RINK WIDE POST-GAME: Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers | Preseason – Oct. 3, 2025

RINK WIDE POST-GAME: Vancouver Canucks vs Edmonton Oilers | Preseason – Oct. 3, 2025

Connor Garland calls game in overtime as the Conucks beat the Oilers 3 to2 at Rogers Arena to close out the preseason. This is Rinkwide Vancouver. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] We welcome you inside the Ringwide Vancouver studios in downtown Vancouver. The studios presentation of your Toyota Pacific dealers shop toyota.ca or your local Pacific Toyota dealer today rank brought to you in part by bet 365 and I’m going to turn it over to you. The preseason is absolutely over ov. Good riddance to the preeason. Long gone is the six game preeason. On to the games that count. And of course, next year exhibition season will be uh considerably shorter. But the Canucks go out on a high note. They win it in overtime. They hold Conor McDavid in check for the most part. And the city is buzzing about Jonathan Leer Mackey. And why not a world class one-time on full display, not once, twice, as the Conucks down the Oilers by a score of 3 to2. So yes, Connor Garland is the overtime hero. He had a nice night after picking up a couple of points the other night in his preseason debut in Calgary. I guess the winner, he also had an assist on one of the Leer Mackey goals. But uh yeah, it’s all about Johnny Wet. Uh I’m going with Jonathan Electric Mackey. How about that? Does that work for you? It’s not bad. All right, that is not a lot of time to figure it out. Uh kid here to stay. I think he has cemented his spot. How How could you not at this point? Uh three goals in the preseason. all of them uh on a tee and just making no mistake. He shoots it differently. He does. Um and you can’t teach that kind of skill and this is a team that has room in the lineup for elite level finishing certainly. And uh so encouraging finish to the preseason for Jonathan Leeraki and the Vancouver Conucks who go 4-2 in exhibition action. That’s the only time I’m going to mention the record because of course winds now don’t really matter other than uh feeling good about yourself and getting ready for that October 9th season opener against the Calgary Flames. Lots to come here on Rinkwide uh as we break it all down. We’ll get to our usual features as well. We got three stars for you coming up a little bit later on. We’ll get the stat that stands out and we will uh look ahead to some of these roster decisions that now have to be made with the rosters set at 2 o’clock Pacific time on Monday. Uh so that’s an important date to note and then of course a few days after that they do start playing for keeps. Uh a fairly quiet first period in this hockey game. Uh you know you talk about NHL lineups and dress rehearsal and there was star power on both sides and really there wasn’t a whole lot happening and it looked like they were going to go to the locker room after 20 minutes uh in a scoreless tie. But the Conucks had a power play, worked it around for two minutes, didn’t score, and as the penalty expired. It’s not officially a power play goal, but uh uh it’s a goal that people are going to be buzzing about still for a while. Uh as we’ve shown you the highlights already, Jonathan Leer Mackey, nice work by the other rookie, Braden Coots, uh to fight off Matt Seavoy. And the goal doesn’t happen if Coots doesn’t win the puck battle and slide that over to his buddy. And the puck’s not on Luck Macki stick very long. and boom to the back of the net. Reminded me of Brock Besser in his rookie season when he used to beat remember Carrie Price and Henrik Lungquist and these goalies that were like at the tops of their games in the National Hockey League and Besser would stir him down, pick his spot and hit it and uh that’s what happened. That was top shelf big time by Jonathan Leer Mackey to open the scoring. Yeah, you know, we always talk about not getting excited about the preeason and tempering your expectations, but that’s an NHL shot on an NHL goalie and it the release is ridiculous on him. Um, the mechanics of the stick, he’s there are very few people that can do that and do it at a high level and Jonathan Leaki is now starting to learn how to do it and if he can keep that consistency and work and work and work, he’s only going to get better with repetition. But you’re right, Jeeoff, that that play doesn’t happen unless the youngster Braden Coots fights off the check and is able to have the wherewithal to be able to poke the puck to his teammate who’s right there and obviously blast home the the game’s first goal. I thought Leraki’s night actually started much earlier. You may recall uh in the first five minutes off the rush was able to corral a puck from Evander Kane, takes it through the neutral zone and unleashes a shot from distance that Calvin Pickard’s able to stop, but he doesn’t stop it cleanly. Like again, there’s a different kind of zip on these shots that Picker fumbled it a little bit, spilled a rebound out there. And that’s the thing with guys that shoot, you know, yeah, they can beat goalenders cleanly, but a lot of times the goalie might get a piece of it, but it can be lying around for somebody else. And so, you know, as I look through my notes here, there wasn’t a whole lot there in the first period. Um, Kefir Sherwood got called for tripping on Conor McDavid. The Conucks were able to to dodge that bullet. And we know that this Oiler power play can be absolutely destructive and it did count uh did count for a goal later in the hockey game. But yeah, Kucks get out of the first period up one- nothing on the Leer Macki goal. His second of the preseason. All three of his goals here in exhibition play coming against the Edmonton Oilers. Uh the shots were 10-7 in favor of the Canucks. And so again, there wasn’t a ton going on. Um and really even to the midway mark of the second period, like I I noted 30 minutes into this hockey game, the shots were 1110 in favor of the Edmonds. It took the Canucks 10 minutes to get a shot in the second period. Uh Teddy Bluger uh with the first shot on goal just past the midway mark of the second period and and that was reminiscent of too many nights last year where they would go these long long stretches without putting a puck on the net test a goalender. Uh it was supposed to be Steuart Skinner getting the start but apparently battling a bout of the flu. So at this time of year in the preseason you’re not going to run a guy out there if he’s under the weather and not feeling 100%. So he’ll be ready to go I’m sure uh for the Oilers on opening night. They open at home against Calgary on Wednesday and then Calgary’s here against the Vancouver Conucks on Thursday. So, it’s one- nothing past the midway mark of the second period and then Kasperi Kaplan off the rush uh takes a drop pass and rips it past Thatcher Demco who look I thought Demco was terrific in this hockey game. You know, if there was one that got past him, I guess maybe I’d look at that and say, “Hey, you’d like him to to stop it, but he’s not going to stop everything. These are NHL shooters.” Um and he made an incredible stop off Evan Buchard who can shoot the puck as well on the Oiler power play late in that second period. Rebound comes to Dry Cidle a little off the goal line. Not quite in his office but still a familiar spot for Leon Dryidle. Uh scores so