VICTORIA, B.C. — The heady optimism that characterized Vancouver Canucks training camp this year came crashing down quickly as a very young side was completely blown out 10-0 on Sunday night by a Calgary Flames team that featured roughly half of its NHL regulars in Vancouver’s preseason debut.
It’s just preseason, of course, and the result doesn’t matter. Given the extent to which youth was served at training camp and how reliant this club hopes to be on contributions from younger depth players, it was still an inauspicious way to start the club’s preseason slate.
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Over the course of four days in Victoria, the club put in an unusual amount of system work — including special teams work — as new head coach Rick Tocchet attempted to teach and fast-track the principles and structure he wants his team to play with. There was only one scrimmage and fewer battle drills than we’d usually expect in a training camp environment.
Partly as a result, it seems that the club’s roster battles remain very much in flux. We have a good sense of the identity of maybe nine or 10 forwards, five defenders and two goaltenders, but that leaves an awful lot of room for a young player to crash the party and make the 23-man roster over the balance of the preseason. Based on what we saw, who the standout performers were and the lineup decisions the club made throughout camp, we figured we’d posit our best guess at where things stand in terms of the Canucks’ depth chart at the conclusion of training camp.
Two things are worth noting before we get into the exercise. First of all, we’re not concerning ourselves with making a proper Canucks lineup in the way we’re ordering players in the below exercise. Players are ordered at each position based on our assumption of how likely they are to break camp with the club and play a major role for the NHL team this upcoming season, which is why a player like Phillip Di Giuseppe — who seems a very safe bet to be on the club’s opening day 23-man roster — will appear as the second left wing, even though we don’t expect him to open the season necessarily in a second-line role.
Secondly, in the tables below, players without an NHL-level contract are shaded red.
Andrei Kuzmenko appears to be in tip-top shape and certainly impressed the media with his improved English at training camp. Coming off of a stellar first NHL season built off of a historically efficient shooting clip, Kuzmenko appears to be firmly entrenched on Elias Pettersson’s wing and with the Canucks’ first power-play unit to open the season.
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Where most of Vancouver’s other left wingers are younger players or fringier guys who have yet to establish themselves as bona fide, everyday NHL-level players, Di Giuseppe feels like the safest bet outside of Kuzmenko to be on the NHL roster on opening day. Di Giuseppe was described as a “systems guy” by Tocchet during training camp and it seemed notable that he was the first player utilized as a penalty killer in the club’s special teams drills. Di Giuseppe may only start the season on the fourth line, but it’s clear he’s got the inside track to break camp with the team.
Dakota Joshua was quiet at training camp and was on a long list of Canucks skaters who struggled in the 10-0 loss. Given his size, ability to win draws, the penalty-killing upside he showed in flashes last season, his unique profile relative to the rest of the roster and the fact that he’d almost surely be claimed if placed on waivers, the club is going to need Joshua in the lineup.
Vasily Podkolzin was given a plum look on a top-six line at Canucks training camp and didn’t do much with it. He struggled in the scrimmage on Saturday morning and struggled again in Calgary on Sunday evening. The 2019 top-10 pick is talented and has all of the attributes to at least be an impact player down the lineup for the Canucks, but given the competition for jobs on the wing and Podkolzin’s status as a waiver-exempt player, he’s going to need to show some consistency if he’s going to make the opening night 23-man roster.
Arshdeep Bains looms large as a dark horse with a real chance to break camp with the team, particularly if players like Podkolzin and Joshua leave the door ajar for him to kick down. Bains was given a significant opportunity on a top-nine line with Pius Suter and Conor Garland at training camp, was a standout in Penticton and has repeatedly demonstrated both his high hockey IQ and his growth as a physical specimen in Vancouver’s on-ice sessions.
Sheldon Dries appeared in over 60 games for the Canucks last season and scored over 10 goals. A plus contributor on the power play with real pound-for-pound toughness and the versatility to play both centre and wing, it’s notable that Dries hasn’t been given the sort of hopeful look higher up the lineup that some of the younger players ahead of him on this depth chart have at training camp so far. Still, Dries profiles as the sort of wily vet who shouldn’t be counted out at this point.
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Aidan McDonough has been a mainstay on a line with Max Sasson and Danila Klimovich, which has the look of the club’s first line down in Abbotsford to open the season. The hardworking goal scorer has acquitted himself well at the Penticton Young Stars tournament and throughout training camp, but given his deployment, the organization seems poised to let him get some professional reps in the American League. That might be the right call, although it’s worth noting McDonough will turn 24 in November. If he opens the season in the AHL, the hope has to be that his performance will be at a high enough level to put him in the running to be one of the club’s first recalls as early as this winter.
