Well, folks, the Vancouver Canucks training camp is officially underway, with the start of the season just 20 days away.
On Day 1, we saw the club assign players to specific groups for the weekend.
This is usually a good indication of who the coaches are anticipating will play with who.
We’ve had Thatcher Demko update us on his injury status. Elias Pettersson spoke about his offseason and new linemates, and we even got a sneak peek at Jonathan Lekkerimäki.
And later in the afternoon, we heard from Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet and his thoughts on the first day of training camp:
“I thought the pace was good, especially for the first day. I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of guys. We did a lot pace drills, a lot of re-groups, so I think some guys were smiling. I saw some really good things.”
Given the rollercoaster that has been the crease in Vancouver over the last few months with so many questions regarding the health of Demko, Tocchet gave some insight on Demko and the current state of the Canucks’ goaltending situation heading into the season.
“For Demmer, we don’t have a target dates. All we know is he’s had really good days the last two/three weeks. He’s very positive, so we’re on track.”
“For the other goalies, its a competition, it’s fun so we’ll see who steps up. I mean, there’s a lot of shots out there I can’t tell who’s good or not to be honest with you. It’s hard on the goalies, it’s three-on-ones. We’re throwing stuff that’s really not fair to the goalies sometimes but you want them to hang in there.”
Still uncertainty with Demko, not quite sure when he’s going to come back, if you have to start the season without him, are you comfortable with the group you’ve got?
With Canucks fans and the head coach still living in the unknown about their starting goaltender’s timeline, Tocchet discussed his comfort level with their current goalie room.
“The way this team defends and plays away from the puck, I’m comfortable. We have a certain way we want to play. Hopefully, that takes the pressure off our goalie. Whether it’s Demmer, Silovs, whoever, I think that’s important. Honestly, right now, we don’t look at target dates; it’s everyday. Demmer’s having good days that’s good for us. He’s actually two weeks of really good days, that’s what we look at.”
Diving into Group A, you’ll notice four forwards who project to be given a real shot to win the Canucks’ winger sweepstakes: Who’s going to play with Elias Pettersson? Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Nils Höglander and Jonathan Lekkerimäki are the four options.
On Day 1 of camp, it was assumed DeBrusk would play with Pettersson, but Tocchet gave some interesting notes on why he decided to throw young Lekkiermäki into that roll off the hop.
“Old school thought back in the day, coaches are like, ‘You gotta earn your way up.’ [But] I think it’s a different world. I think it’s important they hang with the veteran guys, see what they’re doing, how they’re preparing before practice and then watch their skill out there.”
“It’s funny, I saw Petey talking to him [Lekkerimäki] after our re-group drill, like go here, go there. I think that’s valuable. I’m not saying he’s going to get pulled off, but I think I got to put some other guys in other positions. I think it’s important to get these other guys acclimated.”
Tocchet later commented on what he saw out of the DeBrusk-Pettersson pairing.
“Yeah well Jake’s got that speed, right? He had a couple plays where he had the puck and he put it in the net. You could tell he’s a goal scorer, he’s got some speed. It’s going to really help Petey to have that type of player.”
Another thing to note from the groupings was that Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek were in two separate groups entirely. All offseason, there were rumblings that the club would look to separate the duo in hopes of having two pairings with strong offensive defencemen.
Tocchet spoke about whether or not that decision was to start auditions in camp and his thoughts on the duo.
“Not the first day. I thought Fil was really good out there. You’ve got a young Pettersson [defenceman] out there with him, so I like seeing that, putting guys with different guys. We know Huggy and Fil are really good together. So it’s just the first day, I just want to see a couple guys with some of our veterans.”
Now, taking a gander over to Group B, you’ll notice only three options of who would play left-wing beside JT Miller and Brock Boeser: Danton Heinen, Phil Di Giuseppe and Daniel Sprong. Heinen was the Day 1 receipent.
Tocchet spoke about Heinen and what he thinks they have in him as a player.
“Yeah high hockey IQ, good skater. I thought they were really good off the rush. Millsy’s such a power guy, so he needs guys around him a lot, and obviously Brock’s really good at finding those areas. You can’t have everything you want on a line, so I wanted to put them together right away and I wanted Petey with Lekkerimäki to show him the ropes. Kind of a method to my madness. Gars you can play anywhere, he meshes with everybody.”
You’ve talked about special teams later in the week, is powerplay some he [Yego] will have a hand in?
Tocchet outlined the rest of the week’s schedule, sharing that the club would dedicate Day 4 of camp to work on their special teams.
“I think it’s important that we get to it early. It’s not about plays; it’s mindset, it’s chasing down pucks, it’s attacking, it’s not getting frustrated. I’m going to watch that, especially early. I don’t want to see frustration; that’s a mindset.”
“I look at that stuff, if there’s a mistake or if there’s a bad pass, I want to watch the reaction of that guy; does he chase the puck down? Is he finishing the play? Is he stopping to put his hands in the air? That’s the stuff, I don’t think you can wait, you have to get to it early. I’ll be honest, I didn’t see it today.”
One of the two players in training camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO) is forward Sammy Blais. The former St. Louis Blue brings a physical game to any lineup he’s a part of. With the absence of Dakota Joshua to start camp in addition to the trade of Vasily Podzkolzin, the Canucks lineup may lack in the physicality department.
Tocchet touched on the opportunity Blais has in camp to possibly fill that void if he makes the team.
“Well yeah. Sammy played with the Blues when they won the cup. He’s got some pedigree there so I want to see if he can step up and supply that stuff that Dak does. But you know, Dak’s not going to be out that long. I don’t know the target date, don’t get me wrong, but he’s going to be back soon and we’ve got some big D. We’re not a small team, other guys can help out in that department.”
