Evacuation orders near Grand Forks, B.C., downgraded, but U.S. fire is still a threat

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – Daniel Sprong made an impact in his first game in a Vancouver Canucks uniform.

Sprong tied the game with just 14.3 seconds left in the third period, then Jake DeBrusk scored his second goal of the night 58 seconds into overtime as the Canucks battled back from a late deficit to defeat the Calgary Flames 4-3 in an NHL exhibition game Wednesday night.

Sprong, a free-agent signing who has scored 85 goals in 344 NHL games, used his speed and power to undress Flames goaltender Devin Cooley to force the overtime.

“Time was running down,” said the 27-year-old who was born in Amsterdam. “I used my speed and then made the move. That’s part of my game, really aggressive off the rush. I got an opportunity to show that at the end.”

DeBrusk scored the winner on a tick-tack-toe play with Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes at Abbotsford Centre.

The Flames had taken a lead with third-period goals from Dryden Hunt and Samuel Honzek.

“We were focused and resilient, competed our way through,” Honzek said. “We got a lead in the third period and, unlucky, we got scored on.”

Defenceman Jake Bean also scored for Calgary (3-1-0).

Max Sasson scored with 22.5 seconds left in the first period and DeBrusk struck with 34 seconds remaining in the second for the Canucks (2-0-0).

The Flames were clinging to the 3-2 lead in the final minute of the third when Martin Pospisil was called for putting the puck over the glass, giving Vancouver a six-on-four power play for 35.5 seconds.

That set the stage for Sprong.

“That’s always nice to start off that way,” he said. “But it’s only pre-season. You want those in the regular season or in the playoffs. But it’s a good start for all of us.”

Canuck coach Rick Tocchet likes the tools Sprong brings.

“He’s got the knack to do that sort of stuff,” said Tocchet. “He can skate. There’s a lot of things we can work with him to really make him compete.

“But that’s a hell of a goal.”

Goaltender Jiri Patera stopped 16 shots in his Canucks debut. The former Vegas Golden Knights netminder recently signed a two-year, two-way deal in Vancouver.

Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf played two periods, stopping 17 of 19 shots. Cooley saved 11 of 13 shots after entering the game in the third period.

Tocchet liked what he saw from his team which was playing the second game in as many nights.

“It’s nice for them to get some success early,” he said. “But, on the other side, we’ve got to clean up some stuff. I thought we played a little slow in some aspects of our game.

“We’ve got to make sure we play a little faster.”

Hunt gave the Flames the lead at 15:04 of the third on a breakaway. Forward Andrew Basha hit him in full stride and slipped the puck past Patera.

Honzek had tied the game 2-2 at 10:08. A Pospisil pass put Honzek behind the Canucks defence and he beat Patera backdoor.

“This was the highest-pace game we’ve played in,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said. “I felt like it was a challenge sometimes for our players and at the same time I thought there were some players that elevated their game, like again we had another good night from Honzek where he showed he can play in a game that’s a little more pace than we’ve seen so far.”

DeBrusk, the former Boston Bruin who signed as a free agent with Vancouver this summer, gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.

Former Edmonton Oiler defenceman Vincent Desharnais, another free agent signing, sailed a puck high toward the net that DeBrusk batted out of the air past Wolf. Hughes also earned an assist.

Bean, a former Columbus Blue Jacket who signed as a free agent with Calgary in July, tied the game 1-1 at 3:43 of the second. With the teams playing four-on-four, the Calgary native rifled a shot that beat Patera on the glove side. Justin Kirkland and Tyson Barrie earned assists.

Sasson, who has played 63 games with Vancouver’s AHL Canucks, opened the scoring. He took a long pass from Kiefer Sherwood, then sent a centring pass in front of the net which appeared to bounce off Wolf and slide into the net.

NOTES

Both teams have a tie to the Abbotsford Center. The Canucks AHL team has played there since the 2021-22 season. The Abbotsford Heat, Calgary’s AHL team, called the building home from 2009 to 2014. … The Canucks had six players in the lineup Wednesday that played in their 3-1 win over Seattle Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Vancouver: The Canucks play in Seattle Friday.

Calgary: The Flames host the Canucks in a rematch on Saturday.

— By Jim Morris in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.

Juraj Slafkovsky was an NHL draft pick, just like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard. The spotlight, however, has not been quite as bright or the hype train as strong for him in Montreal.