many goals from sharp angles and made no mistake there. And and can’t fall Demco on that one. I mean he makes the save that he had to make and fortunate bounce for Dryidle all alone at the side of the net. So, you know, the Conucks were up one- nothing and then two goals basically three minutes apart for the Oilers and they took a two-1 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes of play and so an uphill battle for the Vancouver Conucks and battle that they were able to claw their way back into tie the game and ultimately they win it uh on the goal by Connor Garland. So, you know, when I look at the two goals that the Conucks gave up, I just want to go back to the captain goal because I thought there were a couple of things of note there. One is it comes at the end of a long shift for Philip Heedle, Connor Garland and Arshy Baines. It comes with the two youngsters on defense, DPD and and Tom Lander. And if you remember, the Conucks had had some pressure in the Edmonton zone and Garland from a really sharp angle just kind of flings the puck on Ned. Unfortunately, it traps basically all three of the Canuck forwards down low. Edmonton breaks out on what’s essentially a five on two at that point. And so, you know, sometimes putting a puck on, we always talk, oh, put a puck on the net, things can happen. Sure. Uh, but it’s a low percentage play from where Garland was shooting and sometimes some bad things can happen and that is teams break out the other way. So, uh, you know, puck decisions, puck management, end of a long shift and, uh, yeah, again, you’d like a save from Patrick Demco in that moment. Didn’t happen, but um, you know, that tied the game and then as we said, Edmonton gets ahead by a score of two to one after two. anything from the second period that uh jumped out at you? Uh late stages of the period the DPD kind of getting it wasn’t a dirty hit I don’t think from Pod Coulson at all. I I think that you know kind of just fell into it. believe it was a concussion spotter, I think, that, you know, pulled him out of the game for a little bit and obviously goes through that concussion protocol, hit to the head, came back into the game, which was obviously great news uh to see that, but you just don’t want to see that obviously for a young guy who’s hoping to crack the NHL roster and and and be there and be on there on opening night. So, the good news is that he came back into the lineup. Uh yeah, I made note of that. Tom Wanderer taking the holding penalty as well. It was not a banner night uh for Wanderer. And look, I think uh I mean, you just can’t put yourself in that situation, though. Like this, the call was it wasn’t a great call. Wasn’t a great holding call. It wasn’t egregious by any means on Willander, but you got to know those are things that you can’t do at that level and give the opportunity for the referees to make that call. And obviously, they do it against you. No. And when we look at the night as a whole, um, you know, there were some moments for Lander, but uh, I think Victor Mancini probably sitting up in the press box thinking that, uh, you know, his spot, you would think, is safe on this roster, although I guess we’ll find out on Monday afternoon. But, you know, this was sort of a lastditch effort for Lander getting one last look in the preseason. I think he’s destined for Abbottzford, and that’s just fine. Like, it’s a totally fine place for him to start his professional career. Uh, all right. We’ll get to the three stars here in a sec, but I just want to continue to run through the the scoring plays. Uh, five and a half minutes into the third period. The Conucks down two to one. Uh, they are on the power play. And again, it’s Jonathan Leer Mackey in his spot. We call it the Ovie spot, but hey, maybe this kid’s going to uh take it over himself as we show you the highlight there. And again, uh, puck slides over to him. right-handed shot in that left circle and bam, just pulls the trigger and ties to this hockey game. Six minutes in, 558 the time of the goal. Uh it’s a thing of beauty. Like it really I mean the mechanics are there. Uh it’s a timing thing and as we said like it just it looks and feels and you know when I watch him in practice like it it sounds differently. They can all shoot the puck at this level. Uh but there’s something special there on the blade of Jonathan Leeraki and it was on full display in this hockey game. Are you ready for it? You and I are going to sit here a lot of nights and be fist on the table as to why he’s not on PP1. And I know people are going to clamor for it and I know our chat’s going wild about it and I agree. I’m here. I am with you. That threat that you have and if Elas Person has any sort of threat on the other side that it’s too it changes your power play so much. It makes it so much more dynamic. Evander Kane, Jake De Brusk, and Brock Besser similar type of players. They can all get in front of the net, they crash and bang and score those goals. But having those two shooters both on opposite sides, letting Quinn do his thing and be able to look one way and feed it the other way. That’s just it just opens up so much more room for creativity. So you hope to see that it’s probably not going to happen, but you never know. Yeah. Look, I like I I remember when Quinn Hughes broke into the league. I mean, he played the five games late in the season and his first full season, like we all knew that he was going to be the quarterback of the first unit of the Vancouver Conucks power play. Okay. And Travis Green at the time was a little slow. He did his best to slow the role here. Like he knew too that Quinn was going to be the mastermind of the power play, but Alex Edler had the job. Alex Edler was the incumbent, the veteran guy, guy. And it took about a month and then we saw this transition. And so if Leer Mackey can continue to do a lot of the good things that we saw from him in the preseason, I I I get I’m with you. I’m with you. And I’m with the people. We are here for the people in the chat. It may not happen right away. But if he continues to score like that, it’s undeniable that you got to find him. As you said, uh that spot over on the opposite side from Leas Patterson. I also think playing power play, some of it’s a reward too. If if you are playing well, the power play one, the power play two, it’s a little bit of a reward. So like you mentioned, if you can, you know, bottle what you did good in the game that wasn’t on the power play, you forch check well. you don’t get scored on when you’re on the ice, you play well defensively, then coaches are are more likely to be able to put you in different positions and reward you for your good play with power play time. So 2-2 stays that way. There were chances. Evan Buchard rang one off the crossbar at two to one in fact and uh that could have changed the complexion of this hockey game if he scores there to make it a 3-1 game. Uh Matt Savoy raced onto that loose puck down the left wing, cut hard to the net, and Thato able to to stuff him there. Arski Baines off the rush few minutes after that at two to2. Had a pretty good look. I think he may have hit the post. The linesman was waving it off. Never really got a great replay uh there. And then it’s 2-2 in the third period. Conucks got a five on three and you’re thinking golden opportunity. Why do some teams make it look so easy five on three? And