Canucks, Tolopilo blank Oilers in Young Stars Classic Game 1

The baby Vancouver Canucks, led by Max Sasson and Nikita Tolopilo, took down the visiting Edmonton Oilers in Penticton, BC., in their first Young Stars game on Friday night, escaping with a 2-0 shutout victory.

Belarusian goalie Nikita Tolopilo, who was among the Canucks' 11 total Young Stars returnees, pitched a 21-save shutout against Edmonton on Friday. Sasson, Vilmer Alriksson, Josh Bloom, Danila Klimovich, Aatu Raty, Akito Hirose, Sawyer Minio, Jonathan Lemieux, and Ty Young rounded out the group of returnees.

Here's how the Canucks lined up against the Oilers:

Forwards (12)

Arshdeep Bains - Aatu Raty - Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Danila Klimovich - Max Sasson - Riley Patterson
Vilmer Alriksson - Ty Mueller - Anthony Romani
Josh Bloom - Cooper Walker - Ty Glover

Defense (6)

Elias Pettersson - Kirill Kudryavtsev
Akito Hirose - Parker Alcos
Joseph Arntsen - Christian Felton

Sasson opened the scoring for the Canucks just over a minute into the second period. The 24-year-old collected a slick pass from Vilmer Alriksson along the left wing boards before racing down the ice and creating a 2-on-1.

After squeezing down the defender, Sasson was able to adjust his feet, pivot, and fire a quality chance on goal. Despite his initial attempt being stifled, Sasson collected his own rebound and deposited it into the net for the 1-0 lead.

Early in the second period, defenseman Christian Felton doubled the Canucks' lead to 2-0 with a slick move on a strong take to the front of the net. No. 58 drove wide on the Oilers' defense to the right circle before aggressively veering towards the crease.

Although Felton was disrupted and lost control of the puck, he was the first one to get to the loose puck and sent a fluttering backhand attempt past a helpless Nathan Day, who flailed at the airborne puck before admitting defeat.

Although Tolopilo only recently finished his first full season in North America, the Canucks will surely be encouraged by his shutout, particularly given the injuries currently plaguing Artus Silovs and Thatcher Demko.

A potential PTO option in Antti Raanta is now off the board as well, so developing Tolopilo is now a top priority in Vancouver.