Penticton, BC — We’ve officially made it through two days of Vancouver Canucks training camp, and on Saturday morning — day three — we’ll get to see the players split off into two sides and participate in a Team White vs. Team Blue scrimmage. The scrimmage is set for noon from the South Okanagan Events Centre, and the Canucks confirmed that they will be streaming today’s scrimmage on canucks.com. Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor will be on the call.

Now, a training camp scrimmage means different things for different players. Quinn Hughes isn’t likely to stand out all that much because he’s using this time to ramp up and get ready for a long season where he’s expected to once again be one of the league’s best players. But for players on the fringes of the NHL roster or those who we dubbed with the most to prove? Training camp and training camp scrimmages can make or break your chances of getting a good look during preseason games, or they can put you on the list of first cuts from the preseason roster.

Here are the teams for today’s scrimmage:

There’s already been some strong standouts through two days of camp, and some of those names will certainly be on today’s list. Here are six players to keep an eye on in today’s scrimmage.

It’s been a strong training camp so far for Braeden Cootes. He’s gotten an opportunity to skate alongside an NHL regular in Kiefer Sherwood, and could find himself in that spot today. Cootes hasn’t looked out of place despite it being evident that he’ll need to get stronger, which will come naturally over time for the 2007-born centre.

On the whole, however, Cootes hasn’t done anything to close the book on his chances of making the Canucks’ opening night roster before heading back to the WHL prior to hitting the nine-game mark. That can be valuable experience for a prospect, and Cootes will look to prove he can hang with the boys in his first real game-like environment against NHL players later today.

Unlike Cootes, it’s been a bit of an underwhelming camp for Tom Willander. The young defenceman has been skating alongside Derek Forbort on the Canucks’ de facto third pairing so far, but has looked physically outmatched at times, and his puck skills look just a touch below where they need to be. While that’s not great for a defenceman whose calling card is his wheels and his defensive play, but it’s far from a cause for concern. Aside from the fact we’re talking about two days of training camp drills, it’s also worth mentioning that we were singing a similar tune about Elias Pettersson (the defenceman) at this time last year.

After being cut from the team, Pettersson went down to Abbotsford and began to put it all together. He then earned a mid-season call-up and became a useful defenceman for the Canucks down the stretch. If that’s the path Willander follows, then nobody will be complaining. That being said, it’s two days of camp. Willander still has plenty of time — starting today — to change the conversation completely and knock down the door to a spot on the Canucks’ opening night roster. It will certainly be interesting to see how he fares in today’s scrimmage.

You might be surprised to see Jiri Patera’s name on this list, but this is one of few players at camp who is playing for their future. The Canucks’ goaltending depth chart is absolutely stacked, and Patera, who signed as a free agent to be the Canucks’ second or third goaltender behind Arturs Silovs and Thatcher Demko — who was injured, making Patera the clear number two — now finds himself dealing with plenty of uncertainty heading into 2025-26. Further, Patera missed most of last season with a shoulder injury that required surgery, so he also has to rebuild his standing in the Canucks’ organization’s plans.

It’s a tough situation for Patera, and when I spoke with him on Friday, he made it abundantly clear that he’s trying his best to live day to day and just make saves. Because really, that’s all he can do with the hand he’s been dealt. Today could be a great opportunity for him to make some saves and catch people’s attention enough to earn himself a preseason start.

You can file Vitali Kravtsov’s name under the list of players who haven’t exactly stood out thus far in camp. But can a game environment help bring out the best of Kravtsov and help him earn a longer look for a roster spot? He scored 27 goals in the KHL last season and was a near point per game player. Showing some of that offensive upside in today’s scrimmage would be a great way for him to turn the page on a fairly average start to training camp as the Canucks get set to play preseason games.

Linus Karlsson has been a name we’ve talked about a lot this offseason. A standout performer during the Abbotsford Canucks’ Calder Cup Championship victory, Karlsson followed up a strong AHL regular season where he was an above point per game player with a playoff run where he tallied 14 goals and 12 assists through 24 games. Karlsson has a strong enough baseline game to be an NHL bottom six player, but in the past, his skating seemed to limit his offensive potential at the highest level.

That’s why the fact that Karlsson has looked a noticeable step quicker through two days of camp has made him an even more intriguing player to watch today and through the preseason. He always seemed to have the inside track on players like Max Sasson, Arshdeep Bains, and Vitali Kravtsov for one of the final roster spots, and he’s done nothing to give up that position through two days of camp.

Now, some of you may want to see Elias Pettersson, the forward, have a strong scrimmage, and that’s fine. So do I. But he’s making this team either way, and dominating a training camp scrimmage won’t exactly do much to sway anyone’s opinion on whether or not he can have the bounce back season he so desperately needs to have. Alternatively, Elias Pettersson, the defenceman, has something to prove this preseason.

While an average camp from Tom Willander could mean Pettersson easily makes the team as the team’s sixth defenceman, it’s still worth mentioning that Pettersson has spent camp on a pairing with prospect Parker Alcos. And of course, he was sent to Seattle for the prospects showcase. To me, that should be taken as a message from the organization that Pettersson still has to earn his stripes despite enjoying a solid 28 games at the NHL level last season. Today is a great opportunity for Pettersson to remind everyone that he belongs.