Rick Tocchet plans on testing a handful of Vancouver Canucks hopefuls by playing them on consecutive nights. In the wake of <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-arturs-silovs-canucks-win-kraken">Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Arena</a>, the head coach revealed that Aaty Räty, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Sammy Blais and Max Sasson would all get right back into action on Wednesday night in Abbotsford when the Canucks face the Calgary Flames.
The quartet played to mixed reviews in the win over the Kraken. Räty and Lekkerimäki were among the Canucks most noticeable forward; Blais had his moments – but he’ll need much more than that to earn a contract – and Sasson was quiet as he was through most of training camp in Penticton last week.
“There will be four or five guys that go back to back,” Tocchet said. “I think it’s important that these guys play in that atmosphere when you might be a little tired. That’s when you have to see guys. You have to play when you’re tired and you’ve got to play smart. It’s a mental thing, too. They may not even be tired. So I think it’s important that we get some of those guys back to back.”
Of the four players Tocchet mentioned, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/raty-lekkerimaki-preseason-jeff-paterson-canucks-conversation">Lekkerimäki saw the most ice time on Tuesday night</a>, logging 16:09, including 5:16 on the power play. Räty saw 15:10 of ice while Blais played 13:47, and at 11:37, Sasson finished ahead of only Vilmer Alriksson (who sat out five minutes after a first period fight).
Players fighting for big league jobs have no choice but to look at the back-to-back situation as an opportunity. It’s impossible for a player to prove his worth to the coaching staff sitting in the press box or being left home in Vancouver. So anyone getting tapped to play on consecutive nights in the preseason has to answer the challenge and be ready to go once again.
Back-to-backs are common at all levels of hockey and, certainly, over the course of a long season. All players find themselves having to dig deep to bring their best when playing two nights in a row.
The four players Tocchet name checked will likely find themselves playing with different linemates on Wednesday. That is part of the challenge, too. On Tuesday, Lekkerimäki collected a pair of assists skating on a line with Pius Suter and Brock Boeser. Wednesday he very well may be reunited with his training camp linemates Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-tocchet-aatu-raty-3-1-win-kraken">Räty has looked good since the start of main camp</a>, playing with Conor Garland and Nils Höglander. He was among the standouts in the win over Seattle, but may be used differently against Calgary.
Blais is going to have to find another level to make enough of an impact to earn further preseason opportunities. He had a team-high four hits on Tuesday night but otherwise didn’t leave much of a mark on the game. 
Sasson didn’t register a shot on goal and won just two of seven face-offs. He’ll get another shot tonight but is likely nearing the end of his opportunity with the big club and seems destined to start the season in the American Hockey League.
Of course, one game can change a player’s fortunes in a hurry. So we’ll see how Lekkerimäki, Räty, Blais and Sasson respond tonight. Maybe they’ll be one step ahead of others with a preseason game already under their belts.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-130805 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/CCF-Graphic.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/CCF-Graphic.png 727w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/CCF-Graphic-300x167.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" />
<div>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! <a href="https://www.ticketmaster.ca/telus-canadian-championship-final-vancouver-whitecaps-vancouver-british-columbia-09-25-2024/event/110060C6CAB63759">Click here for tickets!</a></div>

Rick Tocchet plans on testing a handful of Vancouver Canucks hopefuls by playing them on consecutive nights. In the wake of <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-arturs-silovs-canucks-win-kraken">Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Arena</a>, the head coach revealed that Aaty Räty, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Sammy Blais and Max Sasson would all get right back into action on Wednesday night in Abbotsford when the Canucks face the Calgary Flames.

The quartet played to mixed reviews in the win over the Kraken. Räty and Lekkerimäki were among the Canucks most noticeable forward; Blais had his moments – but he’ll need much more than that to earn a contract – and Sasson was quiet as he was through most of training camp in Penticton last week.

“There will be four or five guys that go back to back,” Tocchet said. “I think it’s important that these guys play in that atmosphere when you might be a little tired. That’s when you have to see guys. You have to play when you’re tired and you’ve got to play smart. It’s a mental thing, too. They may not even be tired. So I think it’s important that we get some of those guys back to back.”

Of the four players Tocchet mentioned, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/raty-lekkerimaki-preseason-jeff-paterson-canucks-conversation">Lekkerimäki saw the most ice time on Tuesday night</a>, logging 16:09, including 5:16 on the power play. Räty saw 15:10 of ice while Blais played 13:47, and at 11:37, Sasson finished ahead of only Vilmer Alriksson (who sat out five minutes after a first period fight).

Players fighting for big league jobs have no choice but to look at the back-to-back situation as an opportunity. It’s impossible for a player to prove his worth to the coaching staff sitting in the press box or being left home in Vancouver. So anyone getting tapped to play on consecutive nights in the preseason has to answer the challenge and be ready to go once again.

Back-to-backs are common at all levels of hockey and, certainly, over the course of a long season. All players find themselves having to dig deep to bring their best when playing two nights in a row.

The four players Tocchet name checked will likely find themselves playing with different linemates on Wednesday. That is part of the challenge, too. On Tuesday, Lekkerimäki collected a pair of assists skating on a line with Pius Suter and Brock Boeser. Wednesday he very well may be reunited with his training camp linemates Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-tocchet-aatu-raty-3-1-win-kraken">Räty has looked good since the start of main camp</a>, playing with Conor Garland and Nils Höglander. He was among the standouts in the win over Seattle, but may be used differently against Calgary.

Blais is going to have to find another level to make enough of an impact to earn further preseason opportunities. He had a team-high four hits on Tuesday night but otherwise didn’t leave much of a mark on the game. 

Sasson didn’t register a shot on goal and won just two of seven face-offs. He’ll get another shot tonight but is likely nearing the end of his opportunity with the big club and seems destined to start the season in the American Hockey League.

Of course, one game can change a player’s fortunes in a hurry. So we’ll see how Lekkerimäki, Räty, Blais and Sasson respond tonight. Maybe they’ll be one step ahead of others with a preseason game already under their belts.
<img class="alignnone wp-image-130805 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/CCF-Graphic.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

<div>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! <a href="https://www.ticketmaster.ca/telus-canadian-championship-final-vancouver-whitecaps-vancouver-british-columbia-09-25-2024/event/110060C6CAB63759">Click here for tickets!</a></div>

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