The Vancouver Canucks will start their ace in goal for tonight’s preseason game against the Calgary Flames in Abbotsford. For Thatcher Demko, it will be his first outing of the exhibition season and the first time he’s seen game action in an NHL contest of any kind since April 8th.

The Canucks say Demko will start the game, and the team will monitor his workload throughout the night before determining whether he’ll go the distance in goal. Nikita Tolopilo will serve as the backup.

The Canucks lineup will feature NHL regulars Filip Chytil, Nils Höglander, Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson. Pettersson will be paired with top prospect Tom Willander.

The Vancouver lineup will also include an all-Abbotsford line with Max Sasson skating between Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson. All three played huge roles in the Canucks Calder Cup Championship last spring. That trio should get a hero’s welcome back to the Abbotsford Centre.

Others looking to make an impression on the coaching staff tonight include Vitali Kravtsov, who will aim to stand out more than he did during training camp in Penticton last week. He’ll skate on left wing on a line with Aatu Räty and Chase Stillman. On defence, Victor Mancini will try to continue his strong showing, which included an excellent training camp and a goal in a 5-3 loss in Seattle on Sunday in the team’s preseason opener.

The Canucks will face an inexperienced Calgary lineup with few notable players. Joel Farabee, Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil and Jake Bean are among the most prominent NHL names making the trip. Former Canucks prospect Hunter Brzustewicz is expected to be in the lineup along with former Vancouver Giants forward Sam Honzek.

Assistant coach Scott Young met the media following morning skate and discussed the excitement of the organization to play a game in Abbotsford: “Yeah, especially after Abbotsford’s year last year it’s going to be great to have a game here. I think we’ll get a good fan base here tonight. I think a lot of guys are excited. Obviously a lot of our guys in the line-up are familiar with this building, so they should feel very comfortable and looking forward to the next step.”

Scott Young on what he’s seen from Vitali Kravtsov through camp: “He looks good. He’s looked really good, but now it’s game time and this is the question mark and we want to see how he does in the games. He’s a good-sized player with good hands and we want to make sure that he’s willing to grind and battle. We obviously want to see his skill set on display, too. If the effort and the compete is there we think it will go a really long way with his skill set.”

Tom Willander excited to get back into game action and continue his push for a job on the opening night roster: “I love it. I think it’s a lot of fun. It’s a new level of hockey and I think every opportunity you get on the ice, I feel like you make steady moves forward. When the level gets better, I think that’s when you develop the most. So it’s been a lot of fun.”

Watch raw footage from Wednesdays morning skate below: