Max Sasson is heading into his fourth Vancouver Canucks training camp with a clear sense of what gives him an edge: speed. And after last season, he thinks he has more of it.
The 26-year-old spent his first three camps trying to carve out a place at centre, but the picture changed as last season wore on. Sasson was moved to left wing and started to settle in, finishing with 13 goals in 66 NHL games. That total matched Evander Kane and left him just two behind Elias Pettersson.
Now the Birmingham, MI native returns to the start of a new season with the likelihood that he’ll be lined up on the wing again, something he hasn’t done since turning pro after two seasons at Western Michigan University. Even so, Sasson isn’t getting caught up in the position battle. His focus is on showing up at camp next week, doing his part, and letting new head coach Manny Malhotra sort out the rest.
“I don’t think too many of us have had conversations as far as linemates or pairings go or whatever it may be,” Sasson said after an informal late summer skate at Rogers Arena on Wednesday morning. “Wherever they put me, I feel comfortable.
Last year, when I went to the wing, especially down the stretch there, I started feeling very confident on the wall. And getting to use my speed maybe a little bit more and not having to run around in the d-zone as much and when I get the puck to be able to fly up the ice.
Wherever they put me, I’ll feel comfortable and I think that’s an asset of mine. But as of today, I think I’m (dramatic pause) a forward.”
The Canucks’ center depth could make that wing role even more likely. Elias Pettersson, Marco Rossi, Filip Chytil and Aatu Räty are the names most likely to start down the middle, which leaves Sasson looking like a natural fit on the outside.
There’s still a wrinkle, though: if the Canucks decide Chytil is better off on the wing, Sasson’s flexibility could come into play. Another possibility is that Vancouver adds a centre from the waiver wire before the team opens the season on September 29th.
For Sasson, the bigger goal is simpler. He wants to keep building on last season and show that he belongs as a full-time NHL player.
“Each year I’ve taken a step forward, and last year I thought I had some really high-quality stretches,” he said. “I always have a chip on my shoulder.
Undrafted guy. Feels like every single day, just trying to keep proving how good I am and how [much] I believe in myself.
I think that’s the challenge this year to strive for better.”
His best weapon is obvious. Sasson’s top skating speed last season hit 38.13 kilometres per hour, the fastest mark on the Canucks and good for the 97th percentile among NHL skaters. He also logged 15 bursts above 35 km/h, which put him in the 95th percentile.
That kind of gear is what Sasson believes separates him. He said the idea has been developing since his junior days and the USHL, when he was just trying to do enough to stay in the lineup. Over time, the speed became the trait he leaned on most.
“When I got to juniors and the USHL, I was just trying to do anything to get into the lineup, and then as I progressed I started to feel that this was my separator,” he explained of his speed. “I don’t think you can be fast enough.
Every summer, I try to gain another step and be as elite as possible in that regard. I didn’t know how it would translate to the pro level.
In Abbotsford, I started to find that rhythm, and here I think at first I was feeling it out, and as I started to get more comfortable anticipating the game and using my speed, I think it’s been a growth process, but I have put in a lot of work to achieve that, for sure.”
And yes, he says he’s even quicker now than he was when last season ended.
“I think so,” he said with a laugh. “I think you’ll see a higher burst.”
Sasson is ready to take that next step when camp opens next week in Penticton.
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