it just feels like uh the Canucks are so slow and plotting and I don’t know is it too much deferring to Quinn in those moments or I think the other four guys on the ice might just be as excited as everybody else and watching and waiting for Quinn to do something instead of reacting and moving and getting open in space in order for Quinn to find you. And you know what’s going to happen when Ken use pockets. Try and beat try and beat one guy. Go down low. Skate an entire circle because he is almost always the best skater on the ice and on the power play for sure he is. So a little bit more movement I I would say very early on. But again if you can’t look one way cuz you know your guy’s not going to shoot on one side if you’re Quinn then you really only have that one threat of Leas Person on the other side which I’m going to bang the drum again for at least Jonathan Leer Mackey to get a shot on opening night. So five on three goes for not because the full of Ander Kane experience just a needless penalty in that moment. Unfortunate. Uh but get used to it. He’s going to take penalties. That’s part of who he is. So hopefully not in third periods of tie games with the Conucks working with a two-man advantage. But uh uh bottom line is it goes to overtime. Fascinating that the Canucks spent some time out at UBC on Thursday working on full ice threeonree. And like I can’t remember the last time the Vancouver Canarks actually uh put some time into practicing overtime. So who knows, maybe Adam Foot and the coaching staff a little crystal ball, an idea of what was to come. Uh remember last year they were seven and 12 in overtime. They lost at one point they lost eight straight games that went to overtime. Uh overtime was not their friend. So we were here a lot of those nights. Yeah, absolutely. So you know, if you’re putting in a little time, we’ll see if that continues through the regular season. Uh it was the only time they’ve done it here in camp and and exhibition. Uh so it wasn’t a regular thing, but I do wonder from time to time if we’ll see them do it. And hey, it worked out okay. Uh Connor Garland weaving his way through the neutral zone, peeling back, getting the pass from Phil Heronic, and again finding a lane or creating a lane, getting it to the net, and able to deposit it in. 90 seconds into overtime. The Vancouver Conucks defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 is the final score. Rinkwide brought to you in part by Bet365. Whatever your bet, never ordinary at Bet365. Download the app, get in on the game. Use code nation to get you started. And a reminder, you must be 19 or older. Please play responsibly. And I want to mention as well uh our super chat charity partner once again this season, the BC Mental Health Foundation. Changing the face of mental health and addiction by supporting breakthroughs in care, public understanding, research, and knowledge exchange. Hugo Mugo. Uh as consistent as they come. Uh, another super chat. Hugo, thanks for that. We need the leer cootie duo in the regular season. Luck and dangerous. Thanks for the show. We got another super chat. This one from Demco’s kneebones says the Swedish snail EP 4 kilometers uh an hour is concerning me. Yeah, we’ll get to Elias Patterson and his night here. We’ll go through a full evaluation of just about everybody in the lineup, but right now it’s time for the three stars here on Rinkwide. always like to see who the stars were selected by the broadcast crew in the building. Leer Mackey, Dryidle, and Thatcher Demco. So, two of the three show up here on Rinkwide as well. We’ve got Leer Mackey. We’ve got Demco. And come on, Connor Garland scores the winner. He had an assist as well. He led the Canucks with four shots on goal. So, I thought a fine night for Connor Garland, who was playing catchup after not playing until Wednesday, but he looks ready for the regular season. Uh, that Demco stops 25 of 27 on the night. You can see on the screen there, a 926 save percentage uh for the night. So, that will work. His first game at Rogers Arena since last season. He played in Abbottzford. He played in Edmonton. And here he got a chance to play at home. And I thought he was really good. the save that he made on Trent Frederick in the dying seconds of the second period when he was set up by Dryidle. Uh that was a chance for the Oilers to go up 3-1. Uh that one might have been a backb breaker. We talked about the save off Savoy, the save off Bousard on the power play again. uh you can’t stop them all, but uh that was a big time stop by Thatcher Demco, who you know, you’ve heard me say it uh on this show, on other shows when I’ve made guest appearances, kind of low-key, but to me, this has been one of the best stories of training camp for the Vancouver Conucks is that their game breaker in goal looks happy. He looks healthy. Uh he looks dialed in, he looks big in the crease, he’s moving easily. uh he’s back to doing the things that have made him one of the best in the business and that is so encouraging uh as they get ready to start the season here on Thursday night. And you know, one of the things about Thatcher Demco that I think that he is taking very much to heart, he’s going to play with a chip on his shoulder this season. Look there, without question, the criticism is fair because he’s been hurt a lot. you know, injuries have followed him throughout wherever he’s played, but I think this summer, this past summer, was probably one of the few in the last few where he was able to go through a fully regimented workout plan, trainers, nutritionists, did whatever he wanted and there was nothing that went wrong. And I think that for him coming into this season, he knows what everyone’s saying about him. He knows that, you know, he’s knows that Kevin Lankin and signed an extension and why the Conucks did it, right? And I think for him in order to get back and and play a little bit angry, you kind of want that. And for you, you know, being able to deal with him more on a consistent basis, you know, when he’s speaking and things like that, there’s more of that maturity. There’s more of that leadership role. I think he’s grown a lot through the experiences that he’s had over the last couple of seasons. And you expect him to be there every single night and be their ace that they hope that they can rely on on most nights. I thought he was good in camp. You’re just watching a couple of days of drills, but then the scrimmage, he doesn’t give up a goal in the 20 minutes that he played there. He looked good in Abbottzford and I know the Flames didn’t send a particularly representative group uh that night, but again, this is those were the shooters that he faced and outside of a power play goal by Connor Zer, stopped everything else. Uh he goes two and one in the preseason and you know, he’s got to get through every night. I mean, there’s still the health concerns around him, but it’s now been two full weeks of camp and preseason. And outside of the personal day that he took the other day, um, and whatever that was that kept him away from the rink, he was back at practice yesterday and playing tonight. Uh, I just think right now, uh, he looks sharp and ready to go. And he was the second star here on rinkwide. And Jonathan Leer Mackey, uh, no surprise he ends up in the first star in the building. also here on the pod. Uh you look at his night in totality. Leeraki 