Canucks: Justin Bailey is finally here to fight for a spot on the list

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Jonah Gadjovich out, Justin Bailey in.

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And so turns the deep carousel forward of the Vancouver Canucks.

Gadjovich was placed on waivers Wednesday, a necessary move if the second-round pick of the 2017 draft is reassigned to AHL Abbotsford. In the end, Gadjovich’s lack of penalty experience caused him to exceed the requirements and put him behind the likes of Bailey, Matthew Highmore, Phil Di Giuseppe and Justin Dowling in the battle for the bottom depth spots on the Canucks roster. .

It’s Bailey’s third season with the Canucks organization. He made an impression in his freshman year, scoring 28 goals for the Utica Comets, the former New York AHL team of the Canucks, and playing in a couple of NHL games. A solid contributor to the Comets penalty unit, Cody Severtson of the Comets Harvets blog he told Postmedia News.

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“The Comets had an above-average save percentage with him at PK,” Severtson said. “He was on the ice for two low-handed goals for the Comets and only six power play goals against. It was used in that third forward rotation type deployment. It is not always the PK type of the first turn, but sometimes it depends on the confrontation. “

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Canucks head coach Travis Green acknowledged after Wednesday’s practice at Rogers Arena that Gadjovich’s lack of PK experience counted against him.

“He thought he worked hard on his skating last summer. I think he still has to keep working on that, you could say a lot of guys. He’s a great kid. I think he had a decent camp, with every decision, it’s not easy, ”he said.

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In 2020-21, Bailey started the season in the taxi squad, then participated in a trio of NHL games in February before his season was literally stopped in a February 11 game against the Calgary Flames. Flames winger Milan Lucic slammed him against the boards from behind. Bailey raised her arm and hit the boards awkwardly, breaking her shoulder.

“Of all the guys, that’s probably the last guy I want to get hit from behind,” Bailey said politely of the blow. “I thought I was playing well. It had been a while since I played and I really started to get back on track and it was one of those bang-bang plays. Obviously he is a heavy player, he is a player who finishes his controls ”.

Bailey flew to New York for surgery in late March., days before their colleagues contracted COVID.

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“Good time there and difficult on the way back, for sure,” he said.

Bailey was vaccinated in August when it became clear to him that it would be necessary for him to enter Canada and live a life as close to normal as possible under NHL protocols. And once you did a little research on the vaccines available, you realized that it was the safest and right thing to do. He couldn’t believe it when he tested positive, he said. Bailey even did a second test just to confirm. But looking back, she realized that she had had very mild symptoms in early September.

“I think I thought he had a bit of an allergy, he was a bit congested. And I remember skating with a junior team, and I remember skating hard at the end of practice and feeling a little more tired than usual, but other than that … I felt good, “he said. “The symptoms were not many, if there were any. So obviously (the vaccine) must be working. “

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For Bailey, Wednesday was her first proper skating of the preseason after what turned out to be a tumultuous trip back to Vancouver from Connecticut, where she had been working out all summer. He missed the training camp opening after testing positive for COVID before attempting to cross the Canadian border in early September from Buffalo, where he had made a quick stop to visit family. That meant he had to isolate himself for 10 days. When he tried to enter Canada after his period of self-isolation had expired, Canadian officials noted that he was four full days away from meeting the post-infection entry requirement, giving him the option to remain in quarantine in Vancouver. or return to the US and then entered Canada after your two week post positive test window.

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He chose the latter option and was allowed to rent a car at the Vancouver airport and then drive to the Peace Arch border crossing, then south to Bellingham, Washington. Bailey then had to struggle a bit more to find some time on the ice and was able to connect with WHL’s Everett Silvertips.

“As I pressed the panic button, I called my agents the whole way (to Bellingham) and made sure they found some ice and posted a tweet,” he said. “I want to thank the entire Everett Silvertips organization for helping me get ready for camp.”

In the end, you can only control up to a point.

“I made sure to condition myself, I was up to date with the tests we did… A lot of those things are out of my control. Now, I’m looking forward to playing a couple of games and showing what I can do, ”he said. “I worked hard throughout the bubble, throughout the past year until I got hurt, so I know they know who I am as a player, who I am as a person.”

ICE CHUNKS: Former Canuck Kole Lind, also selected by the Canucks in the second round in 2017, was placed on waivers Wednesday by Seattle Kraken, who picked the Vancouver winger in the expansion draft in June … Danila Klimovich, the The Canucks’ second round pick in the 2021 NHL ENTRY Draft, has been loaned to Abbotsford. Green said the team was impressed with his skill set and size and will be given every opportunity to stay in the AHL.