It’s been a while since we’ve done a “scenes from” because, well, there hasn’t been any Canucks on-ice activity in months!
But today, that all changes because we were at UBC at Father Bauer Arena getting a first-hand look at the Canucks’ prospects up close.
Here’s what we saw.
The goalkeepers
As expected, the goaltenders were some of the first players to take to the ice, with Aku Koskenwuo and Tai Young going to work with goaltending coach Ian Clarke.
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Naturally, I went over to the side they were working from and got to know what was being taught to the future Canucks netminders.
First, Clark explained the rationale behind the three-position system and went on to explain the shuffle technique used when the puck is rotated around the boards to high on the blue line.
Ty Young shuffles pic.twitter.com/41dvaaCzzv
— David Quadrelli (@QuadreIli) July 11, 2022
Ty Young impressed from the start as the desire to learn new concepts from Clarke and apply them immediately seemed strong.
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That’s always good to see from a young draft goaltender, who later told CanucksArmy that he considers himself a guy with a high work ethic.
“I think one of the reasons I was looked at to get drafted and stuff was just because my coachability and my work ethic to get better is pretty high. So my movements and technical stuff might not be the best right now, but I think my coaching is pretty good right now.”
Those two goaltenders stayed on the ice while the defenseman was on the ice facing practice shots.
I’ve also been very impressed with what I’ve seen of Koskenwuo, who has committed to play for Harvard next season.
Protection
The first group to come out were the defensemen, and the player that caught our eye the most was Jonathan Meierenberg, who the Canucks selected in the fifth round of last year’s draft.
Meierenberg moved the puck well and was bigger than we remember.
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For starters, the Swedish right-back is high on our list of players to keep a close eye on this week.
We also witnessed a heart-to-heart battle between Viktor Persson and the newly elected Elias Petersson.
Viktor Persson vs Elias Petersson pic.twitter.com/MDxFtQ7iDq
— Chris Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) July 11, 2022
Most of the drills the defense took part in revolved around puck movement and transition play, but included some battle drills where Henrik Sedin threw pucks between two defenders to battle for possession.
#Canucks seem to be trying to find the next Alex Burrows at development camp pic.twitter.com/DiWsJuOJkN
— David Quadrelli (@QuadreIli) July 11, 2022
“They’re icons in Sweden and all over the world,” said Elias Petersson, who said today that he wished his name was pronounced u-LUE-us when asked what it was like to start working with Sedin.
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Peterson was also briefed by the media on what the Grouse Grind was, as Ryan Johnson informed us shortly before that the week of Canucks development camp would include a race on the Grind.
“Yeah, I heard about it, but I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do – I think we’re going to go up a hill?”
Peterson was quickly informed that there wouldn’t be much walking.
Both groups
After the defense disappeared for about an hour, they were joined by the forwards, and there we saw a lot more, including – but certainly not limited to – our first look at Jonathan Lekerimaki on the ice.
First look at Jonathan Lekerimaki in Canucks colors. pic.twitter.com/tPtmsUOWVr
— Chris Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) July 11, 2022
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It was obvious right away that Lekkerimäki was short in stature, but the qualities that put him in the top ten of most recruiting boards were evident almost instantly. He moves well and has an undeniable wrist shot cannon.
There was also a moment when Artur Siloves wasn’t too happy with Linus Karlsson’s dig on a rebound.
Linus Carlsson with a rush and a snap against Artur Siloves. Danila Klimovic pushed him shortly after the game.
Training is starting to have a good pace here. pic.twitter.com/66tvx2juMT
— Chris Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) July 11, 2022
Another player who shined brightly when the second group took to the ice was the aforementioned Elias Pettersson. His wrist shot looked good and he looked bigger than most prospects out there.
Peterson told the media that the Montreal draft was his first time in Canada and that he thought Vancouver was a beautiful city so far.
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Who do you want us to keep a close eye on this week in development camp? Let us know in the comments section below!
Faber and I recapped more of the first day in the video below:
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