2023-24 Training Camp Thread

[The Aquaman]

It’s Christmas time, HOCKEY is back!!!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Just now, -AJ- said:

I'm thinking Miller is more down low or at the face-off dot, whereas Hronek is closer to the blue line. Miller would have the option of feeding Kuzmenko or going back up to Hronek or, if he has a great lane, a saucer to Petey across the ice.

 

I like this idea.  It's more of a 3-2 than an umbrella or 1-3-1 that rotates up high to down low.  Kuzy work the bumper/net front but would mean him and Miller would rotate depending which side the puck is on.

 

Though I have a feeling they will run the 4 forward setup and put Boeser in front of the net.  Toc has alluded to more net front presence so I'm assuming they'll use the 1-3-1 setup.  

 

I still want to see Boeser and Petey on opposite wings firing 1T's

[JeremyCuddles]

4 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

 

I'm thinking Miller is more down low or at the face-off dot, whereas Hronek is closer to the blue line. Miller would have the option of feeding Kuzmenko or going back up to Hronek or, if he has a great lane, a saucer to Petey across the ice. He could also easily move behind the net to change the options up and get different options to Petey and Kuzmenko.

Guess this would help if we could visualize how the other envisions the powerplay. Lol. Regardless, this is the perfect time to try out a plethora of different things.

[Rusty Shackleford]

 

 

[-AJ-]

2 minutes ago, Rusty Shackleford said:

 

I like this idea.  It's more of a 3-2 than an umbrella or 1-3-1 that rotates up high to down low.  Kuzy work the bumper/net front but would mean him and Miller would rotate depending which side the puck is on.

 

Though I have a feeling they will run the 4 forward setup and put Boeser in front of the net.  Toc has alluded to more net front presence so I'm assuming they'll use the 1-3-1 setup.  

 

I still want to see Boeser and Petey on opposite wings firing 1T's

 

Exactly it. A 3-2 system where Hughes and Hronek are both at the point, but on opposite sides. Don't really ever see that anymore since it accomodates two defenseman better than it does one.

[Breadnbutta]

From what we have seen so far… this is a pointless post but I just love mock up line combos. Yes I know this is prob wrong

 

Mikheyev Pettersson Kuzmenko

Podkolzin Miller Boeser

Hoglander Suter Garland

Aman Blueger McDonough

Joshua/DiGiuseppe

 

Hughes Juulsen

Hirose Hronek

Soucy Cole

Myers

 

Demko

DeSmith

 

flame away 

[ManbeastMARK]

2 minutes ago, Breadnbutta said:

From what we have seen so far… this is a pointless post but I just love mock up line combos. Yes I know this is prob wrong

 

Mikheyev Pettersson Kuzmenko

Podkolzin Miller Boeser

Hoglander Suter Garland

Aman Blueger McDonough

Joshua/DiGiuseppe

 

Hughes Juulsen

Hirose Hronek

Soucy Cole

Myers

 

Demko

DeSmith

 

flame away 

 

 

From what I'm inferring from the lines so far, Hirose and McDonough are expected to start in the AHL. I also doubt Beauvillier gets waived.

[Bob Long]

2 hours ago, Rip The Mesh said:

 

 

the 800 grit line. 

[-AJ-]

4 minutes ago, Breadnbutta said:

From what we have seen so far… this is a pointless post but I just love mock up line combos. Yes I know this is prob wrong

 

Mikheyev Pettersson Kuzmenko

Podkolzin Miller Boeser

Hoglander Suter Garland

Aman Blueger McDonough

Joshua/DiGiuseppe

 

Hughes Juulsen

Hirose Hronek

Soucy Cole

Myers

 

Demko

DeSmith

 

flame away 

 

What happened to Beauvillier? I'd be surprised if Joshua doesn't get a spot either, but crazier things have happened.

[Gawdzukes]

33 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

I think Tocchet said he wasn’t a fan of Hughes playing his off side. But the Hughes Hronek pairing could work. Hughes is a natural lefty while Hronek is a natural righty. 

 

That would be in 5v5 play wouldn't it? I don't think it matters for the PP if they're trying to set up Hronek for the big one timer.

[RWJC]

Why the Canucks are the only Canadian team to take training camp on the road

 

Taking your training camp on the road used to be common practice.

Usually teams would find a home away from home in a community nearby to their NHL base, but from time to time they would trek far afield, like the Montreal Canadiens did in 1961, venturing cross-country to Victoria.

 

During the 1970s and ’80s, the Los Angeles Kings also often spent pre-season in Victoria.

 

But as time has went on and many teams built their own training facilities, it became less common to take the show on the road. The Vancouver Canucks are just about the only team left in the NHL still doing it.

