The Vancouver Canucks took another step towards setting their opening night roster on Tuesday, with eight more training camp cuts.
After sending five players back to their junior teams on Monday, Tuesday’s moves were primarily AHL demotions.
Players cut today that are being sent to camp in Abbotsford include forwards Marc Gatcomb, Dmitry Zlodeyev, and Jermaine Loewen; defencemen Chad Nychuk and Alex Kannok-Liepert; and goaltender Jonathan Lemieux. Right winger Karel Plasek, meanwhile, has been loaned to Abbotsford.
Cooper Walker, a 21-year-old centre who was on an amateur tryout, has been released entirely.
There are many more cuts to come, as the Canucks still have 26 forwards, 15 defencemen, and six goaltenders with the NHL club. They’ll need to set a 23-man roster prior to the start of the regular season on October 11.
The Canucks will be looking for better results than their preseason opener, a 10-0 beatdown in Calgary on Sunday. Five more preseason games remain for the Canucks, with the next two on the road against the Edmonton Oilers (Wednesday) and the Seattle Kraken (Thursday).
The first game at Rogers Arena is Saturday against the Oilers. The Canucks will host the Kraken at the Abbotsford Centre on October 4, before the preseason finale against the Flames in Vancouver on October 6.