Two Canucks prospects faced off against each other in the first game of the Champions Hockey League. One of them is the most hyped Canucks prospect since the Sedins. The other is Lukas Jasek.
It’s been difficult to get a handle on what the Canucks have in Jasek as he plays in his native Czech Republic where we never get to see him apart from glimpses at the World Juniors last year. That means all we really get to see are his numbers, which have been underwhelming. Jasek had zero points in 16 games in Extraliga, the top Czech league, but led all under-20 players in scoring in the second-tier league, putting up 28 points in 30 games.
Now Jasek is back in the Extraliga with a new team, Bílí Tygři Liberec, aka. the White Tigers. And, with the White Tigers in action in the Champions Hockey League (CHL), Canucks fans have a chance to watch him play since the CHL streams all their games on YouTube.
In his first game, however, he was completely overshadowed by Elias Pettersson, playing his first official game for the Växjö Lakers.
The Champions Hockey League is an annual tournament pitting the top teams from across Europe against each other. This year's edition features 32 teams, including the Lakers, who get in by virtue of being the top team in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) regular season.
Pettersson played on the wing on the Lakers’ top line with veterans Tuomas Kiiskinen and Janne Pesonen. If that line stays intact into the SHL season, it’s possible Pettersson will get some time at centre, as Pesonen can also play on the wing.
Early in the game, Pettersson was content to be a complementary player, setting up screens in front and allowing his veteran linemates to control the puck and create plays. As the game progressed, however, Pettersson became more and more assertive, creating offensive chances with his excellent vision and passing.
Down by one midway through the third period, Pettersson took it upon himself to even the score, knocking down a pass from Joel Persson, then lifting the stick of defenceman Tomáš Moses to get the puck in the slot and whip it past goaltender Roman Will.
Elias Pettersson scores to tie the game!#Canucks pic.twitter.com/aGKAP1iDNE
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) August 24, 2017
Pettersson nearly had the game winner in the final minute of the third period when Pesonen sent him in alone, but Pettersson ran out of room on the forehand deke and got stuffed by Will.
Pettersson also had this chance to win it with 41 seconds left - was robbed on the nice move#Canucks pic.twitter.com/ayCNbtMHLk
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) August 24, 2017
Overall, it was an impressive showing by Pettersson, who gave every indication of being worth keeping on the Lakers’ first line. His offensive creativity was on full display, but he showed great overall awareness, at one point backchecking hard to prevent a 2-on-1. That strong two-way play will keep him in his coach’s good graces.
It will be important with this particular coach, Sam Hellam, who didn’t shy away from tearing a strip off his team when they gave up three unanswered goals in the second period even with cameras and mics picking up every moment of his f-bomb laden speech.
The Vaxjo Lakers head coach motivating his team
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) August 24, 2017
*NSFW language* pic.twitter.com/LpaMcmrhsh
“If everyone stops doing their own f***ing agenda and do our s***, we’re gonna win the game.”
It must have worked, as the Lakers didn’t give up another goal. For what it's worth, Pettersson himself likely wasn't a target of that rant, as he wasn't on the ice for any goals against and wasn't making the high-risk plays that Hellam was railing against.
Pettersson finished with 16:14 in ice time, including some time on the power play. He tied for the team-high with five shot attempts, two of those on goal.
Jasek had a much quieter game, playing 11:31, including some brief time on the power play, and managing one shot on goal. His best chance to hit the scoresheet came on the power play, as he set up at the backdoor and whiffed on a bouncing puck. It was a tough play to make, but it was the difference between winning and losing for the White Tigers, as the Lakers won the game in overtime.
Jasek certainly wasn’t bad, he just was mostly unremarkable. He has decent speed and created a couple turnovers by darting into spaces to pick off passes, but nothing much came of them.
Jasek is about to turn 20 in a few days and is entering the first year of a two-year contract with the White Tigers. That means he’ll likely be 22 before he considers making the jump to North America. The Canucks hold his rights until June 1, 2019, so if he excels in those two years, he’ll have the option of foregoing a contract with the Canucks and becoming an unrestricted free agent.