13 minutes and 38 seconds of ice time. Scores on two of his three shots. So uh efficient in that regard, but he’s a volume shooter. And you know, you you like to see him have three, four, five shots on goal. Um or five or six shot attempts at the very least. Here, all three of his shot attempts were on the net and two of them were in the net. So, uh, yeah. Um, if it was about leaving the coaching staff with, you know, a lasting impression here in the preseason, Jon Lecher Mackey knocks it out of the park. Three stars brought to you by Greta Bar YVR. And we are excited to be able to tell you next Saturday, it’s our first Conucks Army watch party of the new season, Vancouver in Edmonton. It’s the first road game of the season. Come join us. We’re going to be there early on. Sakaras and Price, Quads and Harm, Jacob, our producer. We’re all going to be there. Uh, now we have to get back here to the studio and get ready to watch the game and then host Rinkwide, but we’ll be down there. Uh, doors open at 6:00 and the game of course will start at 7:00. And we want you to join us. It’s a free event. Yeah, free. Uh, as in tickets are free. You’re going to be responsible for anything you order off the the street food menu or any of the arcade games you play. But there is no cover charge, no ticket cost. You do need a ticket though. Sign up at nationgeear.ca CA so that we can keep track of who is on the guest list. Big screens, game day drink specials, trivia with great prizes. Join us for the first Kucks Army watch party of the season October the 11th. That is next Saturday. Gretar, the place to be. 50 West Cordova. Greta Bar. Let the games begin. 3-2 in overtime. The Vancouver Conucks defeat the Edmonton Oilers. Uh down comes the curtain on the preseason and it’ll rise again Thursday night. Rogers Arena. The Flames are here. Uh and uh yeah, we’ll see if the Conucks can uh get it right this time. Remember last year, opening night, they had the big lead early on and then flushed it in the third period, ended up losing in overtime uh to the Calgary Flames. So, Conucks will try to get out of the gate and get off on the right foot this time around. All right. Uh we talked about uh the stars here, but uh let’s get into some of the other performances. Uh it really wasn’t a night for the superstars. Uh Conor McDavid has an assist on the power play goal by Dryidle, but the second assist. Uh otherwise, just a single shot on goal for McDavid. Uh it’s preseason. He’ll be okay. Something tells me he’ll be all right. Dryidle scored, but uh took the penalty for, you know, they’re already down a man. He takes the helmet off Elias Patterson, puts his team down two men. Um he had some moments. There were I mean there was one in the first period where he fell on Quinn Hughes along the sideboards and I just thought to myself like that’s the last thing Quinn needs in the preseason is Leon Dryidle uh dropping on top of the Canucks captain but he popped up. He was just fine. But uh hey it’s a Conucks postgame pod. So let’s look at the Conucks and we’ll start with number 40. There was uh some hype around the one-timer the other night that’s been replaced by somebody else’s one-time now uh in this market. Uh this was an awfully quiet night for the guy wearing number 40. Yeah, quiet. But just like we’ve said about 97 and 29, it is the preseason, you know, and I think for Elias Person, unfortunately for him, the criticism and the jury’s already out on what he’s going to do. So, anything that he does is going to be a bonus because everyone thinks that he’s not going to be able to do it. And I think for him, you know, going in and playing with that chip on your shoulder, a little bit of swagger, a little bit of anger is something that he needs. I really do. Um, you didn’t see much of it in in this final preseason game. And that’s okay because you hope as soon as, you know, the puck drops on Thursday night that there is that spark. There is that something that can come alive in him. And that’s what we’re all waiting for. And whether that happens game one, it’s better happen within the first five, I’d say, or at least within the first three. Um there there has to be something there early on to give himself an indication, to give his teammates an indication because they’re all waiting and watching too. He’s the highest paid player on the team. He’s a guy that’s a leader now, 26 years old on and off the ice, right? You talk see his head coaches and his assistant coaches talking about how happy of the leader that he’s grown into. Okay, so you got to lead by example. You got to take a game over. These are things that you have to do, but we’ve seen you do it in the past. So that’s why everyone I guess is criticizing you so hard. Thomas Müller was in the building. He was waiting for Elas Patterson to do something too. Exactly. Draital. Sorry. Yes. The German. Yeah. There’s that. Uh Klay Thompson was there. Like it was the stars were out on on Friday night, but maybe more star power in the seats and the suits than actually uh putting on a show on the ice. So, look, Patterson, there was the one rush in the third period where he cut to the net and made some things happen and uh but really that’s about all I’ve got from him uh in my notes. So, yeah, like it has to be better. Um there have been some signs through camp in the preseason, but uh starts earning that salary on Thursday night and he’s going to get graded harshly until he shows that uh you know he’s somewhere close to to all the way back. I didn’t think it was a great night for his linemates either. Thought De Brusk was skating inspired maybe because dad was in the building working the Oilers broadcast. I saw the Canucks posting pictures of Jake and Louie uh before the game having a a little chat. Uh but uh yeah, I mean that top line for the Conucks certainly at five on five I didn’t think uh made a whole lot happen. Now you know it was a fairly lowcoring game. Uh so it wasn’t like uh they were trading chances and going back and forth and as we said shots were 27 apiece. So um a little more low event I think than I had anticipated uh just for the the final dress rehearsal of the preseason. Filipedle continues to intrigue me or that there are moments in every game that the speed is undeniable. Um, you know, as long as he stays healthy, like I think there’s a chance that this guy can help this hockey club and and um, you know, makes things things happen. Now, ultimately, whoever his linemates going to be, um, you know, R Steve Bane’s got a golden opportunity to play on that line and, uh, I didn’t think did much with it as we said for R. Steve. no shots on goal. Had a couple of attempts. Uh was on the ice for the captain goal. Uh was looking for more. Was just looking for sort of more um the offensive push like you know, you’re getting this chance to play on one of the top two lines. I wanted to see Archie Baines buzzing a little bit more around the puck and and trying to make some things happen and I just didn’t see it. I don’t know if the coaching staff will see it differently, but I didn’t think this was a terrific night at the office for R. Steve Baines. No. And I think the AHL is a good spot for Archie Baines. I think that he’s been given a lot of opportunity. He is still young. I mean, people are going to compare to what Jonathan Leer Mackey did. And I know the opportunities that you’re given, the