The following article is from The Province newspaper in Vancouver BC, one of
Canada's most popular dailies.  Its website is at
http://www.vancouverprovince.com.
 
Kids savour NHL test
The Province
Terry Bell, Sports Reporter
 
 
A meagre 16 shots. A 3-1 GM Place loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Boos at the
end.
 
Yep, the 13,106 who showed for the Canucks' preseason home-opener weren't overly
impressed with what they saw Tuesday.
 
You can hardly blame them, but the Canucks had five kids in the lineup who were
savouring their first taste of NHL play.
 
"I thought they all played well," said coach Marc Crawford, referring to goalie
Alfie Michaud, defencemen Ryan Bonni and Rene Vydareny and forwards Artem
Chubarov, Brad Leeb and Mike Brown. Brown had played two exhibitions with
Florida, but the others were making their NHL debuts.
 
Leeb, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Red Deer, Alta., product and Vydareny, the
Canucks' third-round pick in the June draft, might have been the best of the
bunch. Leeb, a fine skater who played on the national junior team last year, is
on a tryout after going unpicked in three drafts.
 
"It was kind of frustrating," said Leeb of the snub. "But there have been guys
go undrafted and still play in the NHL.
 
"This was exciting playing here tonight. An NHL game, against the Montreal
Canadiens. It was quite a learning experience."
 
"Brad's a kid our scouts liked," said Crawford, who had him on a line with
centre Josh Holden and left-winger Donald Brashear. "He's a really talented
player."
 
Crawford also liked Vydareny, who grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia, and was a
neighbour of ex-NHL stars Peter and Marian Stastny. "For an 18-year-old kid I
liked the way he played," said Crawford. "He tried to jump into the play."
 
Chubarov, the 19-year-old Russian, centred a line with Peter Schaefer and Brad
May. He killed penalties and was solid defensively.
 
Brown did what he'll eventually be paid an NHL salary to do ... he played his
wing, got into a fight and didn't embarrass himself.
 
And Michaud, the little goalie from Maine who'll likely find himself playing
regularly with Syracuse in the AHL this year, was solid. He allowed two goals
but, like Leeb, chalked the evening up as a learning experience.
 
"I really didn't think about it," the Selkirk, Man., product said when asked if
he got pumped about his first NHL night. "I felt pretty comfortable."
 
The article you just read is from The Province newspaper in Vancouver B.C.
Looking for a job in Vancouver? Try our Careerclick site at
http://www.careerclick.com/bc.  Canucks fan? Follow the team at
http://www.thecanucks.com.