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Sheldon Dries

Tanner Pearson Placed On Injured Reserve

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7:30 PM: The team announced that Pearson has undergone successful hand surgery and that he will miss the next four to six weeks.

2:30 PM: The Vancouver Canucks have placed Tanner Pearson on injured reserve after leaving last night’s game. The team did not give any indication of how long he will be out but has recalled Sheldon Dries in his place.

There are likely Canucks fans out there excited about getting Pearson out of the lineup, given how poorly he has played so far this season. The 30-year-old has just one goal so far and has taken eight minor penalties, many of which have come in the offensive zone. The team has been outscored 13-6 with him on the ice at 5v5, and he has generated just 17 shots on goal in 14 games.

That kind of performance from a player that is supposed to be one of the team’s veteran leaders has been disappointing, and now he ends up on the sideline for a stretch. After calming some of the chaos around the team with a few good efforts, a 5-2 loss against the Montreal Canadiens has frustration building again in Vancouver.

Dries, 28, has actually played four games for the Canucks this year, registering a single point. The minor league veteran will likely bounce back and forth throughout the season, filling in whenever necessary but rarely playing long stretches.

Vancouver Canucks Assign Three To AHL

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According to the AHL’s transactions page, the Vancouver Canucks have assigned forwards Lane Pederson and Sheldon Dries, as well as defenseman Noah Juulsen, to the Abbotsford Canucks.

The moves leave Vancouver with only 12 healthy forwards and seven healthy defensemen on the active roster, meaning that the team could soon activate some players from injured reserve. The most likely options are Brock Boeser, Riley Stillman, and/or Quinn Hughes, who are all listed as day-to-day with their injuries and are on regular injured reserve. Defensemen Travis Dermott and Tucker Poolman remain on long-term injured reserve.

Vancouver is near the top of the league in man-games lost due to injury in this young season, and it reflects in their 2-5-2 record. But after winning back-to-back contests, the team is finally beginning to play with the level of confidence required to win hockey games. With some of their top players primed to soon return to the lineup, the tone around the team is certainly more optimistic than it was a week ago.

Pederson was acquired just yesterday, along with defenseman Ethan Bear, from the Carolina Hurricanes. He had spent the early part of the year in the AHL with Carolina’s affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, and did not register a point in four games. Dries and Juulsen, on the other hand, have combined for an assist in four NHL appearances this year with the Canucks. They’re all significant reinforcements for an Abbotsford team that’s 3-2-0 to start the season.

Vancouver Canucks Place Curtis Lazar, Brock Boeser On Injured Reserve

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The nightmare season for the Vancouver Canucks continues, this time with two regular forwards headed to injured reserve. Curtis Lazar and Brock Boeser have been moved to IR, with the team recalling William Lockwood and Sheldon Dries in their place.

Boeser was listed as out day-to-day on Monday, so his move to IR is a little curious. The 25-year-old is off to a brutal start to the season (like so many other Canucks), with no goals in his first six games. While he does have four points, Boeser has always been his best when he’s putting the puck in the net, and this year he has only generated nine shots on goal.

Perhaps that is because of this injury, as he did receive a “maintenance” day earlier in the week as well before they called it an injury. General manager Patrik Allvin told reporters including Harman Dayal of The Athletic that Boeser is still considered day-to-day, though did not speculate when he will be able to return.

Lazar meanwhile played in Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, playing 11:09 and registering two shots and two hits. Allvin did not give the specific injury but noted that he is expected to miss three to four weeks.

The depth forward has turned into an energy and penalty-killing option for the Canucks, after having his best professional season with the Boston Bruins last year. Still, given how little upside he offers offensively and his rather pedestrian short-handed performance so far, losing him from the lineup shouldn’t weaken the overall chances for the Canucks very much.

