Foote pulls back curtain on plans for managing Canucks’ young defencemen

If you’ve been paying attention to the Abbotsford Canucks‘ playoff run, you’ll know by now that the Canucks’ young defencemen have been standing out in a big way. 23-year-old Victor Mancini looks like he’s on another level down in the AHL, and has arguably been Abbotsford’s best defenceman. Not to mention 21-year-old Kirill Kudryavtsev, who is impressing just as much in the playoffs as he did in his first regular season of pro hockey.

While Mancini is the only one of those two expected to challenge for a full-time NHL job next season, the Canucks are going to have more than one promising young defenceman who fits that billing when training camp kicks off this fall.

There’s Tom Willander, the club’s prized right shot defence prospect who signed but elected not to join an Abbotsford playoff run that was already in progress when he finally put pen to paper. And who could forget Elias Pettersson, who kicked down the door to an NHL opportunity this past season and never looked back?

The point is, the Canucks will have some healthy competition for spots at training camp, and realistically could have two or three defencemen with less than 100 games played in their lineup on any given night next season.

And if there’s one thing new Canucks head coach Adam Foote knows, it’s what it takes to be an everyday defenceman in the NHL. Foote, who was one of the greatest shut-down defencemen of his generation, played in over 1300 NHL games and won two Stanley Cups as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

After running the Canucks’ improved defence and penalty kill for the past two and a half seasons, Foote steps in as Canucks head coach following Rick Tocchet’s departure.

Speaking to media from a Toronto Blue Jays game — it was a “Work from Dome” day at the Rogers Centre, after all — Foote spoke about the process of selecting his assistant coaches, which the Canucks officially unveiled earlier on Thursday. You can read more about that by clicking here.

But after one handsome and often thought to be younger than he actually is reporter asked Foote about the club’s re-signing of Derek Forbort, Foote chose to pull back the curtain on his plans for managing the Canucks’ young defencemen, and how the veteran Forbort plays a key role in those plans.

Here is his answer in full:

“Just stability. I mean, it gives the youth time. I mean, we have exciting youth. I mean, I don’t know what Willander will do. Everyone sees the athleticism in those three young D, and sees their sparks. And it’s really a fine… you know, seeing what they do at the AHL level, and going to the NHL when the temperature goes up, it’s two different monsters, for sure.

“You don’t want to throw a young guy in a situation that he may not be ready for. I mean, when we see him make a big splash and make a hell of a play, we all think that maybe he’s ready. And I think if you can put him in it… I wouldn’t say right term is baby steps, but you gotta be very careful, in my opinion, with young D and when they’re ready to take a full time job.

“Forbs just gives us depth. He’s a great penalty killer, he’s tough, he’s a great person, good leader. Brings a lot of energy. We don’t know if Forbs will play 82 games, we’re not sure, but it gives us depth, and we don’t want to rush the young guys. We’ll see how they are and how much they’re ready for as time goes by through training camp.”

What Foote’s answer tells us is that Forbort’s signing was an important one for him as a coach, as rolling out a defence corps that featured at least two young players being everyday players wasn’t going to be a realistic option.

There’s a slim chance that all of Willander, Mancini, and Pettersson are all can’t-miss NHL defencemen right out of camp next season, but the more realistic outcome is that one, two, or all three of them needs a bit more time to develop. In all likelihood, one or two of Pettersson, Mancini, and Willander will rotate in and out on the third pairing.

And if and when that happens, Forbort will be ready to provide a calming influence to whatever young player he skates with. And as Foote said in his answer, if Forbort goes down with an injury, well, the Canucks have three young defencemen knocking on the door and hungry for an opportunity to show their stuff.