RWJC Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Canucks: Could vacation buddy Daniel Sprong mesh with Elias Pettersson on a line? Sprong, who's a free-agent addition on the wing, and core centre Pettersson were among the Canucks who took part in an informal skate Thursday at UBC It’ll be interesting to see if Daniel Sprong and Elias Pettersson have chemistry on the ice for the Vancouver Canucks — because they have a connection away from the rink. Sprong and Pettersson were among the 20 Canucks who took part in an informal skate Thursday at UBC. They’re preparing for training camp, which start in Penticton on Sept. 19. Sprong was one of Vancouver’s free-agent additions this summer. He’s a right-shot winger known for his ability to fire the puck. He talked Thursday about how he randomly bumped into Pettersson on vacation three years ago. They hung out and have remained in contact. Pettersson was one of the first Vancouver players Sprong spoke to after signing with the Canucks. As it happens, finding wingers who mesh well with Pettersson, the 25-year-old pivot who’s a centrepiece of this Vancouver group moving forward, has been one of the main talking points around the team since the end of last season. “We really bonded on that vacation. It was a good trip,” said Sprong, 27, who didn’t get into details of where they went. “I was there. He was there at the same time. We ran into each other there and went for dinner. We’ve stayed close friends and always talk after games.” Pettersson’s struggles down the stretch and in the playoffs were well documented. At the year-end media wrap-up, he spoke of being bothered by a knee issue in the second half. Coach Rick Tocchet spoke last season about Pettersson needing to drive play more. Tocchet also didn’t duck the fact that his wingers played a role. In the post-season series against the Edmonton Oilers, Tocchet told the media: “I’m not sure he’s getting sometimes the help he needs.” Ilya Mikheyev was a regular on Pettersson’s line much of the campaign. He had five goals in his first nine games last season. He had six goals in the next 80 when you combine regular season and playoffs matchups. The Canucks traded Mikheyev, who has a $4.75 million cap hit, along with fellow winger Sam Lafferty and a 2027 second-round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in June for a 2027 fourth rounder. It was all in a bid to open up cap space, and Vancouver still wound up retaining 15 per cent — or $712,500 — of Mikheyev’s salary for this coming season and next. The Canucks inked both Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen to revamp their forward group when free agency opened on July 1. They added Sprong via a one-year, $975,000 contract on July 20. Just how Tocchet wants to configure his lines will start coming into focus in Penticton. Sprong’s shot is his main asset, and it’s easy to think that the 6-foot, 195 pounder will get a crack at playing in an offensive role, be it with Pettersson or someone else. He played bottom-six minutes last year with the Detroit Red Wings, finishing 11th among their forwards at 12 minutes of ice time per game. He still had 18 goals in 76 games. He had a career-high 21 goals in 66 games with the Seattle Kraken the season before. In the pre-season last year, then Red Wings forward David Perron told the Detroit Hockey Now: “I played with him in a 3-on-3 league this summer (in Montreal) and at any moment he can shoot from the corner, shoot from the blue line, shoot from the dots. I think he’s in range all the time to score. He’s got a really quick release, sneaky shot.” Vancouver is Sprong’s sixth team, and the knock on him is that he’s had issues defensively. The modus operandi sounds similar to Andrei Kuzmenko, the big-shooting winger who quickly wore out his welcome with Tocchet and was traded away to the Calgary Flames. One difference with Sprong is that he was a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick where he played three seasons, so he comes in versed in the ways of Tocchet, general manager Patrik Allvin and president Jim Rutherford, who are all Penguins alums. And, of course, they are have a history with him as well. Sprong has said that his conversations with Tocchet were part of what attracted him to signing in Vancouver, and Tocchet’s certainly known for being honest. “Hopefully I can play in the top six. But the last couple of years I’ve done a good job playing in that depth role and those numbers show that,” Sprong said. “I think there’s more to my game and hopefully I can show that here.” Other participants in Thursday’s skate included Pettersson, forwards J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser and goaltender Arturs Silovs, who didn’t play for Latvia in the recent Olympic qualifying tournament due to knee ligament inflammation. The hope is that he’s ready to start the NHL season. Goalie Thatcher Demko, who had his season shut down in the playoffs due to a knee injury, wasn’t on the ice Thursday. There are reports he could miss the start of training camp, but also reports that he’s back skating. The Canucks open the regular season Oct. 9 at home against the Flames. @SteveEwen SEwen@postmedia.com https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-daniel-sprong-elias-pettersson-line 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck You Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Well , At least it's off to a good start.