Tonight, Vancouver Canucks hockey returns! Sort of.
On Friday at 7:30 Pacific Time, the Canucks’ prospects will face off against Edmonton Oilers prospects in game one of the 2024 Young Stars Classic from Penticton, B.C.
Where to watch
A stream of the game can be found on canucks.com at 7:30 PM PT.
Sportsnet 650’s play-by-play commentator Brendan Batchelor, alongside Paige Martin from Oilers TV, will be in person at the South Okanagan Events Centre and on the call. Batchelor’s colour commentator will rotate all weekend long, with Jets’ radio colour broadcaster Mitchell Clinton joining him for the Canucks’ matchup against Winnipeg on Sunday; and Brendan Parker from Flames TV joining Batchelor for the Canucks vs. Flames bout on Monday.
Tale of the Tape: Who to watch out for tonight
Tonight, the Canucks’ Young Stars face their first of three tests of the weekend, kicking off with an Oilers team led by Matt Savoie, who has put together an impressive junior career in the WHL, where he’s tallied 263 points in 183 games. The Oilers’ lineup also features Sam O’Reilly, the last pick of the first round in the 2024 NHL Entry draft. O’Reilly is known more for his two-way play than his scoring ability, but he will be an important part of the Oilers’ effort to find offensive production.
For the Canucks, many are expecting this weekend to be the Jonathan Lekkerimäki show, as Vancouver’s top prospect put together an impressive D+1 season in Sweden last season and will play his first full season in North America in 2024-25. Manny Malhotra’s group took line rushes yesterday, and it’s expected that Lekkerimäki will play with Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty, with Räty serving as the line’s centre. This could very well end up being one of the Abbotsford Canucks’ top lines this season, so it will be interesting to see how the trio meshes together tonight.
The Canucks also have 2022 third round pick Elias Pettersson suiting up tonight for his first taste of Young Stars action. He is expected to slide over to his right to form a top defence pairing alongside OHL standout and seventh round pick Kirill Kudryavtsev. Both defence prospects have risen on our annual ranking of the Canucks’ prospects since being drafted.
It all starts at 7:30 PT tonight, so make sure you’re ready to watch the game over at canucks.com by clicking here!
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