Yesterday, we broke down which Vancouver Canucks players’ stock rose during this year’s NHL preseason. Names like Aatu Räty, Daniel Sprong, and the newly-extended Nils Höglander made that list, but who is on the other side of the coin?
Which players showed up to camp and saw their stock take a hit? Let’s dive in.
Pius Suter
Let’s call a spade a spade. Before he got hurt during the Canucks’ game against the Edmonton Oilers, Pius Suter was having an unremarkable preseason.
Suter, who proved to be an effective addition to the Canucks’ top line alongside JT Miller and Brock Boeser down the stretch last season, didn’t do much to cement his spot in the lineup this preseason. The simple fact that Suter is far from a lock to be the Canucks’ third or even fourth line centre this season shows he did himself no favours this preseason.
Whereas Aatu Räty knocked down the door as the Canucks’ 3C during the preseason and earned himself a roster spot, Suter looks like he’ll get a look at that spot on opening night for the simple reason he’s a veteran player. While that’s all fine and dandy, Suter certainly hears the footsteps creeping up behind him and will need to make the most of the opportunities he gets in the early going of the season after the preseason he turned in.
Phil Di Giuseppe
Similar, but different is the situation Phil Di Giuseppe finds himself in. More than anything, Di Giuseppe seemed to be a casualty of the Canucks’ need to maximize LTIR space, but with that no longer a concern, only time will tell if PDG gets another NHL opportunity.
The question now for Di Giuseppe is if he’s still the first call up in the event the NHL club needs a winger. Will that call now be made to Arshdeep Bains, who brought his A-game to camp this year and was an AHL All-Star last season? Di Giuseppe didn’t have a bad camp by any means — he never does — but has he been passed on the depth chart? That’s the question here, and we don’t yet have the answer. The one thing we do know is that Dakota Joshua isn’t even healthy yet and Di Giuseppe isn’t on the NHL roster. Cracking the roster isn’t going to get any easier when Joshua returns.
Jiri Patera
Technically, Jiri Patera’s stock took a hit during the preseason, but only because his stock increased the minute Thatcher Demko went down with an injury. Originally signed to be a depth option and AHL goaltender, Patera was slated to split the NHL crease with Arturs Silovs heading into training camp.
Patera’s play during camp didn’t invoke much confidence in that tandem, leading the Canucks to continue their pursuit of Kevin Lankinen, signing the Finnish netminder on day three of training camp. Patera showed well in the one preseason game he got into, but after a brief moment where it looked like he’d be in the NHL, Patera is back in the AHL after a bizarre experience with the NHL’s waiver wire.
Danila Klimovich
Danila Klimovich followed up a somewhat promising sophomore AHL season with a 2023-24 season mired in injuries and mediocrity.
Klimovich came into training camp and got an opportunity to skate with one of the main groups, but the only thing that stands out about his camp is when he threw a punch at Sawyer Mynio after the two were engaged in a spirited battle drill. Klimovich’s stock was already low heading into this season, but his preseason didn’t inspire much confidence that we’re about to see a bounce-back season.
Can Klimovich get back on track with a new head coach in Manny Malhotra? He better, because if it’s evident that he can’t even stick in the AHL team’s top nine forward group, he may not receive a contract from the Canucks when his ELC is up at the end of this season. It may sound harsh, but the Canucks need to see so much more from Klimovich this season than they did last year and than they did during this year’s preseason.
Nils Aman
Similar to Pius Suter, anyone who was seemingly passed by Aatu Räty on the depth chart or is having their spot threatened by the 21-year-old centre fits the bill of having their stock decrease, and that list includes Nils Aman.
Signed to a two-year contract extension last season, Aman progressed into an NHL bottom six centre in 2023-24. Rick Tocchet stressed that the next step for Aman is to improve on his fitness levels and overall strength on the puck, and it doesn’t really seem like that’s happened heading into 2024-25. Aman, instead, hasn’t gotten any real reps at centre and is among the first candidates to come out of the lineup once Dakota Joshua returns.
Aman is a bit different in the sense that expectations heading into the preseason weren’t all that high, but his preseason certainly didn’t help his case to be an NHL regular this season.
