Meet a new Canuck is a feature I’ll be running throughout the off-season as an introduction to the newest members of the Vancouver Canucks.
Biography
Bobby Sanguinetti is a 26 year old defenseman born and raised in New Jersey. Sanguinetti was selected 21st overall by the New York Rangers in the 2006 National Hockey League entry draft. Sanguinetti was signed by the Canucks on July 1st 2014 to a one-year contract. Before signing with the Canucks, Sanguinetti played for Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Kontinental Hockey League where he scored 2 goals and 5 assists in 15 games. His last stint in North America before Vancouver was the shortened 2012-13 NHL campaign, where he split time between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. He scored 2 goals and 4 assists with the Hurricanes (in 37 games) as well as 6 goals and 15 assist with the Checkers (in 36 games). Sanguinetti has also played for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, and the Brampton Battalion and Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. Sanguinetti was part of the American World Junior squad that finished 6th in the 2006 World Junior Championships.
Bobby Sanguinetti’s Role
It’s unlikely that Sanguinetti will be anything more than a depth defenseman with the Canucks this season, and even that seems like somewhat of a longshot. What Saguinetti brings to the table is puck movement, something the Canucks have been lacking ever since Christian Ehrhoff left for Buffalo to go win a Stanley Cup (ha). Sanguinetti’s biggest obstacle on the road back to the NHL is the recently re-signed Yannick Weber. Weber’s skill set is one that is very comparable to that of Sanguinetti’s, thus making Sanguinetti somewhat redundant. That said, internal competition is never a bad thing, and Weber vs Sanguinetti should make for a solid pre-season battle for the #8 spot. There’s also a good chance Sanguinetti goes down to Utica and plays for the Comets, which would also be handy for the Canucks for two reasons. One is that Sanguinetti could be a good mentor to a player like Henrik Tommernes, for example. There are doubts that Tommernes becomes anything more than a Sanguinetti/Weber type defenseman, if even that, so why not have him learn from a guy like Sanguinetti? Two, it’s good to have your young guns develop in a winning environment. It’s never a good thing to have your prospects develop on a losing team. That’s all they’ll grow up knowing. Some teams (*cough* Oilers *cough*) don’t realize this and have suffered the consequences.
It’s unwise to expect Bobby Sanguinetti to even make the NHL club, but his impact will be felt in other ways. This was a fantastic no-risk, high-reward signing by Jim Benning. Worst case scenario, he’s down in the minors; best case scenario he’s a solid depth defender. It’ll be interesting to see what he’ll bring to the table.
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