Day 3 of Vancouver Canucks Training Camp has officially passed,with participants taking part in a not-so-casual looking scrimmage at the end of practice. Team white, headlined by players such as Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Thatcher Demko defeated Quinn Hughes, Conor Garland, Nils Höglander, and the rest of team blue by a score of 4–1. After a successful third day of camp, Canucks assistant coach Kevin Dean met with the media to discuss what he has been seeing from the groups so far.
The Canucks rolled into camp with a brand-new coaching staff, save for new head coach Adam Foote who’d previously served as an assistant. Dean, Brett McLean, and Scott Young make up the new roster of assistant coaches. Because of the turnaround, there are still some details for the team to work out in terms of their systems play — but Dean noted that “there’s been no pushback at all” when it comes to establishing them.
“I think it’s obviously a little early to say they bought in completely, but they seem very focused and interested in what we’re trying to say, and the drills that we’re doing reflect that,” Dean told the media after Day 3 of camp. “I thought today, the scrimmage, for the most part, reflected that. We talked a lot about center lane drive and trying to get a little faster, coming out of our own end and coming into the offensive zone and rushes, and you can see that today with the rushes — we had good center lane drive. Both teams are doing it well. That’s not gonna happen overnight. This process will be going on in December. We’ll still be trying to chip away at it. But for the first couple of days, we’re happy.”
Saturday’s scrimmage was the first game-like scenario to take place during training camp, though there will be one more tomorrow as well as a preseason game against the Seattle Kraken later on. Dean made note of some of the players that caught his eye during Saturday’s scrimmage.
“I was watching my team a little bit more closely,” Dean, who coached team blue, said. “I thought Mancini was very good and active. I liked Elias Pettersson (D). I thought Sherwood brought a lot of energy, was great. I thought Bains played well on the other team.”
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The fact that it was younger players who caught Dean’s eye is a positive sign, but makes sense when considering that most of them are players who are currently competing for a full-time NHL roster position. The in-team competition has resulted in more eyes being lasered in on training camp this year.
“The teams that hold each other accountable the best, I think, are the best teams. An older guy or a middle-aged guy that knows he can’t just take his foot off the gas because he’s getting pushed from underneath, that just raises everybody’s level. I think that’s huge. You want those guys that were in Abbotsford, that obviously did a terrific job last year. Those guys deserve a shot, you know? If they can push their way in the lineup, they’ll find their way in the lineup, and it’s just going to raise the level of the guys that they’re going after the jobs of. I think it’s just a good thing organizationally.”
This roster battle is especially noticeable to Dean, who is primarily in charge of coaching defence. One of the players who has caught peoples’ eyes is 2023 first-round pick Tom Willander, who signed his entry-level contract back in May and has been seen on a pairing with Derek Forbort during camp.
“He’s an excellent skater. He’s got a good stick. I think he’s been coached well in college, so I think his fundamentals are going to be good. I think for him, it’s just going to be pro hockey made a little different with the strength of the person he’s playing against and the structure of the game, but he’s got some really good tools. I thought he was good today. I didn’t notice him a lot, but that’s a good thing too, sometimes with a young defenceman, not to get noticed. He’s exciting, because you don’t see that kind of mobility.”
Tomorrow, the final day of Canucks Training Camp, begins with doors opening at 8:30 am and players on the ice from 9:30 am to 11:00 am. Vancouver’s first preseason game starts later on that day, at 5:00 pm PT, against the Kraken in Seattle.
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