Canucks face off against each other in team scrimmage ahead of pre-season opener
Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet says he wants to see consistency and creativity from his players as the National Hockey League team prepares for its first pre-season game Sunday against the Flames in Calgary.
Most of the players dressing for Sunday's game in Alberta will be prospects and younger team members, Tocchet said Saturday following a team scrimmage in Victoria where the team has been in training camp.
“You want to get the young guys in,” he said. “There's some guys that deserve a shot.”
The Canucks have been in Victoria since Thursday and will conclude their training camp Sunday.
Tocchet said the team has been working on five-on-five systems throughout the camp, and consistency and effort are concepts he wants to instil in the players.
“You know me, hard to the bench. The wall work,” he said. “A lot of our concepts, a lot of our staples. I want those things first.”
But Tocchet said he doesn't want to restrict player creativity.
“If you have a chance, do your magic,” he said.
Canucks players squared off against each other Saturday in a full-contact scrimmage ahead of the first pre-season game.
The scrimmage contest saw the Canucks dress two full benches of players, including veterans Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and goalie Thatcher Demko and several rookies trying to crack the line up.
The two-period contest ended in a 3-1 score with team blue defeating the white squad.
Prospects Josh Bloom and Chase Wouters, along with veteran Conor Garland, scored for the blue team, while Teddy Blueger, a former Vegas Golden Knight who signed a free-agent contract with Vancouver in July, replied for team white.
Canucks forward Jack Studnicka said he expects the Canucks, who finished out of the playoffs and in sixth place in the Pacific division, will be a much improved team this season.
“I think we're going to be a good hockey team,” he said. “I think we're going to surprise some people.”
Studnicka, acquired in a trade last season with the Boston Bruins, said he has added more grit to his game this year.
“It's kind of hard to stand out (at camp) because we're working on a lot of systems stuff, but I'm trying to use my legs and throw my weight around a bit and just show that I'm in shape and I'm able to play in the dirty areas,” he said.
Garland also said he also plans to play with more of an edge this year.
“That's how I have to play,” said Garland. “It's nice to kind of get back to my old self.”
He shrugged off a brief shoving incident with Canucks teammate Dakota Joshua during Saturday's scrimmage.
“That stuff is over in a second,” Garland said. “We're actually pretty close off the ice. I'm probably going to have lunch with him.”
The Canucks begin the regular season on Oct. 11 against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.