After cruising to a fairly easy win over the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects on Friday night, the Vancouver Canucks’ prospects had a tougher task on Sunday afternoon.
The Canucks’ faced the Winnipeg Jets’ prospects in their second game of the 2024 Young Stars Classic in Penticton. The Jets’ lineup featured a mix of experience and top prospects, including three first-round picks in Brad Lambert, Colby Barlow, and Brayden Yager, as well as highly-regarded prospects Elias Salomonsson, Nikita Chibrikov, and Kevin He.
This talented Jets’ lineup gave the Canucks real problems in the first half of the game, repeatedly hemming the Canucks into their own zone. The Jets took a 2-0 lead at the midway point of the second period and seemed fully in control.
But, like a Bad Religion fan, they had no control.
The Canucks completely turned the game around, scoring two quick goals to tie the game in the second period, then two more goals in the third period — four unanswered goals for the 4-2 win.
Of course, a prospect tournament like the Young Stars Classic isn’t really about the result but about the process. Individual prospects will have different goals in mind, whether it’s ramping up for main Canucks camp or trying to earn a contract. So, which prospects helped their cause with a strong performance?
Here are the Young Stars Three Stars for Sunday afternoon’s game:
3 | Max Sasson
When the Canucks were down 2-0 midway through the second, they needed a spark. They got it from Max Sasson, who continued to impress in his bid to play NHL games this season.
Sasson was noticeable early, creating a couple of chances for himself in the first period with his speed and hands, but it was his playmaking in the second period that helped turn the game around. He hustled in hard to beat Jets defenceman Dmitry Kuzmin to a loose puck, chipping it down low to race onto it himself. He swooped behind the net and found a net-crashing Josh Bloom, who redirected the hard pass in with his skate.
The goal seemed to come out of nowhere, as the Canucks had rarely threatened up until that point, but the superb Sasson play seemed to turn the tide.
Beyond the assist, Sasson play a solid two-way game, including a big hit in the second period to prevent a chance after Elias Pettersson turned the puck over at the Canucks’ blue line. That combination of speed, two-way responsibility, and opportunistic scoring could land him a bottom-six role in the NHL in the future.
2 | Ty Young
After Nikita Tolopilo posted a shutout on Friday, Ty Young got the harder assignment against the Jets. It didn’t help that the Canucks were careless with the puck early, with several players turning the puck over inside the defensive zone or at the offensive blue line, leading to dangerous chances the other way.
Young was particularly good in the first period, stopping all 13 shots he faced to keep the scored knotted at noughts heading into the first intermission.
While Young allowed two goals in the second period, it was hard to fault him on either. The Jets’ top prospect, Brad Lambert, scored the opening goal on a 2-on-1 rush when he was allowed to cut into the middle by Canucks defenceman Sawyer Mynio. Lambert dragged the puck inside and rifled it past Young to make it 1-0.
He didn’t have much chance on the second goal either, a power play one-timer by Nikita Chibrikov off a lovely cross-seam pass by Lambert on the backhand.
After those two goals, Young shut the door, giving the Canucks a chance to get back into the game. Then, after the Canucks gained the lead, he closed out the game with some sharp stops, including a lunging save on Brendan Yager that was his best — or, at least, most acrobatic — save of the night.
All together, it was a very strong performance by the 2022 fifth-round pick. This game could have gotten away from the Canucks early; Young made sure that didn’t happen.
Young is likely to return to the Prince George Cougars in the WHL for his over-age season, where he’ll look to stave off Joshua Ravensbergen, a top prospect for the 2025 draft, for the number-one job.
1 | Vilmer Alriksson
It’s hard to believe that Vilmer Alriksson was known as a perimeter player when the Canucks drafted him in the fourth round in 2023. He worked hard at transforming his game in the OHL last season to adapt to the smaller ice surface in North America and play more of a power forward game, using his 6’6” size to throw hits, win battles on the boards, and protect the puck.
That hard work is showing in Penticton and he had a great game against the Jets.
In the first period, Alriksson’s line with Ty Mueller and Danila Klimovich was the only line that was able to create any sustained offensive zone pressure against the Jets, with Alriksson and Klimovich using their size along the boards to win battles.
Alriksson also showed he has his timing down, flattening Chibrikov with an open-ice hit midway through the first.
He continued to flex his size in the second period, knocking 25-year-old defenceman Dylan Anhorn to the ice with a reverse hit to protect the puck and keep a possession alive.
But it wasn’t just Alriksson’s physical play that made an impact on the game. He showed why he was originally a perimeter player: he has uncommon skill for a 6’6” forward. His assist on Elias Pettersson’s game-tying goal late in the second was a fine play, as he jumped on a loose puck down low, fended off a defenceman, and fed the point, but it was his goal in the third period that wowed the crowd.
Klimovich picked off a pass along the boards (with a little help from the referee) and immediately fed the puck to Alriksson, who had a step on his man, Elias Salomonsson. Alriksson fended off his fellow Swede with a wide stance, then patiently outwaited goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis, stickhandling to his backhand to elevate the puck over his left pad.
It was the best goal of the game and a clear demonstration of why the Canucks are excited about Alriksson as a prospect. He only had 33 points in 67 games in the OHL last season as he reworked his game but it’s rare to find someone with that size, skill, and speed combination.
If Alriksson can put together a strong sophomore season in the OHL this year, that will be a great sign for his potential.
Honourable Mentions/Loose Notes:
- It wasn’t a perfect game for Josh Bloom — he took an early penalty and had a bad defensive zone turnover in the first period — but he deserves credit for his strong net drive that got the Canucks on the board in the second. Sasson did most of the work but Bloom did well to ensure he got his skate on the pass when his stick was tied up. He had a couple of other strong shifts in the offensive zone, which were a positive sign as he ramps up for his rookie season in the AHL.
- It’s tough for a defenceman to shine in a prospects tournament but Elias Pettersson has had a good showing, even if he and Kirill Kudryavtsev were broken up partway through the game as the two were struggling to move the puck up ice. Offence may not be his calling card but he tied up the game with a wristshot from the left point that sailed through traffic and found the top corner.
- Anthony Romani knows how to score goals. He had a pretty ordinary game, neither good nor bad, up until he took a pass from Cooper Walker, fought off a stick check by Anhorn that caused him to whiff on his initial shot, and pulled the puck around the attempted shot block by Dawson Barteaux to snap it past DiVincentiis for the game-winning goal. That release is nasty.
- This is an important year for Danila Klimovich, as the 21-year-old enters his fourth season in the AHL. He seriously struggled last season, managing just 4 points in 24 games, so he has a lot to prove. Sunday afternoon was a strong start, as he won battles, made good decisions with the puck, and set up Alriksson’s goal. He seemed to have instant chemistry with Alriksson, as the two seem to be kindred spirits. Here’s hoping they both have big seasons.
- It was a quieter night for the top line of Arshdeep Bains, Aatu Räty, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki after they were all over the puck against the Oilers. They weren’t bad, by any means, but weren’t really difference-makers. Lekkerimäki still got a couple of decent shots on net but they were generally from distance compared to the chances he had on Friday, while one of his passes on a second-period rush was behind Räty, causing a turnover that led to Brad Lambert’s opening goal. He still looked the part of a high-end prospect but it was perhaps a reminder that he still has some development ahead of him before he’s NHL-ready.
