CAPTAIN CANUCK?
Sedins groomed Horvat for role
In a different time — let’s call it the Nicklas Jensen era — Petrus Palmu would be a huge story as the Vancouver Canucks headed into the Young Stars tournament in Penticton.
Two years ago, as a 19-year-old, he registered 98 points with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. Last season, with Turku in the Finnish Elite League, he compiled 17 goals and 36 points playing against men. He figures to start this season in Utica, N.Y., but the Canucks’ director of player development Ryan Johnson says he’ll keep an eye on this kid.
“I’m excited to see him,” said Johnson.
But here’s what should be exciting to Canucks’ fans. Depending on how you rate these things, Palmu barely cracks the top-10 list of the prospects who will be on display next week in the Okanagan.
“It’s one thing to acquire prospects, but we’re closer to seeing the players fans will see in Vancouver,” Johnson said. “This is a start, but it’s exciting.
“They’re not here for the experience. They’re trying to take someone’s job away. And we’re not talking about one or two guys. We can put a dozen names on the table and talk about them all day.”
Which is the first time in the team’s history the Canucks can say that with a straight face. Johnson, general manager Jim Benning, coach Travis Green and the rest of the Canucks’ hockey department will convene in Penticton next Thursday for a revised version of the Young Stars tournament.
This year, Winnipeg and Vancouver are the only NHL teams present, but in past iterations, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and San Jose sent their best prospects to the event. This, in turn, created a showcase for some of the game’s best young talents: Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and Mark Scheifele.
Then there were the Canucks. We need not revisit the club’s depressing draft record over the life of the Young Stars but, save for a Bo Horvat here or a Jake Virtanen there, this tournament didn’t exactly move the needle for Canucks fans.
This year, finally, is different and even if it means the team in Utica might be more interesting than the Canucks this season, it still feels like the start of something new.
With the exception of goalie Thatcher Demko and defenceman Quinn Hughes, all of the Canucks’ high-end prospects will be in Penticton. Swedish forward Elias Pettersson is the sexiest name in the group, but when Johnson says there are a dozen names to consider, he doesn’t overstate the point.
Beyond Pettersson there are fellow Europeans Jonathan Dahlen, Olli Juolevi, Lukas Jasek and Palmu, who are all about to embark on their first full professional season in North America. They’ll be joined by Hobey Baker winner Adam Gaudette and 2017 draftees Kole Lind and Jonah Gadjovich.
Throw in Utica veterans Zack MacEwen, Guillaume Brisebois and Jalen Chatfield, goalie Michael DiPietro, who’ll return to junior as an over-ager, and 2018 draft pick Jett Woo, and there will be no end to the storylines next week.
Johnson, who started with the Canucks in 2013 and has played a significant role in the development of this group, offered a preview of some of those stories:
ELIAS PETTERSSON
The lanky forward split his summer between his home in Sundsvall and his club team in Vaxjo. The weight, or lack thereof, on the Swedish league’s MVP has been an ongoing source of concern in some quarters. It isn’t for Johnson.
“We’re trying to get him stronger and that takes time,” said Johnson. “It might be four, five pounds a year. If we try to add 15 pounds in one summer we’re taking away from his game. It has to be natural.
“He’s a workhorse and he has a plan. I’m not worried about Elias in the least.”
KOLE LIND
Of all the Canucks’ prospects, Johnson was most effusive in his praise for Lind’s work over the summer.
“He had a wake-up call when he got to Utica (after his season in Kelowna ended last year),” said Johnson. “But since his exit meeting he’s been all in. His leg power, his strength, it’s an astronomical difference in a year.”
ADAM GAUDETTE
“He’s had a huge summer in Boston,” Johnson said. “We saw him in May, then again in July. He’s taken strides in overall strength. We got a little sample at the end of the season. We expect to see an improved version.”
OLLI JUOLEVI
Juolevi missed a month of training this summer recovering from a microdiscectomy to alleviate a nerve problem in his back.
“He’s 100 per cent and ready to go,” said Johnson. “I expect him to be highly motivated.”
OK, it’s Johnson’s responsibility to oversee the training and development of the Canucks’ prospects. As such, he might not be the most objective source on the subject.
But with the franchise’s future riding on this group of players, it’s at least reassuring to know there are no red flags heading into the Young Stars.
Two years ago, Virtanen arrived at training camp weighing almost 20 pounds over his target weight and that cost him a year in Utica after a promising rookie season.
Now? Well, each player represents a unique and ongoing story, but they appear to have the first chapter right.
“You can’t throw a blanket over these guys,” said Johnson. “They’re all different and they’re all in different stages of their development.
“But the key word is growth. We want to see the work they put in this summer show up in their games. It will give us a good idea where they are heading into the main camp.”
And maybe their future.