Canucks reveal lines and defence pairs on first day of training camp
Bruce Boudreau said he would attempt to put together his opening-night lines and defence pairs on the first day of training camp.
Needless to say then, there was extra intrigue on the first day of on-ice sessions in Whistler.
The Vancouver Canucks head coach wants his team to have a good start to the season, something the team failed to do in each of the last two seasons under Travis Green.
Boudreau is keeping his promise of playing J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Bo Horvat on separate lines, making the Canucks deep down the middle. The team’s fourth-line centre appears to be Jason Dickinson to start, however, and not Curtis Lazar, who is lined up on Dickinson’s wing, along with Dakota Joshua.
Miller has been given a pair of familiar linemates that he had success with last season, in Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser. Pettersson has both Russian newcomers on his line, with Andrei Kuzmenko on left wing and Ilya Mikheyev on his right.
Right-shooting winger Conor Garland is lining up at left wing on Horvat’s line, with Vasily Podkolzin on right wing.
Nils Höglander is with an all-Swedish trio, with Nils Aman at centre and Linus Karlsson on right wing.
Training Camp Groups – Day 1 (Sep. 22):
SCHEDULE:
10:15am: Group A practice
11:35am: Group B practice
12:40pm: Scrimmage (B vs C)
1:35pm: Group C practice pic.twitter.com/qlcz317ohn— Canucks PR (@CanucksPR) September 22, 2022
On defence, Quinn Hughes has indeed moved to the right side, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Six-foot-three defenceman Danny DeKeyser, who is in camp on a pro tryout, is beginning on a towering pairing with Tyler Myers.
Jack Rathbone is paired with Luke Schenn, while Travis Dermott is playing with Tucker Poolman.
There will surely be tweaks before the regular season begins, but these are the most NHL-ready lines today:
- Tanner Pearson – J.T. Miller – Brock Boeser
- Andrei Kuzmenko – Elias Pettersson – Ilya Mikheyev
- Conor Garland – Bo Horvat – Vasily Podkolzin
- Dakota Joshua – Jason Dickinson – Curtis Lazar
- Nils Höglander – Nils Aman – Linus Karlsson
And these are their top defence pairs:
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Quinn Hughes
- Danny DeKeyser – Tyler Myers
- Jack Rathbone – Luke Schenn
- Travis Dermott – Tucker Poolman
The Canucks will skate Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Whistler before preseason begins with split-squad games in Vancouver and Calgary on Sunday.
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