“I like it that way,” Slafkovsky said.

Regardless of the attention or lack thereof, Slafkovsky is on the vanguard of hockey’s next generation of stars, along with the likes of San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, Buffalo’s JJ Peterka and New Jersey’s Luke Hughes.

“It’s really cool to be a part of it, and I hope I will be a part of it,” Slafkovsky said two years after the Canadiens took him at No. 1 in 2022. “Hopefully we can do some things as the younger generation.”

Slafkovsky, Peterka, Hughes and Quinton Byfield of the Los Angeles Kings have been around a bit, and now is the time to show they can be among the league’s best. Newcomers like Celebrini, Smith, Philadelphia’s Matvei Michkov and even teammate Lane Hutson are front-runners in the race for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

Macklin Celebrini

The most recent No. 1 pick does not have the so-called “generational talent” label like Crosby, McDavid or Bedard, but he still won the Hobey Baker Award last season at Boston University as the top college player in the country with 64 points in 38 games.

Sharks forward William Eklund was not too familiar with Celebrini’s game until the draft, so he made it a point to check out his highlights.

“I looked him up a little bit, and obviously he’s a great skill guy,” Eklund said. “He’s a high-caliber player, and it’s going to be fun to see.”

BetMGM Calder Trophy odds: 4-1

Will Smith

Rivals at Boston-area schools, Smith and Celebrini are now front and center as the faces of San Jose’s rebuild.

“It’s going to be a fun relationship,” said Smith, the fourth pick in 2023 who decided to turn pro after starring last season at Boston College. “Really cool. We were talking about it earlier just how crazy it is that we’re on the same team now.”

Smith, a year older than Celebrini, is coming off a 71-point season, helped the U.S. win world junior gold and played at the world championships.

“He’s a kid that has a really bright future and a ton of talent,” said Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who was a teammate at worlds. “A really good kid, too, and I think he’ll go in and play for San Jose this year and I think you’ll see him do pretty well.”

BetMGM Calder Trophy odds: 5-1

Juraj Slafkovsky

The MVP of the 2022 Beijing Olympics without NHL players struggled in his rookie year. Last season, he quintupled his production with 20 goals, 30 assists and 50 points and said, “I’m ready to start where I finished.”

Slafkovsky in the spring signed an eight-year contract extension worth over $60 million. Now it’s up to the big Slovak forward to earn it.

“I just want to show them that they made the right decision,” Slafkovsky said. “I feel like the only way I can do it is showing up every day and playing hard and being there.”

JJ Peterka

A 2020 second-round pick of the Sabres, Peterka is older at 22 but could get a look on the first line this season after establishing himself as a full-time NHL player and scoring 28 goals. The Germany-born forward is in a contract year looking to get the kind of guaranteed deal Slafkovsky and others have.

Peterka thinks the key is not putting too much pressure on himself, especially while trying to help Buffalo end the league’s longest playoff drought.

“I want to be put more in situations where I’m maybe not too uncomfortable,” Peterka said. “I want to be more responsible, more consistent. For me it’s just take the next step to just grow as a player, as more of a complete player.”

Quinton Byfield

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound power forward is expected to play center after getting a five-year, $31.25 million contract. He spent the summer working on his shot to be more of a threat from further away from the net and prefers center offensively and defensively.

“I like playing good defense and shutting down their top lines, so when I can be in my own end kind of playing those guys down low, that’s where I want to be,” Byfield said. “Also I don’t want to just be on the wall standing there going up the ice. I want to be able to use my speed and kind of demand the middle of the ice.”

Luke Hughes

A left shoulder injury from summer training could cause the Devils defenseman to miss the start of the season. That absence should not keep Hughes from building on a 47-point rookie year that left him third in Calder Trophy voting.

“He’ll take another step,” older brother and New Jersey teammate Jack Hughes said. “Luke will be even more mature this year. He’ll know the league a little bit more and know the players and he’ll know things he can get away with and where he can capitalize on certain things. I think he’ll have a better year offensively, obviously, and just keep getting better.”

Matvei Michkov

The 19-year-old Russian winger is the new face of the Flyers with the weight of the franchise’s nearly five-decade Stanley Cup drought on his shoulders. Michkov was the seventh pick in 2023, with some teams concerned he might not be able to leave the KHL or was under-scouted given the war in Ukraine.

Early returns are positive.

