Canucks’ first-line forwards ready to bounce back

PENTICTON, B.C. – It doesn’t require a particularly big basket to hold all of the Vancouver Canucks’ offensive eggs.

On a National Hockey League team that accepts its biggest challenge will be scoring goals, the Canucks opened training camp by pooling Pettersson, DeBrusk and Boeser in hopes the trio might provide at least one elite scoring line.

But Pettersson, obviously, needs to bounce back from his dismal 45-point season, and both wingers DeBrusk and Boeser, who scored 28 and 25 goals respectively last year, said Friday they need to be better, too.

“First off, I think Petey looks great,” Boeser, his longtime teammate and frequent linemate, said after Day 2 of camp ended Friday. “He’s flying out there. He looks like he has his confidence back, and he’s a helluva playmaker. So with his playmaking and Jake’s speed and my kind of smarts and goalscoring – all three of us can score – I think that’s something we can really thrive off.

“Obviously, Petey is our main guy, our main driver and we need him to be a difference-maker. But the days when he doesn’t have it, us other guys have to pick him up. That’s where I can be better, Jake can be better, the whole group can be better.”

More Canucks than just former teammate J.T. Miller were frustrated at times last season with Pettersson, who began his $92.8 million contract extension by scoring just 15 times in 64 games while managing or resting three different injuries.

But it is obvious through two days of camp that teammates are eager to rally around Pettersson and ease some of the public pressure and scoring burden on him.

“It’s a new year, we’re all at zeroes, and I know I have to do better,” DeBrusk said. “I think I had decent numbers last year, but I mean, I was getting tip-ins and things were going in off of me. What else was I bringing to the team? I have a lot more to give.

“I’m not saying (28 goals) doesn’t mean anything, but for me … like, when I didn’t score my first 10 games, I said I don’t care if I score one goal all season as long as we get in the playoffs. Because that’s when I want to play. I was happy I hit my career-high in my first year (in Vancouver), but this year I want more. That’s kind of how I look at it. Last year leaves you with a bit of a bitter taste.”

DeBrusk signed a seven-year, $38.5 million free-agent contract with the Canucks before the 2024-25 season, partly for the chance to play with Pettersson.

Only 14 of his 28 goals came at even strength, and former coach Rick Tocchet abandoned the DeBrusk-Pettersson partnership for stretches. Although primarily Miller’s winger, Boeser spent about 35 per cent of his five-on-five ice time with Pettersson.

“You know what? I chose this team and they chose me,” DeBrusk said. “To be honest with you, I owe them a lot better. We were close to making the playoffs. We were in the race. And if you look at the race down the stretch, the way I was playing, I wasn’t really a factor. And that’s kind of why I was here.

We had a chance, and we kind of let it slip. That’s what I was thinking in the summer.”

On getting another chance with Pettersson this fall, DeBrusk said: “I think it can work because we’ve been through kind of the ringer a little bit. I have a better understanding of what Petey wants to do out there, how he wants to play. He looked really good today. He’s got such a good shot; I keep telling him he should shoot more. The way he thinks the game, with his skill … to play with him is an honour. I know it also comes with pressure; that comes with the territory. But him with Brock, I think that we can be a really good line.

“I know Brock feels really good after his contract (extension), and he wants to get back to the postseason. So do I. I’m optimistic. I signed here believing in this team, believing in Elias, believing in different players on this team as well. I still believe in them, even through a year like last year.”

Pettersson added about 13 pounds to his wiry frame over the summer and told reporters on Thursday that he feels stronger on the ice. His shot is harder, he added.

“I did actually notice that,” DeBrusk said. “In terms of him defensively, he was able to kind of knock guys a little bit loose from the puck. It’s not all about adding weight and getting jacked, but I think at that position, in terms of center, he worked on it for a reason. I think it will help him.”

All three of the camp first-liners have looked sharp — quick and dangerous on the attack.

“Obviously, you temper your excitement on Day 2 of training camp, but they looked very good today,” Canucks assistant coach Brett McLean said. “They scored a bunch of goals. They looked very, very good out there today.”

McLean, however, noted that other line combinations will be tried during the pre-season, which starts Sunday for the Canucks in Seattle against the Kraken (Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT).

The Canucks hold their only scrimmage of training camp Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Through two days, Vancouver’s second line had Filip Chytil centring newcomer Evander Kane and prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki, although the latter could eventually be replaced by an experienced secondary scorer like Nils Hoglander or Kiefer Sherwood.

“You need your first line making a difference,” Boeser said. “There was a lot going on last year, and I felt like our first line wasn’t making a difference many nights, especially in that middle part of the season. Anytime you’re a first line … even when you’re not scoring, you’ve got to make a difference by creating momentum or shutting the other team’s top line down. It’s super important.”

Forwards
Jake DeBrusk — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains — Braeden Cootes — Kiefer Sherwood
Vitali Kravtsov — Aatu Raty — Linus Karlsson
Mackenzie MacEachern — Riley Patterson — Vilmer Alriksson

Defencemen
Marcus Pettersson — Tyler Myers
Pierre-Olivier Joseph — Kirill Kudryavtsev
Derek Forbort — Tom Willander
Sawyer Mynio — Jimmy Schuldt

Forwards
Evander Kane — Filip Chytil — Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Nils Hoglander — Teddy Blueger — Conor Garland
Drew O’Connor — Max Sasson — Danila Klimovich
Joe LaBate — Nils Aman — Chase Stillman

Defencemen
Quinn Hughes — Filip Hronek
Elias Pettersson (Junior) — Parker Alcos
Nikolai Knyzhov — Victor Mancini
Joe Arntsen — Jayden Lee