Canucks coach Tocchet shares early idea for forward lines
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet gave everyone a glimpse into his mind today at season-opening media availability.
One thing he will need to accomplish over the coming weeks is deciding on how to set up his forward lines for the season opener. The bench boss has become known for keeping pairs of forwards together for extended periods. With so many new additions, will he keep last year’s pairs together or looking for new ones?
From what he said today, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser will stick together, while Elias Pettersson will start with the newly acquired Jake DeBrusk.
“Millsy and Boes, they’ve got great chemistry,” the head coach told the media. “I think Petey and Jake [DeBrusk] together from the start, I’d like to give them some time together.”
The Canucks struggled to provide Pettersson with quality wingers last season. The signing of DeBrusk on July 1 means they have a new option who has broken the 25-goal mark three times in his career thus far.
There is also a pair of players that the coach would like to keep together in the bottom six.
“Dakota [Joshua] and [Conor] Garland, those guys together played damn good hockey for us. It’s hard for me to break those guys up.”
The duo was dominant last season, especially in the playoffs. Their contributions from the third line helped the Canucks greatly down the stretch.
Unfortunately, Joshua will not be at training camp as he recovers from surgery following a testicular cancer diagnosis. He’s one of four Canucks who will miss the first day due to injury.
They’ll need a centre between them and that could be Pius Suter. While the Swiss forward played all over the lineup last year, Tocchet said that “he’s a centre for us” as we approach the start of this season.
If those three pairs play together, that gives the rough framework of the team’s top nine. While it doesn’t answer every question, you can start to get a picture of the opening night lineup.
While the line talk is exciting, the on-ice sessions have not started yet. This means a lot of this discussion is still relatively premature.
“Nothing is set in stone,” explained Tocchet. “I think it’s important that we have different puzzles at different times so I wouldn’t read too much into the line combos to start.”
The first group will kick off Canucks training camp at 9:30 am PT in Penticton. The team plays its first preseason game on Tuesday, September 24 when they host the Seattle Kraken.