Canucks playing, practising with urgency as regular season draws near

VANCOUVER — At the end of one drill on Tuesday, new Vancouver Canucks winger Evander Kane finished a check on Filip Hronek after the defenceman helped clear the puck from his zone.

Kane appeared to get as much glass as he did Hronek and, by hockey standards, the hit was nothing.

Perpetually intense and always with his game face, Hronek has, on occasion, snapped like dried spaghetti at practice. But this time, he simply skated across the ice to await his next rep. Kane was waiting for him at the boards with a smile and stick tap.

The collision of two key veterans was indicative of a lively, hour-long practice that was executed with urgency.

“Yeah, we were very, very happy with practice today,†Canucks assistant coach Brett McLean later told reporters. “I think it was about halfway through, we kind of looked at each other, the coaches, like… ‘this is really good.†We’re very happy. It was urgency, to your point. (And) it was execution. It was being dialled in to what we’ve been asking the guys to do.â€

On Monday, the Canucks reduced their pre-season roster by 17 players. On Tuesday, the 30 who were left entered the final stage of lineup competition and the countdown to Vancouverâ€s season-opener against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 9.

“I feel like as a group, from Day 1 of camp, itâ€s been go-time,†Victor Mancini, one of three young defencemen fighting for an NHL job, said after practice. “I feel like that’s been my mindset since the beginning, since I first got here.

“Guys are really starting to come together. I think the communication within the group has been great. You know, there was no doubt in my mind about the buy-in that weâ€d have in this group, and our work ethic has been amazing.â€

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For a variety of reasons, but primarily injuries, scheduling and roster churn, the Canucks were not fully prepared for the start of last season, which three months later went off a cliff.

A year ago, the Canucks crammed five pre-season games into a week, which former head coach Rick Tocchet said forced him to keep around more players than was ideal and worked against building cohesiveness and an opening-night lineup.

This season, with Adam Foote as head coach, the Canucks have spread their six pre-season games over 13 days.

There are still roster spots to be determined, but most of Vancouverâ€s NHL lineup will be in Calgary for Wednesday nightâ€s tuneup against the Flames, and nearly all of it should be on display Friday in the Canucks†pre-season finale against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena.

After that, the Canucks will get three more practices before Game 1 of 82 next Thursday.

“I think this time of year you want as much practice time as possible,†defenceman Tyler Myers said. “Obviously, youâ€ve got to get some reps in a game. But I think a lot of guys would say they don’t need a ton of games, but that practice time is really important. Getting our systems dialled in… itâ€s important. But yeah, I remember last year. It was pretty condensed for exhibition.â€

Myers and winger Conor Garland have been managing minor (we think) health issues, but both practised well Tuesday and said theyâ€ve asked to play in Calgary on Wednesday.

The day after the Canucks announced that middle-six winger Nils Hoglander had undergone ankle surgery and would be out 8-10 weeks, the absence of star goalie Thatcher Demko from Tuesdayâ€s practice was disconcerting. But a team official emphasized Demko was away for “personal†reasons and not a health issue.

With 15 forwards, nine defencemen and goalies Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo, practice looked fast and crisp.

Six days until NHL teams must set their salary-cap compliant, season-opening rosters, Mancini, Elias Pettersson (Junior) and Tom Willander appear to be competing for one spot on the blue line — two if the Canucks start the campaign with eight defencemen.

The best three defence prospects in the organization are all waiver-exempt, and general manager Patrik Allvin has said there could be a “rotation†of young defencemen travelling between the Canucks and their minor-league team in nearby Abbotsford.

Up front, with Hoglander out, it seems like 21-year-old winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki is likely to start the season in Vancouver and that Aatu Raty, a 22-year-old waiver-eligible centre developed by the Canucks, will also be on the team.

With nine experienced NHL forwards returning, that would leave as few as two spots left for a mosh pit of candidates: Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains, Nils Aman, Vitali Kravtsov, Max Sasson and maybe even Joe LaBate.

Interestingly, LaBate practised with the main group on Tuesday despite being waived Monday to make him eligible for minor-league assignment, while Sasson, Aman and Kravtsov skated on their own before practice.

Assistant coach McLean explained it was a matter of logistics and practising with a manageable number of players. He said Sasson, Aman and Kravtsov are still competing to make the NHL team.

But there is a wild card in all of this: centre Braeden Cootes. The first-round pick from June is trying to become the first 18-year-old to make the Canucks out of camp since Petr Nedved in 1990. Cootes survived Mondayâ€s roster cull, but was an extra forward (the only one in a black jersey) for the first half of practice.

Eventually, Cootes replaced Filip Chytil as the second-line centre between Kane and Lekkerimaki.

These are nervy days for all the young players.

“I mean, of course, it’s tough,†Karlsson, the waiver-eligible winger with net-front presence and a history of scoring at other levels, told Sportsnet. “I mean, youâ€ve also been in this situation before. Take it day by day. But it’s hard. I mean, (the roster deadline) is getting closer, so of course, you’re thinking about it often. I just try to do my best; I can’t do anything more than that.â€

“I think definitely, for me, a big week,†Raty said. “A lot of players are playing well, and there’s a lot of guys battling for those last few spots. So, definitely an exciting time. You do everything you can every day and just try to do your best. You can’t think too far ahead.â€

But Mondayâ€s deadline isnâ€t far away.

TUESDAYâ€S PRACTICE LINES AND PAIRINGS

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Kane-Cootes-Lekkerimaki
Bains-Chytil-Garland
Oâ€Connor-Raty-Sherwood
LaBate-Blueger-Karlsson

Hughes-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Pettersson (Junior)
Forbort-Mancini
Joseph-Willander
Myers

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