power play is different, but Leer Maki wasn’t skating, you know, in a in a in a top six role. You know, he get he he gets the power play time and he makes the most of it. RC Baines gets more ice time and he’s able not unable to create anything offensively. And I think that that’s the biggest thing that the coaching staff was looking to or looking for from RD Baines is was there something offensively? Is there anything more offensively that you can give us in this lineup where we can throw you in in that top six role? Um and unfortunately for him, you know, this preseason there it really hasn’t. And that’s okay cuz you can be a good AHL player and come up and play in games and be effective. But if you’re going to want to try and show yourself to be an everyday NHLer, you need to have these things consistently night in and night out. And unfortunately for our team, you know, it just hasn’t happened this preseason. Just 11 minutes and 12 seconds. We actually did play less than Leer Mackey. In fact, only DPY who missed a chunk of action uh played less on the night than Arsh Baines who was the low forward uh at 11 minutes and 12 seconds of ice time. So yeah, uh there were some moments in preseason, not many moments in this hockey game for the local product. So we’ll see what that means ultimately in the big picture and where it goes. Uh but Braden Coots, again, we talked about the play that he makes on the power play in the first period to get the puck to Leer Mackey into his wheelhouse. Uh there were a few other things. I watch him closely away from the puck in the building. I was there for the first couple of periods to take it in in person. And you know, sometimes there’s things you see that don’t necessarily show up on cameras or on TV or you’re able to, you know, track a guy away from the puck and those types of things. Um, it was a really impressive preseason. This wasn’t his finest night, but in saying that, he found his way onto the score sheet. He contributes. He he makes a play. Uh, you know, people wonder, is he strong enough? And then you see that he’s able to win a puck battle and and get it over to his buddy for uh the opening goal in the hockey game. So when I look at Cutz’s night on the hole, 13 minutes and 12 seconds of ice time, one shot, two attempts, won two of six faceoffs, so went two and four in the circle where he had been holding his own and you know running higher than 50% on draws uh didn’t happen on this night. So, how do we look at Braden Coots uh in this hockey game and how does that impact what this club has to do with him now moving to Monday’s roster deadline doesn’t look out of place and and I think that that’s probably the biggest thing you when you look at especially when judging someone that’s 18 years old Jeff can he hold his own can he go and play in these games and not get lost not you know be a deer in the headlights when you’re lining up against Conor McDavid not you know be caught puck watching and and you know admiring your own pass and things like that. You know, he’s getting into tough areas. He’s doing the things that he did to get him drafted as high as he went. Um the Canucks are really high on this kid and people that you talk to in different National Hockey League circles are also really high on this kid when they made that pick. A lot of people said that they really like that pick of Braden Coots. He’s going to be a player. It’s going to take some time. Of course, you know the if if he’s not here past nine games, please do not panic. he is going to play in the NHL for this team because he is that good and he has it not only on the ice but the way that he carries himself off the ice. True professional. Um, treats people respectfully, puts his head down and works and that’s all you can ask for from a young rookie who’s just trying to, you know, get his feet wet here in the NHL. Uh, Suzanne in the chat says, “What do you do with Coots now? You can’t send him to Seattle. He’s too good for that. Does he stay?” Um, like I anticipate that he is going to be on the roster here when they roll it out on Monday afternoon, whether that means the full nine-game experience, whether it means a handful of games. Uh, I mean, there’s a world in which he plays his nine games and continues to look good and they keep him past the nine mark. Like, you know, it’s funny. We live in this world, Earth, where we see at the end of every season, teams are willing to give college guys a game or two to burn a year off a contract. and nobody bats an eye. So, if this kid is helping the Vancouver Canucks, you know, like I I think I I guess I I could envision a world in which you keep a player. Okay, nine games is the first threshold where the contract kicks in. Of course, the 40 game mark is a full year of service, you know, a closer a year off in terms of working your way towards unrestricted free agency. How about you keep him until December and then send him back to juniors so that he can play in the World Juniors? Like I think that’s a path. If he’s in the NHL, that’s obviously going to boost his stock for making the World Junior team because I think right now uh didn’t get to perform at the summer camp. Uh you know, it’s a 19-year-old tournament generally. He’s an 18-year-old. He was going to be in tough. But if he starts the year in the NHL and continues to develop in the best league in the world, I would think Hockey Canada would look pretty favorably on that if he was made available. So, look, lots of moving parts here. We’re getting ahead of ourselves and worrying about December. Uh he’s got to get through the weekend here, but you know, just a really impressive showing uh from training camp on and uh as you said, does not look out of place right now. So, let’s see. Of course, if he makes the team, it’s going to squeeze somebody else. uh if he makes a team, it’s because he deserves it. Y and and someone else doesn’t and and I think that when you look at it from that point of view, he should be on the roster come Monday. Hey, we’re going to hear from Jonathan Leeraki here in a sec. Uh this segment of Rink Quiet presented by your Pacific Toyota dealers and the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid. It’s no compromise approach to electric vehicles that offers the best of both worlds. You can drive up to 72 km on battery alone. That’s enough to get you from your home to the rink to the grocery store and then back home again to recharge. Seamlessly transitions from electric mode to the gas engine for a combined range of 962 km. Yeah, almost 1,000 kilometers. Uh there you go. Uh no sacrifices when it comes to horsepower or style with it sleek, glow, wide exterior, and sophisticated interior. Plug in to recharge at home or at one of over 2,000 public charging stations in British Columbia alone. Now you can lease a 2025 Prius Plug-in Hybrid SE from $99 weekly at $3.49% APR for 60 months with $3,800 down. It includes a $3,000 discount. Visit shop toyota.ca or your local Pacific Toyota dealer today. Star of the show, Jonathan Licker Macki. postgame down at Rogers Arena or sorry I need one second to get that loaded up. All right, no problem. Producer Jacob, uh, we’ll give you the the time you need. You’re ready with Jonathan. All right, let’s hear from Johnny Electric Mackey. It was a great win, great battle from the from the team and great. What does it do for your confidence to score