8 players who have the most to prove at Canucks training camp

Who has the most to prove during the four days the Vancouver Canucks will spend in Penticton later this week?

This isn’t a question about Elias Pettersson or Nils Höglander having bounce back seasons. They will both surely make the team for the upcoming season. This is a look at which players have the most riding on training camp and who needs a big couple of days in the South Okanagan to leave Penticton with a leg up on the competition for roster spots when the team gets around to its final cuts in early October.

Aatu Räty

A year ago, the young Finn was one of the stars of training camp. Hopefully, he leans on that experience and approaches this camp the same way. The Canucks need Räty to grasp one of their depth centre spots (preferably 3C). Due to a lower-body injury believed to be a charley horse, he appeared in just six of Abbotsford’s post-season games and was held without a goal.

The Canucks can use a big-bodied faceoff ace down the middle, but Räty needs to prove he’s healthy and ready to make the full-time jump to the NHL. A lot is riding on his readiness this season due to the lack of organizational depth down the middle. So the Canucks need Räty to be one of the stars of camp for a second straight season.

Linus Karlsson

There seems to be a spot on the fourth line wing with Karlsson’s name on it. However, it won’t be held for him for long unless he shows up and emerges from Penticton looking confident and assertive. The soon-to-be 26-year-old may not get a better chance at full-time NHL employment than this one, so hopefully he seizes the moment and proves that he can bring the coveted combination of goalscoring and grittiness that was on full display during Abbotsford’s Calder Cup run with him to the big leagues.

Nils Aman

Remember him? Yeah, Nils Aman is still around, but he seems to be perhaps the most forgotten man on the roster. The 25-year-old played 19 games in Vancouver last year, but spent the bulk of the season on the Abbotsford roster. With questions about organizational centre depth, Aman needs to remind Canucks coaches and management that he’s still an option. It seems hard to believe, but Aman has logged 130 games for the Canucks over the past three NHL seasons. Can he put that experience to good use starting later this week? It sort of feels like he needs to.

Vitali Kravtsov

Perhaps the biggest wild card heading to camp, Kravtsov can not rest on the laurels of being the sixth leading scorer in the KHL last season. If he gained confidence from his individual success last season, great. He needs to show it in Penticton. That means battling in every drill. It means finishing the chances he has. It means showing the organization that he is a much more mature and polished player than he was when he played 16 mostly forgettable games here two seasons ago. This is a second chance at a first impression, and Kravtsov simply has to make the most of it from the first time he sets foot on Penticton ice.

Arshdeep Bains

The organization remains high on the Surrey product, but if he’s set on making the big club, he needs to find a way to do more than he’s done to this point in his brief NHL career. A high scorer at every level except the NHL, Bains has one point in 21 NHL games. If he makes the team in a depth role, he won’t be expected to set the world on fire with production, but there has to be more of a bottom line than there has been in his limited appearances. Hustle and puck pursuit are usually two of his strong suits and should be on full display next weekend. It may not be a make-or-break point just yet, but it feels like Bains needs to be a camp standout to keep his NHL dreams alive.

Derek Forbort

Usually, veterans head to camp knowing their spot in the line-up is safe. But Forbort has to know there is a group of young defencemen pushing for his job. Penalty killing acumen likely gives the 33-year-old a leg up on his younger competition, but is that enough to still be an effective everyday player at this stage of his career? It would be great to see Forbort approach camp like his job depended on it, showing leadership, winning battles and making it uncomfortable for opposing forwards to get to the net. A strong camp will solidify his spot on the depth chart, but any sort of stumble opens the door for youth to be served.

PO Joseph

The newcomer is sort of a man in the middle. He likely falls somewhere on the depth chart between Forbort and the push from beneath from the likes of Elias Pettersson, Victor Mancini and Tom Willander. Joseph is a modern-day defender who skates well and can move the puck. He’s logged almost 200 NHL games, so he knows what it takes to play in the league. He’s versatile and can play both sides of the ice. However, he needs to show that he is more than just a seventh defenceman, and he can state his case with a strong showing at training camp. The group pushing from below shares many of the same traits as Joseph. He has to prove he is a cut above, and the opportunity to state his case starts on Thursday.

Jiri Patera

Due to an early-season injury, Patera appeared in just seven games for Abbotsford last season. A poor showing at camp a year ago forced the Canucks to reconsider their netminding options and spurred the signing of free agent Kevin Lankinen on the eve of the preseason. Signed for one more season, the 26-year-old seems to be a bit of a mystery man when it comes to organizational plans for him. He has eight NHL appearances under his belt, but is he a legitimate option in the event the Canucks need to tap into their goaltending depth? Where is he slated to play this season, with Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young seemingly destined for jobs in Abbotsford? Patera needs to prove that he’s fully healthy and that he deserves the crease in the AHL. It feels like there is plenty at stake for Patera starting on Day 1 of camp.