PENTICTON, B.C. — As the Vancouver Canucks continue to search for a second-line centre, Filip Chytil hopes they find one right in front of them.
Chytil has the competitive advantage of already being here.
He opened Canucks training camp Thursday on a line with winger Evander Kane, the team’s top off-season acquisition, and Grade-A forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. For now, it’s entirely up to Chytil to prove he can play in the top six.
General manager Patrik Allvin has been looking since the end of last season to fill the crater created by last winter’s trade of centre J.T. Miller. In his pre-camp press conference on Wednesday, Allvin reiterated that the Canucks are “open for business” when it comes to potential trades.
“We’re not waiting if anything comes up that will make our team better,” Allvin told reporters.
But so far, nothing has come up that the Canucks have deemed worth the asking price, so the team heads into the pre-season thin on NHL centres.
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Healthy and skilled, and still trying to push towards the higher offensive ceiling he believes he has, Chytil is empowered to influence what management does.
He is certainly not going to be the biggest story of the Canucks’ pre-season. In terms of impact stories, no one is going to come close to the return of starting goalie Thatcher Demko or the potential resurrection of No. 1 centre Elias Pettersson.
But on a team where a lot of things need to go right for Vancouver to get back over 100 points as a playoff threat, what Chytil does, for himself and the organization, is extremely important.
“I need to not just play nice hockey; nobody cares about that,” Chytil, 26, told Sportsnet in an interview. “I need to help the team with scoring points.”
The rangy Czech has the speed and hands to be a top-six forward in the National Hockey League, but only once in seven seasons has he managed more than 14 goals or 26 points. His career-highs with the New York Rangers were 22 goals and 45 points in 74 games three seasons ago.
Head injuries have sabotaged him.
A concussion two years ago restricted Chytil to just 10 games. Last season, a fairly impressive first month with the Canucks — Chytil was a key part of the Miller trade in January — ended when the centre was crunched head-first into the boards by Chicago Blackhawk Jason Dickinson on March 15.
Chytil did not play again, his season ending at 56 games between New York and Vancouver, and with 13 goals and 26 points.
As with Demko, the key challenge for Chytil is to stay healthy after enduring at least four concussions in the NHL.
Demko altered his off-season training to make it more preventative. Chytil revealed he is changing his thinking.
“I’ve got to change a little bit,” he said of avoiding injury. “Of course, you cannot avoid too much because it’s a contact sport. You can get a hit anywhere on the ice. (But) maybe … I can use my head a little bit to change my game and don’t get into some situations where I’m open to get a hit. In the summer, I was working on that. I was looking at the games that I played last season. With my personal team … we were looking at that and working also on my game to (change) some details.”
The way Chytil speeds up ice with the puck and stickhandles in traffic is impressive, but also makes him vulnerable.
“I can get to the offensive zone in other ways,” he said. “But it’s not just (to try to) not get hit in the head that often, but also I need my points to go up. I need to produce, not just playing nice hockey. So that’s what I was working on in the summer a lot. And, yeah, we’ll see.
“Hockey is a fast sport. Everything happens in seconds. (But) sometimes you turn the other way when you shouldn’t. That’s how you say, vulnerable, that’s what I’m trying to work on, not to be vulnerable for those hits. Scanning the rink, scanning around the ice, (seeing) what’s going around me, it’s very important.”
Head coach Adam Foote said the team is working on a new way to enter the offensive zone, which should help protect Chytil.
“He’s got so much skill,” Foote said. “He can skate. But we’re going to keep grinding on how we’re going to play as a group. Once he gets to those landmarks, then that skill set will take over. He’s a great kid. He loves to learn and he’s all for it.”
The Canucks’ third NHL centre at camp is veteran checker and penalty killer Teddy Blueger. Aatu Raty and Max Sasson are among the minor-league prospects pushing for a spot at centre in Vancouver.
Chytil bristles at the idea that his accumulation of injuries could put his career in jeopardy. He believes his career is still on an upward trajectory.
“To be traded for a player like J.T. — I was with him (in New York) for a couple months at the beginning of my career,” Chytil said. “And he was probably at the same age of what I am now. Look where he was at that time, and where he’s now. Of course, it’s nice to be traded for him and that … people needed me or wanted me in Vancouver. But I’m not looking at those things. I just want to play my game and help the team.”
For now, the stage is his.
ICE CHIPS — On Foote’s first day in charge, the Canucks spent much of Day 1 working on attacking speed and getting defencemen into the rush. . . Pettersson looked fast on a new first line with Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser. Pettersson told reporters last week that he added 13 pounds to his six-foot-two frame during the off-season, and DeBrusk said Thursday that his linemate looks stronger. “I noticed it a little bit in the drills, in terms of defensively, he looks like he has more weight on that side (of the puck),” DeBrusk said. “He looks ready to go.” Pettersson told reporters, “Definitely feel stronger. My shot’s a little harder. Just, overall, I feel stronger.” . . . Other interesting opening-day pairings included defence prospect Tom Willander, who has a chance to make the team as a 20-year-old, skating alongside veteran defenceman Derek Forbort. Top defencemen Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek skated together.
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