Patrik Allvin speaks following Canucks’ training camp and first preseason game
Well, with camp in the books, what did you like from what you saw in Pentictton from the first preseason game the other night as well? Well, uh first uh big thanks to the people and fans in Pentictton and and that area. It’s always great to be up there. Setup is is excellent for the players and the staff. I thought the the pace was good uh through the three days up there. Um a lot of young guys get a taste of it here and uh the older guys uh picked it up too. Uh it was a significant higher pace in the drills that Adam and his staff is running here over the last couple days. Obviously, you get into preseason games here and uh playing against uh NHL players. So, uh definitely a good opportunity for some of our younger guys. I thought we uh struggled a little bit earlier there in Seattle. Um with a fairly young lineup, uh Topilo kept us in the game. Uh played really well. I did like that it was no quit. The guys were playing hard to the end there. So, um, good for them to have a day off yesterday and back at it here today. You talk about pace. Uh, how important is it to have a team that plays with pace in the modern NHL and where the game’s going? Oh, absolutely. The g the game is so fast now and I think that’s the eye test with a with a data test comes in that the pace is higher. Uh we got a lot of guys that can skate and and Adam is running drills uh with uh simple basic drills that uh you play fast predictable hockey. So uh good for the players buying in there. Safe to say that Brain Coots has sort of given you everything that you hoped he would. Absolutely. Uh pleasant surprises since he joined the the organization. Uh we talked about his uh character and compete leading up to the draft. um he’s taking an opportunity and earning another day. Um really fitting in well here and uh continue to uh practice with us here. There’s talk in the market that maybe he’s a guy to get some NHL games up to nine before you have to make a decision. How challenging is that on logistics? Is that realistic chance? You know what, for all the young players here, uh the mindset of earning another day, I I don’t think they should look too far ahead of themsel. We all know that the veteran guys are picking it up here once we get closer to the opening night. So, uh for them it’s just to learn every day and uh I thought in this group’s uh practice today was hard. So, I’m excited to see the next group here. But so far, he’s definitely earned his way and uh based on his performance the first game, I would be hoping that he earned uh another game here. Can you share any more details on the roster that’ll play in Asp? Uh this the the first group you saw is uh the game group roster for tomorrow. What’s the thinking with Max Sassin at center? I mean he has always been a center but in the NHL he was sort of forced to play on the wing a little bit. Is there a message in putting him back in the middle here in a game like this one? I think Max with his speed uh gives give us an good opportunity uh to play play as a center. I think this line played together at Oscar and Abbottzford and and played well here with most of our guys. Their ability to play two positions really help us as well with the depth. Patrick Keifer Sherwood had a season 19 goals, led the NHL in hits, became a culture carrier for your team. What do you need to see from him this year so maybe you can make that long-term commitment to a guy who’s contract at the end of the year? I think for Keith uh the consistency um learning to play in structure um learning again play a two-way game uh we know that his uh tenacity is pace speed u physicality and his shot is is really good last year. So we’re definitely excited to see uh see him take another step this year. you have the leverage to wait, right, and see how the year goes, much like you did with Dakota before he got his extension. Similar thing, right? Yeah, I mean, we we like Keith a lot and obviously fits in really well with this group here, but uh uh there is no rush. Uh we continue to talk and see where we are, but uh very excited to continue to work with it. Is there another challenge on another level when a player changes representation like you’re suddenly dealing with people that you weren’t dealing with before? Uh, you know what? I I got a fairly good relationship with uh most of the so uh nothing really going to change here. Try to come to Junior. You sent two you sent two guys back to Junior yesterday with contracts. Um what’s the benefit of the hockey club of getting deals done so early? Well, uh with with Riley Patterson here, we’ve seen the development over the since he since he joined the organization. continue to talking to our development staff and our group and seeing what he accomplished here early on the way he’s trending. Obviously for us it’s more of a long-term commitment with with a guy like Riley and and Gabe here as well but Riley um excited going back to a new team Niagara taking another step in junior hockey and uh right center forward. Um I think that’s where some of the discussions with our staff uh doing the right thing, sending the right message to the players and and my message to the players as of yesterday nothing really changed. It’s actually get harder now. So we want to continue to work with the both of them. But both of them were in my opinion uh really impressive in in different ways. Obviously different style of players but uh hopefully they feel good about themselves but it’s just the start of the journey here. Surprised last year by making that spent a bit of the year. Have you seen progress? Do you think he’s farther ahead this year than he was a year ago? I do. Uh I I’ve obviously seen uh his off ice testing. Uh I think he’s more confident coming in here this year and uh I know it’s early here, but uh he he’s a really talented player and and uh I think it looks good so far in camp. How much does it help your team if he’s ready to play and step up and play a bigger role? Yeah, you definitely help uh the internal competition and helping the coaches with different options and a center iceman like him, strong on faceoffs, uh strong two-way game and uh his ability to uh produce as well definitely helped
Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin spoke with media today following the club’s practice at UBC on Tuesday.
You can read more about today’s practice here: https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-practice-vancouver-canucks-give-first-glimpse-power-play-units