We are just a few hours away from the Vancouver Canucks’ prospects kicking off the Young Stars tournament against the Calgary Flames.
Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT and there will be a stream available on the Canucks’ YouTube channel for those who can’t make it up to Penticton to take in the games at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Your expected starter in net is Nikita Tolopilo as he makes his debut in North America.
Akito Hirose, Aidan McDonough, Aatu Räty, Arshdeep Bains, and Danila Klimovich will be the leaders for the Canucks as they look to take care of the Flames, who are boasting a strong lineup.
The Flames’ most notable prospects include 2021 13th-overall pick Matt Coronato, who made the jump from the NCAA to the NHL last year and participated in one game with the Flames last season. Coronato scored 20 goals in 34 NCAA games last season and is a winger with a ton of pace and excellent finishing ability.
Adam Klapka caught out eye last year at the Young Stars tournament and you may remember Abbotsford Canucks defenceman Alex Kannok Leipert dropping the gloves with the 6’8″ centre.
Luckily for Klapka, Kannok Leipert is not here at the Young Stars tournament.
Some other players to watch from the Flames include 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek, who is a centre with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL.
Etienne Morin (LD-2023 second-round pick) and Jeremie Poirier (LD-2020 third-round pick) will be the two other players to watch from the Flames tonight.
I’ll include this video of my projected lineup for the Canucks and then let’s get into what we heard in the post-practice media availability.
Here’s what was said at morning skate.
What was said
Abbotsford Canucks head coach Jeremy Colliton spoke extensively about Danila Klimovich’s developmentlast season. The Canucks’ 2020 second round pick is heading into his third year in Abbotsford, and this will be his second year at the Young Stars tournament.
“I thought last year was a big development year for me,” said Colliton. “You look at the picture in September versus the end of the year. Emotionally, just how he managed the game when he was on the ice. And also he saw some success. He had some games where he was really effective, scored some big goals for us. That’s exciting. Obviously, the challenge is to build on it and not even pick up where he left off, but just continue to understand what it takes to be in big moments for the team. To be counted on when the game’s on the line. So tonight it’s a great opportunity for him. It’s his third year here so he knows what to expect and we’ll see how it goes.”
Klimovich took a well-documented huge step in Abbotsford last season, but still has plenty of room to grow as a player. This tournament will be a good litmus test for him.
Colliton also spoke about local kid Arshdeep Bains, who grew into a leadership role and became one of Colliton’s most trusted players down the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs. Bains was also selected by the organization to speak at the Canucks’ development camp back in July.
“How he plays and how he carries himself, his improvement throughout the year, the transition he made in his game, he’s definitely a guy the other players I know look to,” said Colliton. “It’s important to have him here because he’s just going to provide stability. He’s a really good player and he’ll help us.”
The Young Stars haven’t gotten much prep time as a team, but Colliton spoke about this and painted the picture of a pretty fun and high-flying game.
“We had one day of practice and then this morning to kind of get some structure in, so it’s not going to look pretty out there probably. We want to see guys be aggressive, play on their toes, don’t be worried about making mistakes. If you make mistakes, let’s have them be aggressive mistakes. Their instincts will take over and that will give us a good view of who’s competitive.”
Game time is scheduled for 7:30 and you can watch on the Canucks’ YouTube channel with Sportnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor on the call. Cody Severtson will have a recap of the game up here at CanucksArmy shortly after the final horn.
More must-reads: