Vancouver Canucks Prospects of Week 3: Palmu, Lind and Keppen

Each week I will be featuring the Vancouver Canucks top three prospects of the week. Along with any other notable performances, should there be any that deserve mentioning?

1. Petrus Palmu

It was quite a week for Petrus Palmu, going from a player with no home to signing with a new team to becoming an instant star. The somewhat forgotten Vancouver Canucks prospect gained popularity with his new JYP teammates in a flash.

Only a few shifts into his first game, he scored the game-tying goal. In the second period, he added another goal to go along with two assists, propelling his new team to a 6-4 victory. Palmu skated on the second line and saw powerplay duty as well in his debut.

He is on loan to JYP of the Finnish men’s Liiga for the duration of the season. He may be reporting to the Utica Comets when his season in Europe finishes, as per his agent Todd Diamond in an interview conducted by Rick Dhaliwal on SN650 and posted on Twitter. 

2. Kole Lind

After a season that many would deem disappointing, Kole Lind came flying out of the gate to start the 2019-2020 campaign. In the first period, he made a terrific pass to send Carter Camper in alone. The chance, however, was denied, and the Utica Comets trailed 1-0 after the first period.

The Comets turned up the pace in the second frame scoring four times. Lind assisted on three of those goals. After taking a stretch pass from defenceman Olli Juolevi, Lind crosses the blue-line and drops it off to Camper.

Camper’s shot eludes the Binghamton Devils goaltender, although the goal was initially credited to Reid Boucher, it was later changed.

After busting to the net and receiving a pass, Lind spins around and dishes off to Boucher, who buries it into the gaping net. The goal gives the Comets a 2-1 lead, one which they would never relinquish.

For his final assist of the night, Lind works hard along the boards to get the puck to Boucher in the corner. Boucher then finds Guillaume Brisebois in the slot, and his shot finds the top corner to put the Comets up 4-1.

The Comets would hang on in the third period edging the Devils 4-3. Lind was named the second star of the game.

3. Ethan Keppen

With my OHL Live subscription, I was fortunate enough to catch a couple of games this past week of the Flint Firebirds. I came away very impressed by the play of Ethan Keppen. Not only did he score twice in an 8-5 decision over the Sarnia Sting, but his overall game was exceptional.

Keppen displayed a good work ethic, especially along the boards and provided a strong net-front presence. He played in all situations, killing penalties as well as parking himself in front of the net on the powerplay. His puck retrieval skills are more than adequate, and he seemed to understand and accept his role in those situations.

The first goal that Keppen scored in the game versus Sarnia came short-handed. He chased down the puck carrier, rubbed him out along the boards and created the turnover. Keppen then took the puck to the net from the sideboards and fired a wrist shot which squeezed through the goaltender and across the goal line. His second goal came on a two-on-one where he fired it short side past the goaltender.

In the second game, which was a 4-3 overtime victory over the Guelph Storm, Keppen failed to hit the scoresheet. However, he did display many of the same characteristics that he had shown in the previous game. In the final game of the week, Keppen provided a screen on Flint’s first goal but once again didn’t factor in the scoring. Flint lost that game 7-3 to the Owen Sound Attack.

In other prospect news, Nils Hoglander has been handed a five-game suspension for an overzealous elbow he dished out in a recent SHL game.

Be sure to check back next week to see which prospects are featured.