a couple goals like that and finish the preseason off on a high note? Yeah, I mean feels good today, but uh tomorrow I got to work hard to stay up here. So, the coaching staff always talks about details and not worrying about necessarily the the goals and assists, but in your position, do you feel like you need to score? Uh I mean, I want to be an offensive player, so try to Yeah, of course some goals, but obvious obviously the the details are important, too. Did you feel like it was a big night in the last preseason game? Last chance before they picked the team. No, just pray played relaxed and try to play my games. How much have you enjoyed playing with Braden Coots? Yeah, we had a really good chemistry. So, I mean, it’s been been really good and so yeah, it’s been feeling really good. See your puck going on your first one going exactly where you wanted to go. Is there an extra bit of satisfaction when you saw it going? Yeah, I mean obviously it’s nice to score some goals, but yeah. How comfortable are you on that left side? Seems like a spot where you’ve scored probably hundreds of goals in your life on that left side of the power play. What do you like about that spot? I mean, I like to shoot the puck, so try to stay stay there. Uh, he’s a man of a few words. He lets his actions speak for themselves out on the ice. Shades of a number 23 that a man of very few words that used to play for the Vancouver Conucks and Alex Edler. Absolutely. but also let his play on the ice do the talking as well. Yeah. Um yeah, look, I mean, he’s young. He’s still sort of grasping, I think, the whole attention here uh in and around the Vancouver Conucks, and he understands, you know, he’s a first round pick. He knows that this team obviously wants him to arrive in style and become a full-time goal scorer in the National Hockey League level. Uh again, nights like tonight, looks like he’s ready for the job. Uh we shall see. Uh the Kucks have Saturday off. They will practice on Sunday and then uh they’re scheduled to have Monday off again. There’s uh the preseason basketball game at Rogers Arena. So the rink it’s got a concert in there uh on Saturday night. Uh I think they’re out at UBC on Sunday. Uh whatever the case, uh they’ll keep them away from the rink on Monday, but that’s when management has to make its final decision. So, it’s going to be a weekend of deliberating and uh boardrooms will be be busy down around Rogers Arena as they try to whittle things down to a 23man roster. And of course, the roster they submit to the league on Monday isn’t the one that it may not be the one that they open the season with on Thursday night. That there is still time between the time you get your season opening roster in to opening day. And uh ultimately, it’s who’s available and there’s a few injury concerns. turns a guy like P. Joseph right now hasn’t been on the ice for the last couple of days. Uh they would have a better idea of where he is in terms of health and readiness. Derek Forbert, they’re going with load management and giving him some time to to rest up. But uh he’s going to be on the roster. Um you know, have these young guys done enough to put Bo Joseph job in jeopardy? I’m not so sure. But uh again, it was a terrific uh preseason run for Victor Mancini who didn’t play. It was a pretty good one for DPD who uh you know shaken up at his bell rung but did get back in there and and Tomander again I I just turning pro coming out of college. It feels to me like Abbottzford is the place for for him to start. Yeah, Willander is going to start in the jungle. He he should go earn his stripes and and play a lot. Play power play, play PP, play in the top pairing and and that’s how you get that experience. Um Harman Daw and I did Kak’s conversation earlier this afternoon today makes a great point. He said every team needs a veteran Dman that just is able to sit in the press box for a couple weeks at a time and P. Joseph might end up being that guy if if he is on this roster, right? You’re going to Mancini and and and um DPD might be the guys that get dropped in and out, but you know, P Joseph could be the one every once in every eight days guy, once in every nine games guy, and that and and that’s okay if that’s the role that he’s comfortable playing. Yeah. Yeah, look, Noah Jlesson played that role for the last couple of seasons. He’s not here. He’s in Philly with the coach that used to be here. Uh, and so, yeah, look, P. Joseph’s got close to 200 NHL games under his belt. Uh, so he has played at this level, but I think he understands too that he was signed as depth on the second day of free agency. And, and again, nobody quite knew what kind of push there would be from beneath. You hope that you would get the performances they did uh from some of these young guys. And so that’s just made the decisions that much more difficult. And again, uh we will find out. We’re going to hear from Adam Foot here in a second. But before we do that, I want to tell you that uh the Daily Faceoff Survivor Pool is now officially live. And if you think you’ve got the hockey knowledge to go the distance, then this one is for you. It’s a game of elimination strategy and $2500 up for grabs. For the last fan standing, here’s how it works. You start with two lives. Everybody starts with two lives. Each round you pick one winner from the slate of NHL games. But here’s the twist. You can only use each team twice throughout the entire contest. Get a pick wrong, boom, one life gone. Lose twice and sad trombones, you are out. The pool runs until there’s just one person left standing and that winner is going to take home $2500. So, are you ready to outlast the rest? Sign up now. Dailyface.com or hit the link in the show notes. May the best fan survive. All right. Uh little different down at Rogers Arena tonight. Not sure why. Maybe they’re starting to move things around, but uh Adam Foot scrumming after hockey. And usually the coach at a podium there, but uh this was the coach stepping into the scrum uh to face the I was going to say the heat. I don’t know how much heat was on him after this one. His team wins three to2. Here’s Adam Foot uh about the game. I mean, it was a good game. I think both teams were into it. It was close. Uh going back and forth. There was guys were chirping each other. It felt like a regular season game. How about Jonathan Leer Mackey? Two balls. How impressed have you been with his camp overall? Not just the offense, but some of the two-way stuff, too. Yeah, he knows he knows how to take ice back ice and defend, not reading the rush. Uh he knows when to wedge it, be more safe, or you know, uh get into a guy. So, um, and he’s got a very deceptive shot almost like you saw the first one he had that pause like a longer, you know, he moves and that’s that’s a goal scores goal. Adam, you guys spent a lot of time on Thursday working on that threeon three. Did you see the things you’re looking for in overtime? Well, I like the way we bought into the discussion like we we dragged it. Um, we won the draw which was key, right? And then uh we dragged it. Didn’t have Hughes out there. We got him out there and we were able to we were able to be more patient in our strikes and uh recognize to bring it back and maybe tire them out a little bit and then you know you put Garly in a good spot and he’s so slick that if you tire him out a little bit he’s going to