Final rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season need to be submitted in one week.
The roster deadline is October 7, meaning the Vancouver Canucks have to get down from 45 players to 23 in a short span of time. On Sunday, they cut five players from training camp roster to get closer to their goal.
We're still at the stage where there are no alarms and no surprises in the Canucks' cuts but Pass it to Bulis is still here to break down every cut, starting with a player who impressed in Young Stars and training camp to the point that he got a nice little payday before heading back to junior.
Vilmer Alriksson gets a contract before he gets cut
Vilmer Alriksson is heading back to the Guelph Storm in the OHL with a nice chunk of change in his back pocket: the $85,000 signing bonus from the three-year, entry-level contract he signed on Sunday.
Alriksson was one of the Vancouver Canucks' best players at the Young Stars Classic prospect tournament this year. He played a heavy, physical game with his 6'6" stature, but also showed off his excellent hockey sense, vision, and hands.
Alriksson's tantalizing combination of size and skill makes him one of the most intriguing prospects in the Canucks' organization but that alone might not have been enough for him to earn the 19-year-old winger a contract. After all, as a draft pick out of Sweden, the Canucks hold Alriksson's rights for four years, giving them plenty of time to decide on signing him.
But the key to Alriksson getting a contract is how coachable he is. Alriksson came into camp having applied everything the Canucks wanted him to over the past year. Brought over to North America to play on the smaller ice surface in the OHL, Alriksson took massive strides in his physical play. He's become significantly better at protecting the puck along the boards and has become adept at getting to the net, far from the perimeter player he was in Sweden.
It's a solid sign that Alriksson has what it takes to continue taking steps and make it to the NHL, so it's no surprise that Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin got him inked to a contract right away.
"Vilmer had a solid training camp and continues to develop and improve,” said Allvin in a statement. “We really like his size, skating ability and skillset and we will continue to monitor his progress and work with him this year to help Vilmer get ready to take another step forward in his hockey career."
Here's the question for Alriksson: his development has gone well but it hasn't turned into production just yet. Alriksson had 17 goals and 33 points in 67 games last season, which isn't particularly good for a prospect in his post-draft year. With the context of adapting to the smaller ice surface, it's understandable, but now the Canucks would love to see him breakout this season.
Ty Young could head to junior or turn pro
Goaltender Ty Young has been assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks but it's unclear whether he'll stay there. At 20 years old, Young is still eligible to return to junior but he might not have a job to return to with the Prince George Cougars.
The Cougars not only have hotshot prospect Joshua Ravensbergen, who got the majority of the starts in last year's playoffs, but have also traded for Cooper Michaluk from the Spokane Chiefs, which suggests they're not expected Young to return. If Young does go back to the WHL, it's likely he would get traded to another team, as Ravensbergen is the clear number one in Prince George.
Young has an entry-level contract with the Canucks, so he can turn pro, but it likely won't be in Abbotsford.
The Canucks will have Nikita Tolopilo and Jiri Patera in Abbotsford, as well as potentially Arturs Silovs once Thatcher Demko returns from injury. The Abbotsford Canucks also have Jonathan Lemieux signed to an AHL contract; he spent all of last season in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings.
So, that doesn't leave a lot of room for Young to get starts at any level. You have to think the Canucks would prefer he had back to a WHL team where he could be the number one goaltender and get a plethora of starts, so we'll have to see where he lands.
What's the deal with Danila Klimovich?
I keep looking for signs of progression in Danila Klimovich's game but he keeps looking like the same player the Canucks drafted in the second round in 2021. He's got some compelling tools with his size, skating, hands, and shot but still lacks the hockey sense to tie it all together.
At 21, Klimovich is already heading into his fourth season in the AHL, where he'll look to bounce back from a brutal 2023-24 season where he dealt with injuries but struggled even when he was healthy. He had just 4 points in 24 games and was a frequent healthy scratch.
Klimovich had a strong start at the Young Stars Classic, where he made good decisions with the puck in the lower pace of a prospect tournament, but as the pace picked up in his one preseason game, the same panic with the puck resurfaced. The Canucks were out-shot 5-to-0 by the Seattle Kraken when he was on the ice in his one game and the only number that appeared next to his name in the boxscore was a 2 for his number of giveaways.
The hope for Klimovich is that his new coach in the AHL, Manny Malhotra, can connect with him and help him take a quantum leap forward in his development. Otherwise, he could be moving on from the Canucks, who are close to the 50-contract limit and may need to make room for additions via trade this season.
Tristen Nielsen looks to climb the ladder
A fan favourite in Abbotsford for his high motor and consistent effort, Tristen Nielsen has a tough task ahead of him if he wants to crack the Canucks' NHL roster.
The 24-year-old forward earned an NHL contract after a 41-point season in the AHL in the 2022-23 season, which was matched by strong two-way play and a hard-edged pest game. But this past season, he ended up behind a lot of other Abbotsford forwards for a potential call-up.
Nielsen has to compete with the likes of Max Sasson, Linus Karlsson, Nils Åman, and Arshdeep Bains to get called up and those four are well ahead of him at this point. There's also the addition of Nate Smith and prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki to make it even less likely that Nielsen gets the call from the Canucks.
For Nielsen, this season is just about getting back to what he does best.
"I got a little guilty last year of being complacent with where I was and thought I deserved some stuff, but I need to earn everything I get,” said Nielsen. “Being an undersized, hard-working guy who probably doesn’t have that top-six skill, I need to be tenacious and I need to be hard on pucks and I need to be in the right spot defensively."
If Nielsen can do that, he might still get a chance at filling in on the Canucks' bottom-six.
Captain Chase Wouters reports to Abbotsford
It's interesting that the Canucks kept Chase Wouters on the roster as long as they did, considering he didn't get into a single preseason game. The Abbotsford Canucks' captain was with the team on a professional tryout (PTO) like Sammy Blais but, unlike Blais, was never really in consideration to make the team.
Wouters is a well-respected leader with Abbotsford, playing a gritty two-way game on the ice and getting involved in the community off the ice. While he doesn't have any NHL upside, he's a solid AHL player.
Perhaps the Canucks kept Wouters around to give him the VIP treatment with NHL facilities, NHL coaching, and an NHL per diem for as long as possible. If so, that's a nice gesture for a player who's been an important part of building the culture with their farm team.
Vancouver Canucks remaining preseason roster
There are now 40 players remaining on the Canucks' roster, though that includes a couple of players on injured reserve: 22 forwards, 14 defencemen, and 4 goaltenders.
There are still quite a few prospects still on the roster, including Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Aatu Räty, Kirill Kudryavtsev, and Elias Nils Pettersson.
Here's the roster, arranged into makeshift lines and pairings:
FORWARDS
Danton Heinen - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk - Elias Pettersson - Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Nils Höglander - Aatu Räty - Conor Garland
Arshdeep Bains - Pius Suter - Daniel Sprong
Phil Di Giuseppe - Max Sasson - Kiefer Sherwood
Sammy Blais - Nils Åman - Linus Karlsson
Nate Smith
Ty Mueller
IR
Teddy Blueger
Dakota Joshua
DEFENCEMEN
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy - Vincent Desharnais
Kirill Kudryavtsev - Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort - Mark Friedman
Elias Pettersson - Noah Juulsen
Christian Wolanin - Christian Felton
Akito Hirose
IR
Cole McWard
GOALTENDERS
Arturs Silovs
Nikita Tolopilo
Jiri Patera
IR
Thatcher Demko
