[CanuckJohnny]

Trevor Linden spoke to the media about his first year at the helm, the offseason so far and his vision for the future and draft strategy.

Press: "Trevor, we know you've already spoken to the team's performance this season, but how do you feel you have grown as a coach and general manager in your rookie season?"

Trevor: "I believe I've gained some solid experience on the managerial side of negotiating and learning to talk trades with the other GMs and contracts with the agents who represent our players. I've really focused on improving my training strategies on both offensive and defensive skills, and I've been learning especially how to better work with the defensemen and see them maximizing their potential. Tactically I've made some adjustments and improvements."

Press: "How do you envision this team's future, what are you trying to build going forward?"

Trevor: "We want to continue building around the Sedins, and Kesler and Burrows up front. We believe we can win with speed and skill, and lots of good checking, defensive attention to detail, and hard work. We also want to build a consistent future, so we are working to draft and trade well to accumulate a deep prospect pool because Hank and Danny won't be here forever and we need to prepare for sustainable success after they retire."

Press: "From a front office standpoint, what are you doing to improve the franchise?"

Trevor: "We have invested heavily into player development, with the goal of a strong and consistent development program that maximizes our young players' potential. We have incredible attendance and fan support, and so to keep up we have also raised ticket prices a small amount, while also maintaining our arena to a high standard and continuing to have a normal investment in marketing our brand."

Press: "What's your strategy going into the entry draft?"

Trevor: "Well, we are open to moving down to acquire more picks and replenish our talent pool, but quality is still more important than quantity, so if there's a guy we like ahead of others we'll be quick to take him."

Press: "Are you a best player available kind of drafter?"

Trevor: "Mostly we believe that's the best strategy - after all we want to maximize asset value and most of these draft picks are years away still. Playing style fit is a huge criterion as well. We may lean towards blue chip blueline prospects because building a strong defense corp is paramount to having a sustained championship team. In light of our injuries this year, we really want to focus on players who will be durable."

Trevor: "There's a lot of work to do, thank you all for your time, we'll see you at the draft."