The Vancouver Canucks hit the ice on Thursday for the first day of training camp in three groups: two main groups and a third group that was primarily prospect and AHL-oriented.
That also meant that Canucks fans got their first look at forward lines and defence pairings for the 2024-25 season.
Head coach Rick Tocchet was clear that there are forwards who are definitely going to play together: J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk, and Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua. He also advised not reading too much into the lines on the first day of camp.
“When you fill a lineup out for day one…you can’t really read into it too much because I’m going to switch some things,” said Tocchet. “I rely on Patrik and Jim and the other guys: ‘Hey, maybe give this guy a chance here or here.’ I think that’s what the five days are for.”
But let’s be real: we’re going to read into these lines. We’re going to read all the way into these lines.
Canucks training camp lines
First of all, let’s see the lines. Here’s Group A, which took the ice first on Thursday:
Nils Höglander - Aatu Räty - Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk - Elias Pettersson - Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Sammy Blais - Nils Åman - Linus Karlsson
Vilmer Alriksson - Nate Smith - Riley Patterson
Elias Pettersson - Filip Hronek
Christian Wolanin - Tyler Myers
Christian Felton - Kirill Kudryavtsev
Derek Forbort - Mark Friedman
Let’s just take a moment to admire how wild it is to put both Eliases Pettersson in the same group
Group A also had goaltenders Arturs Silovs and Jiri Patera on the ice.
And here is Group B, which also featured goaltenders Nikita Tolopilo and Dylan Ferguson:
Danton Heinen - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains - Pius Suter - Daniel Sprong
Phil Di Giuseppe - Max Sasson - Kiefer Sherwood
Tristen Nielsen - Ty Mueller - Danila Klimovich
Quinn Hughes - Noah Juulsen
Carson Soucy - Vincent Desharnais
Akito Hirose - Jett Woo
Sawyer Mynio - Parker Alcos
So, those are the lines and pairings. What can we read into these lines? Plenty.
1 | Lekkerimäki gets big opportunity with Pettersson
The first thing that jumps out is that the Canucks’ top prospect, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, is starting camp in a top-six role alongside Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk.
The Canucks could have very easily kept him on the same line he played on during the Young Stars Classic, with Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty. That’s a line that could be the Abbotsford Canucks’ top line this season and keeping that trio together could be justified by saying it would help Lekkerimäki get acclimatized ahead of his rookie season in North America.
Instead, Tocchet threw Lekkerimäki directly into the deep end and, at least in practice drills, he was swimming just fine on Thursday. He earned compliments from DeBrusk, even if the new Canuck was intimidated by the sight of “Lekkerimäki” on the back of his jersey.
“I can’t pronounce his name, so I feel bad, but that kid on the right side is pretty damn good,” said DeBrusk. “He’s got a wicked shot.”
Even if Lekkerimäki doesn’t make the Canucks out of camp, this is a great opportunity for him to prove he belongs on a line with top-six players. That could make it a lot more likely that he gets called up during the season if the Canucks need a top-six forward.
2 | Hughes and Hronek could actually be split up
Right from the end of last season, the Canucks have talked about splitting up Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek.
“I think they played well together — two good puck-moving guys,” said general manager Patrik Allvin. “I think there’s part of their games I liked together, but I also think they’re capable of having their own pair. I think you can get more out of Hronek offensively. I think he maybe played a little more cautiously, backing him up and giving him the puck.”
On the first day of camp, at least, Tocchet followed through on this desire to have Hughes and Hronek on their own pairings. They weren’t even in the same groups.
Is this the best solution to balance the Canucks’ defence pairings and give them the best possible top four? Or will this lessen the impact of their most important player, Quinn Hughes?
3 | Juulsen gets first crack as Hughes’ partner
It seemed like maybe the newly-signed Vincent Desharnais would get a chance to play alongside Quinn Hughes to see if there could be some unexpected chemistry between the two.
Instead, Tocchet turned to a partner Hughes has had before: Noah Juulsen.
The two played together in the 2022-23 season and were actually quite effective, as Juulsen simplified his game in a stay-at-home role and let Hughes roam. The duo carried a 54.6% corsi together at 5-on-5, which was miles better than Hughes’ 46.4% corsi with his most frequent partner, Luke Schenn.
