If you’re going through the standouts from Tuesday night’s Vancouver Canucks preseason game, you might get a couple of names in before you reach Aatu Räty.

However, arguably no other Canucks skater did more to make their case to the coaching staff that they deserve a spot in the everyday lineup than Räty did.

As we noted on Tuesday, Räty has played over 100 NHL games and is classified as a veteran player under the new CBA, which features rules stating that such players are only allowed to play a maximum of two preseason games. That means Tuesday night marked his final audition before the regular season opens next week in Edmonton, even though the Canucks have two more preseason games to go.

And on Tuesday night, with the Canucks sending an AHL-heavy lineup to Calgary to take on what was essentially the Flames’ projected NHL lineup, Räty played his NHL role perfectly.

In the NHL preseason, players in elevated roles often get a ton of attention. Players competing for roles as third-pairing or 7th defencemen might get to run a first power play unit. A bona fide AHL winger might play 17+ minutes and might even score a goal. These moments will get them attention, and they’re of course good things for these players to experience.

But what an NHL coaching staff really looks for during the preseason when they’re making roster decisions is how well a player who would slot lower in the actual NHL lineup executes on the details and finer points of the game.

Basically, for a third- or fourth-line centre — which is what Räty figures to be in the Canucks’ actual lineup — the question becomes “can I trust this player to go out there and not get scored on?”

And on Tuesday night, Räty left little doubt that he can help the Canucks limit the damage when he’s on the ice.

Räty’s line did get scored on at 5v5, but the more important thing was how much better the Canucks fared at keeping their heads above water with Räty on the ice than with anyone else.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Räty led all Canucks skaters in 5v5 Corsi percentage on Tuesday night, with 8 chances for and 12 against. Compare that to the Canucks’ other centres on the night, and Räty really stands out:

Braeden Cootes: 4 chances for, 19 against
Ty Mueller: 4 chances for, 16 against
Riley Patterson: 7 chances for, 17 against
Aatu Räty: 8 chances for, 12 against.

In total, the Canucks were outchanced 58-12 when Räty wasn’t on the ice on Tuesday night. Räty was also his usual self in the faceoff dot, going 15-for-20 and predictably leading all Canucks centres in that department on the night. And on a night when offence was hard to come by for the visitors, Räty led the Canucks in shots on goal with two. No other Canucks skater was credited with more than one shot on goal, except for Räty.

Räty was also the Canucks’ second-most used centre on the penalty kill against the Flames, trailing only Ty Mueller by 39 seconds.

On Tuesday night, Räty helped the Canucks limit the danger and keep the puck out of their end more than anyone else, and that’s exactly what they’ll need from him in the regular season, too.

Räty opened Canucks training camp skating with AHLers Ty Mueller and Trey Fix-Wolansky, while Max Sasson was slotted in at centre between Drew O’Connor and Brendan Gallagher. Those line combinations suggested that, at least to open camp, Sasson had a bit of an inside track on Räty for the Canucks’ 4C spot.

In the Canucks’ first preseason game, though, Sasson skated as a winger next to Räty, who slotted in as a centre. With only two preseason games to show his stuff, Räty didn’t really stand out in game one, aside from going 10-2 in the faceoff dot (an important part of his game, no doubt). But in game two, he stood out as someone the Canucks can rely on to help keep the puck out of their net this season and keep growing with this young group.

Of course, this Canucks season isn’t really about wins or losses, or even keeping the puck out of the net, for that matter. The more important thing here is that a soon-to-be 24-year-old centre takes a meaningful step toward becoming an everyday NHLer, and that he can develop into a useful, defence-first bottom-six centre who can kill penalties and help keep the puck out of the Canucks’ net when it really matters in 3-4 years’ time.