The Vancouver Canucks are back on the ice and we were out to watch their informal skate on Wednesday morning.

19 forwards took to the ice in the first session, followed by 10 defencemen skating around with the second group. There were five goalies in total through the two skates.

Here’s who was there.

Aidan McDonough, Andrei Kuzmenko, Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Boeser, Chase Wouters, Dakota Joshua, Danila Klimovich, J.T. Miller, Jack Studnicka, Jermaine Loewen, Linus Karlsson, Nils Åman, Nils Höglander, Phil Di Giuseppe, Sheldon Dries, Tanner Pearson, Teddy Blueger, Tristen Nielsen, Vasily Podkolzin, Alex Kannok Leipert, Carson Soucy, Filip Johansson, Guillaume Brisebois, Jack Rathbone, Jett Woo, Matt Irwin, Noah Juulsen, Quinn Schmiemann, Tyler Myers, Thatcher Demko, Arturs Silovs, Nikita Tolopilo, Spencer Martin, and we believe the fifth goalie was Zach Sawchenko.

Our biggest takeaway from the skate was that Tanner Pearson looks like he has no limitations on his shooting. He was ripping the puck and though there weren’t any tough physical drills, he fit right in and looks the part of a hockey player.

Brock Boeser spoke about having Pearson back on the ice with the team.

“I went and watched him the other day skate and I saw him shoot right away and it got me fired up,” said Boeser. “Just for one of your buddies to go through something like that. And end up missing the whole season, it’s hard and he’s a guy that was really important to our team last year and we needed him but I’m just so happy for him and happy that he’s back out here and happy that it wasn’t worse.”

The forwards’ skate saw the players work on some rush attacks from either side with a defender being in the way of a pass on a two-on-one. The players also worked on some stick-skill type of things with short passes and some board work.

As for the defencemen, there was some time spent on point shots as well as some positional wall-play type of drills.

Each group was on the ice for about 45 minutes, so it was a couple of shorter sessions just to get some guys’ legs moving.

We spoke with Boeser about his offseason and how he had made some changes to his summer workouts. Boeser mentioned his new trainer and just having a full offseason being able to prepare for this coming year.

“I think we’re all just sick and tired of having these expectations and not following through and [Rick Tocchet] came in here and pushed us even though we weren’t in the playoffs,” said Boeser. “He kept pushing us each and every day and it’s important to come in better shape. And you know, he told us all that [training] camp is going to be really hard this year. So he warned us. We’ll see how hard camp is.”

Boeser spoke about not setting expectations and instead, just working on a day-by-day basis at being a consistent scorer this season.

“The last couple of seasons have been tough and I think you’ll know I’m not gonna sit here and promise you anything anymore,” said Boeser with a laugh. “I’ve just got to take it day by day and improve myself to not just you guys but you know, my teammates and the city.”

After Boeser, we caught up with the new Canuck Teddy Blueger.

“It’s been great,” said Blueger on his first couple of days with the Canucks. “I mean obviously a lot of new faces, new places so it’s kind of getting the hang of things kind of trying to remember everyone’s name — staff, players, and all that but it’s been great. It’s been fun and the guys have been awesome. So, it seems like a great group. It’s been good to get on the ice and kind of try to get the legs going a little bit before camp, so it’s been great.”

When asked about what Blueger wants to bring to the Canucks, he spoke about the penalty kill.

“I think that’s been a part of my game since I got to the NHL, and even a little bit before that, that I kind of had to learn it to get my foot in the door,” said Blueger when talking about the penalty kill. “I spent a lot of time in Pittsburgh playing that role. So I think, yeah, that’s a big part of my game. But I think, for me, it’s important to try and take that next step and grow my game and improve offensively and contribute more that way. And obviously, you don’t want to give up the defensive side. So continue improving on faceoffs, defending guys, and being reliable on the penalty kill. [Being in] those clutch situations at the end of the game up a goal [or] down a goal. Yeah, and just continue to evolve and become a better player and like I said, contribute more offensively and grow that side of the game.”

Blueger also laughed about going out to dinner with a few of the Canucks players the other night and that Andrei Kuzmenko was the driver of the conversation throughout the night. We weren’t surprised…

We’re sure to see more of these skates for the Canucks and are just over a week away from Young Stars in Penticton and 15 days away from training camp in Victoria.

It’s nice to see the players back on the ice and we will continue to request media availabilities with the players even though some of them have made it clear that they will not be speaking until training camp.