Tristan Nielsen is an agitating pest who the club converted to an NHL-level contract this offseason. Nielsen has looked typically quick and relentless on the forecheck in spurts at training camp.
Karel Plasek returned to the organization for the Young Stars tournament and training camp. Despite possessing real plus skating ability, Plasek spent all of training camp with the C Group, which strongly suggests he’s slated to open the season in the AHL.
Vilmer Alriksson has impressed and earned a one-day look in a main group at training camp, a good indication that the organization is excited about his development. We’d expect Alriksson will be returned to the Ontario Hockey League this week where he’ll spend this season with the Guelph Storm.
Not that it means much, but Pettersson didn’t dominate in training camp or in Saturday’s scrimmage the way he occasionally has at past Canucks training camps (most notably in 2019 and 2022). The pending restricted free agent remains this club’s most important player.
J.T. Miller has often been the straw that stirs the drink for the Canucks, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Entering the first year of his new seven-year contract, Miller appeared to be finding his hands and his feet at Canucks training camp. He’s going to be this team’s second-line centre, and given his contributions in all situations, should be the favourite to lead all forwards in ice time this upcoming season.
At his first Canucks camp, Suter was a mainstay with Garland and appears poised to open the year playing centre on Vancouver’s third line, while contributing on the second power-play unit and filling in on the penalty kill.
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Teddy Blueger looked fantastic at camp, his shot often playing in both the scrimmage and the various on-ice sessions. Blueger was also the first forward to line up as a penalty killer in the club’s special teams practice and seems poised to be the club’s most frequently used PK forward as this season rolls along.
Nils Åman was excellent in the scrimmage on Saturday and was one of the few players who didn’t look entirely overmatched in Sunday’s cataclysmic preseason opener. Given the stiff competition for ice time up front, the rangy, offensively limited centre may need to open the season on the wing if he’s going to be in the club’s opening night lineup.
Aatu Räty has looked like a high IQ player whenever he’s been on the ice, whether that’s at the Young Stars tournament, during training camp and even in Sunday’s loss to the Flames. The club has tried Räty at both centre and wing at camp, and though his skating still needs some work, he’s looked the part of a roster hopeful. Realistically, if he’s going to open the season on the NHL roster, the looks he gets on the wing will be more meaningful as the preseason rolls along.
Sasson has impressed at his first-ever NHL training camp and looks the part of a quick and reliable two-way centre. Sasson appears to be slotted in as Abbotsford’s opening night first-line centre and has spent the entirety of training camp and the Young Stars tournament playing between Klimovich and McDonough.
Chase Wouters scored a goal in the scrimmage and stood out among the club’s pivots who aren’t signed to NHL contracts. That he earned a spot in the main group at camp is a good indication the organization continues to be intrigued by his trajectory, even if the Abbotsford captain has yet to earn an NHL standard player contract.
Reliable defensive specialist farmhand John Stevens spent all of training camp with the C group and is no longer on an NHL contract (he was for the 2022-23 campaign).
Dmitry Zlodeyev is pushing to earn an AHL contract more than he’s really trying out for Vancouver’s NHL team.
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Cooper Walker spent training camp in the C Group and is signed to an AHL deal for the 2023-24 campaign.
Brock Boeser has looked lean and a tad quicker in camp so far. He spent most of the last two seasons on Miller’s wing and looks poised to begin 2023-24 in that spot again. Boeser wasn’t a huge standout during Saturday’s scrimmage, but that’s understandable because Miller looks quiet at nearly every camp — he’s the type of veteran who paces himself and then turns it on when it actually matters — and their other linemate, Podkolzin, didn’t have the sharpest start.
The big question for Boeser revolves around his two-way form. Miller’s line will likely match up against other teams’ top lines again, which puts pressure on Boeser to show more quickness, urgency and responsibility away from the puck than he did last season. He’s shown polished two-way details in previous years so the potential is certainly there for him to offer more.
Conor Garland was feisty and engaged in Victoria. He appeared to build chemistry pretty quickly with Pius Suter during Saturday’s scrimmage. Both of them are skilled passers and see the ice well, which allowed them to read off of each other pretty well too. That line, which also featured Bains, was disruptive on the forecheck and spent a fair chunk of time in the attacking zone. Garland scored on the backdoor after a nice pass by Suter from the wall.