Hughes and Juulsen couldn’t quite capture that same magic in the 2023-24 season, however. Their 53.1% corsi wasn’t necessarily terrible, but it was the worst of any Hughes pairing. In addition, Juulsen was the only partner with whom Hughes got out-scored when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.
Is it worth trying again?
4 | The other Pettersson gets top-four audition with Hronek
With Hughes in one group and Hronek in the other, who did Hronek partner with? Surprisingly, it was the other Elias Pettersson, the rookie defenceman. Like Lekkerimäki, Pettersson immediately got an opportunity to show that he can play with a high-end player.
Tocchet was impressed by Pettersson in the Young Stars Classic, praising his intelligence on the ice, so giving him a chance to prove he can keep up with Hronek gives him better odds of earning a mid-season call-up. He said that he wanted to see how the young prospects played with their veterans and challenged the traditional way of thought for how to bring prospects along.
“The old school way of thinking back in the day was coaches thought you had to earn your way up,” said Tocchet. “I think it’s a different world. I think it’s important they hang with the veteran guys, see what they’re doing, how they’re preparing before practice, and watching their skill out there.
“I saw Petey talking to [Lekkerimäki] after a regroup drill — ‘go here, go there’ — and I think that’s invaluable.”
So, maybe this doesn’t mean that Lekkerimäki and Pettersson have a legitimate shot at making the opening night roster, but it shows how highly the Canucks think of both prospects.
5 | Soucy and Desharnais could be new towers of power
It’s generally been thought that Carson Soucy and Tyler Myers will once again be paired together and that free agent signings Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais would be on the third pairing.
Day one of camp challenged that notion, putting Soucy and Desharnais together. That still means a lot of size on one pairing, as Desharnais is just barely shorter than Myers — 6’7” to 6’8” — while Soucy is 6’5”.
If Hughes and Hronek end up reunited, perhaps Soucy and Desharnais would be the second pairing, reducing the minutes for Myers.
Or maybe all of the pairings will be completely different on Friday.
6 | Heinen has first dibs with Miller and Boeser
The least surprising forward line of day one was the top line, where free agent signing Danton Heinen skated with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser.
Heinen has experience playing in a top-six role, with David Pastrnak his most frequent linemate last season with the Boston Bruins. Before that, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Heinen spent some time with Evgeni Malkin.
Playing on the wing with Miller and Boeser is a plum role and Heinen’s north-south game and strong skating should, in theory, make him a great fit.
7 | Sasson and Räty to compete for centre call-up
Which Canuck on the farm is most likely to get called up if the Canucks need a centre?
It seems like Aatu Räty and Max Sasson are the prime candidates.
Räty skated between two NHLers in Nils Höglander and Conor Garland; in theory, that could be an NHL third line. Meanwhile, Sasson skated between two other NHLers in Phil Di Giuseppe and Kiefer Sherwood; in theory, that could be an NHL fourth line.
Compare that to Nils Åman, who was between Sammy Blais on a PTO and bubble player Linus Karlsson, or free agent signing Nate Smith, who was between two prospects in Vilmer Alriksson and Riley Patterson.
This suggests a potential pecking order for their AHL centres: Räty at the top, followed by Sasson, Åman, and Smith. Expect Räty and Sasson to battle to be the first to get the call.
Is this reading way too much into these lines? Of course, but that’s literally what I said I was going to do.
8 | Suter and Sprong could be new fourth-line duo
Tocchet, like many NHL coaches, likes his forward pairings — a duo that sticks together on a line with a rotating cast of third linemates.
There were some clear forward pairings on day one: Miller and Boeser, Pettersson and DeBrusk, and arguably Höglander and Garland — Höglander might be a placeholder for the absent Dakota Joshua.
Those are pairings for the first three lines but what about the fourth line?
Day one suggested that pairing just might be Pius Suter and Daniel Sprong. They skated on a line together with Arshdeep Bains, who is most likely headed to Abbotsford barring a stunning camp and preseason.
Some thought that Sprong might get an opportunity to play with DeBrusk and Pettersson — and he still might — but the lines on day one suggested that Tocchet sees him more as a fourth-line forward. That would be a non-traditional fourth line, of course, as Suter and Sprong have both proven they can put up some points.
Suter has scored at least 14 goals in all four of his NHL seasons, while Sprong is coming off back-to-back 40+ point seasons. If they’re the fourth-line duo this season, it’ll be an offensively dangerous fourth line.
