At just 22 years old, Aatu Räty seems to have carved a role for himself in the Vancouver Canucks lineup as the team’s fourth-line centreman.

The former second round pick in 2021 (52nd overall) – originally selected by the New York Islanders – struggled in his first few games with the Canucks. After starting the first three games in the NHL, the team sent Räty down to AHL Abbotsford. With the Canucks farm team, Räty had a good eight-game stretch, posting three goals and four assists, earning himself another look at the NHL level.

Since then, the Finnish centre has been in the lineup for every game and, in the absence of J.T. Miller, has become the team’s go-to faceoff man. Räty has not been able to produce much but has had an impressive showing in the faceoff dot with his 56.3% faceoff percentage.

His unique style for taking draws could be a huge factor as to how he’s been so effective in the circle. Reminiscent of long-time, fellow Finnish NHLer Olli Jokinen, who taught him the trick, Räty flips his stick on right-side draws which allows him to get more leverage on what would be considered his weak side.

Not only has Räty shown promise in the faceoff circle, but he has also improved his defensive game. This has allowed head coach Rick Tocchet to trust Räty in defensive zone faceoff situations, allowing him to win draws in big moments, but trust him to be well-positioned defensively in a lost faceoff situation.

Though Räty is still seeing minimal ice time, averaging 9:41 per game, the steps he has taken so far through the first quarter of this season should be a good sign of what the future may hold with his development.

“His work ethic is his best [trait],” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “For a young kid, he’s the top I’ve ever had with [work ethic]. As the play goes on, I find he’s at a fast pace where he’s got to slow down the game in his mind, but that’s being a young kid. I would say that’s the only thing if I had to nitpick — he’s got to know when to go and when not to go and get himself good angles, but that comes with experience and that comes with time.”

If you played NHL19 franchise mode, you might remember after simulating a couple of years into the future and the first overall pick of the 2021 draft being a High Elite potential Aatu Räty.

This certainly is no longer the case, however, if Räty can find a way to produce at a reasonable rate in the NHL, there’s potential for him to be the Canucks’ future third-line centreman behind Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller in Aatu Räty.

His three points in 17 games so far this season don’t scream legit top 9 centre by any means, but the growth in his game that has allowed him to play a career-high 17 games already is a pretty big step in itself, especially on a team that wants to contend like the Vancouver Canucks.

Again, he’s only 22 years old. There is still a ton of growth left in Räty’s game, after gaining more comfortability and confidence in the NHL, with the hockey sense and skill he has, the production should come along for the young forward.

The biggest question right now is will the Canucks keep him in the lineup for the remainder of the season, or will they attempt to find a more veteran player to take his spot near the trade deadline and heading into the playoffs?

If Räty can continue to improve and grow ahead of the deadline, he could deter management from feeling the need to make a move for another centreman ahead of a playoff push and shift their focus solely to improving the team’s defence core.