Canucks: Three takeaways from day two of training camp

Klimovich, Gadjovich and Lockwood impress in scrimmage

Team White (Group A) beat Team Blue (Group B) 3-0 in the scrimmage. Goals were from Kyle Burroughs, Nic Petan and Jonah Gadjovich.

Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs shared the shutout.

One name that impressed was Danila Klimovich.

Thomas Drance of The Athletic pointed out that the Canucks second round pick in this year’s draft displayed a nice bit of skill during the on-ice sessions.

Sportsnet 650’s Satiar Shah says the Belarusian was assertive and confident in scrimmage.

Klimovich also showed off his shot. Here he shoots one off the post.

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Klimovich looks like a very skilled player and one that could make the NHL in a couple of years and it will be interesting to see if he plays the season with the Abbotsford Canucks or the QMJHL.

Gadjovich is also one player battling for the fourth line wing spot. He showed that he was determined to get that spot.

“I’m here to earn that spot,” Gadjovich told Chris Faber of Canucks Army. “I know there’s a lot of guys fighting for an NHL spot but I came to this camp to make the Vancouver Canucks. That’s my goal this year. I don’t want to go down to the AHL. I want to stay up here. I want to play for the Vancouver Canucks, and I want to help the team win.”

Here he lays out a big hit on Jack Rathbone.

Gadjovich also got on the score sheet in his sweet spot, in front of the net.

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Whether that’s in Abbotsford or Vancouver, Gadjovich will continue to impress coaches with his physical play and goal scoring ability.

Another player vying for that fourth line spot is Will Lockwood. Like Gadjovich, he got a little bit of NHL action near the end of last season.

Lockwood was one player that impressed during the bag skate on Thursday as he just flew by everyone.

Daniel Wagner of Vancouver is Awesome also noticed that Lockwood kept the speed going on Friday.

It wasn’t just the speed that Lockwood brought. He also showed off excellent stickhandling and agility.

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Lockwood’s speed, hands and work ethic would be useful for the Canucks fourth line and it doesn’t look like he will slow down on day three of training camp on Saturday.

Tyler Motte skates

Tyler Motte spent the first day of training camp watching from the stands.

On the second day, he along with Carson Focht and Guillaume Brisebois stepped onto the ice after the scrimmage was over. They were the shooters for the goalie drills.

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Motte suffered an undisclosed injury last season which required offseason surgery. Focht has been dealing with some sort of ailment.

General manager Jim Benning is unsure if Motte will be ready to go before the season.

“I don’t know if he’ll be available to start the season or not, it will depend on how the rehab goes,” Benning said during the media availability on Wednesday.

Motte is a pivotal force on the fourth line with his speed, energy and defensive play. He also plays a role on the penalty kill.

As of now, things are unclear whether or not he will start the season on time but it is a good sign to the see the 26-year-old skating.

Other Notes

• Travis Hamonic remained absent from training camp due to personal reasons. Benning did say during his media availability that he will be at camp. Things are unclear with Hamonic but according to Satiar Shah of Sportsnet 650, the Canucks want Hamonic to be there but it seems that they are convincing him to get vaccinated if he hasn’t been already. Shah also said he thinks the Canucks don’t want to have Hamonic on roster if he doesn’t get vaccinated.
• Phil Di Giuseppe impressed with his puck battles and skill. He is a dark horse to make the roster.
• Jaroslav Halak honoured his late fellow countrymen and former Canucks Pavol Demitra with his mask design.

The final day of training camp is on Saturday running from 10 AM to 1:30 PM. Then on Sunday, the Canucks play their first preseason game in Spokane against the Seattle Kraken.