Still, as they whittle away at their depth, it’s only going to be more difficult to dig themselves out of the 0-5-2 hole they are in to start the year. While the front office doesn’t want to rebuild, it does seem like the Canucks are headed for a finish a lot closer to the first-overall pick than the Stanley Cup.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Noah Juulsen, Assign Sheldon Dries To AHL

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The Vancouver Canucks and GM Patrik Allvin announced a pair of corresponding moves this afternoon. The club has recalled defenseman Noah Juulsen from the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL and in turn has assigned forward Sheldon Dries to Abbotsford. No other related moves have been made.

Although the moves seems to be a simple swap of a forward for a defenseman, it does come on the back of defenseman Tucker Poolman leaving Vancouver’s game yesterday with an undisclosed injury. While Poolman hasn’t been placed on IR, it appears the Canucks feels the need to add another person to their blueline for now. Poolman has been dealing with migraine issues for a while now, but appeared to finally turn a corner, skating in each of Vancouver’s first two games. One would certainly hope whatever was ailing Poolman yesterday is not another long-term issue.

Juulsen, a former first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, has played parts of four NHL seasons with Montreal, Vancouver, and the Florida Panthers. Like Poolman, Juulsen is a right-handed shot, minimizing the overall impact the change could have. Dries hadn’t played in either of Vancouver’s first two games this season, but will likely get a chance to play top minutes with Abbotsford if he stays long enough. The forward was among the very best in the AHL last season, scoring 35 goals along with 27 assists in just 54 games.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Sheldon Dries

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The Vancouver Canucks have swapped some youth for experience today, recalling Sheldon Dries from the AHL and sending Danila Klimovich down. The Canucks had created a perfect salary cap situation for the start of the season to maximize their long-term injured reserve placements, and can now tweak as needed.

Losing Klimovich should probably be expected, given where the 19-year-old is in his professional career. After being selected 41st overall in 2021, he played last season with the Abbotsford Canucks and scored just eight goals and 18 points in 62 games. The idea of him stepping directly into the NHL following that performance was always unlikely.

Dries, meanwhile, has plenty of experience as the extra forward on a roster. The 28-year-old has played 59 total games in his career, including 11 last season for the Canucks. It was his performance in the minor leagues, when he scored 35 goals and 62 points for Abbotsford, that helped push him up the organizational depth chart and into a position where he could take on this role to start the year.

After clearing waivers earlier this week, Dries can be shuffled up and down until he plays 10 games in the NHL or is on the active roster for 30 days.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Three Players

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The Vancouver Canucks have tidied up some minor league negotiations, signing Sheldon Dries, Guillaume Brisebois, and John Stevens to two-way contracts. Dries has been signed for two years, while Brisbois and Stevens have both agreed to one-year deals. CapFriendly provides some details on the contracts:

  • Dries: 2022-23: $750K NHL/$450K AHL – 2023-24: $775K NHL/$450K AHL
  • Brisebois: $750K NHL/$180K AHL
  • Stevens: $750K NHL/$165K AHL ($180K guaranteed)

Now 28, the undrafted Dries is coming off the best season of his professional career. In 54 games with the Abbotsford Canucks, the undersized forward managed 35 goals and 62 points, while also spending a good bit of time in the NHL. Eleven games with Vancouver resulted in three points, and have earned him some organizational stability on a two-year deal.

While it is unlikely that he plays all 82 next season, Dries should continue to be a strong depth option for Vancouver and an elite option for Abbotsford. He’ll have to clear waivers again in order to be assigned to the minor leagues but that hasn’t been an issue previously.

Brisebois, 24, was unfortunately injured for a good portion of 2021-22, limiting him to just 26 games for Abbotsford and one for Vancouver. The big defenseman was a third-round pick in 2015 and has played in ten NHL games to this point. He too had no trouble clearing waivers this season and will likely be ticketed for the minor leagues once again in 2022-23.

