We’re back!
The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Seattle Kraken 3-1 at home to open their preseason. It was the first chance for all of us to look at what the team’s systems will look like, and how they would stack up against NHL competition. There are a lot of kinks to be worked out as well as seeing the different fits along the lineup, but there was still a lot to like.
If you haven’t been reading this series, the Statsies are a recap of the game from an advanced stats perspective. This isn’t meant to be a piece that dissects each and every thing that every player does – it just offers an alternative perspective on how to see last night’s game. This one will be a little different from the usual format, with just a few points of focus.
As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.
Aatu Räty and Linus Karlsson’s chemistry
For the two AHL linemates, Aatu Räty and Linus Karlsson were able to put on a show last night in the NHL preseason. Räty stood out in particular with his skating taking a noticeable step up, while being very dominant in the faceoff circle winning 14/18 draws.
The numbers back this up for the pair. Karlsson led the Canucks across all situations with a 72.00 CF% while putting up a team-high 93.38 xGF%. That came with a team-low 0.09 xGA, though a caveat should be put that he was mostly matched up against Ryan Winterton, Logan Morrison, and Eduard Sale. Granted, the trio are all effective players at the AHL level, so it’s encouraging that Karlsson can show that he can at least dictate the game against these kinds of players.
As for Räty, he was right behind Karlsson in the xGF% department with an 82.22 xGF%, having a 10-4 scoring chance differential with a 5-1 high-danger chance advantage. This becomes especially more impressive given that the Finn was iced against legit NHL players, the majority of his minutes coming against Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz. Definitely not bad for an opening game in the preseason.
Wolanin discourse returns
It’s honestly a little strange that Christian Wolanin disappeared from Canucks’ discourse after being named an AHL all-star back in 2022-23. The depth defenceman looked solid against the Kraken last night, quarterbacking the powerplay with ease without causing too many dicey moments.
Given his experience, it made sense that Wolanin was tasked with playing against some of Seattle’s best players last night. He did well, finishing with the 3rd best CF% at 5v5 with a 57.14, splitting an even 8-8 scoring chances against the Kraken while limiting them to only 2 high-danger chances against. There’s reason to think that he could see more action as a call-up this year – but that remains to be seen.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki – not an analytics darling
Lekkerimäki didn’t seem to do too poorly last night, finding himself involved in quite a bit of the action as the night progressed. His vision and playmaking were on display, and he picked up two assists while showing off his hockey IQ.
But, the advanced stats weren’t the biggest fan of him. Lekkerimäki finished as the 5th-worst Canuck with a 40.00 CF%, with the 4th-worst xGF% on the team at 5v5 with a 24.87. The Swede was on ice for a 1-8 deficit in scoring chances, while he only faced 3 high-danger chances against. Not the greatest of share metrics, as it implies that Seattle generally played better with Lekkerimäki on the ice.
That being said, Lekkerimäki did have to contend with Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, Eeli Tolvanen, and Gustav Olofsson as the players that he played the most against. Those are all decent NHLers, and as a rookie, he was also iced in key situations, such as when the Kraken were pushing to tie the game up with an empty net.
The first Arty Party of the year
Arturs Silovs looked darn good last night. Compared to where he was a year ago, and even just a couple of months ago in the playoffs, the Latvian netminder was moving a lot smoother, laterally quicker, and anticipating shots a lot more. Again, it is a preseason roster, but it was good to see that he was confident and closing out angles whenever he got the chance.
He was relatively busy too. Silovs faced 4 high-danger chances against to go with 5 middle-danger chances and 9 low-danger chances. The only one that got past him was a high-danger chance, leaving him with a 0.75 GSAx. Not a bad night at all, looking sturdy and steady as he enters this year as Vancouver’s presumptuous starter with Demko out for the foreseeable future.

As a team

CF% – 54.00% HDCF% – 55.56% xGF% – 60.92%
Vancouver looked solid against a Kraken team that was hoping to bounce back from getting dumpstered by the Calgary Flames. There were things to like about the team already, and it’ll be interesting to see the variety of combinations that will be used as the systems are implemented. The young prospects were good to watch, and they’ll be ones to keep an eye out for as the preseason continues.
Vancouver will head down Highway 1 into Abbotsford, where they host the Calgary Flames tonight.
Stats provided by naturalstattrick.com
This article is a presentation of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Come check out the Caps in the Telus Canadian Championship Final. Wednesday, September 25th, kick off at 7pm. Be there early, as the first 10,000 fans receive a free t-shirt PLUS 50% off all drinks until kickoff! Click here for tickets!