VANCOUVER — It is a measure of the injury problems the Vancouver Canucks face as the National Hockey League season begins, that Monday's placement of winger Ilya Mikheyev and defencemen Tyler Myers and Travis Dermott on Injured Reserve is actually good news.
Coach Bruce Boudreau said last week that Myers, out with a lower-body injury, would miss 2-4 weeks. The back end of that timeframe made the $6-million-US defenceman a candidate for Long Term Injured Reserve, which would have meant at least a 10-game absence to start the season.
But the IR designation, dated retroactively from the time he was hurt last week, allows Myers to return any time after Vancouver’s season-opener on Wednesday, although it’s unclear if he will travel on the team’s five-game road trip that begins against the Edmonton Oilers.
Dermott sustained a concussion during practice on Sept. 27, two days after Mikheyev suffered a lower-body injury during the Canucks’ first pre-season game.
Mikheyev practised Monday in a non-contact jersey and Boudreau said the speedy winger, who signed a four-year, $19-million contract as a free agent in July, could practise with the team Friday in Philadelphia, ahead of Game 2 Saturday against the Flyers.
There is no indication that Dermott’s return is imminent. But winger Brock Boeser, whose hand injury on the final day of training camp on Sept. 24 cost him the entire pre-season, is expected to fully practise on Tuesday and could play in Edmonton.
That positive development was offset by the absence of top defenceman Quinn Hughes from Monday's practice, who, according to Boudreau, is dealing with a “flu-ish” non-COVID illness. Hughes last skated on Friday morning, before he was scratched from that night’s 4-0 pre-season win against the Arizona Coyotes.
The string of injuries and absences disrupted the Canucks’ 2-3-2 pre-season and dulled the energy the team carried into training camp after finishing last season 32-15-10 under Boudreau.
Boeser and Mikheyev are top-six wingers, while Myers is the Canucks’ No. 3 defenceman.
“It has played a little bit of havoc of what you dreamed of as your lineup in the summer,” Boudreau said of the pre-season absences. “But I mean, I'm sure every team goes through this at some point. Hopefully we can get through it and it's at the beginning, and once we get healthy, we stay healthy. It comes with the territory. I don't think we had a full lineup at all one time last year since I was here. It's just move on, and next guy up, and they've got to show that they can play in the league.”
There were few surprises in the 22-man active roster Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced on Monday afternoon.
The inclusion of rookie Danila Klimovich among 13 active forwards is a bookkeeping move to maximize the Canucks’ LTIR benefit, as the 19-year-old will almost certainly be starting the season in the American Hockey League.
Swedish rookie Nils Aman, a 22-year-old former Colorado Avalanche draft pick who signed with the Canucks as a free agent in June, has made the opening-night roster as a speedy, defence-savvy checker who could centre the fourth line.
The most impactful newcomer should be 26-year-old Russian winger Andrei Kuzmenko, who chose to sign with the Canucks as a free agent during the summer after scoring 53 points in 45 games last season in the Kontinental Hockey League. He has looked dangerous offensively since training camp opened and should be a staple on a very good Vancouver power play.
The seven-person defence includes rookie Jack Rathbone and Riley Stillman, the depth defenceman acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
Following subdued competition for the backup role, Spencer Martin is the No. 2 goalie behind starter Thatcher Demko.
Winger Micheal Ferland, whose career is essentially over due to recurring concussion problems, starts the season on LTIR.
After opening the season Wednesday against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, then visiting the Flyers on Saturday, the Canucks’ initial road trip ends with three games in four nights against the Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild.
A better start than last season is imperative for the Canucks, who went 6-14-2 in the first quarter last year, playing themselves out of playoff contention and costing coach Travis Green and general manager Jim Benning their jobs.
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