Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced on Saturday morning that center Nils Aman and winger Arshdeep Bains have been recalled from the AHL Abbotsford Canucks, which means top forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki stays put... for now.
After the injury to Brock Boeser, combined with the Daniel Sprong trade, many, including myself, postulated that this signaled the start of the Lekkerimäki era in Vancouver. We were wrong. In any case, there is some inherent risk in bringing up Lekkerimäki, mainly the same issue that plagued Sprong: being reliable and earning the trust of Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet.
Fortunately for Tocchet and Co., Aman and Bains were both up with the Canucks recently, so both players know what will be demanded of them at the NHL level in their respective roles.
Now that Aman and Bains are back, here's how things are shaking up at practice, as noted by Sportsnet's Brendan Batchelor:
Saturday morning skate #Canucks lines
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 9, 2024
Suter. Miller. Garland.
Höglander. Pettersson. DeBrusk.
Heinen. Blueger. Sherwood.
Åman. Räty. Bains.
Hughes. Hronek.
Soucy. Myers.
Brännström. Desharnais.
Extras: Joshua, Juulsen
All 3 goalies on the ice.@Sportsnet650 pic.twitter.com/TgA5FvRaM3
Pius Suter - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander - Elias Pettersson - Jake DeBrusk
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Aman - Aatu Raty - Arshdeep Bains
Dakota Joshua
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy - Tyler Myers
Erik Brannstrom - Vincent Desharnais
Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen, Arturs Silovs
It will be interesting to see how Tocchet plans to deploy the fourth line of Aman, Bains, and Aatu Raty going forward in the absences of Boeser and Dakota Joshua. The three forwards are all 24 years old or younger and have a combined 150 regular season games of NHL experience, so it is a very green line for a Stanley Cup contender at the moment.