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is tootoo still around ... or any other preds fan ... maybe this belongs on the canucks board but i wanted to get some thoughts on Hamhuis from other fans
I can remember around the trading deadline that preds fans and stories out of the Nashville papers almost universally wanted Hamhuis traded and not just because people didnt want to lose an asset for nothing. I can remember quite a few people saying he was overrated and honestly I kinda was on side with that sentiment.
Its almost the same feeling I got about "Error-hoff" from San Jose fans the year before ... before I got to see him play a full season on "my team"
but i dont know ... after reading the story below, and hearing the coaches gush about Hamhuis, Im really looking forward to seeing if he can be a breakout player this year
It's July 1 and Dan Hamhuis starts a party which lasts two weeks. He has just signed with the Vancouver Canucks and a sizable percentage of the 6,000 or so people who live in and around Smithers couldn't be happier.
"For about two weeks, there were a lot of man hugs," he says. "People were very excited. There are a lot of diehard Canucks fans there. People were relieved I was a Canuck."
Of course they were. Canucks fever churns, like salmon run, through the centre of B.C. And the team didn't just add a native son, it added a player who is smooth and complete. A coveted free agent who is one of the key reasons many people have been picking the Canucks to win it all.
The expectations have never been like this, not in October. Think about it. When is the last time the Canucks signed one of the premier, most sought-after free agents on the market? Does Mark Messier count?
When is the last time they pulled off a bold, proactive, offseason trade? Roberto Luongo? When is the last time they targeted a specific hole, this one on their third line, and went out to fill it in free agency?
And when is the last time they did all of it in one summer?
These were not cosmetic changes, this off-season. It was one of the bigger Canucks off-seasons in 40 years. The Canucks didn't add fringe players hoping they would make a difference. The fingers weren't crossed this time, like they were hoping Steve Bernier would get in shape, or Pavol Demitra still had gas left in the tank. This summer, they added difference-makers. They may yet flop, but this time they have players who promise to make them better.
"It was different this year," Henrik Sedin says. "We've brought in a couple players who are really going to help us. We've brought in players before, but never like this. The guys we've brought in are really bringing a lot to the table.
"If you look at our team on paper, there are a lot of reasons to be excited."
Hamhuis can sense that. For all the attention on Luongo, the next captain, Cody Hodgson and the salary cap, Hamhuis has quietly glided under the radar this preseason.
You may not have noticed him, but the Sedins have. He, in many ways, is the face of the 2010-11 season. If Hamhuis can move from under Shea Weber's shadow and become a No. 1 defenceman in Vancouver, one who does everything on the ice and makes it look effortless, it's a game changer.
Henrik, for one, already believes in him.
"The most impressive thing is you never see him out there," Henrik says. "It's only when you get to the press box and watch, do you see how good he is. When you're out there, you
get every pass on the tape. He rarely makes any mistakes. He always make the right decisions.
"We always knew he was a top-end defenceman. I always found him really tough to play against. But I'm really impressed with the way he handles the puck, especially on the power play, the poise he shows."
The poise will be tested. And so will the Canucks. They have merged during the past two years from an underdog into a measuring stick. Five of The Province's six hockey writers have predicted that the Canucks will make the final four.
All over the media, publications are picking them to win it all. They will have targets on their backs this season, as well as carrying the expectations of a rabid, if paranoid schizophrenic, fan base.
"With the predictions that have been made, a lot of teams are going to be gunning for us," Hamhuis says.
"Other teams are going to want to bring their best games against us and I actually think that will help us. It will make us be better. It will challenge us."
Coping with it is harder than you may think. Especially for the new players. It's why Henrik says a good start this season is imperative, or the team risks getting crushed by the weight of it all.
"There's a lot to live up to," Henrik concedes. "The start is maybe more important this year than ever before with the expectations we have.
"There is going to be a lot of pressure from the outside on us if we don't start well. There will be a lot of talk. That's something we're going to have to handle.
"I think if we believe we're on the right track, it shouldn't be a problem. A lot of guys have been here for a lot of years and we know how it can be in Vancouver, winning and losing.
"Guys who come here, they are going to see how tough it can be. One mistake and people will start talking. All of a sudden it can snowball.
"It's different playing here than in a lot of other cities. Everything is magnified." It didn't take long for Hamhuis to appreciate he's not in Nashville anymore.
"There are a lot of differences between here and Nashville," he says.
"Expectations is a big one. There are a lot of expectations from the outside but also from us, on the inside. We know we have a great team and if we play to our potential, we have a great chance at winning.
"In Nashville, the real goal of ours was to make the playoffs. But here, that's almost taken for granted. We're going to be there. The Stanley Cup is No. 1 on the list."
It's No. 1 in the fans' heart as well. They've been waiting for 40 years. For them, it's been the wait of the world.
"We have a good enough team to be there in the finals," Henrik says. "But we all know how tough it is. A few points here or there and you're missing the playoffs.
"There are a lot of things that have to go our way.