Stevens, 28, is also coming off his best season as a pro, racking up 19 goals and 43 points with Abbotsford. Still without an appearance at the NHL level, the undrafted forward is finally healthy and ready to contribute at the AHL level, something that has been a struggle in the past.

The Canucks have put a huge emphasis on improving the quality of players for their AHL organization and are trying to make it as competitive an atmosphere as possible for their prospects. These three will help Abbotsford remain in the mix next season, pushing for a longer Calder Cup playoff run.

Del Zotto, Dries, Petan All Clear Waivers

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All three players placed on waivers yesterday, Michael Del Zotto (OTT), Sheldon Dries (VAN), and Nic Petan (VAN), cleared waivers today and can be assigned to their respective AHL clubs (link). Though these three do not belong to playoff teams in the NHL, their being sent to the AHL is not necessarily insignificant, as both the Belleville Senators and the Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliates of the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks, respectively, have made the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs.

On Del Zotto, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia says that even though Del Zotto cleared and could join Belleville, it’s not entirely clear if he will actually join the team (link). A veteran of 736 NHL games, the 31-year-old Del Zotto has been an NHL regular since his rookie season in 2009-10 with the New York Rangers, last seeing AHL time in 2010-11. This season, however, has been a different story. Del Zotto managed only 26 games with the struggling Ottawa Senators, though when he was in the lineup, he impressed, posting 13 points in those 26 games. The defenseman did see his first AHL action in over a decade as well, dressing in as many games (26), but had an impeccable 27 points for Belleville. Having Del Zotto suit up for Belleville to help their run would not only benefit Belleville of course, but would help Ottawa as well, with Del Zotto providing a major boost to a team full of young, future Ottawa Senators getting experience with meaningful professional playoff games.

Much of the same sentiment can be placed on Petan and Dries, who also made contributions to the NHL team this season, but could provide a major impact in the Calder Cup playoffs. Petan played in 18 games this season for Vancouver, recording just two assists, but was a star in the AHL, where he had 12 goals and 32 assists in just 37 games. Dries, like Petan, suited up in a few games with Vancouver (11), recording two goals and an assist, but was a critical piece in Abbotsford’s playoff berth, scoring an impressive 35 goals and 27 assists in only 54 games.

Notably, because these three players were in the AHL in some capacity, even if just on paper as in Petan’s case, on March 21st, the NHL’s trade deadline, they are all eligible to participate in the AHL playoffs.

Canucks Place Two On Waivers

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For the second straight day, there is waiver activity in the NHL as the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed wingers Nic Petan and Sheldon Dries on waivers.  The intention is for both players to report to Abbotsford of the AHL for the playoffs if they clear on Sunday; both players had to be waived in order to be sent down as they’ve played in more than ten NHL contests since last clearing waivers.

Petan signed a two-way deal with Vancouver last summer with the intention that he’d be a key performer at the AHL level and he did exactly that, notching a dozen goals and 32 assists in 36 games with the AHL Canucks which earned him a recall to the big club in mid-March.  The 27-year-old was a regular after that point, getting into 18 games with Vancouver but he struggled offensively, collecting just two assists while averaging a little over ten minutes per game.  He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

As for Dries, he also signed a two-way deal with the Canucks last summer with an eye on him playing a big role with Abbotsford.  He had a very strong season offensively in the minors with 35 goals and 27 assists in 54 games which helped earn him a regular spot in Vancouver for the past three weeks.  The 28-year-old, who also will be unrestricted again this summer, had a bit more success than Petan, picking up a pair of goals plus an assist in 11 games while also averaging a little over ten minutes a night.

If both players clear as expected on Sunday (if they’re claimed, they’re ineligible to play the rest of the season), they can then be sent to Abbotsford.  Meanwhile, Vancouver did send four other players down today in goaltenders Spencer Martin and Arturs Silovs plus wingers William Lockwood and Vasily Podkolzin.

