The Vancouver Canucks' young roster overcame an early 3-1 deficit to earn a 5-3 win in Calgary against the Flames on Wednesday night, then the veterans went 1-for-12 on the power play as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Los Angeles Kings in the first of two exhibition games in China.
Lots to unpack. Let's start with highlights:
The Flames didn't dress their top four defensemen or their top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Micheal Ferland but early on, it looked like Calgary's deeper lineup was going to guide the team to an easy win.
Calgary jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 5:48 mark of the first period thanks to two fourth-line goals. Carter Bancks, Michael Carcone and Cole Cassels lost the early battles against Tanner Glass, Dillon Dube and Ryan Lomborg.
With the ice tilted firmly in Calgary's direction, Thatcher Demko started the momentum shift with a great save on a true NHL scorer, Mikael Backlund, less than a minute after Lomborg's 2-0 goal.
Demko stop off Backlund at 2-0 when it looked like Flames were heading for 10 tonight the TSN Turning Point in this one
Anton Rodin scored his first of preseason at 13:23 before Mark Jankowski made it 3-1 Calgary at 17:28. Demko allowed three goals on seven shots in the first period but then stopped all 19 shots he faced in the final two frames as the Canucks went to work.
I was impressed by new Utica coach Trent Cull when I saw him in Penticton at Young Stars. He seemed tuned in and spoke in specifics when quizzed about players and situations. I feel like Cull's work with the young players so far in training camp finally paid off in the second period against Calgary, when the group seemed to coalesce into a team.
Maybe the Flames vets were mailing it in a little bit, but the Canucks' kids seemed to be outskating Calgary, winning the puck battles and getting rewarded on the scoreboard—despite being foiled by one insane behind-the-back grab by goalie Jon Gillies in the second period.
I don't know how but Gillies catches the puck behind his back!
With his four goals and six points in three games, Boeser continues to lead the NHL in exhibition goals and points. His scoring is getting noticed by pundits all around the league. I was impressed by his all-round game on Wednesday—his passing was pinpoint and he was effective on the penalty kill. He even blocked two shots.
I know we don't want to get overly excited—but have the Canucks ever had a rookie break out like this in preseason? Pavel Bure made an immediate impact when he arrived on the scene in the fall of 1991, but the regular season was already underway when he showed up.
As Canucks fans, our lot in life is to get excited on paper about our young players, only to be brought back to reality when they hit the ice, right? This year's Olli Juolevi narrative follows our more typical pattern.
I remember being super-impressed by huge defenseman (and fourth-overall pick) Bryan Allen in his first exhibition game at what was then GM Place. I guess that was when he was 18, in the
fall of 1998. It's tough to find newspaper clippings that go that far back anymore but his Wikipedia page states that he "made the Canucks at the age of 18 in his first camp, but was unable to reach an agreement with the team's management and returned to the Oshawa Generals, his junior team." That seems to align with my foggy memory.
From there, Allen battled injuries and developed into primarily a defensive defenseman. He was part of the package that was traded to Florida for Roberto Luongo during the summer of 2006 and ultimately played 721 NHL games, picking up 136 points and 839 penalty minutes.
I'm not bringing up Allen to suggest that Juolevi is destined for the same path. Juolevi has already been signed to his entry-level deal, for one thing, and he's now at his second camp.
Back with Jalen Chatfield on Wednesday, Juolevi had a better game—they complement each other well. Yes, there was one ugly giveaway, but Juolevi also threaded through the pass for Boeser's goal and was plus-one for the night.
Chatfield, at 21, is two years older than Juolevi. His maturity shows in his playing style. He was selected the game's second star thanks to a goal, two assists, and a plus-one rating.
Philip Holm and Andrey Pedan were deployed as the top pair in terms of ice time. I'm still skeptical about Holm, although maybe he just needs some time to adjust to playing the game on the smaller ice for the first time. Pedan actually had a quietly solid game, leading all players with 22:05 of ice time and leading the team with four hits, as well as registering four shot attempts.
The opening-night defense on the big club is likely set, with Alex Biega and Patrick Wiercioch as the extras. Along with the veterans Pedan and Jordan Subban, Holm and Chatfield should be valuable additions to the Comets blue line—and probably the first call-up options when injuries strike.
As for Boeser, he's giving himself every chance to start the year in Vancouver, but his UND coach Brad Berry puts his early success in perspective:
Berry on Boeser "Pre-season is a good start but it gets tougher & tougher as rosters get reduced. He has to keep moving forward." #Canucks
That attitude showed on Wednesday. It's too bad there's no TV for Friday night's game in Edmonton. I want to watch this group more.
As for the vets—I was a little bit late to the party, waking up just after 5 a.m. with about five minutes to go in the first period. But I'm pretty sure I saw enough to get the general idea.
Mercedez-Benz Arena in Shanghai hosted just over 10,000 fans, plus a gaggle of cheerleaders and a rink full of dehumidifiers, as the Kings beat the Canucks 5-2 in a penalty-filled affair.
Custom-tailored suits are a big deal in China. World traveller Erik Gudbranson got in on that action with a bold statement.
All things considered, I thought the turnout was pretty respectable for a city that doesn't normally host hockey. Should be better on Saturday in Beijing, the home of the KHL's Kunlun Red Star?
On the ice, yep, it was a penalty parade. The Kings have had a reputation as a team that 'hacks and whacks' and they got dinged for it in this game, drawing 12 penalties. The Canucks gave up one shorthanded goal when Tanner Pearson blew past forward Sam Gagner on the point. They also got a power-play marker courtesy of Sven Baertschi, off the second power-play unit.
I can't tell you much about the lines, but I can tell you that PP1 was composed of the twins, Gagner, Thomas Vanek and Alex Edler, while the second group was Baertschi, Burmistrov, Horvat, Eriksson and Ben Hutton. I saw somebody mention that Reid Boucher started the game on PP2 before being replaced by Horvat, but I didn't notice that myself.
I am a little surprised that Travis Green/Newell Brown elected to go with Edler and Hutton as their two power-play defenders. For me, Michael Del Zotto and Troy Stecher are better suited for the gig. I'd also try to get Markus Granlund into the mix up front.
Burmistrov was denied a power-play goal that would have made the score 3-2 when it was ruled that the buzzer had gone to end the second period just before the puck entered the net behind Jonathan Quick.
After going 1-for-12 with the man advantage, maybe we'll see some changes in deployment on Saturday in Beijing.
One other item to note—I suspect Manny Malhotra deserves props for teaching this team how to take faceoffs the right way. As far as I know, the Canucks have not yet been dinged for a single faceoff violation—and they won 59 percent of their draws in Calgary on Wednesday.
Today, the travel plans for the China group will include a trip to the Great Wall, which should be a pretty jaw-dropping experience for the boys.
To wrap up—this just in. The training camp roster has been cut by another four players.
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