Scenes from practice: Garland returns as Canucks skate at Rogers Arena for the first time this season

What we saw

The Canucks skated in two groups, with a handful of players being asked to make a quick turnaround for the 10:30 a.m. practice after playing in Abbotsford on Wednesday night. The early group appeared to be the game group for Friday’s preseason contest against Seattle.

It looks like the stars will be on full display for the home fans against the Seattle Kraken, with Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, both Elias Petterssons, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Evander Kane and rookies Tom Willander and Braeden Cootes all skating in the first group of the day.

As they did on Tuesday at UBC, the Canucks devoted part of practice to power play work. The first unit included Hughes, EP40, Boeser, DeBrusk, and Kane, while the second unit featured Hronek, Sherwood, Cootes, Lekkerimaki, and Vitali Kravtsov.

Players who dressed in Abbotsford that were back on the ice Thursday included Kravtsov, Tom Willander, Aatu Räty, Vilmer Alriksson, Kirill Kudryavtsev, MacKenzie MacEachern and Nikita Tolopilo.

Second group includes a couple of familiar faces

After missing practice on Tuesday with a minor ailment, Conor Garland returned to skate with the group on Thursday. And after being held out of group sessions through training camp in Penticton, Ty Mueller was back on the ice with his teammates for the first time.

Maintenance day for mainstays

A couple of veterans were given Thursday off after making their preseason debuts in Abbotsford on Wednesday. Thatcher Demko and Tyler Myers were both absent from practice, with the club insisting this is a case of load management for both players. And Kevin Lankinen was absent from the group sessions as the netminder became a father on Tuesday and, as such, was excused from work to spend time with his family.

Höglander on the shelf

The Canucks had no real update on Nils Höglander, who left last night’s game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Assistant coach Scott Young handled media duties on Thursday and would only say that Höglander was undergoing further medical evaluations. There is no timeline for his return to skating at this stage.