find those cracks and uh you know it worked so it was good. And your thoughts on the goending tonight? It was great. I mean uh I mean the PK goal no chance. Uh, you know, we played the rush not terrible. That one rush we we in the four in the second period we’re playing against one of the best rush teams and we got a little bit too excited on some offensive opportunities where our F3 was a little bit too low and our reloads were missing a little bit, but we were able to have discussion with it and bring it back. But on that one goal, it’s a fouron two rush that’s hard on two young guys. Uh, they didn’t play it terrible at all, but you give a guy a team like that that kind of a rush, they’re going to get a great opportunity. So, just kind of like backing. Is he doing a better job of finding space, getting himself into spots? He probably has always found space, but I mean, he’s playing in a league now where, you know, watching a lot of American Hockey League, it’s guys can hold on to pucks and he’s he’s probably got open down there a lot. But, you know, no disrespect, it’s it’s physical as in the NHL, but uh the the uh you know, the skill set maybe can’t find him in that space as much. He’s probably found it and uh I think a guy like that, he just got a knack for it and um you know, give credit to Brad like pretty good power play and and he guys know where he is. reach the end of preseason. How surprised by or impressed are you by performance of great? Yeah, he keeps going. I mean, he got drafted in that position for a reason. He’s a smart kid and you just guys just see he he’s he’s hearing information and he’s applying it pretty quick. I mean, there’s a couple times the first he struck down. He wasn’t the first forward back in our end, so he wasn’t low forward and um he went to be act as the low forward and we got caught in the rails. slot was open a couple times, but quickly we explained it to him and it didn’t happen again. So, that’s a good sign. Obviously, Connor gets the goal in overtime, but it’s also seems like he’s out there quite a bit on the first penalty kill unit. What do you think about him buying that position? He he likes to kill and uh he takes a lot of pride in. I mean, um, you know, he’ll be killing and and sometimes there’s different matchups as far as whether we want to start him first or not and and where he was, uh, with his minutes and, you know, how he feels in backto-back, things like that. But he’s he’s doing a good job. There you go, Adam Foot. Some praise for Connor Garland. Praise for Braden Coots, too. Tell him once and he figures it out. And uh again, I think that’s what the Conucks love about this guy is the hockey intelligence is uh at a high level already and it’s only going to uh get better as he continues to get experience and process uh the game at this level. Adam Foot, he did also say that Elas Patterson was con was pulled by the concussion spotter and able to come back. So all’s good there. Uh let’s get to the stat that stands out uh a little later than usual. I almost forgot about the stat that stands out, but it stands out so you can’t forget about it. Uh it’s preseason. I get that. There probably should have been an asterisk here with the graphic, but uh come on. 7 for 22 on the power play. The Vancouver Conucks 31.8% uh with the man advantage. They end up going one for four on the night. As we said, the first Leer Macki goal came 1 second after an Edmonton power play. So really, it was almost like two for four on the night, which would have bumped this number even higher. But uh that’s pretty impressive stuff. Um, you know, there were some moments with PP1, uh, certainly last week against Seattle when they were zipping it around and, uh, you were encouraged by that. Uh, Leraki with both the power play goals here. So, you know, they saw PD score his one-time the other night in Calgary. Um, look, special teams were really good in the preseason. They had the two short-handed goals the other night against the Flames as well. Does any of this matter? I guess we’ll find out starting on Thursday. uh you have to throw the numbers out the window, but uh again, we’ve said the vibes are high and I am curious, can they carry the vibes of a good preeason and turning the page from the disappointment of last year? Uh and how far can that push them starting on Thursday night? I think the vibes being high is important because you just know that the noise is very quiet or there isn’t any surrounding this team right now. Things are on the up and up. It’s fresh, clean slate. It’s, you know, you had a good preseason. Everything went well and now you hope you can build on some stuff in in the regular season on Thursday. Jeeoff, I got a stat that stands out for me and I I don’t 2753 for Quinn Hughes. Yeah. Like that’s insane in a preseason game. Yeah. He had 24 last week against Seattle and some people thought, what are you doing? And it’s Quinn Hughes. It was that was his first preseason game. It was his first game action in months. It’s like I wasn’t worried too much about uh 24 minutes for Quinn Hughes, but a little surprised here. Now you got McDavid and Dry Settle the other side and there were some matchups that come into play and special teams and then of course a little bit of overtime as well. Interesting that Quinn didn’t start overtime. Oilers came with their big guns and they went with Philip Heronic defensively, but the minute the Conucks won the faceoff and that turned out to be huge. I mean never gave up possession of the puck. The minute they got the face off, then Heronic went off. Quinn came on, but it was Heronic that ends up feeding Connor Garland uh for the winner. Hughes does get a second assist. So, you know, this wasn’t Quinn Hughes at his electric best. And yet, he’s in on two of the three goals, including the gamewinner. I mean, that’s just who he is and what he means to this hockey club. But yeah, I mean, for a preseason game, probably running them a little much, but you know what? They don’t play now till Thursday. So, they have tomorrow off, they have Monday off, Quinn will be ready. He’s He’s okay. Here’s a line that you’re going to hear on Ringwide a lot this season. It’s just Quinn Hughes doing Quinn Hughes things. Yes. Uh the line I’m hearing a ton, Adam Foot is using it, but he’s not alone, is condensed schedule. That’s not even a line. It’s just a phrase. But it is a condensed schedule. But I think we’re going to hear that so often in terms of goalending decisions and management days off and load management and all that because it’s a condensed schedule with the Olympics coming up in February. Um yeah, so now it’s on to decisions and there’s really nothing that any of these players can do anymore. I don’t think Sunday’s practice is going to sway uh the coaching staff and management, but Sunday’s practice may reveal a few things about what the hockey club is thinking. Uh if there are guys that require waivers to be sent down, they will have to be put on waivers on Sunday so they are able to be sent on Monday to set that roster. So, uh this is going to be a busy weekend around the National Hockey League. Look, this is a management group that has a history now of really three straight years of making some sort of trade. ahead of roster setting. Last year it was offloading Tucker Pulman’s contract for Eric Brandstrom. Uh but Sam Laughy was brought in. Um you know, they