And that’s a wrap on what was the Vancouver Canucks training camp ahead of the 2024/25 season. But before the players and coaches return home, head coach Rick Tocchet met with the media to put a bow on the weekend.

The Canucks coach discussed his opinion on how training camp went, as well as whether or not he accomplished what he sought out over the weekend.

“For the logistics and efficiency, really well. I think the trainers were happy cause it wasn’t busy, it was really good. A lot of learning, a lot of teaching, got some good skating in. You know, overall, you’re happy. But at the same time, we’ve got to get to the next step, a little more drills with pushing and shoving. That’s probably the next phase in our game.”

“A lot of rush creativity on the blue line. Having the puck, holding it and making a good play. Re-groups, we call them landmarks, like what spots to go in certain situations. You can’t throw a lot at guys, but I thought for the most part, guys did a nice job. Guys worked really hard. I didn’t think we killed them, but I think we gave them enough.”

Tocchet has long talked about wanting to improve internally. However, the team made some helpful additions this offseason through free agency. Here’s what Tocchet had to say regarding how important the new guys are going to be in pushing each other in practice.

“It’s huge. You want your leaders to go out there and go hard against each other, not kill each other, but that’s how you get better. I think that’s something that we’ve talked about, elevating your practices, elevating your hockey IQ on the ice and then whatever we talk about the theme is we’ll work on it in practice.”

In his first full season as head coach in Vancouver, Tocchet took the team to their first Pacific division title and a 26-point improvement on the previous season. Tocchet realizes the struggle this season is going to be now that the book is out on the Canucks and the pressure that entails.

“How do you handle pressure? There’s going to be a lot of pressure applied to you, and how do you react to it. That’s why you’ve got to do a lot of reps, that’s why you got to make sure your body language is good, you pick up your teammates. When there’s pressure, that’s when you look at people and you look at your team. I think the guys did a really good job last year. We know there’s another level, and we’ve got to find it. It starts everyday in camp and from here on in.”

The Canucks had a memorable playoff run last season, especially given what happened in net. Thatcher Demko got hurt in Game 1 against the Nashville Predators, and Casey DeSmith got hurt in Game 3 of that same series. This left Arturs Silovs to hold down the fort, which he did for 10 playoff games. With Demko’s injury likely to creep into this year’s regular season, Canucks will have to again rely on Silovs.

“Arty played really well,” Tocchet said regarding the 23-year-old goaltender. “He looked really good. He’s got that confidence in himself.”

Tocchet touched on what he’s looking for out of his players during training camp.

“You’re looking for the key guys to keep the pace, and competitiveness. Guys making plays, things like that. Sustainability. It’s the fourth day, they’ve skated four days in a row. I’m sure guys are a little tired and sore but you got to push that. I watch certain guys, I want to make sure whether they are out there for 25 [seconds], give me 25 hard and then get off. Like just don’t cruise around out there. A guy like [Conor] Garland, he wants to score, he wants to make plays. That’s what I’m looking for.”

The team put an emphasis on adding speed and depth along the wings this offseason. While grabbing a player for their skill is important, it’s just as important that they gel well in the locker room — Tocchet thinks they’ve got that with their newcomers.

“I kind of expected that with the group we have. The way they welcomed the other guys in last year. The guys we acquired, they’re good guys. Like they just fit in, they want to be apart of it. They’ve done a nice job themselves of acclimating with the players.”

To go along with the players they added through free agency, some notable young players have made an impact during training camp, like Jonathan Lekkerimäki.

“There’s a lot of good things. He checks the box on a lot of things,” Tocchet said when talking about the young Swede. “Now, it’s real action with stiffer competition. That’s what it comes down to. Give him some stiff competition, see how he can play on the small ice games, see him get to the net, see that shot. Like, there’s a lot of different things, but definitely checks a lot of boxes for us.”

A few hours after the scrimmage, the Canucks made their first round of roster cuts as they prepare for their preseason opener on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.