AHL Shuffle: 04/07/22

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While the majority of attention in the hockey world is on the four schools taking part in tonight’s 2022 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, there’s still a lot of NHL action on this Thursday. And, while transactions between teams and their minor league affiliates generally calm down as roster limits go away after the Trade Deadline, teams are still looking to tinker with their rosters and give young players a chance during the home stretch. Keep up with today’s list of AHL transactions:

Atlantic Division

  • Per the team, the Detroit Red Wings reassigned forward Kyle Criscuolo to the Grand Rapids Griffins today. Criscuolo has played two NHL games this month with Detroit, his first two since a pair of games in mid-December. The 29-year-old AHL veteran has two assists in his four games with the big club this year, but he returns to Grand Rapids now, where the alternate captain is sixth on the team with 32 points in 49 games.
  • Forward Cole Reinhardt will make his NHL debut for the Ottawa Senators tonight against the Nashville Predators, as the team recalled him today upon learning Tim Stützle would be unavailable with a lower-body injury. Reinhardt, a sixth-round pick in 2020 (two years after he was eligible), is in his second professional season. With the Belleville Senators this season, he has 11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points, and 56 penalty minutes in 60 games.

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • The Winnipeg Jets have swapped defenseman, calling up Dylan Samberg on an emergency basis while returning Ville Heinola to the Manitoba Moose, as the team tweeted today. Samberg has the chance to get into his first NHL game since January, where a weeks-long call-up saw him get his first two NHL assists in six games. Heinola is somewhat mysteriously sent down after registering three points in his last four games.

Pacific Division

  • The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have recalled forward Sheldon Dries from Abbotsford of the AHL under emergency conditions ahead of tonight’s game at the Arizona Coyotes. In a related move, the Canucks have reassigned defenseman Jack Rathbone to Abbotsford. This season, Dries has played in just two games for the Canucks, but has had a stellar season for Abbotsford, recording 35 goals and 27 assists in 54 games. Rathbone has played in nine NHL games this season for Vancouver, but has not played since November 11th.

This page will be updated throughout the day

J.T. Miller Removed From Protocol As Trade Rumors Swirl

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There has been a lot of speculation about J.T. Miller’s future over the last few days and during that time he wasn’t even with the Canucks. Miller was placed in isolation after a positive COVID test five days ago, but has now rejoined his teammates after exiting the protocol. He was on the ice for Vancouver today and based on jersey color, Thomas Drance of The Athletic tweets that it looks like he’ll be reunited with Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson on the “Lotto Line” for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Miller, 28, hasn’t played in a week, but every time he does step on the ice for Vancouver this season he only improves his trade value. With 39 points through 39 games, he’s on pace for his best offensive season yet and the second point-per-game campaign since arriving in Vancouver in 2019. The veteran forward has been linked to the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, and Minnesota Wild in recent days, with Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff discussing his future again today:

I think the Rangers stand out a bit as the team that has been ’next level’ in terms of interest. They have a fit there, he knows what it’s like, he’s comfortable with the organization having already played there. That makes sense. 

It’s not just a simple rental in the case of Miller either, as his contract extends through next season at a reasonable $5.25MM cap hit. He does not hold any trade protection, as the Canucks voided the modified no-trade clause that was originally included in the contract when he signed it with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Because the clause had not kicked in yet, Vancouver was allowed to do so after acquiring him in trade.

The Canucks made a few other moves today as well. Spencer Martin has been cleared to play again, after he too was put in the protocol just two days ago. He at least will give Vancouver another professional goaltender until Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak exit the protocol. The team played with an emergency backup on Sunday, giving Michael DiPietro the start. The team has also recalled Ashton Sautner to the taxi squad while moving Sheldon Dries to the taxi squad in order to open a spot for Miller.

Unfortunately, Tanner Pearson tested positive this morning according to Ben Kuzma of Postmedia, and the Canucks have now officially announced that he is in the protocol. He’ll be unavailable for the team tonight.

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