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HANSEN EMERGING FOR CANUCKS

The Vancouver Sun details how with Ryan Kesler sidelined by injury, the Canucks coaching staff has had to deploy Jannik Hansen in more situations; most recently on the first-unit power play with the Sedin twins. He’s still an integral member of the penalty kill and used in a shutdown role. His ice time is up more than two minutes a game from last season when he averaged 14:53.

He’s been one of the most consistent Canucks in a most inconsistent season.

“It’s nice to get the opportunity to be in those situations,” said Hansen, who turned 27 last Friday. “I’ve had an opportunity in the past to play in key defensive situations late in games but, offensively, it’s a little different for me this year. It’s not as much grinding and checking.

“It’s nice to play a different role and expand your hockey maybe a little bit from what you’ve been used to,” he continued. “Sometimes I would get the last 5-10 seconds on the power play with the third group. Now, getting a chance to play with the twins, you know you’re getting a lot of quality time and a chance to see if it’s something you can take on and run with.”

Heading into Thursday’s game with Phoenix, Hansen sits third in team scoring with 17 points and is tied for second in goals with eight.

Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault offered this: “I’ve had Jannik for the seven years I’ve been here and every year he’s gotten a little bit better and a little bit more efficient on the ice. He’s always been a very hard worker, very committed, smart, and that’s why he can kill penalties and play a solid 5-on-5 game. Now, because he’s a good net presence, we can use him on the power play a little bit. He’s obviously coming into his own as far as his overall game.”

WIERCIOCH RISES TO CHALLENGE

The Ottawa Citizen supposes now that Senators rookie defenceman Patrick Wiercioch is in the middle of an offensive surge, with four goals and four assists in his past eight games, he’s fast becoming a household name around these parts.

Wiercioch, pushed into a larger-than-expected role due to season-ending surgeries to Erik Karlsson and Jared Cowen, has seen his ice time and confidence grow, but he’s not getting ahead of himself.

“Confidence is a two-edge sword,” he said. “It’s quick to get and really easy to lose, so you don’t want to build it up too quickly, but you obviously want to know you’re capable of making those plays and go from there.”

BOYLE WANTS TO STAY WITH SHARKS

CSNBayArea.com indicates Dan Boyle is aware that his name has been mentioned in recent trade rumors, and he’s not very happy about it.

“It’s not fun. I certainly don’t enjoy it. I do the best that I can to try and keep it out, but it gets to you. I don’t like hearing that stuff,” he said on Wednesday morning in Edmonton, ahead of the Sharks playing the Oilers.

Boyle has a limited no-trade clause, and would be an attractive player for several teams, particularly in the Eastern Conference. Many Eastern Conference scouts have been following the Sharks lately.

Boyle, who was traded to the Sharks from Tampa Bay in the 2008 offseason, wants to remain in San Jose.

“This is where I want to be. I don’t want to be anywhere else. You guys have been with me for five years and you know what I bring to the table. I don’t want to be anywhere else. It’s not fun to hear that.

“The only other time my name was involved was five years ago. Sometimes where there’s smoke there’s fire, and I hope in this case, it’s not the case. It’s hard not to pay attention to that stuff.”

DIPIETRO COMES FULL CIRCLE

The New York Times understands how Rick DiPietro’s return to AHL Bridgeport has been a time to savor and reflect.

“I’ve been through it all, you name it,” said DiPietro, who last played for the Islanders on Feb. 19. “When it rains it pours, and it has poured on me for a while. I can say I have come full circle.”

DiPietro has the support and respect of his coaches and teammates, most of whom are in their early 20s. He leads the home team onto the ice by skating through the toothy mouth of a huge inflated orange tiger head.

He quickly established a standard for paying the tab for team meals and is the member of the Sound Tigers entourage most likely to return to the team bus with armloads of snacks on the way home from Albany; Manchester, N.H.; or Hershey, Pa. With eight years and $36 million left on his contract, DiPietro is making well more than double the rest of the Sound Tigers’ roster combined.

For Sound Tigers Coach Scott Pellerin, the addition of DiPietro to the young Sound Tigers was a welcome tonic.

“It helps me greatly; he’s like another coach out there,” said Pellerin, who joined the Sound Tigers this season after six seasons as an assistant with the Manchester Monarchs. “Rick has been excellent from the moment he walked into our room.”

STEPAN REALIZING HIS POTENTIAL

Newsday believes Derek Stepan, the 22-year-old playmaking center for the New York Rangers, is blossoming this season and emerging as a future No. 1 center.

Stepan, the Rangers’ second pick in the 2008 draft, has 11 points in his last 11 games and is the club’s second-leading scorer behind Rick Nash. He’s also the team’s top plus-minus player at plus-11.

“He’s been really good in the last 20 or so games,” winger Carl Hagelin said. “I don’t know if he’s doing anything different. I guess he’s used to the game again after not playing for almost half a year [because of the lockout]. He’s such a smart player, he’s coming into his own right now, making plays and looking stronger each game . . . Defensively, he wins a lot of battles so you can get out of your zone a lot easier, and when you get the puck, he usually finds those lanes where you can pass it to him.”

Stepan, who has been used in all situations — power play, penalty kill, even-strength — has impressed veteran center Jeff Halpern. “He just always seems to be in the right position, it’s just an awareness,” Halpern said. “That helps you offensively and defensively. And he’s got good hands.”

KRONWALL STAYS WITHIN HIS GAME

The Detroit News illustrates how when Niklas Kronwall heard Nicklas Lidstrom finally decided to retire, Kronwall did not assume a great weight on his shoulders.

“I don’t really try to think of it that way,” Kronwall said. “It is what it is, and the rest of us are trying to pull it together as a unit, and there’s still things to work on.”

But the biggest mistake he could have made was to do too much. When defensemen do that, they can take themselves right out of their game and the team’s game.

“Nick is the perfect example,” Kronwall said of Lidstrom. “If you look at Nick, he never put himself in trouble. A lot of times when you try too hard, you try too much, that’s when you put yourself in trouble, you run out of time. And that’s when you put your team mates in a bad spot.

“That’s something I don’t want to do. I know it still happens every once in a while.”