Canucks Report: Scrimmage time

On the second day of Canucks Training Camp, there was a scrimmage.
Little by little, Canucks hockey is nearing a full return.

After months of training, the Canucks were thrown into game action as Group A and Group B faced off during a 40-minute run-time scrimmage, with Group A (Team Blue) edging Team White 3-2 at Meadow Park Sports Centre in Whistler.
Olli Juolevi opened the scoring for blue, before Tyler Motte and Jonathan Dahlen responded for white. Troy Stecher found the back of the net with a point shot not long after; Brendan Leipsic then set up Zack MacEwen, who beat Thatcher Demko for the game-winner.
Coach Green said he was impressed with some of the young defencemen and Pettersson's line, including Sven Baertschi and Nikolay Goldobin. Overall, he was happy to see the tempo remain high on day two.
"You want to see the guys working, competing, and skating, and we've talked about being an aggressive group," said Green. "I thought I saw that today from pretty much the whole group. I liked the pace of the scrimmage."
He also had an update on Antoine Roussel, who skated on his own again Saturday. He was put through a skating test and Green is hopeful he'll be back "sooner than later."

DAHLEN FEELING GOOD

Rookie Jonathan Dahlen, who played two games for the Utica Comets last season after finishing his fourth season with Timra IK in the Swedish Hockey League, went to the net hard in the scrimmage and was rewarded sneaking the puck past Jacob Markstrom.
The 20-year-old forward skated alongside Sam Gagner and Brock Boeser.
"It was very fun," said Dahlen, post-game. "It was a great scrimmage and was fun to be in a game situation again. It's always nice to get the goal and I thought I got going after the goal and had some nice plays, so it was a fun day - a lot more fun than the 40s skate yesterday!"
Dahlen was not overwhelmed in the game - "I played against men in Sweden," he pointed out - but he was a little taken aback with all the media in front of him. "We maybe had one or two reporters after games, definitely none after a practice!"

THE NEW GUY

The hockey world can be a very small place. Connections everywhere. This guy played with that guy, who was coached by that guy's dad. It's almost eerie how it works sometimes.
That's not the case for newcomer Tim Schaller. Signed by the Canucks on July 1st, the former Boston Bruins forward met with the media after Group A finished its ice session, revealing that he is indeed a newbie through and through. He doesn't know anyone in the organization, players, coaches or management.
While Schaller is trying to establish himself on the ice, he's also putting him in making connections with new teammates.
"It's pretty much a clean slate for me," said Schaller. "I'm trying to go out there, play my game and build everyone's trust."
Friends or not, Schaller feels very welcome within his new team.
"I feel comfortable already. One of the first days I was here we had a team dinner, so I started getting to know the guys and their wives and girlfriends. They're treating me just like one of the guys and that's all I can ask for."

BEAGLE MIC'D UP

Troy Stecher wasn't feeling Plan A. So he went to Plan B today during the Canucks scrimmage. Beagle was mic'd up for the whole thing.

THE DEBATE IS OVER

Hats off to Micha. Not only did this adorable youngster have the best sign Saturday morning, he settled the captaincy debate. Look closely at his photo on the poster and it's clear: Micha is captain now.

Micha was rewarded for his efforts, and rightfully so.

DIFFERENT SIGN

We'll file this under: something you don't see everyday. Can't wait until his mom finds out!

SUNDAY FUNDAY

The Canucks are back at it tomorrow morning, again at Meadow Park Sports Centre, beginning at 10 a.m. The Canucks will take part in another scrimmage, set for 11 a.m. Daily ice-sessions are free for fans to enjoy.