

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks wrapped up their 2015 Young Stars tournament on a positive note on Monday with a 3-2 overtime win over the Calgary Flames.

Vancouver’s 2-1 record for the weekend is solid enough, but the tournament is more useful for evaluating individual players than for analyzing systems or special teams.

Success at this tournament means very different things for different players, depending where they’re at in their development. Bearing that in mind, here’s a look at the winners and losers of Young Stars weekend.

Winner: Jake Virtanen

Vancouver’s first-round pick from the 2014 Entry Draft, 19-year-old Jake Virtanen was the Canucks’ MVP in Penticton.

Two big moments stood out. First, Virtanen generated the buzziest incident of the weekend when he levelled the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid on his second shift of the first game.

On Monday, Virtanen gave fans a taste of the thrills to come with 3-on-3 overtime with his slick game-winner over Calgary. The breakaway goal was Virtanen’s only point of the tournament, but it was timely and beautifully-executed.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Virtanen is nearly as entertaining off the ice as he is when he’s playing. He’s candid and insightful in interviews, offering up quality analysis that will make him a go-to option for media members in search of a tasty quote.

At 19, Virtanen’s not old enough to join the Utica Comets of the AHL this season. The feisty power forward looks determined to crack the Canucks lineup rather than find himself back with the Calgary Hitmen for another season of junior hockey.

Loser: Hunter Shinkaruk

Advertisement - Continue Commenting Below

His NHL window isn’t closed, but Hunter Shinkaruk is in danger of becoming a forgotten man among Vancouver’s top prospects.

Shinkaruk got better as the weekend went along in Penticton. After a rough outing in the 8-2 loss to Edmonton on Friday, he tallied an empty net goal in Vancouver’s 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday and collected five shots on goal against Calgary on Monday.

After oozing confidence when he arrived as a 24th-overall draft pick at in his first Young Stars tournament in 2013, the soon-to-be 21-year-old Shinkaruk didn’t show the same brash swagger this year.

Unless he picks up his game significantly at training camp, he’ll be riding the buses for a second full season as a member of the Utica Comets.

Winner: Brendan Gaunce

This year’s tournament was a coming-out party for centre-turned-left wing Brendan Gaunce. The bruising 21-year-old got a free pass against Calgary after tallying a goal and two assists in Vancouver’s first two games to lead the team in scoring.

Jim Benning just told the media that Brendan Gaunce got the night off as “a reward” for his play in the 1st 2 games of the tournament. — Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) September 15, 2015

Criticized in the past for his skating, Gaunce’s game has evolved over the course of last season in Utica. The 26th-overall pick from the 2012 Entry Draft became a valuable role-player during the run up to the Calder Cup Final and he looks like he has brought that newfound confidence to camp this season.

Loser: Cole Cassels

It’s all relative. Cole Cassels wasn’t bad in Penticton, but he was pointless in three games and didn’t cause tremors like he did through last year’s OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup run with the Oshawa Generals.

Cassels drew the shutdown assignment against Connor McDavid in last spring’s OHL final—and triumphed, setting the stage for a rivalry that may endure for years to come when the Canucks and Oilers face off against each other.

After Oshawa’s Memorial Cup win, it was revealed that Cassels had been suffering from an abdominal injury for most of the season, which he chose to rehab without surgery during the summer.

Cassels’ two-way play in Penticton has been solid, but he didn’t generate any highlight-reel moments that would fast-track him onto the Canucks this season instead of taking a learning role with the Comets.

Management is leaving the door open for Cassels to make an impact:

Asked if any young players aside from Jake Virtanen might challenge for roster spots at main camp, Benning singled out Cassels and McCann. — Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) September 15, 2015

Cassels will need to take his game up another notch against the NHL pros if he wants a shot at stealing the Canucks’ fourth-line centre job this season.

Winner: Mackenze Stewart

Mackenze Stewart’s a dark-horse prospect that the Canucks hope to turn into a fourth-line enforcer. Chosen 186th by the Canucks in the 2014 draft, he was signed to a contract back in May and is being converted from a defenseman into a left winger.

Stewart played his role to perfection in Penticton, finishing with a tournament-leading 24 minutes in penalties thanks to memorable fights against a familiar WHL foe in Mitch Moroz of Edmonton, and Hunter Smith of Calgary.

A long shot to ever suit up in the NHL when he was drafted, the 6’3″, 216-pound Stewart used his opportunity in Penticton to show good timing, willingness to stick up for his teammates and the ability to hold his own when he drops the gloves.

Though fighting is on the decline at the NHL level, Stewart showed he’s ready to scrap for a job, old-school style.

Loser: Clay Witt

Fresh out of college and ticketed for the minor leagues, goaltender Clay Witt wrapped up Young Stars with the tournament’s worst record: a 5.85 goals-against average and .816 save percentage in 92:23 of action.

Witt had the misfortune of being named to start Vancouver’s first game of the tournament, a poor team effort that turned into an 8-2 loss to Edmonton. He acquitted himself much better with a more organized team in front of him, giving up just one goal on 14 shots during half a game of action against Calgary.

Already 24 after spending five years in college, Witt has been signed to an AHL contract by the Comets and is expected to compete for a job against Richard Bachman and Joe Cannata. His performance in Penticton didn’t help his case, especially when the tournament’s best goaltender was Vancouver’s Jackson Whistle, an undrafted 20-year-old who backstopped the Kelowna Rockets to the Memorial Cup final last spring.





