Manitoba Moose

It often goes the other way for the Moose, but for this week at least, the Vancouver Canucks' loss will be Manitoba's gain.

The Canucks assigned bright prospect Sergei Shirokov, 23, to the Moose on Thursday after the talented Russian went pointless in his first three NHL games and then was a healthy scratch.

Shirokov, a sixth-round pick of the 2006 draft, is expected to be in the Moose lineup for tonight's AHL game against Chicago at the MTS Centre.

"He's a young, dynamic hockey player and a good addition for us," Moose assistant coach Keith McCambridge said Thursday. "We had a chance to look at him closely in Vancouver's camp."

During that camp, and despite missing a week with a knee injury, Shirokov was Vancouver's leading pre-season scorer, with seven points in four exhibition games.

"Obviously he impressed, a chance for them to get a look at him (after) being overseas," McCambridge said of the former KHL player, last season's leading scorer at Red Army. "He'll arrive here, get a chance to fit in with that group in the dressing room."

The Moose will surely find a place for Shirokov in their forward mix, and not on the third or fourth line.

Canucks GM Mike Gillis on Thursday gave no indication the assignment was just for the weekend. Shirokov, on a two-way contract, does not have to clear waivers to be assigned to the Moose.

"He had a really good training camp and it seemed like the pace, when the regular season started, was a little bit faster," Gillis told the Vancouver Sun. "We just want to get him back playing and being confident with the puck. We'll see how long that takes him.

"We don't want him losing confidence as a first-year player. We just want him to get playing with the puck again and getting some shots on net, regain a bit of that confidence and once that happens, I'm sure we'll see him back."

Shirokov turned down a hefty money guarantee to stay in the KHL this season -- reports say $500,000 -- and inked a two-way deal for US$850,000/$61,500 with the Canucks.

The demotion means his daily salary goes from approximately $4,400 per day to $320 per day.

"He handled (the demotion) great," Gillis told the Sun. "He's really a good young guy and he understood it, he handled it well. He just wants to play hockey and get better. We didn't feel it was wise to keep him around with this long break. He can go and play a lot there."

McCambridge said the one thing he hopes Shirokov can focus on while with the Moose is consistency.

"He has flashes, I'm sure you guys have seen, in his games," he said. "You can tell he's played against some elite players."

The move leaves the Canucks carrying just 21 healthy players, two under the NHL limit. Vancouver's next game isn't until Sunday and after that, the team doesn't play again until next Friday.

The Moose, meanwhile, will have lots of opportunity to give Shirokov ice time. The team plays four home games in the next six days.

Familiar faces for Krog

He's played against plenty of former teams and teammates before, but Chicago Wolves centre Jason Krog adds one more such event tonight at the MTS Centre.

The Wolves are in town to face his former team, the Moose, tonight and Saturday night.

Krog was the AHL regular-season and playoff MVP in 2007-08 and was Manitoba's leading scorer in 2008-09 as the team advanced to the Calder Cup final.

"I've been in this situation before, so I'm somewhat used to it " Krog said Thursday by phone as he was en route with the Wolves to Winnipeg. "I'll have good memories of being there.

"I'm sure Keaner (Moose captain Mike Keane) will be chirping me a little bit, some other guys a little bit, too," Krog said. "It'll all be in good fun."

Though he was offered a new deal here, Krog returned to the Atlanta/Wolves organization, presumably for a better NHL opportunity.

"Camp went well," Krog said. "I felt pretty good and got to play some good minutes (in three games). I would like to still be there, but things aren't that way today. Here in Chicago, we have a good bunch of guys and it's an organization similar to Manitoba's -- it's as good as it gets."

Toughing it out

Moose coach Scott Arniel took the afternoon off on Thursday to have arthroscopic knee surgery. He's expected to be behind the bench tonight. "Arnie, he's cut from that old-school (cloth) that if he had just one leg, he'd be behind there," assistant coach Keith McCambridge said.

Three changes, minimum

It appears the Moose will have at least three changes to their lineup tonight against Chicago. Not only will RW Sergei Shirokov and D Lawrence Nycholat be inserted, it appears that C Alexandre Bolduc (shoulder) is ready to play after sitting out the first weekend.