3 Canucks standouts in preseason loss to Flames

The Vancouver Canucks’ first preseason game against the Seattle Kraken looked like two teams shaking off more than four months of rust. Their second game against the Calgary Flames looked much different.

The Canucks were limited to just nine shots on goal in a 3-1 loss on Tuesday, two fewer than their lowest total in a game last season. Calgary, meanwhile, generated 30 shots and controlled large stretches of the game.

To be fair to Vancouver, the circumstances were hardly even. The Flames dressed a lineup that closely resembled their projected opening-night group, while the Canucks sent a prospect-heavy roster. Just five Canucks players from Tuesday night had 10+ games of NHL experience. Still, even in a game where Vancouver struggled to generate offence and spent long stretches trapped in their own zone, there were a few bright spots.

Here are three Canucks who stood out in an otherwise difficult night.

Aatu Räty

For long stretches Tuesday, Aatu Räty’s line looked like the only Vancouver group capable of generating sustained pressure in the offensive zone — the numbers back that up.

Räty finished the game with a 40% Corsi For percentage at five-on-five. That might not sound impressive on its own, but when Räty was on the bench, Vancouver managed just an 18% share of the five-on-five shot attempts. That 22% gap was easily the most notable possession swing among Canucks forwards.

The Finnish centreman entered the game with something to prove. As our own Tyson Cole explained here, under the NHL’s new preseason rules, players with at least 100 career NHL games can appear in a maximum of two preseason games. Having already played Saturday against Seattle, Tuesday marked Räty’s final opportunity to make an impression in game action before the regular season. 

Vancouver already knows what Räty can provide in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill. Against Calgary, he went 15-for-20 at the dot while continuing to show the defensive reliability that has made him effective down the middle. The bigger question was whether Räty could add enough offensive impact to make himself a regular part of Vancouver’s bottom six. Tuesday was an encouraging answer.

Räty was the only Canuck to record multiple shots on goal, but his impact went well beyond his two shots. He consistently looked for shooting lanes, worked hard to get pucks toward the middle of the ice, and did a strong job of protecting the puck along the walls.

From the get-go, Räty compiled shifts together with new linemates Arshdeep Bains and Matthew Stienberg. The trio generated several extended shifts in the offensive zone despite Vancouver having so little of the puck overall. Räty also showed plenty of effort away from the puck. He won the first period opening faceoff cleanly before immediately deflecting a pass into the offensive zone. A few seconds later, he made an excellent effort play to keep the puck alive at the blue line, which led to a chance for Tom Willander.

The former second-round pick was a consistent pest in front of the net as well, with his ability to create space in high-danger areas leading to a significant portion of Vancouver’s chances. That sort of compete level became a theme throughout the night.

Räty seemed to be involved in nearly every scrum around the puck and after the whistle. One of those battles eventually resulted in him drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Calgary’s Maksim Tsyplakov. It was the kind of game where every Canuck had to fight for whatever offence they could find. Räty consistently did exactly that.

With Vancouver still having questions down the middle, Tuesday was the type of performance that can strengthen Räty’s case to have a consistent bottom-six role when the games start counting.

Yaroslav Bryzgalov

In a game where clean puck management was difficult to find for Vancouver, Yaroslav Bryzgalov stood out for how consistently composed he looked with the puck.

The 19-year-old Belarusian forward didn’t produce a single highlight-reel moment that jumped off the screen. Instead, it was the collection of subtle plays that made his performance so encouraging. Bryzgalov was particularly effective when retrieving pucks along the boards. 

In a game where the Canucks frequently resorted to simply chipping pucks around the wall, Bryzgalov repeatedly turned those retrievals into controlled plays up the ice. His hand-eye coordination and patience allowed him to settle difficult pucks and make clean passes under pressure. There were several sequences where he made small plays in the upper part of the defensive zone that could easily be overlooked while watching the game live.

Twice, Bryzgalov received the puck while stationary along the wing, appeared to look toward the middle, and then quickly bounced the puck off the boards, without looking, for the centre to skate onto with space. Those plays did not result in points, but they are the type of decisions that can turn a difficult defensive-zone retrieval into a controlled transition. His composure was especially notable given the sustained pressure Calgary applied.

Arguably even more impressive, though, was Bryzgalov’s consistent checking efforts throughout the game. At six-foot-three and 216 pounds, Bryzgalov has the size to make life difficult for opponents along the wall. He used that frame effectively throughout the night, finishing checks, battling for loose pucks, and creating turnovers in the offensive zone at a higher rate than most. His backchecking was also an area Vancouver’s coaches will love seeing on tape.

