Many questions face the Vancouver Canucks heading into the 2024-25 NHL season.
Are they an improved hockey club? Can Rick Tocchet and his coaching staff find ways to get more out of the special teams? Will Elias Pettersson regain the form he has shown throughout much of his National Hockey League career? Those are all big picture questions that will be answered as the new hockey season unfolds. One week out from the start of training camp, however, there are also a number of issues that may be addressed the first time the Canucks main group hits the ice at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton. Here are five key questions with the countdown now officially on to Training Camp 2024:
How many goalies will be on the main camp roster?
With so much uncertainty around Thatcher Demko’s health and well being, the Canucks need to ensure they have viable options – both short and long term – at the most important position. If Demko is not ready for camp as expected, the Canucks’ depth in goal becomes an issue quite quickly. Arturs Silovs, Jiri Patera and Nikita Tolopilo have combined for 17 regular season NHL apperances, 16 starts and nine victories. As the Canucks saw two seasons ago with Spencer Martin, it’s one thing to be a capable and competent back-up, but another thing altogether when asked to be the main man on a nightly basis in the NHL. It’s why the talk of the Canucks kicking tires on veterans Antti Raanta and Kevin Lankinen persists. Don’t be the least bit surprised if there is a goalie on the final camp roster that isn’t in the fold today.
Where will Nils Höglander start camp?
On the first day at last year’s training camp in Victoria, Höglander was granted the opportunity to skate alongside Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko. Will he be placed in such a position near the top of the depth chart this time around? With added winger depth brought into the fold over the summer and an underwhelming playoff performance, Höglander’s spot on the depth chart is certainly one to watch. The coaches know what the 23-year-old spark plug brings to the mix, but the staff needs to learn more about players like Danton Heinen and Daniel Sprong. So perhaps those two get the first looks near the top of the camp line-up, bumping Höglander down a notch. Höglander showed early last season that he can produce lower in the line-up and ultimately perhaps that’s where he is best slotted. We may get an indication of what the coaching staff is thinking based on his Day 1 deployment next week in Penticton.
Will Jonathan Lekkerimaki get an opportunity with top line teammates?
Another one to watch will be Lekkerimaki who should use Young Stars this weekend as a springboard to main camp. If the 2022 first rounder is any kind of candidate to make the big league roster, you’d expect he’d be placed in a position to succeed starting on the first day of main camp. At the team’s 2021 training camp in Abbotsford, a young Vasily Podkolzin started on a line with JT Miller and Conor Garland and ultimately made the club and scored 14 times as a rookie. The Canucks are a much deeper team now so the opportunity may not play out in the same fashion for Lekkerimaki. But his Day 1 linemates should give a better sense of what the club is thinking and hoping for the talented right winger in his first full season in North America.
Will we get a hint of whether Suter or Blueger figures to be the third line centre?
Rick Tocchet has the luxury of training camp and the preseason to ultimately figure out who slots where, but one of the things we’ll be watching closely is to see if the coach tips his hand in any way regarding the third line centre position. Because the club is likely to skate in two groups through the first three days of camp leading to the Sunday scrimmage finale, there will likely be plenty of unique line combinations and formations featuring a mix of NHL veterans and camp hopefuls. But there may be enough information to be gleaned from watching the way Pius Suter and Teddy Blueger are deployed to get a sense of who has the inside track to start the season as the team’s third line centre.
Who will get the first day looks with Quinn Hughes?
In what will very likely be the overreaction of the day when camp begins, somebody will skate on the right side with Quinn Hughes – and it very likely will be someone other than Filip Hronek. Now that won’t mean the Canucks are splitting their top tandem from last season although going in that direction remains a distinct possibility heading into the new season. Hughes and Hronek may find themselves in different groups for the first three days of camp. Last year in Victoria, Cole McWard, Noah Juulsen and even Carson Soucy saw time on the right side with the Canucks captain. Expect some experimentation. Maybe the Canucks look at McWard again. Maybe Vincent Desharnais gets a shot. Or perhaps it’s someone else. It won’t mean anything is set in stone, but it will undoubtedly be a talking point on the first day of camp.
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