Anthony Beauvillier started camp further down the lineup than we expected, joining forces with Blueger and Di Giuseppe, but he’s had a strong showing. Beauvillier looked fast and dynamic during drills in the first two days, as he and Di Giuseppe carved defencemen at camp down low with their pace and puck protection. They were solid during Saturday’s scrimmage, offering a polished, reliable two-way game, and their good work on the forecheck resulted in a Blueger goal. If Podkolzin continues struggling, Beauvillier seems like an obvious candidate to be promoted higher up the lineup.
From the AHL straight to a top-line look, Nils Höglander is being given a big opportunity to break out. He made a positive first impression during the scrimmage with his forechecking, rush offensive plays and wall play. Höglander was one of Vancouver’s only noticeable forwards in the club’s 10-0 preseason loss, too. He wasn’t perfect at managing the puck, but his speed made an impact and he absolutely crushed Dennis Gilbert on the forecheck, which is the type of effort and energy the coaching staff wants to see.
Most people overlooked Jack Studnicka heading into this camp, but he’s doing everything in his power to change that. He’s been fast, disruptive and more physical than usual. Studnicka looks like a man on a mission to change the coaching staff’s mind about him. Vancouver’s winger depth is really strong, and he wasn’t one of the first-choice forwards used on the penalty kill or power play, so there’s still a lot of work to do for him to accomplish his goal.
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Linus Karlsson’s foot speed is still an issue but he was very good during Saturday’s scrimmage. He stripped Pettersson of clean puck possession twice in the defensive zone, which was impressive. Karlsson was really quiet against the Flames, however.
After an underwhelming Young Stars tournament, Josh Bloom has performed better in camp. He’s going to be a project, but you can see future NHL potential with his size, speed and even a hint of offensive touch, which he showed by scoring on a penalty shot during the scrimmage.
It’s been a tough September so far for Klimovich. He didn’t stand out at Young Stars as much as he did in 2022 and has looked a bit sloppy with the puck in camp. Klimovich took an undisciplined hooking penalty in the first period against Calgary and wasn’t noticeable beyond that.
Marc Gatcomb played well in Penticton and looked solid at camp last year, but he’s 24, so he doesn’t have much runway to substantially improve. He spent all of main camp with the C Group.
There’s still plenty of time to experiment but the Canucks don’t appear to be any closer to determining who the best partner for Quinn Hughes is. Hughes was paired with Carson Soucy during Saturday’s scrimmage and they didn’t really look comfortable until the second half when Hughes decided to handle the lion’s share of breakout attempts.
Tocchet opened camp by saying he has a preference for playing another righty with Hughes. Soucy probably hasn’t looked comfortable enough to convince Tocchet that another lefty can thrive with Hughes instead, but there’s lots of time left to prove otherwise.
Ian Cole has been steady and confident in camp. He’s built thick, has smoother puck skills than expected and has nestled well alongside Filip Hronek. Of course, that pair is going to play really difficult minutes and it hasn’t been tested against real competition yet, but we like what we’ve seen from Cole to this point.
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In the hypercompetitive battle among Vancouver’s depth left-side defenders, Guillaume Brisebois has been one of the standouts. Brisebois opened camp with Tyler Myers, which is a good sign for him. He looked strong during the scrimmage too, combining his usually sturdy defensive play with some slick outlet passes.
Christian Wolanin hasn’t done much to help or hurt his stock. He’s been quieter than you’d expect given his puck skills and offensive flair, but he didn’t make many defensive mistakes in the scrimmage either. The fact that Wolanin got a prominent look alongside Filip Hronek on Vancouver’s second-unit power-play drills is a promising sign for him. Vancouver could have easily just gone with Hronek as the lone defender on PP2 if they felt like Wolanin was unlikely to crack the NHL roster.
Akito Hirose offered a solid two-way performance during the scrimmage. He was also the only defenceman who dressed against Calgary that wasn’t on the ice for a single goal against. That’s notable for a game where it felt like every other blueliner kept getting lit up.
Matt Irwin didn’t stick out for good or bad reasons during camp. But his first game against Calgary was a bad outing as he and Jett Woo got torched for a ton of goals against at both even strength and five-on-five.
Jack Rathbone showed flashes with his skating and dynamic plays on Saturday, but he’s failed to establish himself as an NHL defenceman despite making the big club twice in a row out of camp. Rathbone’s performance against Calgary, which included defensive mistakes like losing an own zone battle that led to a goal against, won’t help him at all.
Kirill Kudryavtsev played at a promising level at Young Stars. He’s mobile, poised with the puck and makes smart decisions with it. Kudryavtsev is still really young, so he’s a prospect to keep an eye on in the years to come.