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post iceman1964 Posted September 7 Popular Post Share Posted September 7 Watched the YouTube vids of Sprong's 21 goals from 2022-23 season with the Kracken, saw a few rocket shots of off the post and in, he can sure wire a shot! 3 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nergish Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 I really don't think we should be upset if he doesn't fit in the top-6. It's such a low risk signing. There is a world where he meshes perfectly with Pettersson, and makes Allvin look like an absolute genius. But there's also a world where he's buried on the fourth line, or healthy scratched. Gonna be an interesting one to follow this season. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Alflives Posted September 7 Popular Post Share Posted September 7 If Sprong is here to round out his game learning from Tocchet then he will be a success. 3 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Totally fine if he's lower in the lineup, we could have scoring depth throughout the roster with him on a separate line. Guys like him, Heinen, Suter and Hoglander are so versatile that they fit pretty much anywhere and could give us 3-4 lines with offense. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high flying Vee Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 We are due to have a fringe guy elevate their game and become a great value piece. Dak did it and this guy could be next. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GrammaInTheTub Posted September 7 Popular Post Share Posted September 7 In addition to Petey, Boeser, Miller and Debrusks 30+ goals, we have Joshua, Sprong, Hoglander, Heinen, and Garland who could all see 20. We’ve got some pretty solid depth finally! 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slegr Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 Should be a fun experiment to see in preseason games. Man, am I ever starved for Canucks hockey. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman1964 Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 (edited) Another thought, scoring 21 goals with the Kraken, depending on who he was playing with and the redwings last season with 18 goals with limited ice time, if we can put some talent beside him, I don't see why he couldn't pot 20-25 this season which would help us a lot, however as most people would get, the number of goals is one thing but timing of goals is another, like giving a cushion on a 1 goal game into a 2 goal lead means a lot, nevermind a GWG like Miller seems to have a knack for could make a lot of difference but we'll see. Have to admit, management has improved our squad in my opinion. Not just with signing Debrusk whose speed and scoring ability will definitely help but secondary signings like this too for depth in case of injuries is huge. It's nice to see for once in franchise history that we haven't sold the farm for a good roster. Speaking of which, happy we got to keep picks that may really help soon, especially on D with Willander and D-petey. Happy to see that! Edited September 8 by iceman1964 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 Holy F Bomb. Tocchet care f all for who are buddies. Spong needs to earn his ice time. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainCanuck12 Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, Alflives said: Holy F Bomb. Tocchet care f all for who are buddies. Spong needs to earn his ice time. So very true and eloquently expressed, Alf! But one thing Tocchet clearly does care about is balancing each line with both a right shooting and left shooting winger, just as he does with all of his defensive pairs. This being the case, you know he is going to give either Boeser, Garland, Sherwood or Sprong every possible chance to show that they can play on Petey's R wing. My money's with Sprong......... (and with Debrusk on LW). Edited September 8 by CaptainCanuck12 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastExpress Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 1 hour ago, Alflives said: Holy F Bomb. Tocchet care f all for who are buddies. Spong needs to earn his ice time. If EP40 playing with a "buddy" gets him un-sucky then let him have his buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 10 hours ago, EastCoastExpress said: If EP40 playing with a "buddy" gets him un-sucky then let him have his buddy. Ep 40 playing healthy is key. He played through injury. Commendable for him to do that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip The Mesh Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 50 minutes ago, Alflives said: Ep 40 playing healthy is key. He played through injury. Commendable for him to do that. Those pictures of him practicing in Vancouver in late August would appear to show he's serious about having a great year. We need them all playing their best so win the big prize in June, right Alf? We deserve it.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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