It was an eventful Sunday at Rogers Arena, with prized prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki joining the Vancouver Canucks for his first NHL practice after being recalled from Abbotsford earlier in the day. And Thatcher Demko was fully involved in a team on-ice session for the first time this season.

What we saw

Quinn Hughes was given a maintenance day to rest and recover. Rick Tocchet says the hockey club is working hard to monitor the captain’s workload. And with two days between games, the Canucks felt resting Hughes today was a prudent idea. Without Hughes, Noah Juulsen slid into his place on a pairing with Filip Hronek.
Lekkerimäki skated in Brock Boeser’s spot alongside JT Miller and Pius Suter. The 20-year-old is expected to make his NHL debut on Tuesday when the Canucks host Calgary. Tocchet said he wasn’t certain how long Lekkerimaki would remain with the big club, but insisted the youngster was here to play. Tocchet added that he had no update today on Boeser’s status. It’s now been three full days since Boeser left Thurday’s game in Los Angeles after taking a shoulder to the chin from Tanner Jeannot.
With just 12 forwards on the ice today, Dakota Joshua took regular line rushes with Aatu Räty and Nils Höglander. Joshua remains on IR and needs to be activated before playing, but Sunday represented another solid day of on-ice work for the big forward who fully participated in 2-on-2 down low drills at the start of practice and was subject to a hard skate with the rest of his teammates at the end of practice.
The other big development on Sunday was that Thatcher Demko was a full participant in practice for the first time all season. The Canucks sent Arturs Silovs to Abbotsford on Sunday morning and recalled Ty Young since NHL regulations stipulate teams must have two healthy goalies on the roster at all times. Demko is not considered a healthy goalie while on IR. But it was encouraging to see him tend one of the nets throughout Sunday’s practice while Young swapped in occasionally with Kevin Lankinen at the other end. Demko did not seem limited in his movements, went through his progressions and incorporated post-integration drills into the session. Rick Tocchet was asked if there was a world in which Demko could be activated to back-up Lankinen on Tuesday and the coach quickly shot down that notion.
Sunday was a season ticket member event at Rogers Arena with fans getting a chance to meet and greet players at various stations throughout the concourse. It was interesting to note that the opportunity to meet Quinn Hughes, JT Miller and Elias Pettersson were considered premium experiences and required a separate ticket than the opportunity to interact with the rest of the team.

What we heard

Rick Tocchet on the opportunity for Jonathan Lekkerimäki: “He’s a guy that probably would have been called up two days ago, but he tweaked something. This is something we’ve been tracking. It’s the old story, do you let him marinate blah, blah, blah. But I think there are certain times when you want a guy to come up and get a taste of where he’s at. I really want to make sure we cocoon him with a good environment around him so that he’s got a lot of help.”
Tocchet on step forward Sunday for Demko: “This is a progressive day, yes. To see him in there with line rushes and be in there with the action, I think that’s a huge step for this team and himself.”
Jonathan Lekkerimäki on getting his first NHL recall: “Try to enjoy the moment and have fun. Very excited. I try to be humble every day and do my best every day.”
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