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But how do the Canucks get him there?

Granlund had a spark when he first arrived but drifted into nothingness. In the Canucks final media availability, he was the only player who didn’t take the podium, and no one in the press requested him.

It kind of said it all about how the last few weeks went.

Granlund, of course, wasn’t alone, but others have done more in the NHL. So far, Granlund has done, well, not much at all.

Some said the same of Baertschi before this past season.

Heading into the summer, he had 10 goals in 69 NHL games, which is similar to Granlund’s current goal rate. He has 16 goals in 102 games.

With Baertschi, however it was about building strength and improving the defensive side of his game.

Those aren’t issues for Granlund and won’t be the goal of his summer.

“He’s a player who has an undervalued skill set which is going to come out in the next year,” Vancouver GM Jim Benning said.

“Off the ice, in the weight room, he’s a really strong kid. The thing we’re going to work on with him this summer is his first-step quickness, getting him the power to get up to speed as fast as he can.”

Granlund will play for Team Finland in the World Championship, before training in his home country. In the fall, Granlund will arrive at training camp slotted in as the Canucks’ fourth-line centre.

What that means for Jared McCann, and maybe Linden Vey, is that they may need a Ben Hutton like pre-season to take the job.

The Canucks have been leaning toward fourth lines featuring developing players, who give the team upside. They are not alone. The league is moving on from filling their grind lines with tough veterans who can fight because prospects are getting to the NHL and producing earlier than ever.

“It’s because they’re cheap and they’re trying to grow them into top-nine forwards,” Benning said. “I noticed that trend last year.

“Going forward you going to see more and more of that.”

jbotchford@postmedia.com

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