The Province
February 4, 2002
By Gordon Mcintyre

Bryan Allen hopes The Redeemed Defenceman Part 3 is the box-office success its predecessors were.

It might be a script even Hollywood wouldn't touch - pay your dues, bide your time, then play excellent hockey once you're given your chance - but it's paid off for Brent Sopel and Bryan Helmer before him, so why not for Allen, who was sent down to the Manitoba Moose after dressing for seven games with the Canucks at the start of the season.

"By all means I was disappointed to be sent down," said the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Allen, who was recalled from the Canucks' AHL affiliate in Winnipeg Sunday. "You get to start the year here then get sent down, it's inevitable that you'll be disappointed. That's the way it went and hopefully it won't happen again."

Sopel, as anyone who hasn't been living in a cave in Tora Bora knows, has lit it up since getting a regular shift as a Christmas present.

Helmer is plus-7 in 14 games and has two goals and two assists since bumping Jason Strudwick to the press box in late December.

Allen has decent numbers, too, although he put them together in Winnipeg: four goals, 12 assists, an even plus-minus rating and 83 penalty minutes in 44 games.

People were paying attention and not just the Mooseheads in the stands. Canucks president Brian Burke, assistant general manager Dave Nonis and Steve Tambellini, vice-president of player personnel, all braved January trips to the Manitoba capital and agreed with Moose coach Stan Smyl that Allen was playing the best of the squad's talented defensive corps.

With Murray Baron expected out until after the Olympic break to heal a broken knuckle, Allen got the call.

"We needed another defenceman here for the next nine days and Bryan's the guy who's been playing the best in Manitoba," coach Marc Crawford said. "He'll get an opportunity here in the absence of Murray Baron to come in and show his wares, so to speak."

Allen had two penalty minutes in six regular-season and two playoff games last season.

"He came in and played well and we're hopeful he'll be able to do somewhat the same thing for us if we tap him on the shoulder this time," Crawford said.

Allen was expected to stick with the club this season, but had a so-so training camp (didn't everybody, though). He coughed up the puck a couple of times in his own end and seemed to be a step behind the play at times.

He was sent down 10 games into the season and the Canucks experimented with Justin Kurtz, acquired Alexei Tezikov, put Helmer on waivers and yo-yoed Sopel between the press box and the bench.

Crawford wouldn't say whether Allen or Strudwick will dress tonight.

"We won't have to make those decisions until game time," he said. "You want to have an extra defenceman here all the time. You never know, someone could get sick or anything could happen on a game-day skate, those sort of things.

"This is an opportunity for [Allen]. We expect him to respond very favourably to the opportunity. There's no doubt in our minds or to anybody who's followed Bryan Allen that he definitely wants the opportunity to show what he can do.".



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