It appears that this would be the way to do it. Forcing the SQL Server specific type would then allow it to get through.
Also, Date.Now and DateTime.Now is represented by the same documentation in VB.NET. I believe Date.Now is just for old support as DateTime.Now seems to be the new format to use. Is that your understanding as well?
As for DateTime.MinValue, I am not sure if this is relevant here. In my case, I want the actual time. So, I believe DateTime.Now would do.