"But at the same time, we have to embrace this, we have to embrace the expectations." [email protected]/botchoncanucks
Read more: Power and poise of the Canucks will be tested
I can remember around the trading deadline that preds fans and stories out of the Nashville papers almost universally wanted Hamhuis traded and not just because people didnt want to lose an asset for nothing. I can remember quite a few people saying he was overrated and honestly I kinda was on side with that sentiment.
Its almost the same feeling I got about "Error-hoff" from San Jose fans the year before ... before I got to see him play a full season on "my team"
but i dont know ... after reading the story below, and hearing the coaches gush about Hamhuis, Im really looking forward to seeing if he can be a breakout player this year
It's July 1 and Dan Hamhuis starts a party which lasts two weeks. He has just signed with the Vancouver Canucks and a sizable percentage of the 6,000 or so people who live in and around Smithers couldn't be happier.
"For about two weeks, there were a lot of man hugs," he says. "People were very excited. There are a lot of diehard Canucks fans there. People were relieved I was a Canuck."
Of course they were. Canucks fever churns, like salmon run, through the centre of B.C. And the team didn't just add a native son, it added a player who is smooth and complete. A coveted free agent who is one of the key reasons many people have been picking the Canucks to win it all.
The expectations have never been like this, not in October. Think about it. When is the last time the Canucks signed one of the premier, most sought-after free agents on the market? Does Mark Messier count?
When is the last time they pulled off a bold, proactive, offseason trade? Roberto Luongo? When is the last time they targeted a specific hole, this one on their third line, and went out to fill it in free agency?
And when is the last time they did all of it in one summer?
These were not cosmetic changes, this off-season. It was one of the bigger Canucks off-seasons in 40 years. The Canucks didn't add fringe players hoping they would make a difference. The fingers weren't crossed this time, like they were hoping Steve Bernier would get in shape, or Pavol Demitra still had gas left in the tank. This summer, they added difference-makers. They may yet flop, but this time they have players who promise to make them better.
"It was different this year," Henrik Sedin says. "We've brought in a couple players who are really going to help us. We've brought in players before, but never like this. The guys we've brought in are really bringing a lot to the table.
"If you look at our team on paper, there are a lot of reasons to be excited."
Hamhuis can sense that. For all the attention on Luongo, the next captain, Cody Hodgson and the salary cap, Hamhuis has quietly glided under the radar this preseason.
You may not have noticed him, but the Sedins have. He, in many ways, is the face of the 2010-11 season. If Hamhuis can move from under Shea Weber's shadow and become a No. 1 defenceman in Vancouver, one who does everything on the ice and makes it look effortless, it's a game changer.
Henrik, for one, already believes in him.
"The most impressive thing is you never see him out there," Henrik says. "It's only when you get to the press box and watch, do you see how good he is. When you're out there, you
get every pass on the tape. He rarely makes any mistakes. He always make the right decisions.
"We always knew he was a top-end defenceman. I always found him really tough to play against. But I'm really impressed with the way he handles the puck, especially on the power play, the poise he shows."
The poise will be tested. And so will the Canucks. They have merged during the past two years from an underdog into a measuring stick. Five of The Province's six hockey writers have predicted that the Canucks will make the final four.
All over the media, publications are picking them to win it all. They will have targets on their backs this season, as well as carrying the expectations of a rabid, if paranoid schizophrenic, fan base.
"With the predictions that have been made, a lot of teams are going to be gunning for us," Hamhuis says.
"Other teams are going to want to bring their best games against us and I actually think that will help us. It will make us be better. It will challenge us."
Coping with it is harder than you may think. Especially for the new players. It's why Henrik says a good start this season is imperative, or the team risks getting crushed by the weight of it all.
"There's a lot to live up to," Henrik concedes. "The start is maybe more important this year than ever before with the expectations we have.
"There is going to be a lot of pressure from the outside on us if we don't start well. There will be a lot of talk. That's something we're going to have to handle.
"I think if we believe we're on the right track, it shouldn't be a problem. A lot of guys have been here for a lot of years and we know how it can be in Vancouver, winning and losing.
"Guys who come here, they are going to see how tough it can be. One mistake and people will start talking. All of a sudden it can snowball.
"It's different playing here than in a lot of other cities. Everything is magnified." It didn't take long for Hamhuis to appreciate he's not in Nashville anymore.
"There are a lot of differences between here and Nashville," he says.
"Expectations is a big one. There are a lot of expectations from the outside but also from us, on the inside. We know we have a great team and if we play to our potential, we have a great chance at winning.
"In Nashville, the real goal of ours was to make the playoffs. But here, that's almost taken for granted. We're going to be there. The Stanley Cup is No. 1 on the list."
It's No. 1 in the fans' heart as well. They've been waiting for 40 years. For them, it's been the wait of the world.
"We have a good enough team to be there in the finals," Henrik says. "But we all know how tough it is. A few points here or there and you're missing the playoffs.
"There are a lot of things that have to go our way.
"But at the same time, we have to embrace this, we have to embrace the expectations." [email protected]/botchoncanucks
Read more: Power and poise of the Canucks will be tested
. He never really impressed me much in the playoffs when against the Sharks though. He did look pretty good in the most recent Blackhawks series from what I recall.
