SOLID DEBUT FOR SAUVE

Defenseman Yann Sauve became the first Saint John Sea Dog to skate in a National Hockey League game last evening as he played a role in the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-1 victory in Minnesota over the Wild.

Sauve managed to fight through the nerves and played a solid defensive game. He saw 12 minutes and 16 seconds of ice time, not bad for an 20-year playing in his first NHL game.

The Vancouver Province has more:

Yann Sauve has come a long way since a concussion threatened his season last September. He played 12: 16, had no points, was an even plus-minus and only made one major gaffe -when Wild centre John Madden turnstiled him midway through the third, but goaltender Cory Schneider saved his bacon by making a big stop.

The former Sea Dogs played 18 shifts, averaging 40 minutes per shift according to NHL.com. He recorded one hit and was credited for one giveaway.

''That was one mistake, it's going to happen and I'll probably play it different next time for sure,'' said Sauve to The Province on his error in the third period. ''After the first couple of shifts I was feeling a bit better and the nerves were gone. It was a good experience.''

Before the game, the Vancouver Sun had a great article on Sauve’s bizarre season that his seen him go from car accident to the NHL.

“My mom didn't believe it,” Sauve said of his late-night phone call Monday to tell his parents, Carol and Michel, he had been called up from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. “She thought I was kidding because I always do this. But they were really happy. They were half-asleep. They were really happy.

“Hopefully, I'll be in Vancouver [after the road trip ends Thursday in Nashville] and they'll probably come down there. But we'll go game by game.”

The Sun also had the best title of any Sauve reading: “Yann Sauve’s Canucks journey: From hood ornament to NHL.”

CanucksTV spoke to the first overall selection in the 2006 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft after the game:




At the end of the day, it was a proud moment for the Sea Dogs franchise to see one of the players they developed make the jump to ‘The Show.’ It was the first of many of these moments to come.