Home > 2018 > 09/23 > Canucks assign Jonathan Dahlen, Petrus Palmu, and Jalen Chatfield; will place Reid Boucher on waivers
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Photo Credit: aftonbladet.se / TT

Canucks assign Jonathan Dahlen, Petrus Palmu, and Jalen Chatfield; will place Reid Boucher on waivers

| Ryan Biech

With a day off between games and the Utica Comets training camp expected to kick off in the coming days, the Canucks have made some more cuts from their training camp roster.

The first move was assigning forwards Jonathan Dahlen, Petrus Palmu, and defenceman Jalen Chatfield to the AHL.

Jonathan Dahlen had a standout performance at the Young Stars tournament but didn’t take another step during the pre-season and thus finds his way down to Utica to start the year. He wasn’t bad in the pre-season but getting a bigger role with the Comets will be great for his long-term development and he could very well be back up at some point this season.

Similar situation with Palmu, a good performance in Penticton but didn’t do enough to justify sticking around any further. The Finnish forward will look to prove that he can handle professional hockey in North America after succeeding in the Liiga and OHL previously.

Chatfield was a long shot to make the team out of camp but continues to show strides in his development. He has a chance to see a callup if the injury bug runs rampant in Vancouver this season.

Lastly, it was reported that the Canucks have will place Reid Boucher on waivers, and if he clears, will be assigned to the AHL:

Boucher was always going to struggle to make the Canucks roster out of camp but provides a proven scorer for the Comets.

With these four cuts, the Canucks training camp roster currently sits at 33 players. (including injured)

13 Comments |

  • I was hoping for some younger players to push harder for spots. I cannot disagree with the decision to send them down.

    That being said, I was impressed by development of Chatfield and MacEwen. The look like they will be NHL players in the not too distant future. Kole Lind never seemed to find his grove in his first pro camp. Let it sink in, work hard and we will see development.

    Dahlen and Palmu also looked good, but not great. Go to Utica, work hard and both will be back.

    Over to you Ryan Johnson and Trent Cull.

    • It sure looks like Pettersson will be the only one of the youngsters and that is just to keep peeps in the seats, he is electric. Under the radar trades at this time of the year can help a re-building team long term. Keep calling and answering the phone. Some teams are in a worse bind with prospects and Benning usually wins the minor deals. Horvat is so important to this team and should be named “C”

    • I was really impressed with Palmu. I think part of that was my expectations were very low. Those guys + Gaudette need to score at the next level. Boucher was able to score at the AHL level and it hasn’t translated in the show.

      I also liked Chatfield. I think we see him again this season

      I hope Boucher clears waivers. He will be a good compliment to the youngsters in Utica. He also might be a throw in piece to get a deal done in the future

  • The consternation people have over the results over of pre season games is puzzling. The drill since time immemorial is for coaches/mgmt to assess new talent, assign the 25th to 50th best guys in the organization to the farm or back to junior and for veterans to tune up their timing and finish for opening night. Dahlen, Chatfield and Palmu have promise and their opportunity will come soon enough.

  • Looking more and more like this lineup:
    Pettersson-Horvat-Goldobin
    Baertschi-Gaudette-Boeser
    Leipsic-Granlund-Virtanen
    Motte-Beagle-Sutter

    Extra: Schaller
    Injured: Roussel, Eriksson

    Edler-Stecher
    MDZ-Tanev
    Pouliot-Gudbranson
    Extra: Hutton

    Nilsson
    Markstrom

      • Agree with Booney, and to add on, I think Schaller will also play in the regular lineup. Motte is likely Utica bound too. Switch Sutter and Granlund around, and as long as those players are actually injured, you can keep Gaunce too. Plus, Biega will be in the NHL too, most likely. I think he could clear to Utica easily enough, but the team seems to like to carry 2 spare defencemen.

    • I think it will be Motte and Gaudette in Utica, with Gagner and Sauntner on the big club…with waiver requirements playing a big roll on those decisions…and if needed on short notice (if a forward can’t dress), BullDog slots in on the 4th line.
      Then hard to predict what will happen after 5-10 more games…decisions will be easy provided at all times we have at least 2+ injuries…but if we get healthy and both Eriksson and Roussel are ready to play, then that could be when we have to look at waiving Gagner…and making a choice between Sauntner or BullDog as our 7th D, though Hutton’s play could factor into that decision as well.

        • Edler has a spot. If the phone rings on any of MDZ, Pouliot or Hutton there could be a trade but all three are staying on the roster.

          Whether Biega gets waived will depend a lot on injuries at forward. If Canucks can avoid waiving Leipsec and Goldobin they will keep Biega. Gaunce and Motte will be waived.

  • I would like someone to pick up Reid Boucher and give him a job in the NHL. He only played one Exhibition game and IMO played well. He is close to being on this team and maybe should be. There are guys who will be on the team who are no better than some of the guys that will be assigned to Utica. JB says that if a player is good enough the Canucks will move veterans to make room for them – but we all know that is not going to happen.

    Most commentators on here are of the opinion that Gagne hasn’t shown much and I agree. That being said he won’t be placed on waivers and then be sent to Utica.