Aatu Räty has earned rave reviews from Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet but will that be enough to land him on the team’s opening night roster?
Tocchet was effusive in his praise for Räty after training camp, calling him “a different player” than he saw last season. He pointed out his improved speed and said he had found “another level.”
After Tuesday’s preseason game, Tocchet was once again eager to talk about Räty.
“He’s not afraid to get in there, I think he likes the heavy game,” said Tocchet. “He just keeps working on his skating, he keeps playing faster — I don’t think there’s been a day that he has not worked his ass off. He’s always got his motor running.
“He’s trying to make the team. That’s what I’m looking for. He’s trying to elevate himself. He’s gonna make rookie mistakes but we can live with that if he keeps working.”
It wasn’t the assist Räty tallied on the power play that got Tocchet excited about his game but instead, he praised his excellent night in the faceoff circle, his quick clears on the penalty kill, and his play away from the puck. A centre can make an entire NHL career out of winning faceoffs and killing penalties. It’s a quick way to get on a coach’s good side.
“There were a couple sequences on the penalty kill…I put him on the right side — we were getting killed on the right side — but he went out there with three in a row: boom boom boom,” said Tocchet, signalling clears down the ice with his hand. “That’s huge. I mean, that’s 25 times three — 75 seconds of PK time.”
As for Räty, he feels like he’s ready to play in the NHL, which is understandable for a 21-year-old who has already had a cup of coffee in the NHL. He played 15 NHL games between the Canucks and New York Islanders in the 2022-23 season before spending all of last season in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re 21 or 31, you just want to make the team,” said Räty. “As a 21-year-old, I know I have a lot of room to improve and a lot of time to do so but at the same time, I’ve put in the hours and I think I’m ready for it.”
So far in training camp and the preseason, Räty has looked the part of a player ready to make his mark in the NHL. But is there even a spot on the roster available to him?
"You're looking for guys to really show us they want a job"
Tocchet has insisted that there are opportunities up for grabs at camp.
“There's spots open,” said Tocchet. “This week, you're looking for guys to really show us they want a job or they want that spot.”
Räty has definitely shown that he wants it, to the point that Tocchet had to ask him to take it easy at Tuesday’s morning skate.
“He looks faster out there with his skating and every drill he does, he goes 100 per cent,” said Tocchet. “He’s doing the morning skate, I told him to slow down a bit because you want to save it for tonight. I like that attitude, though, from a young kid. He’s trying to make the team.”
If there are spots available, however, it’s unclear where they might be.
The Canucks have a pretty set roster of forwards: Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Teddy Blueger, and Pius Suter down the middle; Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Danton Heinen, Nils Höglander, Dakota Joshua, Kiefer Sherwood, Daniel Sprong, and Phil Di Giuseppe on the wings.
That’s 13 forwards, which is typically what the Canucks under Tocchet have carried, along with eight defencemen and two goaltenders for a 23-man roster.
Two forwards are currently out of the Canucks lineup: Joshua and Blueger. Both are recovering from surgery, Joshua for testicular cancer and Blueger for a lower-body injury.
One week ago, general manager Patrik Allvin said Blueger was “a week away” and he’s been practicing with the team, albeit in a non-contact jersey. He should be close to a return and will likely play a game or two in the preseason.
While no timeline has been given for Joshua’s return, he said in his statement that he planned on “returning to play as soon as possible this season.” Tocchet said he did not anticipate Joshua missing much time.
“Dak’s not going to be out that long,” said Tocchet. “I don’t know the target date, don’t get me wrong, but he’s going to be back soon.”
That could mean Joshua will get back in time for the start of the regular season or it could mean he misses a few games.
Räty has plenty of competition on the Canucks' camp roster
If Joshua isn’t ready to return for opening night — and he should take as much time as he needs — then that’s one potential spot open in the lineup. But Räty won’t be alone in battling for that spot.
There’s Arshdeep Bains, who has been getting opportunities on potential bottom-six lines at camp. Max Sasson impressed at Young Stars and is getting a long look as a bottom-six centre. Linus Karlsson tallied a pretty assist on Tuesday night. And don’t forget the hard-hitting Sammy Blais, in camp on a PTO.
It’s even possible that Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s audition on the wing with Elias Pettersson could run into the start of the regular season, with Nils Höglander playing on the third line with Blueger and Conor Garland. After all, Höglander and Garland have played together all camp and have shown some blooming chemistry.
That’s a lot of competition for Räty to make the team.
Then there’s a dark horse: Nils Åman.
Åman’s steady, unspectacular game may not be particularly exciting but he provides exactly what most coaches like to see from a fourth-line centre: nothing.
Essentially nothing happens when Åman is on the ice, either good or bad. The Canucks don’t really score with Åman on the ice but he also led all Canucks forwards for the fewest scoring chances against, high-danger scoring chances against, and expected goals against at 5-on-5 last season.
Åman is perhaps a little bit boring on the ice but he’s also safe and when you’re sending a line out for 10 minutes per game, sometimes safe is all you really want.
Åman also has another minor advantage over Räty: he’s eligible for waivers. It may seem unlikely that Åman would get claimed, especially at the beginning of the season when so many players are going through waivers, but all it takes is one team taking a chance on a player who has proven he can hack the NHL and put up a point-per-game in his stint in the AHL last season.
That said, if Räty outbattles all of his competitors, it’s likely he’ll still earn the spot on the roster, waiver eligibility be damned. It’s not just about Räty either — it’s a signal to the rest of the organization that if you work hard, follow the development plan, and maybe even play a full season in the AHL, you’ll be rewarded.
"I've just got to keep working"
The bigger issue for Räty is if Joshua does return by the start of the regular season. That’s when waiver eligibility could play a major role.
The one forward who Räty could conceivably out-battle for a spot on the roster is Phil Di Giuseppe but the 30-year-old winger is a Tocchet favourite, who has played up and down the lineup for the Canucks.
While the Canucks might well put a player like Åman on waivers would they be willing to risk losing a veteran like Di Giuseppe on waivers?
The question seems to become more clear when you put it in context: the Canucks can very easily send Räty down to the AHL to start the season and have him available as the first call-up when injuries occur, as they inevitably will.
It’s a tough spot for Räty to be in. His chance to make the Canucks’ roster is not entirely of his own making. It depends on the health of other players and whether the Canucks will risk losing players on waivers when depth is essentially over the course of a long season.
To his credit, Räty is not worried about when his NHL opportunity will come.
“I’ve just got to keep working,” said Räty. “I think if I do the right things every day and do what I do, it’s going to happen eventually. I’m not too worried about when it’s going to happen, I just know if I keep working, it’s going to happen.”
