DETROIT – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin acknowledged the pressure to build a competitive team, emphasizing the importance of key players’ health and performance as the organization prepares for the upcoming season. Speaking from Detroit, Allvin highlighted goaltender Thatcher Demko‘s recovery from a knee injury and forward Elias Pettersson‘s bounce-back potential as crucial factors for success.
Demko,a 2024 Vezina Trophy candidate,was limited to 23 games last season due to the injury. Pettersson, beginning a $92.8-million contract, experienced a down year with 45 points.
“I think that’s fair,” Allvin said, referring to the meaning of Demko and Pettersson. “If you look around the league at the way teams are constructed, every team needs their drivers and best players to lead the team. Going through what we went through last year…I think a lot of guys learned from the adversity.”
Allvin noted that Demko and goaltender Kevin Lankinen were among the first players to return to Vancouver for pre-camp training in August, with Demko’s positive attitude reportedly “contagious” around Rogers Arena. He also revealed meeting with Pettersson in Sweden in July, where the forward expressed a desire to move forward and elevate his game.
“He was very much turning the page and moving forward,” Allvin said of Pettersson. “He’s excited. He made a trip over here (in May) to meet with Adam and a couple of other players and he wants to take his game to another level.”
Both Allvin and former coach Rick Tocchet previously discussed Pettersson’s need for improved off-season preparation.Allvin believes Pettersson has matured and is taking ownership of his performance.
“I think every player learns what they need to do to be successful in the league,” Allvin stated.”They tweak the way they do things in order to get better.”
Pettersson participated in on-ice workouts at the University of British Columbia last week. The Canucks will hold their annual Jake Milford charity golf tournament on Monday, followed by unofficial practices leading into training camp, which begins in Penticton on September 18. A prospects mini-camp is also scheduled in Abbotsford this week, culminating in games against the Seattle Kraken’s prospects next weekend.
