Goldobin has sights set on earning more ice time

VANCOUVER — There’s no denying Nikolay Goldobin has an upbeat personality.

Following Wednesday’s up-tempo practice — the Canucks’ first after a three-day Christmas break — the Russian winger was pretty loose.

“I’ll be all right,” was his attitude. No other Russians? No biggie, he joked with the likes of Brock Boeser and Jacob Markstrom.

His stall in the Canucks’ lockerroom is the one closest to the main door. To his right is Boeser’s. The one past Boeser now belongs to Reid Boucher. Before Saturday, it was Alex Burmistrov’s.

“Where’s my friend?” he joked to teammates as media mingled about.

“You guys want to talk to me?” he asked with a tone of mock surprise.

The day’s topic was obvious to him and to the handful of reporters and camera hovering toward him: How is it being the last Russian standing?

“I don’t want to go now, I’m in the NHL right now,” he said flatly. “Not thinking about it.”

The topic, though, is difficult to ignore. Three Russians have skated in the blue, white and green of the Canucks in 2017. Two have returned to Russia.

It appears that the youngest, Goldobin, isn’t looking at the door both Burmistrov (this week) and Nikita Tryamkin (this summer) exited through.

Instead, the 22-year-old Goldobin said he was just sad to see his friend leave.

“I honestly didn’t know [Burmistrov was set to leave],” said Goldobin. “He was my good friend. He’s older, he helped me a lot, he was like my Russian ‘dad’ but I have a good team, good friends here.”

And having countrymen on the team was a good thing.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot, but for me and all the Russian guys it’s a huge help, you feel like you’re at home a little bit. I don’t have family here, so it’s nice to have a Russian guy you can talk.”

Still, Goldobin’s message seemed to be “onward.” There was no lamenting the departed, Russian wrinkle or not.

Coach Travis Green said he wasn’t worried that Goldobin might come to feel a little isolated.

“It’s not easy” being a player — young or old — in the NHL, Green explained. “There’s lots of pressure … My dad still thought I should still be playing 20 minutes a night when I was 37.”

Goldobin has always shown the scoring talent. In 20 career games with the Canucks he’s scored four times. Given how much ice time he has generally seen, that’s solid production. The rest of his game, that’s been the worry.

Burmistrov’s departure means the Canucks are now at 13 forwards.

Goldobin and fellow callup Boucher appear to be around for now. Both are wingers who have scored at every other level.

And both have had questions raised about their play away from the puck, their ability to be competent enough defensively that their offensive skill sets become an asset rather than simply a balance.

“You’ve got to be on the right side of the puck,” Green said when asked what he wanted from his players. “You’ve got to commit to it.”

“When we were winning with a full lineup, we weren’t winning 6-2 … The teams that score also play well defensively.”

“I’m trying to earn more ice time,” Goldobin said. “I’m feeling confident. I’ve played [eight] games and I’ll be better.”