Does it work? Time will tell. But the players were certainly in good moods today boarding Air Canucks en route to Edmonton.
The Canucks are fresh off their break, having not been together as a group since last Sunday's overtime victory in Minnesota. The mandatory five-day break gave the guys Monday to Thursday completely off; we flew to Edmonton Friday and practiced when we landed.
Mid-flight, players gabbed about their breaks and there was a lot to discuss.
Troy Stecher went to Disneyland, Michael Del Zotto was in Scottsdale, Sven Baertschi and Anders Nilsson relaxed in Whistler, Alex Biega was home in Boston, Jake Virtanen hit Las Vegas, Thomas Vanek and Brock Boeser stayed in Minnesota, Ben Hutton was in Cancun, Brendan Gaunce was in Palm Springs, Daniel and Henrik Sedin had staycations in Vancouver, while Sam Gagner, Erik Gudbranson, Alex Edler, Jacob Markstrom and Loui Eriksson soaked up the sun in Punta Mita, Mexico.
"It was a blast," said a kinda tanned, kinda burned Gagner. "I don't even know how a trip like that comes together. Give the wives and girlfriends credit there! A few days in the sun, in the sand and on the water was really good."
Now, it's back to work. It's time for the rest of the Canucks to catch up to Bo Horvat.
Over the break Horvat did not lounge on the beach or hike in the desert or visit Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. No slots, no sunburns, no sun. Yet Horvat basically floated onto Air Canucks and he grinned the entire flight.
After breaking his ankle on December 5th, Horvat is finally able to resume practicing with the team after skating on his own the past few weeks. He was cleared for contact earlier this week and could return to the line-up this weekend either in Edmonton or Winnipeg Sunday.
Forget the break in the schedule, Horvat is glad the break in his ankle is healed.
