Canucks prospects: Bains hits one other degree, battle heats up within the Abbotsford crease

Article content material

It’s the newest version of the prospects tracker, the place we tally up the efforts of the Vancouver Canucks’ highest profile prospects:

Article content material

Article content material

Arshdeep Bains

Tearing up the WHL as a 20-year-old is one factor.

Doing the identical within the professionals two years later is one thing else.

Eight video games into the AHL season, Arshdeep Bains leads the league in factors with 13 (3G, 10A) because the Abbotsford Canucks Winger’s evolving recreation reaches new heights.

Bains, 22, has 9 factors in his final 5 video games, together with a three-point (1G, 2A), first-star effort in a 5-2 win over the San Diego Gulls on Friday.

Article content material

For the Surrey product, the distinction between junior {and professional} success is within the particulars.

Bains, who piled up 112 factors (43G, 69A) with the Pink Deer Rebels through the 2021/22 season, has utterly revamped his recreation.

Bains was all the time a gifted scorer with elusive skating and above-average imaginative and prescient, then-head coach of the Rebels and former NHLer Steve Konowalchuk instructed the prospects tracker final April, however work wanted to be put in away from the puck to ensure that the 6-foot, 183-pound ahead to make the subsequent step.

“That, to me, is part of his recreation he’s going to wish to hold on to the subsequent degree, the tenacity, ending checks within the American League so he has the puck extra at that degree,” mentioned Konowalchuk.

Bains has not solely obtained the message from the Canucks since he was signed final spring, he was the one chosen by the group to talk to the remainder of the prospects in growth camp this previous summer season, Abbotsford normal supervisor Ryan Johnson instructed CHEK-TV’s Donnie and Dhali present on Friday.

Article content material

Article content material

“It’s unimaginable for a younger man to decide, with the help of our employees … to revamp his recreation primarily after dominating the CHL,” mentioned Johnson.

“The message with Arshdeep was we wished to mainly strip down his recreation and construct him again up earlier than he even performed a recreation in professional hockey.”

The thought was to not restrict Bains’ offensive manufacturing, however to intensify by growing a recreation extra suited to the rigours {of professional} hockey. That meant “getting lots of the junior habits out of his recreation and develop an all-around recreation, a forecheck into his recreation, duty within the D-zone, his wall play — all of these issues that he purchased into.”

Article content material

The outcomes are a participant who’s a fixture on the penalty kill — in addition to the ability play — and is among the many most-trusted of coach Jeremy Colliton’s costs.

To observe Bains away from the puck lately is to observe a person on a mission. Other than the apparent expertise and imaginative and prescient with the puck, he hustles, is continually in place to make a disruptive play and doesn’t shrink back from bodily play away from the puck.

Bains could even must dial it down at instances, being penalized 3 times within the Canucks’ dwelling opener final week as he backchecked and battled a gritty Calgary Wranglers facet.

And Bains’ playmaking skill can’t be understated. Seemingly enjoying with eyes behind his head, Bains can throw a no-look spinning cross with the perfect of them, as he did in Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the red-hot Ontario Reign to arrange centre Sheldon Dries for the Canucks’ opening objective.

Article content material

Article content material

To start out final season, he was a pleasant story for the locals: a talented hometown child who signed with the staff he cheered for rising up.

This season, the dialog has modified. Bains is a reliable call-up possibility for a new-look Vancouver staff the place being a passenger is not an possibility.

“He’s placing himself within the dialog to get a possibility to play within the NHL right here,” mentioned Johnson.

The Abbotsford Canucks are 5-2-1-0 and in second place within the 10-team Pacific Division.

Arturs Silovs vs. Nikita Tolopilo

Considered one of them has a stable 2-1 file and one of many higher save percentages within the league.

The opposite is the presumed starter.

After incomes accolades final season because the AHL participant of the month for February, turning into the IIHF World Championship MVP this previous summer season — with a good 3-2 exhibiting in Vancouver sandwiched in between — this season was purported to be the Arty Occasion within the Abbotsford crease.

Article content material

As a substitute, an enormous Belarusian is just too busy stopping the puck to note what the opposite man is doing.

“I don’t actually take into consideration different goalies, actually, I simply attempt to give attention to myself and do my finest day-after-day, each recreation,” backup goaltender Nikita Tolopilo instructed Abbotsford play-by-play man Brandon Astle in an interview on Tuesday. “However I feel our relationship is fairly good, each of us attempt to carry one thing to the staff and naturally we compete for a spot.”

That competitors is shortly heating up as Tolopilo, 23, was sensational in his second begin on Tuesday, a 2-1 time beyond regulation win over the Colorado Eagles by which the 6-foot-6 goaltender stopped 34 of 35 photographs en path to a first-star efficiency.

Article content material

Tolopilo needed to be good early in Tuesday’s triumph. The Eagles fired 10 photographs on the Abbotsford internet within the first six minutes of the sport and Tolopilo needed to make a top-notch save together with his left pad on a degree clean likelihood later within the interval. He even made a save with centre Sheldon Dries’ stick, after dropping his moments earlier in a scramble in entrance.

The win follows a formidable victory in his debut two weeks in the past, the place Tolopilo stopped 41 of 44 photographs in a 4-3 win at Laval.

The Canucks anticipated Tolopilo to be good once they signed him this previous low season. The Minsk product was the perfect goalie in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan final season, posting 2.10 goals-against-average and a .910 save proportion.