Over the years, the Canucks have spent pre-season in many cities and towns around B.C., including Victoria, Courtenay, Parksville, Duncan, Vernon, Kamloops, Powell River, Whistler, Abbotsford and Prince George.

Yes, some of that is because they don’t have a full-time training facility at their disposal, but it’s also because the team has always valued getting out and meeting their fans. Management group after management group has taken time to highlight this.

Current Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford is the latest to speak in these terms.

 

“The Canucks are very popular throughout the province and we’d like to reach out to some of those smaller areas and give those people a better chance to see the players practice. See them around town and things like that,” Rutherford said Wednesday, before the Canucks opened their training camp in Victoria at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

Added Canucks captain Quinn Hughes: “Just being in Kelowna last week, seeing how passionate they are about hockey and also in Penticton, and here as well. People here don’t get to see us play a lot. So for them to come out today, I mean, it’s pretty cool.”

 

When the Canucks joined the NHL in 1970, the team trained in Calgary and then in Medicine Hat before spending training camp for 16 of the next 19 years on the island, first in Victoria in 1974.

 

Former Canucks play-by-play caller Jim Robson remembered the early day of Canucks training camp fondly.

“The first camp was in Calgary, the second camp in Medicine Hat because the ice plant in Calgary broke down so at the last minute they had to find something,” Robson recalled.

“Whistler, that’s where Stan Smyl ran Harold Snepsts in the first training camp scrimmage as a rookie. And coach Harry Neale Smyl together with Curt Fraser and Thomas Gradin as a line.”

 

In those days, training camp was a two-week affair, with the first week just rookies and minor leaguers looking to make their mark and set themselves up for the second week, when the veterans arrived and the dream of winning a spot on the NHL roster became real.

Players would have an off-ice workout, then hit the ice for practice and just about every evening featured a scrimmage.

 

The modern camp is much more condensed, just three or four days, but the players skate hard each day, trying to show their coaches they’ve done the work in the off-season to prepare for the season to either secure a position in the lineup or to show they’re ready for the opportunity should a roster spot open up.

Young wingers get their chance

A trio of young wingers — Nils Höglander, Vasily Podkolzin and Arshdeep Bains — got to show their stuff alongside NHL regulars on Thursday as the Canucks opened camp in Victoria.

 

All three were skating in spots that brought profile: Höglander with Elias Petterson and Andrei Kuzmenko, Podkolzin with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, and Bains with likely third-liners Pius Suter and Conor Garland.

For Höglander and Podkolzin, this is a big pre-season. Both ended up in the AHL for much of last season, as their careers took a dip in progression. Both made the NHL as rookies — Höglander in 2020-21 and Podkolzin in 2021-22 — but have struggled to secure fill-time roles.

 

Bains played his first professional season last year with AHL Abbotsford and his game steadily improved. He played in all situations for Jeremy Colliton’s AHL Canucks and showed so much progress that clearly he’s in a spot where Canucks management are looking to get a sense of how close to seeing NHL action he might be.

“Höglander, I thought he was really good today. Like just sort of feisty out there and fast,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said Thursday, when asked to assess the young wingers’ situation.

 

“I think he realized we need some forecheckers. Some buzz saws. I think that he can supply us that.”

Tocchet didn’t get to see Höglander much last season after taking over as the Canucks’ head coach in late January, but he did see the Swede a few times in Abbotsford. He also spoke to Colliton about Höglander as well as former Canucks coach Travis Green, who knows him well from his first year in the league.

 

“It’s more piecing it together. So now, obviously, it’s my eyes now. I can see what he has,” Tocchet said. “I liked his first day.”

 

Tocchet was also pleased with Podkolzin, but highlighted what he needs to see from both players in the coming days and weeks if they want to change their names on the lineup card from pencil to pen.

 

“It’s consistency right? You play a great game; can you keep it up? That’s really I guess the next level here: can we be consistent? Can you guys come out tomorrow and practise hard again,” he said.

 

“It can’t be one out of every three. That’s really the message of camp. Recovery today and let’s see it again tomorrow.”

 

pjohnston@postmedia.com

twitter.com/risingaction

 

https://apple.news/AVO-GGUjKTK6nm4B39O98HQ

[Breadnbutta]

I knew I forgot someone

 Beau…

 

log Jam for sure

[Rip The Mesh]

Must have Gained off season training just to be doing this.  OH yah! we're gonna do well this year.

[Integra250]

2 hours ago, RWJC said:

Hah I already posted a pic of me sitting next to him. I wanted to record the convo but thought it disrespectful. Will pursue the proper channels.

