Things get testy at Canucks practice but Tocchet's not bothered
The Vancouver Canucks had an energetic practice on Wednesday afternoon.
The team returned home last night from a four-game road trip and immediately got back on the ice at Rogers Arena today. The coaching staff organized a full practice which included some different battle drills.
#Canucks with the black skate colour practice jerseys today pic.twitter.com/flfBqJcRaj
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) October 23, 2024
One drill saw superstars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson go up against each other, and things got testy. The two centres competed hard and then exchanged quick slashes before Miller delivered a cross-check. They then skated off back into their lines. No teammates stepped in, and the incident was over in a few seconds.
“It was good,” said Pettersson to TSN’s Farhan Lalji about the back-and-forth. “I think we should practice with an edge.”
“You don’t want players fighting each other, but there’s a time and a place where you want to challenge the pace of the practice,” said head coach Rick Tocchet when asked about the event between two of his star players. “That’s part of the game. It’s not a big deal. I’ve gotten in it a few times. You move on, be the first guy to take a guy to dinner.”
“I’m sure that if there was a scrum Saturday night, Millsy would be the first guy to jump in for Petey.”
That was not the only competitive rep, as there were some other spirited moments in today’s battle drills. One ended with Tyler Myers breaking his stick, which the defenceman then promptly tossed over the glass into the stands.
The overall pace of practice was strong as the Canucks look to build on their recent success. They now have three straight games at home, all against Eastern Conference teams.
The Canucks have won three straight games and have a few days off before their next contest on Saturday. They’ll be wearing the black skate jerseys for the first time this year as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.