Let´s start with a joke here.
This was the only thing that cheered me up a little yesterday after realizing the Canucks traded away Hunter Shinkaruk and acquired Markus Granlund from the Calgary Flames for him.
Silence the jokes for a while, I would like to add my take explaining why I think this is a bad move for my beloved Canucks.
The explanation seems quite simple: Passion and love for the game! I am sorry to not know a lot about Granlund´s character regarding this but one thing is clear. Hunter Shinkaruk is special in the sense of awkward wide-mouth smiling reactions when asked about possibilities of playing in the NHL for the Canucks one day. I see where he learned that, hehe. Look at this interview with him and his family after being drafted:
On top of that, have you seen him play the game? Have you watched him react after a goal is scored for his team? See those:
It doesn´t matter who scores a goal, Hunter´s reaction is always a pure love for the game. He jumps like a child and that is powerful thing to have inside of you! That is type of inner motivation that can lead you very far and I truly believe that it will in Hunter´s case. The kind of same thing I can see in likes of Petr Mrazek or even Jaromir Jagr. They just love the game, they are passionate about it and that´s what drives them to be better every day. Don´t underestimate this!
That´s why I think letting Hunter go is a mistake! I understand that could be just my opinion but let´s wait and see. In a few years we will know the answer.
I already miss you, Hunter!