There were multiple Calgary rushes where Bryzgalov’s effort to get back into the play helped eliminate the threat before it turned into a scoring chance. For a player still developing his game, that kind of consistency away from the puck is an important part of his projection.

Bryzgalov will head to the Medicine Hat Tigers to continue his development before heading to Merrimack College, where he is committed for the 2027-28 year. But Tuesday offered another glimpse at why Vancouver was willing to spend a fourth-round pick on him in June. There is still plenty of development ahead, but the combination of his size, puck skills, and willingness to compete gives Bryzgalov an intriguing foundation for the years ahead.

Arshdeep Bains and Braeden Cootes

Arshdeep Bains and Braeden Cootes might become a pairing that Canucks fans see plenty of over the next few months. Although they didn’t start the game together, the two found themselves back together by the end.

Bains had a solid start to the night, playing with the aforementioned Räty. Cootes and fellow rookie Adam Novotný struggled to generate in the offensive zone, with a few awkward sequences where it felt like they were taking up each other’s space in transition. 

Later in the game, Manny Malhotra reunited Bains and Cootes, putting them back together after they had played on the same line during Vancouver’s first preseason game and throughout much of training camp. The chemistry returned immediately. On their first shift together, the pair nearly connected on a slick give-and-go that nearly created a dangerous scoring chance. From there, they consistently looked for one another in transition and in the offensive zone. The fit makes sense.

Two of Bains’ biggest offensive strengths are his forechecking and finishing, while Cootes has shown an ability to read the ice and anticipate where plays are developing. Bains is often the first forward into the forecheck, applying pressure and forcing defenders into mistakes. Cootes, meanwhile, has the hockey sense to recognize where that pressure is likely to send the puck. That dynamic was on display on Vancouver’s lone goal.

Cootes anticipated a rimmed puck from a Calgary defenceman, picked it off cleanly and immediately created space with a head fake toward the outside. He then found Bains in the middle of the ice, and Bains finished the play with a nice shot past Dustin Wolf. After the game, Bains described the chemistry they have developed together.

“We played together at last year’s camp, I think we got some chemistry then,” Bains said. “He makes it really easy to play with him, he’s smart, you just kinda try to find ice to help him, we’ve been doing pretty well so far.”

That comfort level has been apparent. Throughout their two preseason games together, Bains and Cootes have actively searched for one another in transition, particularly on cross-ice passes that have helped Vancouver enter the offensive zone with possession. Once they get there, the two have also shown good chemistry cycling the puck and creating opportunities from the middle of the ice.

Bains’ willingness to create traffic around the net pairs naturally with Cootes’ tendency to look toward the middle instead of simply throwing pucks around the perimeter. Tuesday was another strong example of that fit. The biggest question now is whether they can keep building on it.

With both forwards likely heading for Abbotsford this season, Tuesday night may not be the last time we see these two on a line together. If their chemistry can continue into the AHL, that can only mean good things for the Canucks’ minor league team overall, as well as Cootes’ development as he adjusts to the professional game.

Honourable mention: Kevin Lankinen

“Honourable” would absolutely be one way to describe Kevin Lankinen’s performance Tuesday. “Busy” might be another.

Playing behind a Canucks lineup that struggled to generate much offence, Lankinen gave Vancouver every opportunity to stay in the game early. By the 10-minute mark of the second period, Calgary had already built a 17-4 shot advantage, yet the game remained scoreless. Lankinen deserved much of the credit.

His rebound control was particularly impressive. With Calgary generating shots through traffic and from dangerous areas, Lankinen rarely gave the Flames second opportunities around the crease. His positioning also appeared sharp; most of Calgary’s shots that came through without a screen were handled cleanly. Lankinen’s lateral movement also looked strong.

Once Calgary finally broke through with five minutes remaining in the second period, the game opened up quickly. The Flames scored three times in just 3:58, turning a scoreless game into a 3-0 lead, but Lankinen is hardly to blame for those results.

Lankinen is coming off a difficult 2025-26 season, posting the second-worst goals-saved-above-expected mark in the NHL, according to Moneypuck. This makes his start to the preseason particularly interesting as Vancouver looks ahead to the regular season. One preseason game obviously cannot erase what happened last year. But if Lankinen can build on Tuesday’s performance, the Canucks may have reason to believe last year was an outlier rather than the beginning of a new trend.