 

 

Can confirm RWJC did have a lengthy conversation with PA. I was lurking in the area (Guy in the D. Sedin jersey) and went to chat with himself myself before the first practice ended 

[BlockerHigh]

2 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

He's got great hands and agility too IMO, but his hands can't quite keep up with his agility. Feels like he's 10% more hands and about 3 inches away from being McDavid sometimes.

Too much spinning and too many bad angle shots. He plays like he's playing beer league. He needs to use his speed and drive the net, shoot and look for a rebound, and after he spins off a guy in a corner don't to 3 more for fun, go to the net, head up and look for a pass to make vs taking a shot from the goal line trying to go short side high...

 

needs to simplify his game

[Barnstorm]

I looked online however couldn’t determine if pre-season games , particularly Sunday’s game in Calgary, will be televised or where they can be viewed. Any one able to clarify? 

[Nuckin Kingsly]

2 hours ago, Truefan99 said:

On a serious note I would’ve asked the organizations reasoning for making a coaching change at a point where the season was lost already and ruining their chances at a generational talent. 

I think they have already explained that a few times. They wanted to see which players actually gelled under toc and his structure. See who he can work with and what he doesn’t think will work. Management had a plan and followed it through.

 

plus with our lottery luck, we be picking 5 tops haha

[BlockerHigh]

30 minutes ago, Breadnbutta said:

From what we have seen so far… this is a pointless post but I just love mock up line combos. Yes I know this is prob wrong

 

Mikheyev Pettersson Kuzmenko

Podkolzin Miller Boeser

Hoglander Suter Garland

Aman Blueger McDonough

Joshua/DiGiuseppe

 

Hughes Juulsen

Hirose Hronek

Soucy Cole

Myers

 

Demko

DeSmith

 

flame away 

I can't see McDonough beating out Joshua. Joshua had a good season, then blossomed under Tocchet. They want and expect him to take an even bigger step this year. He may even push for third line duty. McDonough still needs to work on his skating and is better suited for a top 6/9 role as he's got hands. He's not a gritty, banger...like Joshua.

I also don't see Juulsen being out #2 D. If he is, god help us. they didn't bring in Cole to have him play behind Noah Juulsen dude...The latter is at best a depth dman. They also won't be sitting Myers. As much as people hate him, similarly, Juulsen is not a better dman.

 

It will be

Hughes/Cole

Soucy Hronek

Irwin (or Hirose/Brisboise )/ Myers

 

[BlockerHigh]

4 minutes ago, Barnstorm said:

I looked online however couldn’t determine if pre-season games , particularly Sunday’s game in Calgary, will be televised or where they can be viewed. Any one able to clarify? 

I saw all preseason games are on SN

 

https://watch.sportsnet.ca/team/Vancouver_Canucks_24751

Edited September 22, 2023 by BlockerHigh

[RWJC]

Just caught Drance in the concourse. 
If @Ribs or site admin wants to send him info/link to the site, he will tweet an acknowledgement to CFF (the resurrection of CDC). He’s aware of the Patrick Johnson article and what’s occurred. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by RWJC

[Nuckin Kingsly]

2 hours ago, Rip The Mesh said:

Not to be cruel but Garand's speed is really his only really good NHL asset. I'd say, use it all you can.  Second line maybe third. He has a decent shot but doesn't get to 

let it rip mush.  maybe Suter is a potential solution; At least to start the new campaign ..

I’d argue that, Garland is good on the forecheck and has great agility as well to create time and room for him. Good on the boards. Good vision most of the time. Not saying he’s great, but speed is also not his only asset

[BlockerHigh]

1 minute ago, RWJC said:

Just caught Drance in the concourse. 
If @Ribs or site admin wants to send him info/link to the site, he will tweet an acknowledgement to CFF (and the resurrection of CDC). He’s aware of the Patrick Johnson article and what’s occurred. 

Have to ask you bro....why is this such a "big thing" to you? Is it the lack of a period in the URL? This site is basically exactly the same

 

Honest question, I don't get all this consternation over the site removal given we have an alternative.

[Barnstorm]

2 minutes ago, BlockerHigh said:

I saw all preseason games are on SN

 

https://watch.sportsnet.ca/team/Vancouver_Canucks_24751

Sweeeeeeeeeeet.

[Rip The Mesh]

I can't help thinking, they see big goal and assist #s. My guess is they want it all from him  {  PP, PK , quality play at equal..  }

[Hogs and Podz]

I'm very curious about the pairing of Garland and Suter.  I don't feel like Garland's since being here, had a consistent partner or roll for that matter.  He's a quality player that's been miscast here so far.  I really think those to could really compliment each other.  Hope they get a few games together to see if they find some chemistry.  Could be a very productive and pain in the butt 3rd line.