have done this uh they moved Jason Dickinson’s contract to Chicago a couple of years ago right at the outset of the season or the end of the preseason. So, I’m sure they’ll be watching the waiverwire like every team will. Uh there are going to be teams that try to sneak guys through and hope that they catch the rest of the league napping. So, it’s a fascinating weekend and uh when the roster or the waiver wire uh lists are released, expect long lists here over the weekend and probably some intriguing names and you know, we’ll see if the Canucks are active at all either on the trade front or in some sort of, you know, if there’s somebody on waiverss that uh piqus their interest. The trade front would be the most interesting because you mentioned the last few seasons of them being active and being not afraid to pull the trigger and that’s what this management uh group does. So, if there’s someone out there that they liked or they have liked or they’ve kept their eye on, um, you know, you heard Lucas Reichel’s name being thrown around that they had some interest. I know the Red Wings, the Sharks, and I think the Oilers were another team as well that, you know, that peaked it peaked their interest um there. But, yeah, it’s like you said, fascinating, interesting to watch. I think there are some decisions that were made on the ice that they don’t even need to talk about that they kind of knew going into this game were already there, but wanted confirmation of it. And then I think there were decisions that are made in this game. They’re like, “Okay, now we actually have to sit down and talk about this one.” Well, Atu Ratu, Max Assassin, and Lenus Carlson all sit out tonight. And so you try and read into that, and you know, part of me thinks, “All right, they’re giving Braden Coots one last chance if the kid comes up short. You could easily take him out of the third line center position and plug at Ratu right back in.” But then Coots goes, and as we said, did a lot of good things in this hockey game. Uh, Archie Baines in your top six. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t know what to make of Lenus Carlson’s status. He had such a great run in Abbottzford in the playoffs and you were hoping that he could carry that over and he just has not been dynamic at all in the preseason. And I do wonder if uh he’s going to, you know, has he been outplayed by guys like Coots and Leer Mackey and will he be exposed to waiverss? And you know, you can’t keep them all. And that’s the thing, both Leer Mackey and Coots uh could be sent elsewhere without any issues. But if they both stay, it puts the squeeze on some other guys. But again, you know, this is progress. If guys from beneath push others out of jobs, like that’s it’s survival of the fittest. You called it the jungle earlier talking about the the minors. Uh guys in the minors don’t want to play in the NHL. And so, you know, you got hungry guys all over the place. and and if you get your first rounders that have risen to the challenge the way Coots and Leker Mackey have here in the preseason, then hey, good on them. Uh if they make the roster, they have earned it. And if the Canucks decide to go in a slightly different direction, it’ll come as a surprise to me, but uh you know, all all options are on the table right now. We’ll find out. 2:00 Pacific on Monday afternoon is uh when the rosters have to be in. I I would imagine they probably are in I think I get released at two o’clock uh on Monday afternoon. So you got to be in before that. Yeah. Yeah. So we’ll uh we’ll know midafter afternoon here on the West Coast uh what the opening night roster or the open season opening roster looks like. The opening night will come on Thursday when the Canucks host the Calgary Flames. Hey, make sure you follow Rinkwide on social. Particularly make a point of subscribing to the Rinkwide YouTube channel. Uh we’re postgame live stream and that’ll continue. But this season uh we’re going big. We’re branching out. We’re going to be posting uh far more from practice, a lot of game day content from the rink as well, videos, player scrums. Uh we’ll let you see what’s going on around the rink. So hit subscribe, set your notifications so that you do not miss a thing. Um all right. Well, the Vancouver Canucks head into the regular season now coming off a 3-2 overtime win. Lots of nice individual performances for this hockey club, not only in this game, but really through all six of their uh pre-season battles. And uh we’ve arrived at this point now. And so the next time we do rinkwide, there are going to be points in the standings up for grabs. They’re going to be playing for keeps and uh opening night. So I I love opening night in all sports. So I’m a bit of a sucker for uh the pomp and circumstance. I I want to salute the Canucks for the job they did uh uh their pregame presentation tonight uh honoring 30 years of Kuck Place. It was great to get uh all the people with their phone flashlights on. It made a a great moment in there and uh uh the work that they do at Kuck Place. Remarkable um when you think of the challenges of uh the kids and the families that require the services of Kuck Place. So 30 years strong. Good on everybody that has made that happen over the over the 30 years. Pat’s wearing the they were wearing the patch and as I understand it, that’s the original patch that they had on their jerseys 30 years ago. They’ve been in a drawer somewhere and uh they brought them out. I don’t know if they’re there all season or if this was just for tonight, but uh those were the authentic original patches from 30 years ago. That’s awesome. Um obviously connects do a lot of great in the community. saw Trevor Lyn and Daniel Sadine in the video there. Yeah. Um lots of lots of great stuff and you know they will continue to do that as it is a is a great part and it’s a great tradition of what you know the Canucks have done with the Canucks place. All right, preseason’s over. That means preseason’s over for us as well. Hope you’re ready. It’s it’s go time. Bring it, baby. Let’s go. Uh all right. Jacob Lazar working our double duty for all you guys today. I I feel I was on easy street. I got to go to the game and then come in here and talk about it. You did convo. Jacob as well. Uh so thanks to you guys and thanks to everybody for checking out this episode of Ring Quiet Vancouver. [Music]

🚨 Welcome to Rink Wide Vancouver, providing LIVE post-game coverage after every Canucks game 🚨

The Canucks wrap up the preseason on home ice as Connor McDavid and the Oilers come to town. Rink Wide Vancouver is your home for Canucks post-game coverage all season long. Join J Pat and Irf after every game for instant reaction, in-depth analysis, and insights you won’t find anywhere else.

Thank you to all of our sponsors!

🔵 Powered by @bet365: Whatever the moment, it’s Never Ordinary at bet365. Download the App today and use promo code: NATION. http://www.bet365.ca/
🔵Greta Bar: http://lnk.to/GRETAYVR
🔵Pacific Toyota Dealers l https://www.shoptoyota.ca/british-columbia/en?utm_source=TNN&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pacific-influencer&utm_content=TheNationNetwork
🔵Daily Faceoff Survivor Pool – Register for free: https://fantasy.dailyfaceoff.com/dfo/hksurvivor25/home

Listen to the podcast version on https://www.rinkwidevancouver.com/

#Canucks #VancouverCanucks #NHL #Hockey #Vancouver