Social media was showcasing that teams around the NHL were starting to crank up the intensity as day three of training camps around the league got underway.

The Canucks were no different as they participated in a tough practice of their second training camp this year.

Wednesday’s practice saw head coach Travis Green focus on the defensive side of things. Though there were times when the team would have some shots on net, they were mostly focused on forechecking, retrieving the puck and also breaking out of their own defensive zone. The energy was high and the players were tired after their 54-minute practice session that was followed by another full team scrimmage which included the black aces group.

Let’s get into the clips from the practice before diving into the storylines that Wednesday brought.

Loui Eriksson slotted into the fourth line role as Brandon Sutter did not skate with the team today. Many were hoping for Zack MacEwen to get a show on that fourth line but Loui looked to get the bulk of reps with the fourth line as Justin Bailey and MacEwen mixed in with a variety of lines.

The Canucks have used three different defencemen in three days alongside Jordie Benn on “the fourth pairing”. Which I will say again, is a great name for a hockey podcast.

Jalen Chatfield got a run with Benn on day one, Brogan Rafferty got to skate there on day two and now we are seeing Brisebois get a shot on day three. We could see Olli Juolevi or Ashton Sautner get a turn there as the week goes on.

Juolevi looked sharp and powerful with his skating on day two of camp. He competed in the scrimmage as a forward and a defenceman and then practiced with the second group, looking strong in many drills.

Sautner is likely the most NHL ready left-shot defenceman of the group. He was trusted by Utica Comets head coach Trent Cull to be his number one defenceman a lot of the year and has had some NHL experience with the Vancouver Canucks.

Late Tuesday afternoon the Canucks announced that they have signed their top defence prospect, Jack Rathbone. The defenceman tallied seven goals and 24 assists through 28 games for Harvard this season. It was a big win for Jim Benning and company as Rathbone was going to be a tough sell to get him to leave before his third season with Harvard.

Being a professional hockey player is excellent but so is coming out of a hockey scholarship with a degree from Harvard. Major props to the Canucks management for this signing, honestly, I did not see it happening.

Well done Jimbo.

The NHL announced their three Calder trophy nominees as Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar and Dominik Kubalik will be the three finalists.

Hughes will have a tough battle against these two to be crowned rookie of the year but he definitely has a better chance than Jordan Binnington had last year against Elias Pettersson.

Micheal Ferland did not participate in practice with the main group for the third consecutive practice today. However, he did skate with the second group featuring multiple Utica Comets skaters, so this is certainly a positive sign that he could be trending in the right direction to skating with the main group. *(see Editor’s note at bottom of page)

It’s no secret that Jay Beagle comes into camp at peak physical condition. He continued that trend at training camp 2.0 as he looks as fresh as ever and though some players were dragging a bit later on in the 54-minute practice — Beagle looked like his skating stride was hard and he moved around the ice with authority.

Brock Boeser had another solid day on Wednesday and looked right at home playing alongside Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson on what will likely be the Canucks’ second scoring line.

Stay tuned to CanucksArmy and both me (Chris Faber), and David Quadrelli for instant coverage from training camp on Twitter all week long!

The Canucks will hold a morning skate at 10:30 AM tomorrow and a scrimmage at 7:00 PM. CanucksArmy will be at the game and will keep you posted on the events!

*Editor’s note: Sorry everyone, for some reason, a previous version of the article was posted even after Faber made the correction regarding Ferland skating with the second group. My mistake, and it won’t happen again! -David Quadrelli