“Everyone’s really excited to have him, and when you see him on the ice it’s pretty special and gives our team a positive boost,” forward Owen Tippett said. “Super skilled. We’re all really excited to have him on our side, and we’re excited to see what he can do.”

BetMGM Calder Trophy odds: 7-2

Lane Hutson

A saucer pass from Hutson during an early training camp scrimmage that landed right on the stick blade of teammate Emil Heineman went viral in hockey circles. It’s just a taste of what the 20-year-old defenseman might be able to do when he gets used to life in the NHL, but he already has big expectations in Montreal.

“I haven’t proved anything yet,” Hutson said. “There’s a lot to prove before I’m even close to a face of the team.”

BetMGM Calder Trophy odds: 7-1

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AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson and freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.

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AP NHL:

VANCOUVER – In the seven years since the NDP came to power in British Columbia, food prices have jumped by almost 30 per cent.

Rent and transport costs are up by about a quarter, while the cost of filling up with gasoline has risen by almost half.

It’s been a painful process that has made the cost of living a major battleground ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election. But experts say that while some provincial policy strategies can have an impact, much of the inflationary pressure has global origins.

University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business associate Prof. Werner Antweiler said interest rate and fiscal policy can effect change in housing prices, but the pressures that have forced up grocery prices cannot be easily influenced at a local political level.

In a note published through the research agency C.D. Howe Institute, Antweiler said Russia’s war on Ukraine was a fundamental reason why grain, fertilizer and energy costs had cascaded into food costs.

“The blame for high food prices falls neither on greedy retail chain CEOs nor on Canada’s carbon tax,” Antweiler said in the note. “Most contributing factors can be attributed to global sources.”

Nevertheless, the issue of costs has been a key driver of political debate in B.C.

On Sept. 12, before the campaign period officially began, B.C. NDP Leader David Eby announced that his party would end the provincial carbon tax on consumers if the federal mandate requiring such a tax was removed by the party that wins the next federal election.

Eby cited “rising interest rates” and “high global inflation” as cost pressures that had eroded political consensus on the carbon tax, which Antweiler said had been used as a “scapegoat.”

B.C. Conservatives Leader John Rustad described the move as a “desperate attempt” to boost support and called the carbon levy a “disastrous tax that punishes families and businesses.”

B.C’s consumer price index jumped by more than three per cent for each of the last three years — including a 6.8 per cent spike in 2022 — and is about 56 per cent higher than it was 2002. That’s about one-tenth lower than all of Canada at 62 per cent.

“Two, three per cent is no problem,” said Simon Fraser University finance Prof. Andrey Pavlov of the price of inflation.

“The moment it becomes six or seven, people notice that right away. And when it’s not just one item, but it’s everything you consume, people who are living on a tight budget to begin with absolutely notice it.”

The B.C. Conservatives list cost-of-living at the top of the party’s policy plan on its website, calling for the privatization of auto insurance, supporting parents directly with daycare costs, and removal of the carbon tax.

The heavy focus on daily costs doesn’t surprise Pavlov, who said Canada’s inflation rate had reached a level in 2022 that was difficult to ignore.

“Inflation has tapered off, but at some point it was up to six per cent, seven per cent in Canada,” Pavlov said, adding the prices are not coming down. “And when it’s that high, people feel that immediately, because every single item you’re shopping for is certainly more expensive.”

The issue isn’t restricted to personal living costs. Business groups say higher costs in B.C. have translated to labour shortages as people seek more affordable destinations.

BC Chamber of Commerce president Fiona Famulak said while some cost factors are beyond provincial control, the government was able to lower taxes and provide other measures granting some relief.

“We have a sign on our provincial storefront that says to the world, British Columbia is closed for business,” Famulak said of the high costs and their knock-on effects. “It’s time to flip that sign.”

Pavlov said there are adjustments B.C. can make locally, even given the global forces at play on items such as groceries.

The province could boost local goods and services to insulate B.C. more from global inflationary pressures, he said.

“That will help British Columbians manage that inflation much better,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t see that. I haven’t seen that from our current government. On the contrary, one measure after another imposes additional risk and costs on doing really any business in British Columbia, and as a result, it’s very difficult to provide goods and services in British Columbia locally.

“That really depends a lot on what happens with the election. If whichever government comes in takes this seriously and actually helps businesses operate in British Columbia … then it will make it much easier for people to manage those higher prices.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.