8 takeaways from Day 1 of Canucks training camp

Top line billing

All summer, people have wondered who would get the chance to play on the right side with Elias Pettersson. Would it be veteran Brock Boeser? Perhaps a newcomer like Brendan Gallagher or Paul Cotter? Or maybe Linus Karlsson would get a look there. Sure enough as Group A hit the ice for the early session, Karlsson took to the ice in a blue practice jersey matching the colour worn by Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. Obviously, it’s a nod to the 15 goals Karlsson scored in limited opportunities last season. He tied for the team lead in 5-on-5 goal scoring. Following the workouts, Malhotra urged the media not to read too much into who lined up where on Day 1. But it’s certainly an indication that Karlsson is in consideration for that role as the preseason begins on Saturday. 

Men in the middle

After playing coy when asked about it on Wednesday, Manny Malhotra left no doubt where Filip Chytil would start camp when he took to the ice in Group B and centred a line with Brock Boeser and Paul Cotter. Now, it’s possible the Canucks will take a look at Chytil on the wing at some point over the coming days, but on the first day of camp he was lined up at centre with a pair of NHL wingers. It was also interesting to note that after a strong run last season on the wing, Max Sasson skated as a centre on Thursday. He found himself between Drew O’Connor and Brendan Gallagher. Some of that may have been a numbers game with the Canucks running five lines of forwards in each of their two groups. They clearly have an abundance of wingers, but needed someone to line up at centre.

Lekkerimäki set up to succeed

Perhaps the most fortunate player on the ice on Thursday was Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who skated on right wing with Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren. Rossi was the Canucks most productive centre after the Olympic break last spring, and so it was a good break for Lekkerimäki to find himself slotted on that line in an effort to put his best foot forward at camp. Lekkerimaki needs to score in bunches in camp and throughout the preseason to earn a spot on the 23-man roster. The fact that the Canucks placed him with arguably their best playmaker is absolutely the kind of opportunity the 22-year-old has to take advantage of.

Revolving door on D

It was a mix-and-match Thursday when it came to defensive pairings. Group A featured a veteran duo of Jamie Oleksiak and Filip Hronek, while hopefuls Victor Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev both had AHL partners. Mancini skated alongside veteran Guillaume Brisebois while Kudryavtsev, a left shot, played the right side with Jimmy Schuldt. In the second group of the day, Elias Pettersson and Tom Willander skated together while Zeev Buium was partnered with Luke Schenn.

Tough spot for Akil Thomas

Surely Akil Thomas had hoped to make a strong impression on the new coaching staff after signing with the Canucks as a free agent on July 1st. The right-handed centre is likely destined to start the season in Abbotsford and hopes that he can become an NHL option at some point. He has 32 games of NHL experience with the LA Kings after being a second-round draft pick in 2018. However, Thomas was not part of either group on Day 1 of camp. Instead, he skated alongside prospect Lucian Bernat prior to the main groups. Thomas is still rehabbing an injury suffered last season in the American Hockey League. The Canucks are not shedding much light on the situation and wouldn’t confirm whether Thomas will be cleared in time to participate in drills at any point in Penticton.

A Thatcher Demko sighting

While Thomas and Bernat skated at one end of the ice on the second sheet at South Okanagan Events Centre, Thatcher Demko went through a series of drills at the other end. Under the watchful eye of Canucks goalie coach Marko Torenius, Demko appeared to be working on movement patterns. He only faced a handful of shots of Canucks assistant coaches, not from players. It’s a positive that the veteran puck is on the ice, but based on the evidence Thursday morning, it seems he is still a ways away from joining his teammates for any kind of practice. That left the Canucks with six healthy goalies split into groups of two. Kevin Lankinen, Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo took to the ice with Group A while Nikita Tolopilo, Chris Driedger and Alexei Medvedev tended goal with Group B.

Coaches forced to bag skate

In an effort to forge a bond with the players, the coaches all took part in the end-of-session skating tests. That included Manny Malhotra, who joked afterward that he waited until the players were gassed at the end of their day in order to level the playing field for the coaching staff. Group B conducted their heavy skate on the main rink after a pane of glass broke while they were finishing up their work on the second sheet at SOEC.