Winnipeg Sun
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
By Ken Wiebe -- Winnipeg Sun

Perception is everything in the land of affiliation.

With the Vancouver Canucks stumbling out of the gate with a 2-6-1 start to the NHL season, GM Brian Burke decided to shake things up yesterday, recalling defenceman Justin Kurtz, centre Artem Chubarov and left-winger Mike Brown from the Manitoba Moose and sending down defenceman Bryan Allen, centre Harold Druken and right-winger Steve Kariya.

So Mr. Allen, do you view this as a demotion or a new opportunity?

"Opportunity is an interesting word," said Allen, who dressed for Vancouver's first seven games and had no points and six penalty minutes. "It's a tough thing to deal with when you get sent down but it's part of the game. I'm just trying to learn and trying to get better. You just have to try and improve every day."

RED-HOT START

Druken, who opened last season in Kansas City but finished the campaign in Vancouver after a red-hot start, also put on a brave face.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," said Druken, who had 30 points in 55 games with the Canucks last season. "I didn't get a whole lot of ice up there, but it looks like I'm going to end up playing down here for a bit, so I have to work hard.

"It's definitely exciting. I'm going to get some good quality ice time and get my game back up to shape. It's a good move."

Moose head coach Stan Smyl left little doubt as to where he stood on the issue when offering advice to guys like Kariya, Druken and Allen, who will go from seeing minimal ice time to being prime-time players.

"The biggest thing is to get your rest because you're going to get more ice time and that's what the player wants," said Smyl.

The addition of Druken and Kariya -- who will play together on a line with Ryan Ready and are point-per-game players at the minor league level -- should pay immediate dividends for Manitoba's offensive attack.

"Druken is a highly-skilled player and with Kariya, they should be able to create some offence for you and back the opponents off a little bit," said Smyl. "It should open ice for everybody."

And Allen, the fourth overall selection in the 1998 NHL entry draft, will add an important element to the defence corps with his size and ability to move the puck.

He, too, welcomes the increase in ice time.

"I want to play and I want to play a lot, I'm just going to play my game and do the things I've always done," said Allen. "It's the toughest thing to go through mentally when you play five or six minutes. You just try to stay in the game and wait for your shift. When it comes, you have to be ready and there's no turning back because if you don't do well in a shift, you don't know when the next one is going to be. So, it's an edgy time."

That's something Allen won't have to worry about in Manitoba.

"This will give him an opportunity to play in key situations," said Smyl. "I know how hard he competes and what level he competes at. He's a gamer and comes to play hard every night."



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