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I think Ballard will be a top 4 d-man this season.For Canucks’ Keith Ballard, consistency key to fresh start on ‘D’
Vancouver defenceman aims to put last season's struggles behind him
By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun September 15, 2011 5:20 PM
VANCOUVER — It's a new season, and no one is happier about that than Vancouver Canucks defenceman Keith Ballard.He's trying his best to forget about the last one.
Ballard, who along with the rest of the Canucks veterans reports for training camp Friday at Rogers Arena, is treating this season as a fresh start. That's exactly the message Vancouver's coaching staff delivered to him at the end of last season.
"That was kind of their message to me that (this) year is a clean slate, put (last) year behind you and start over and we'll see what happens," Ballard said this week.
Ballard insists he did not spend his summer being haunted by his struggles last season, his first as a Canuck.
"I didn't dwell on it when it was happening and I'm not going to spend my summer dwelling on it," he said. "No, not at all. I try to learn from it and you try and pull the positives out and learn from the negatives. But I'm not going to sit and dwell on it, no. In the grand scheme of things, it's pretty small."
Ballard became a Canuck at the 2010 NHL draft when general manager Mike Gillis acquired him, along with and Victor Oreskovich, from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner and Vancouver's first-round pick in 2010.
He was advertised as a guy who could step in and play as a top-four defenceman and Ballard brought a hefty contract with him. He has four more years remaining on a deal that pays him $4.2 million a season.
The Canucks didn't get much bang for all those bucks last season from Ballard, who was playing catch-up at training camp last year and never really did. Off-season hip surgery had him a step behind at last year's camp and Ballard struggled in the early going. He then suffered a concussion in October and not long after returning from that injury found himself a healthy scratch.
A 25-minute guy in earlier stops in Phoenix and Florida, Ballard averaged fewer than 16 minutes as a Canuck and slipped down the team's defensive depth chart. The season ended even worse than it began as Ballard was a healthy scratch for 15 of Vancouver's 25 playoff games when he found himself playing behind Andrew Alberts and rookie Chris Tanev. It is not a stretch to suggest that Ballard will have to re-earn the confidence of head coach Alain Vigneault this season.
To his credit, Ballard handled a difficult situation with considerable aplomb. He never ducked reporters' questions, never complained about his minutes and didn't make excuses. Even his sharp sense of humour remained intact.
"Everything happened and I have learned you go through tough times and you learn that you can get through it, stay positive and work through everything and I'm excited going into this year," Ballard said. "I feel great. I am really looking forward to camp."
Unlike last summer, when he wasn't able to begin his training until August because of the surgery, Ballard started his training almost immediately after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins.
"I put in a lot of time to train and had some relaxing time with the family," said Ballard, who spends off-seasons in his native Minnesota. "Training-wise I have been healthy all summer and I have felt great so far on the ice. I have been skating for quite a while."
The Canucks could certainly use a bounce-back year from Ballard. The team lost and hasn't replaced Christian Ehrhoff, who signed with the Buffalo Sabres. But even with Ehrhoff gone, the battle for minutes won't be easy for Ballard, who is behind Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhuis, Alex Edler and Sami Salo on Vancouver's defensive depth chart. He'll battle Alberts, Aaron Rome, Tanev and others for the No. 5 and 6 spots on defence.
"Everybody wants to play as much as they can," Ballard said. "That stuff will sort itself out at camp. I am not concerned, my focus isn't I want to play these minutes, I want to play with this guy, I want to play in these situations. I want to come in and play to my abilities and the rest will take care of itself."
Ballard is not viewing this season as a make-or-break season.
"I don't think one year is going to derail my career, I don't think last year derailed my career," Ballard said. "For me, I guess my focus is on having a good year and helping this team win. We were one game short last year and everyone has got that feeling carried over through the summer of how close we were and what could have been. So now we are kind of starting back at ground zero and I want to contribute as much as I can. That's where my focus is."
Ballard thinks consistency is the key for him this season.
"Consistency is the most important thing. I think you look at every player and the good ones, one of their biggest qualities is that they're good every night. Even when they don't feel well, even when they're banged up, even when it's a long travel day or back to back games, they always find a way to be good. That is something as a player that i think everyone strives for.
"There was times when I felt really good on the ice and there was times when I wasn't. I don't think I was as consistent as I would have liked to have been."
Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman is confident Ballard will bounce back this season.
"Time will tell, but he is an exceptionally competitive person who has played at a very high level at various times in his career," Gilman said. "He is a hockey player, that is what he does for a living, and we think he is going to be fine."
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