When Canucks prospect Alexandre Grenier signed with EC Red Bull Salzberg of the Austrian League back in late May, the Canucks were supportive of the 3rd round pick’s decision, citing the opportunity to play against grown men in Europe as a major benefit.

For Grenier, a late bloomer, the only way he’ll ever earn a full-time NHL job is if he learns to complement his skillset with his 6’5″, 200-pound frame. The trap a lot of larger prospects fall into is they come to view their size as an ability rather than a complementary asset — especially in leagues where their size makes them outliers. Then, when they get to the NHL where everyone’s huge (and Zdeno Chara exists so, really, no one is), they struggle. Grenier is less likely to fall into this trap in Austria where the men are bigger, albeit perhaps not as skilled.

But playing against grown men also has its drawbacks. They hit harder, for instance, a lesson Grenier learned the hard way last Friday.

We don’t normally report on Christian youth conferences here on PITB, but that’s because this is a Canucks blog and these conferences typically don’t generate Canucks-related stories. However, on Friday one did, as The Passion Movement, a Christian organization aimed at “uniting students in worship and prayer,” visited Rogers Arena. During the service, Pastor Louie Giglio held up a blue Canucks helmet and led over 10,000 people in a prayer for the healing of Daniel Sedin’s recently-confirmed concussion.

Now, if you find this video a bit strange, you’re not alone. Over at Puck Daddy, Sean Leahy said what a lot of people must have thought upon viewing the clip: “What better way to get your fans in the city you’re touring even more behind you than holding a mass prayer for the quick recovery of one of their hockey stars?” Meanwhile, some of the commenters said the same thing, albeit much more ignorantly: “Nothing like bible thumpers playing their same ol’ tune, and trying to hitch their wagon to a fan favorite to legitimize themselves…….pathetic,” said one.

But Giglio wasn’t pandering to the home crowd; he was making good on a prayer request from Paolo Aquilini, one of the three brothers that make up the Aquilini ownership group, which controls both the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena.