Canucks prospects: An ideal week, from prime to backside

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It wasn’t simply the large membership that had an ideal begin to their season this previous week.

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The Abbotsford Canucks are additionally 2-0 after posting back-to-back wins in Laval on Friday and Saturday, whereas a number of prospects taking part in abroad and elsewhere additionally made headlines.

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So let’s tally up the efforts of the Vancouver Canucks’ highest-profile prospects in what was a wildly profitable week for the group:

Vasily Podkolzin

Probably not a prospect anymore? Doesn’t matter.

So long as Vasily Podkolzin is in Abbotsford, he’ll be coated on these pages.

Podkolzin, nonetheless, might not final lengthy within the AHL if he retains taking part in like this.

The 22-year-old scored two objectives and was given first star honours for the child Canucks on Friday of their season-opening 7-4 win towards the Rocket.

The brand new father appeared reborn, taking part in with a goal that was sorely missed from his substandard pre-season.

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Podkolzin scored his first on the facility play, discovering some comfortable ice within the bumper spot and rifling a reasonably move by Arshdeep Bains post-and-in.

There was no smile from the gregarious Moscow product. Barely a celebration both.

He means enterprise.

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Podkolzin’s second aim was a testomony to the kind of hockey the group needs to see out of him.

The tenth total choose in 2019, skating on the primary line with captain Tristen Nielsen and veteran Sheldon Dries at centre, well acquired his stick on a impartial zone move late within the second interval and compelled a turnover. Podkolzin then turned on the jets, went onerous to the online and Nielsen discovered him within the slot for a fast shot and a aim to increase the result in 5-2.

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That is the “north-south” type that Rick Tocchet and Co. talked about earlier than sending Podkolzin down earlier this month.

“This (AHL) is the easiest way to get his reads as much as NHL commonplace,” Tocchet mentioned a pair weeks in the past. “He has some attributes to be a (roster) puzzle man, a north-south man, and he can work on his agility with straight-ahead energy. However his work ethic is excellent.”

Podkolzin didn’t register a degree in Saturday’s 4-3 with at Laval, however did go a plus-1 and had a team-high 5 photographs on aim.

Podkolzin, within the ultimate yr of his entry-level contract, may very well be among the many first call-ups from Abbotsford if he retains taking part in like this.

Arshdeep Bains

Talking of call-ups, it’s virtually a certainty that Arshdeep Bains fits up in Vancouver sooner or later this season.

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The Surrey product will all however guarantee it ought to his well-rounded sport proceed to pop within the AHL.

Bains tallied 4 factors (1G, 3A) for the primary time within the circuit on Friday, masterfully transferring the puck and making all the best reads within the pair of wins.

Not like Podkolzin, hockey I.Q. has by no means been a query for the 22-year-old.

Bains’ three assists have been all the major selection, with the perfect of the bunch being a cross-crease feed to linemate Nils Aman for a tap-in aim.

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Aman later reciprocated with a reasonably feed for Bains’ first marker of the season, with the Swede sending Bains away on a partial breakaway. Bains, the 2021-22 WHL scoring champion, did the remaining, calmly discovering a gap within the Rocket goalie’s paraphernalia to make the rating 6-3 halfway by the third interval.

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Bains, a 6-foot, 183-pound left-shot winger, had a quieter sport on Saturday, going even with one shot on aim.

Regardless of being an AHL rookie final season, Bains earned the belief of Abbotsford head coach Jeremy Colliton by his consideration to element in all sides of the sport. A potent scorer in junior, Bains is now discovering that ending kind within the professionals to enrich an already skilled 200-foot sport.

The longer term is vivid for the Surrey child.

Tom Willander

Come for the defence, keep for the scoring.

We lastly acquired to see the Canucks’ newest first-rounder in motion this previous week for Boston College — and we acquired somewhat greater than we bargained for.

Tom Willander, paired with fellow Canucks prospect Aiden Celebrini (2023, Rd. 6), scored a aim and added an help because the Terriers have been upset 6-4 at New Hampshire on Friday.

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For a participant who needs to develop the offensive facet of his sport, Willander appeared like a pure in notching his first NCAA marker, taking a move within the excessive slot from Celebrini and one-timing a rocket into the online excessive glove facet to offer BU a 3-2 lead late within the first interval.

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Willander, 19, manned the purpose on the second energy play unit and assisted on the primary aim of the sport, discovering a lane for a protracted wrist shot that was tipped into the online simply because the man-advantage expired.