Sawyer Mynio performed well enough at camp that the club decided to sign him to an entry-level contract. Mynio is likely to be sent back to the WHL in short order, where that contract will slide, but it’s a good indication the club has liked what they’ve seen from their second 2023 third-round pick.
Vancouver’s blue line really needs Hronek to perform at the level of a high-end No. 2/3 defenceman. Training camp obviously isn’t where we’ll be able to judge that. Hronek’s among the group of established players who can pace himself through camp because of his skill set and that’s sort of what we’ve seen — solid, measured play.
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Myers is a reminder of how drastically NHL players can separate themselves from the pack in camp-like settings. Myers has honestly looked terrific. He’s been really active transporting the puck and breaking plays up and asserted a legitimate two-way impact during Saturday’s scrimmage.
Noah Juulsen’s first preseason game left a really rough first impression. Juulsen was directly responsible for three brutal defensive breakdowns that directly led to goals against. The first was a bad sequence defending Jonathan Huberdeau on the power play, the second was poor defending down low on Nazem Kadri and the third was an awful turnover right in front of the net for Matt Coronato. Juulsen can be fine in a depth role, but this was a reminder that he’s probably not equipped for playing extended minutes alongside Hughes in the top four despite Tocchet’s preference for a righty in that spot.
Speaking of poor preseason impressions, Woo looked totally overmatched against Calgary. He was really solid in training camp and Saturday’s scrimmage, but was exposed defensively and ended up being on the ice for six of Calgary’s 10 goals.
Cold McWard has intriguing size and skating but his puck skills and defensive play could use more polish. He’s 22, so there’s time for him to develop.
Filip Johansson has a wicked shot and some polished offensive tools, but if his play in Penticton and training camp is a reliable indication, he still needs seasoning in the AHL. He has some defensive flaws to clean up and hasn’t stood out enough.
You have to be careful about reading too much into goalie performances in training camp.
It’s easy to think back to the 2021 camp, for example, when Jaroslav Halak was rusty and Michael DiPietro looked terrific. Halak, of course, ended up being a reliable backup whereas DiPietro took a step back with a mediocre AHL season that ended up being his final one as part of the Canucks organization. It’s easy to think back even further to when Jacob Markstrom or Thatcher Demko didn’t look sharp in camp, only for them to play well when the games mattered.
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With that context in mind, Demko and DeSmith have both been solid in camp this year. Both teams scored goals during Saturday’s two-period scrimmage but most of them were dangerous scoring chances.
Artūrs Šilovs was fine in camp but had a rough outing against the Flames, surrendering seven goals on 18 shots. It’s just one game so it’s obviously nothing to be concerned about, you just hope a young netminder’s confidence wasn’t rattled by a brutal environment.
Nikita Tolopilo looked steady in the two games he played at Young Stars, but he wasn’t tested very often. He was beaten twice in the scrimmage, however, and looked somewhat noisier in net. It’s too early to draw conclusions about where he’s at after being signed by the Canucks this summer.
We’ve moved Spencer Martin down because the Canucks’ organizational depth in net is crowded and he looks like the odd man out. DeSmith’s arrival makes him the front-runner for the backup job and the club rates Silovs very highly as a prospect, which means he should get a heavy workload in Abbotsford. Tolopilo’s 23, had strong numbers in the Allsvenskan and has a massive frame, so the club’s going to prioritize putting him in the best place to succeed as well. That leaves Martin in an awkward spot and as a player they could look to give a fresh start elsewhere.
Zach Sawchenko didn’t fare much better in relief of Šilovs against the Flames, as he allowed three goals on eight shots.
Ilya Mikheyev has yet to skate with the Canucks’ main group, although he missed the first several days of training camp while attending to a personal matter. Mikheyev underwent surgery last winter to repair a torn ACL and until he’s skating with the main group in a full participants jersey, it seems wise to assume he may not necessarily be ready to be in the lineup to open the regular season.
Mikheyev’s status will have major ramifications for the composition of Vancouver’s roster on opening day. If he opens the season as a fully healthy player on the 23-man roster, or if he opens the season on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and is slated to miss 10 games, then the club will have the cap flexibility to carry 23 men. If he opens the season on plain old injured reserve, however, the club will only have space to carry 22 bodies on the roster.
Sadly, the club has already confirmed Tucker Poolman will be unable to play hockey this season. The veteran defender has battled repetitive concussions dating back to the winter of 2022. He’ll remain on LTIR for the duration of the season, which will permit the club to exceed the upper limit of the salary cap by up to the full value of the annual average value (depending on sequencing) of his contract, which stands at $2.5 million per season for two more years.
(Photo of Andrei Kuzmenko: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
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