The Fan In Van Podcast & Blog - Matt Lee

Canuck Prospect Camp kicks off this weekend on Vancouver Island and it should be interesting to see which prospects will emerge as NHL-ready players and which ones will sink and be deemed the next Josh Holden. Personally, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the pressure is on for young Luc Bourdon to have a phenomenal camp after some hard luck last season. With Alex Edler emerging as the Vancouver Canucks’ prominent #7 defenseman for this season, Bourdon has to pick up the level of his game or he’ll fall right into the illustrious category of being a Canuck bust and join the likes of Polasek, Vydareny and the aforementioned Holden.

Casey Printers has signed a 3-year, $1.5M contract with the Hamilton Ticats. And while I think it’s a bold move by the Hamilton organization, ultimately I still believe it could pay huge dividends for the team. Printers, like him or hate him, is a talented pivot and his Most Outstanding Player award in 2005 was no fluke. Inking Printers to become the highest-paid CFL player over the next three seasons certainly solidifies Hamilton’s position at QB.

The NFL season kicks off tonight with the New Orleans Saints taking on defending champs Indianapolis Colts … I love the huge matchup between Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, it should be a colossal event. Furthermore, I’ll take the bold pick and go with the Saints by 7. I expect some pretty big things from the Brees-Bush duo this season.

Scott Niedermayer met with local media today to discuss his playing future with the Anaheim Ducks. He says he still hasn’t made up his mind regarding retirement. You know, the more he plays this out and the more closer to training camp we get, the more I think that this guy may actually play one more season. Clearly, this wasn’t as easy a decision as previously thought by experts and Niedermayer has been struggling to come to a decision. And why shouldn’t he be? He could play on a team featuring three of the best blueliners in the entire NHL in Pronger, Schneider and himself, as well as Francois Beauchemin, a guy who would be a #1 on any other team, not to mention playing alongside younger brother Rob once more. The Ducks’ chances of repeating as champs would be exponentially higher if Niedermayer decides to lace them up for one more season. Can you imagine how difficult it’d be to score against that team?!

School’s back in session, here are my thoughts (Besides the desire to push aside schoolwork):

I have heard enough criticism of the new Canuck jerseys for one offseason. Yes, it’s ugly. Get over it. The brass won’t change it, period, the end. It ain’t gonna happen. And, while it’s clear that the VANCOUVER wordmark is an effort to boost the city for the 2010 games, fans are going to have to accept it. I’ve said it before: The jerseys could’ve been a hell of a lot worse given the Canucks’ jersey history; it could’ve been salmon-coloured, a plate of spaghetti or a V which ultimately did NOT stand for Vancouver but for Victory (Which they did very little of while wearing them). But that’s far beyond the point, my point is that fans should be thanking the good lord the designer included the retro colours, that’s half of what makes a jersey look good.

And you thought the Canuck jerseys were bad? How about the Flames’ new jerseys! Talk about making me want to vomit. To commemorate 100 years of Alberta hockey, the Flames thought it’d be a great idea to put Alberta and Canada shoulder patches on their uniforms. While it may sound like a good idea, the problem is that the Alberta flag is a baby blue colour. Now, I’m no fashion guru, but the blue clashes terribly with their red design. Even then, the Canadian flag seems to look out of place on the jersey. And to boot, they added a series of black stripes down the back… It’s a shame the Canucks will have to spank the Flames this season while the two wear the most “intriguing” jerseys in the league.

Casey Printers to BC is NOT going to happen, folks. Not only do the Lions not have enough cap space to afford the darn guy but he’s just not welcomed in a dressing room which has so much chemistry right now. Rob Murphy put it bluntly when he told media that since winning the Grey Cup last season the team has been kept intact and should Printers be brought onto this team there’ll be a great divide in that locker room which could only make a bad situation even worse. Yes, the Lions having to go with JJ in the QB starter slot worries me long term, but I’m a firm believer that if they signed Casey Printers, he’d be thinking of one man on that field: Casey Printers. The old saying ‘Time heals all wounds’ may be valid in some circumstances, but it isn’t here. A lot of the guys have confidence in Jarious Jackson and if they had to play with Printers at the helm I’m positive there’d be some conflict.

Take it easy good people.