The NHL preseason is officially over, and the Vancouver Canucks’ regular season kicks off tomorrow with a visit from the Calgary Flames.

The Canucks played six preseason games, and there were a few key storylines to follow. Aatu Räty knocked the door down and earned a spot on the club’s opening night roster, and Daniel Sprong appears to be a welcome addition to the top six. Those two players undoubtedly had strong preseasons, but who else stood out in a good way?

Here are seven players who improved their standing on the depth chart or stood out in a positive way during camp.

When an NHL head coach says he “doesn’t mind watching” a prospect during the NHL preseason, that should be taken as glowing praise. Rick Tocchet was pleased with the progress of both Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio, two Canucks defence prospects who were a bit under the radar heading into camp.

On Kudryavtsev: “I actually don’t mind watching him out there,” Tocchet said. “I think he’s going to push that Abbotsford defence.”

On Mynio: “He’s a good player. He’s got a lot of potential. I’m watching him go against JT Miller one-on-one—that’s tough—but I’ve liked his game, you know? And he’s got a lot of things you’re looking for.”

Kudryavtsev will now push for a spot on the Abbotsford blue line, and Mynio heads back to WHL Seattle for the year. We also need to make note of Vilmer Alriksson, who was one of the Canucks’ few junior-level prospects who got into a game. The big Swede left his mark in a big way, throwing a huge hit and dropping the gloves with a seasoned NHL fighter in his preseason debut at Rogers Arena. The Canucks signed him to an entry-level contract shortly after.

Arshdeep Bains had the odds stacked against him the minute the Canucks went out and signed as many wingers as they did in free agency. With Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Daniel Sprong, and Kiefer Sherwood in the fold, it was always going to be a longshot for the 23-year-old Bains to crack the opening night roster. Bains couldn’t really control that.

What Bains could control is improve his spot on the depth chart in the case of a call-up, and he did just that. Bains saved his best performance for last, as he looked far from out of place against the Edmonton Oilers’ NHL roster during the Canucks’ final preseason game on Friday. While he was the final forward cut from the roster, Bains is certain to be among those first considered for an NHL call-up heading into the season, putting himself in the conversation with and perhaps even passing the likes of Linus Karlsson and Phil Di Giuseppe.

Without a doubt, Aatu Räty is the biggest riser of the Canucks’ preseason. He came into camp with fairly low expectations, and just flat-out wasn’t considered as a legitimate lineup option on most lineup projections over the offseason. Räty knocked down the door, turning in two extremely impressive preseason performances while pivoting a line with Conor Garland and Nils Höglander, a line the 21-year-old is slated to centre on opening night.

If it felt significant that Daniel Sprong was out late when the Oilers pulled their goaltender in Friday’s game, that’s because it was.

Sprong, who has bounced around the NHL for the first seven years of his career, is looking to make Vancouver his new home this season. Tocchet has vowed to work with Sprong to develop the sharpshooter into a serviceable two-way player, and so far, so good. Sprong’s speed and hustle was noticeable all preseason long, and his effort on the backcheck certainly didn’t go unnoticed. And of course, he scored an absolute highlight reel goal early in the preseason, which feels like ages ago now:

Sprong is set to open the season on Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk’s line, a line that should get plenty of opportunities against more favourable matchups.

Finally, Nils Höglander appears to have used being a postseason scratch as motivation heading into this year.

Right from the get-go, Tocchet was praising Höglander’s fitness level at camp, and the 23-year-old looked right at home alongside Conor Garland in the place of Dakota Joshua. The Canucks rewarded him with a three-year contract extension worth $9 million, citing his strong camp and preseason as one of the reasons why. I don’t know if your stock can improve much more than that during the preseason!