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Regardless of the loss, the Celebrini-Willander pairing was BU’s finest, with each gamers going a plus-2 total and Celebrini notching the primary two assists of his NCAA profession.

We knew Willander’s skating and positioning have been his strongest attributes. However Celebrini has been in a position to sustain with the Terriers as properly.

The pair by some means managed to flee Saturday night time’s 8-2 exhibition demolition by the hands of the U.S. Nationwide Below-18 crew unscathed, with Willander going even within the blowout loss and Celebrini registering a plus-1 mark.

The Terriers have been the No. 1 crew heading into this weekend, however that may change after the loss at New Hampshire. Up subsequent for BU is a weekend pair of video games at Notre Dame.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki

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We are able to formally put the trials and tribulations of final season to mattress.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki is again to being the potent scoring menace the Canucks noticed after they 2022 drafted him fifteenth total in 2022.

Promoted to the highest line, the 19-year-old scored his fifth aim of the season for Orebro of the SHL on Friday, slinging his lethal wrister short-side and previous the Timra goalie from the left faceoff circle.

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Lekkerimaki added a major help within the sport, a 3-2 additional time win for Orebro.

The 5-foot-11, 172-pound right-shot winger additionally assisted on Orebro’s lone aim in a 3-1 loss to Modo on Saturday. Lekkerimaki, whose skating is turning into a critical power, took a move on the blue-line, faked a shot, then discovered some house to wrist a shot in the direction of the online that was tipped in entrance by a teammate.

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The Huddinge product has seven factors (5G, 2A) and a plus-4 score in 10 video games this season.

Hunter Brzustewicz

Final season’s offensive output was ok to snag a third-round choice within the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

The numbers Hunter Brzustewicz is placing up this marketing campaign ought to garner much more consideration across the hockey world.

The 18-year-old right-side D-man racked up six factors in two video games this previous week, together with his third and fourth objectives of the younger OHL season.

Brzustewicz, the straw that stirs the Kitchener Rangers’ first energy play unit, had a three-point effort (1G, 2A) in an 8-0 win on the Barrie Colts on Friday, then did all of it once more on Saturday, notching three extra factors (1G, 2A) in an 11-2 downing of the Windsor Spitfires.

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The Michigan product went a plus-3 in each wins, upping his season complete to a plus-10.

Brzustewicz, who scored six objectives in 67 video games final season with Kitchener, has a aim in 4 straight video games and is as much as 13 factors (4G, 9A) in seven video games — three factors away from the following finest scoring defenceman within the OHL.

Nikita Tolopilo

Casey DeSmith wasn’t the one backup goaltender on Saturday to steal the present.

Abbotsford backup Nikita Tolopilo was given the beginning within the second-half of a back-to-back and sparkled in his skilled debut, stopping 41 of 44 photographs in a sport that captain Tristen Nielsen netted a hat trick.

Tolopilo, an undrafted 23-year-old signed this previous summer season, posted a .932 save share within the win and made a number of huge saves.

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The 6-foot-6 netminder is Canucks goalie guru Ian Clark’s subsequent huge challenge. He likes them lengthy, lanky and with an economic system of motion within the crease.

Tolopilo suits the invoice to a T.

In the meantime, starter Arturs Silovs was stable sufficient within the Abbotsford web on Friday, stopping 27 of 31 photographs for the win.

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The Canucks return to Abbotsford for his or her house opener on Friday towards the Calgary Wranglers. They face the Wranglers once more on Saturday as properly.

Elsewhere: Defenceman Elias Pettersson (2022, Rd. 3) is dealing with his demotion to Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan as finest he can, getting almost 20 minutes of ice time a sport with Vasteras and contributing at each ends of the ice. Pettersson, 19, had an help in back-to-back video games this previous week — each wins — and posted a mixed plus-3 total. The promising left-shot D-man wasn’t getting the taking part in time with Orebro of the SHL earlier this season, so first-pairing minutes within the Allsvenskan is the following smartest thing.

In the meantime, Abbotsford inked Russian centre prospect Dmitri Zlodeyev (2020, Rd. 6) on Sunday to a one-year AHL contract. The 21-year-old cut up final season between the Kontinental Hockey League’s Spartak Moscow and its minor league affiliate Khimik Voskresensk, skating in 18 KHL video games and 33 VHL video games final season. Zlodeyev helped Khimik seize the VHL Championship, scoring three objectives in 17 postseason video games.

And massive centre Daimon Gardner (2022, Rd. 4) acquired his first two NCAA factors this previous week, each assists. Gardner, 19, performed final season within the USHL.

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