David Honzik.
I don't really know if I'll play at all, actually, because there's three of us. There's a drafted goalie and the other ones a 90, said Jensen, referring to 1990-born invitee St. Laurent and 18-year-old Honzik, the Canucks third 2011 draft pick. I'm just going to go out there and whatever situation I'm put in, I'm just going to try my best.
The Canucks often open the door for a Giant to tryout at their rookie camp each fall. Captain James Henry was tapped last year and Nolan Toigo was called the year before that.
The Canucks prospects are expected to play four games in the five-day tournament. Of the two games played thus far, Jensen is the only goalie yet to get a chance in net.
Sundays opener saw starting goaltender Honzik struggle as he allowed six goals before being replaced by St. Laurent. The Canucks lost to the Oilers 7-2. Mondays game against the Flames saw starterand finisherSt. Laurent give a steady performance in a game the Canucks won 4-3 in overtime.
Whether Jensen will get to play at all is a topic the teams tournament coach, and new head coach of Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate Chicago Wolves, Craig MacTavish, kept vague.
You need at least three goalies, barring injuries and so forth, and hopefully they'll all get an opportunity to play, he said Friday. He's going to get an opportunity to go up there and practise and show us what he has like everybody else.
Last regular season he went 8-13-0-1 with the Giants and allowed 84 goals in 30 games for a 3.76 goals against average and .875 save percentage.
As the Giants sixth-round pick in the 2008 Western League bantam draft, Jensen isnt secured the club's top net-minding job. For him, the ideal scenario has him playing in a Young Stars tournament game, not just practice.
Hell enter the 2011-12 season as Vancouvers starting man, but the club is keeping a close and patient eye on Finnish goalieand a Canucks 2010 sixth-round draft pickJonathan Iilahti. The Finn was expected to start for the Giants this season, but paper-work complications have stalled his move to North America.
Translation: Jensen has one more year to prove himself, and a chance to play at the Canucks rookie camp would be a cherry on top of a melting sundae.
Its really important, definitely, to perform at a high level so that everybody can see what I have to bring to the table and what I have to offer to any team that would be interested in me. More than that, Jensen continued, It means proving something more to myself, to show myself that I can compete at this level.
Twitter: @kimiyasho
