The Vancouver Canucks dropped their preseason opener 4-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night, but the score wasn’t the real takeaway. In September, the result matters less than the individual auditions, and a pair of players put themselves on the radar for different reasons.
Nikita Tolopilo left the game with work still to do, but also with a clear path in front of him. He allowed four goals on 30 shots, finishing with 26 saves in the loss. That wasn’t the kind of outing that locks down a job, but it also wasn’t enough to end the conversation.
The crease picture in Vancouver gives Tolopilo a real opening. Thatcher Demko isn’t expected to be a full participant in training camp as he works back from a hip issue, which puts Kevin Lankinen in position to begin the season as the No. 1 goalie. That leaves the backup role up for grabs, and Tolopilo is in the mix along with Chris Driedger, who joined on a professional tryout.
Tolopilo’s case won’t be built on one night. He played 21 games for Vancouver last season and went 6-11-2 with a 3.61 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage.
Those numbers don’t make the decision easy, but they also don’t close the door. What he needs now is steadiness, especially when the play in front of him gets messy and the shot volume climbs.
That’s part of the job for any backup goalie, and especially for one trying to carve out a role on a team still sorting itself out.
If Tolopilo’s night was about opportunity, Braeden Cootes’ was about momentum. The 19-year-old forward scored once and added a primary assist on Arshdeep Bains’ goal, making himself hard to miss in a game where young players were fighting for attention. He logged 18:56, second among Vancouver forwards, and put two shots on goal.
More than the numbers, Cootes looked better as the game unfolded. He didn’t play like someone just trying to survive an NHL lineup spot. He showed some of the two-way ability that made him such an intriguing prospect in junior, and once he settled in, he started to stand out among Vancouver’s forwards.
One preseason game won’t hand him a roster spot, and it won’t win him anything by itself. But it can change the conversation, and Cootes did enough to make the coaching staff keep him in mind. For a young player, that’s the whole game in September.
The Canucks will get a better read on both players as the preseason rolls on. Tolopilo still has a chance to prove he can handle NHL shooters with consistency, while Cootes just needs to keep doing what he did Saturday: play well enough that the coaches have to think twice. That’s how these opportunities start to become something more.
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