He was courted by the group, with Canucks scout Mikael Samuelsson figuring out the participant from his time spent as Sodertalje’s normal supervisor.

Article content material

Nevertheless it was in the end goalie coach Ian Clark’s philosophy and the tutelage of his employees that in the end landed the free agent.

Tolopilo’s philosophy is easy: “Simply cease the puck,” he mentioned.

“Easy. Simply attempt to play calm and provides confidence. Not just for myself, however for the staff that they are saying ‘OK, this man will help us.”

Article content material

Silovs, in the meantime, has been no slouch to start out the season, however his numbers aren’t including up the way in which they did final marketing campaign.

The 22-year-old Latvian has gone 3-1-1 with a 3.63 GAA and a .882 save proportion, though he has solely given up two targets in every of his final two begins, each wins.

Article content material

You do surprise what impact a 10-0 clobbering towards a loaded Calgary Flames facet in a Sept. 24 NHL pre-season recreation had on Silovs’ psyche, who was pulled after giving up seven targets on 18 photographs — lots of which he had no likelihood on in entrance of an overmatched staff of prospects.

After giving up a weak objective in a 5-2 win on Wednesday evening — the identical recreation by which winger Vasily Podkolzin was hospitalized on a questionable hit alongside the boards — Silovs took issues into his personal arms, skating out of his crease and sending a long-bomb cross to a streaking Linus Karlsson for a reasonably major help.

Article content material

As for Tolopilo, he was good however not nice in Sunday’s 5-3 loss in Ontario, giving up targets on two deflections, in addition to on a degree clean alternative to lose his first recreation of the season.

The calm but vibrant character says he’ll proceed his routine of waking up, going to the rink and possibly catching dinner with “the Russians” earlier than doing it once more the subsequent day.

“It’s nothing but. I simply do my job. I attempt to do it the perfect as I can.”

Jonathan Lekkerimaki

We’re operating out of how to explain simply how good Jonathan Lekkerimaki has been this season.

The Canucks’ fifteenth general choose in 2022 scored one other objective this previous week — his eighth of the younger SHL season — and this one was probably the most spectacular of the bunch.

Lekkerimaki scored his wunder-goal in Saturday’s 3-1 loss towards Frolunda, with the dynamic 5-foot-11, 172-pound right-shot ahead taking the puck at centre ice and doing the remaining, making a beautiful transfer to his backhand round a defender then ending on his forehand to ship the Orebro crowd into orbit.

Article content material

Article content material

Lekkerimaki completed the sport with two photographs on objective in over 20 minutes of ice time because the 19-year-old blue-chip prospect sheds the bust label from final yr.

The way in which that is going, there’ll be no leaving Lekkerimaki off the checklist of high prospects not enjoying within the NHL anymore as soon as this marketing campaign is over.

The Huddinge native — together with his fast toes, fast arms and laser-like shot — leads the SHL with eight targets in 14 video games.

Hunter Brzustewicz

Hunter Brzustewicz has performed in 13 video games for the Kitchener Rangers this season.

The best-shot defenceman has not less than a degree in all of them, apart from the season opener a number of weeks in the past.

You do the mathematics on simply how explosive the 18-year-old has been from the blue-line this season.

Brzustewicz, 18, continues to guide the OHL in factors with 25 (5G, 20A) after registering 5 assists in three video games this previous week.

Article content material

The Canucks’ 2023 third-rounder’s finest recreation was a three-assist effort in a 5-4 time beyond regulation win towards the Erie Otters on Friday.

His worst? A 5-3 loss to the high-powered Owen Sound Assault by which Brzustewicz managed an help however went a minus-3 within the loss.

Nonetheless, the 6-foot, 190-pound smooth-skating D-man has been a revelation this season and absolutely has an inside observe to make Group USA on the World Juniors in Sweden beginning on Boxing Day.

Sawyer Mynio

Again into the lineup and straight into the stress cooker.

After a 3 week absence attributable to damage, left-shot defenceman Sawyer Mynio rattled off 5 video games this previous week for the Seattle Thunderbirds, even scoring a objective and including an help in his first recreation again final Sunday in a 6-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Article content material

“The puck went to (Eric) Alarie and I went to an open space. He discovered me with a pleasant cross. A lot of visitors in entrance of the web. I acquired it by way of, and it went in,” Mynio, 18, mentioned post-game.

“I felt actually good after lacking three weeks. It felt actually good to be again on the ice with the blokes.”

Mynio, a 6-foot-1, 172-pound D-man the Canucks took within the third spherical this previous summer season and promptly signed to an entry-level deal after exhibiting effectively at coaching camp, is a succesful defender who skates effectively and may get rid of forecheckers on the push.

The Kamloops native is skating on the Thunderbirds’ high pairing this season and has 4 factors (1G, 3A) and a plus-1 score in six video games this season.

Elsewhere: Abbotsford ahead Aidan McDonough (2018, Rd. 7) scored his second of the season on Wednesday, because the 23-year-old continues to get a number of Grade-A probabilities a recreation.

Article content material

Additionally, huge ahead prospect Vilmer Alriksson (2023, Rd. 4) upped his season objective complete to 6 this previous week after the 18-year-old tallied twice in three video games for the OHL’s Guelph Storm.

Article content material

And ahead Danila Klimovich (2021, Rd. 2), who was scratched for Abbotsford’s dwelling opener final Friday and hasn’t dressed since, is nursing an damage, coach Colliton confirmed earlier this week.

[email protected]

twitter.com/mike_raptis

Article content material