Sunday September 17 - Vegas Golden Knights 9 - Vancouver Canucks 4

I didn't think it was possible for the Vancouver Canucks to ice a less-experienced lineup than the group that debuted for the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. But that's what happened—and it showed.

The Baby Canucks were outshot 38-33 and outscored 9-4 in their preseason home opener. Here are your highlights:



I was expecting Thatcher Demko to get his first-ever start at Rogers Arena, but while Travis Green joined the veterans on the fancy Boeing 777 to China...

If you were on this plane to China, you'd be telling the world too! 🤳✈️🇨🇳

A post shared by Vancouver Canucks (@canucks) on Sep 17, 2017 at 11:48am PDT

...Utica Comets coach Trent Cull elected to start the game with veteran Richard Bachman in net. Demko took over halfway through.

Bachman, in particular, didn't look very sharp. He gave up five goals on 18 shots, including two on the power play. But he didn't get much help from a defense that boasted a grand total of one game of NHL experience.

Remember Evan McEneny's NHL debut last February 25 against the San Jose Sharks, in the midst of the mumps epidemic? Yeah, that made him Vancouver's most experienced defenseman on Sunday. He led the Canucks in ice time (25:47)...and in giveaways (3).

McEneny was paired with Philip Holm who was once again...prominent.

He did thread a point shot through for a 5-on-3 goal to narrow the Vegas lead to 5-3 early in the third period.

Philip Holm's shot hit Reinhart's stick and goes in - #Canucks now down 5-3 pic.twitter.com/7ncIaNkSPY

— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) September 17, 2017

And apparently he was the best of the bunch in the Corsi department:

#Canucks five-best players tonight by five-on-five Corsi% pic.twitter.com/JVmoIk3S9t

— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) September 18, 2017

I was alarmed by his defensive play against L.A. on Saturday and felt he had some rough moments on Sunday too.

Holm's final stat line: 25:13 of ice time, 1 goal, 1 assist, minus-3 (worst on team), six shots on goal, two missed shots, one giveaway. He was the primary power-play quarterback, playing 6:47 with the man advantage.

Olli Juolevi and Jordan Subban also saw more than three minutes of power-play time each. Subban ended the day as a minus-two—with one giveaway and one beauty of a 5-on-5 goal.

Catch @jordansubban if you can💨 pic.twitter.com/csAvBUscpi

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 17, 2017

Whaddaya think?

Subban as a forward is an actual idea being thrown around, and I'm kind of down after that goal.

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) September 17, 2017

Subban got around a stickless Griffin Reinhart and scored on 18-year-old Dylan Ferguson on that play, so I'm not quite ready to assume that'd translate to the NHL. But I'm glad he did something exciting to keep himself in the conversation, after we didn't even see him in a preseason game last year.

As for Juolevi—like at Young Stars, I'm not sure he's well-served by these unstructured games full of kids who don't really know each other. His strengths are supposed to be his hockey IQ and strong positional play. Those are hard to draw on while chaos is unfolding around him.

At this point, I'd say he's playing himself onto a plane bound for Finland this season, but I expect he'll get at least two more games of action in Edmonton and Calgary this week before any decisions are made.

I'd like to see him stick around until the end of camp and maybe get lined up with a reliable right-side partner like Chris Tanev for a game—see what he can do when he has some big-league support.

Tanev, of course, is part of the China crew. By the time the Canucks took to the sky on Sunday, one change had been made in that roster from the list that was originally released:

#Canucks Benning says LaBate took Ryan White's place on China junket. White not 100% after taking hard hit yesterday in LA

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) September 17, 2017

...and, in the spirit of the occasion...

#Canucks have signed Chinese goaltender Zehao (Taylor) Sun to an amateur tryout contract for the NHL China games. pic.twitter.com/ztOi19Grpm

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 18, 2017

Sun will participate in the Canucks' practices and serve as a third goaltender if Jacob Markstrom or Anders Nilsson run into any injury issues.

I'll finish off on a positive note. Brock Boeser showed his sharp shooting skills again on Sunday, leading the way offensively for the Canucks with another two goals, plus an assist.

🎯 @BBoeser16 🎯 pic.twitter.com/pXAxWwwaQW

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 17, 2017

1️⃣ @BBoeser16
2️⃣ pre-season games
3️⃣ goals pic.twitter.com/3ZDw69F9l6

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 17, 2017

Boeser's scoring from both sides of the ice, in full flight and from a standing position. With five points in two games, he currently leads the preseason scoring race!

We expect everything from Brock Boeser. Yet, in first two pre-season games, he has exceeded expectations.https://t.co/6xOuxugsHa

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) September 18, 2017

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