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I Watched This (Prospect Showcase) Game: Petrus Palmu tops prospect game

For some fans, the annual prospect development camp is the only opportunity they have to watch Canucks prospects. That’s particularly true for someone like Jack Rathbone, who played high school hockey in New England.
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For some fans, the annual prospect development camp is the only opportunity they have to watch Canucks prospects. That’s particularly true for someone like Jack Rathbone, who played high school hockey in New England. Even those who follow prospects closely haven’t seen much of Rathbone.

It’s also true, to a certain extent, of Petrus Palmu, who played in a higher profile league, but let’s be honest: not many Canucks fans made a habit of watching Finnish Liiga games last season. So, when Palmu went off in the prospect showcase game on Thursday, it was a revelation.

Palmu was clearly the best player on the ice, seemingly creating a great scoring chance for himself and his teammates every time he stepped on the ice. Sure, it helped that he’s already 20 and just over a week away from turning 21, but there’s no denying how impressive he looked on the ice.

He led the game with three points — a goal and two assists — but seemed like he should have had a lot more, if not for some sterling saves from Michael DiPietro.

The Facebook Live feed of the game had over 50,000 views, so I wasn’t alone when I watched this game.

  • Let’s get this out of the way: “It’s just a prospect scrimmage.” Yes, we’re all aware. Now let’s talk about how the prospects performed.
  • The Canucks’ first round pick from the 2018 Draft, Quinn Hughes, was on Team Blue, which was comprised mostly of invitees. The only Canucks draftees with him on the team were Kristoffer Gunnarsson and goaltender Michael DiPietro. It might seem unfair that Team White had 7 Canucks draft picks compared to 3 on Team Blue, but on the other hand, that made Team Blue the older, more experienced team.
  • A lot of fans were likely tuned in just to see how Hughes looked. The truth is, Hughes looked sick, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. Hughes had the flu earlier in the week and he still seemed sapped of energy for much of the game. At the same time, he showed some ridiculous hands and sweet skating, enough to get fans out of their seats and onto the Hughes Train.
  • Palmu was the surprise star of the show, however, dominating for Team White. It doesn’t seem right to call him small, even though he’s just 5’6”, because he’s built like a brick, er, wall. Yeah, let’s go with “wall.” He is, as the kids are saying these days, thicc. He’s turned his smaller stature into an asset, as he’s nearly impossible to knock off the puck thanks to his low centre of gravity.
  • Michael DiPietro is an adventure in net, but he gets the job done. He robbed Tyler Madden on a backdoor pass from Palmu, then scrambled wildly to somehow stop Kole Lind off a Madden feed from below the goal line. Half the time I had no idea how he made a save, as he turned himself into a pretzel in front of the net. I’m surprised he didn’t sprinkle coarse salt on himself and sell himself on the Rogers Arena concourse.
  • Team White dominated early, but it took a lucky bounce to finally beat DiPietro. Jett Woo, who had a strong game, threw a puck on net, where it hit invitee defenceman Josh Teves. The puck bounced directly to Palmu at the left faceoff circle and he made Bob Ross proud, taking the happy accident and making no mistake, sending a quick shot past a sliding DiPietro.
  • Palmu assisted on the next goal, picking up a puck off the boards down low and whipping it in front to Madden, who was wide open thanks to some shaky Team Blue defensive zone coverage. Madden’s finish was as fluent as Palmu’s Finnish, going to one knee to rip the puck past Christian Purboo, the invitee goaltender who came in for DiPietro halfway through each period.
  • DiPietro stood out at one end because he was more active, but the newly-drafted Matthew Thiessen was great in the Team White net as well. The two goaltenders look completely different: DiPietro was chaotic; Thiessen was controlled. DiPietro threw himself in front of pucks; Thiessen made himself big and absorbed pucks. DiPietro was spectacular; Thiessen was barely noticeable. It’s going to be fascinating to see how both develop over the next few years.
  • Two Canucks prospect defencemen that didn’t make the scoresheet but still impressed were Jack Rathbone and Toni Utunen. Rathbone showed great speed, even if his hands didn’t always keep up, but he also defended well, showing some surprising grit and physicality. Utunen, meanwhile, was quietly efficient in the defensive zone, making great reads and showing sound positioning, then quickly moving the puck to safety with outlet passes and reverses behind the net. He wasn’t flashy, but there’s a lot to like there.
  • There were some standout invitees, who occasionally stole the show from the Canucks prospects. There are a couple reasons for that. The majority of the invitees are a few years older: goaltender Corbin Boes was the oldest player at camp at 24, while 23-year-old Jarid Lukosevicius was the oldest skater. They perhaps played a little harder as well, knowing that this might be one of their few chances to catch the attention of an NHL team.
  • One of those older invitees, Tanner MacMaster, gave Team White a 3-0 lead. He picked off a pass from the confusingly-similarly-named Adam McMaster, then cut to the net and made a sick move to go backhand shelf on Purboo.
  • Then three invitees got Team Blue on the board after Hughes took a hit to start the breakout. Ben Copeland skated the puck up ice with speed and set up Josh Teves, who was the best of the invitee defencemen. His shot hit the post, but Issac Nurse cleaned up the rebound and beat Boes to make it 3-1.
  • The most impressive invitee, however, was Lukosevicius, who continued his college habit of getting shots. On goal, that is, as opposed to most people’s college shot habits. He proved he’s not just a volume shooter, however, when he showed impressive patience on his first goal. He took a Garrett McFadden giveaway and took the puck across the slot before backhanding it past Boes.
  • Kole Lind restored the two-goal lead (the most dangerous lead in hockey) when he poked the puck past Hughes and went the other way on a 3-on-1. He kept the puck and beat DiPietro inside the post, which is generally where you want to beat goaltenders. When you beat them outside the post, scorekeepers stubbornly refuse to award you with a goal. Very frustrating.
  • Lukosevicius brought Team Blue back within one with his second goal of the game. He took a neutral zone pass from fellow invitee Peter Abbandonato, then dragged the puck around MacMaster and Thiessen before popping the puck in. Just like that, two of the prettiest goals of the game came from an invitee. Lukosevicius could potentially go back to college for his senior year, but he seems like a candidate to get a two-way contract and play in Utica this season.
  • Ben Copeland was arguably the second best invitee of the game, adding a goal during the 3-on-3 third period to his assist earlier in the game. Copeland had a breakout year in the USHL in his second year of draft eligibility by learning how to slow down from his break-neck pace, but he scored by using it. He picked up a misplayed pass in the defensive zone, then burned rubber the other way, backing down invitee forward Liam Kindree, who was covering for his defence. With the space Kindree had to give him, Copeland sent a rocket of a wrist shot blocker side on Thiessen. If not for the fact that he’s heading to college, the 19-year-old would be a prime target for a contract.
  • Invitees Adam Rockwood and Abbandonato traded goals to make it 5-5, but Palmu wasn’t going to let it stay tied. He made a great pass to send MacMaster in alone, and he tucked the puck five-hole on Purboo. MacMaster is already signed to an AHL contract with Utica for next season, but it’s not hard to imagine him excelling with the Comets and earning a Canucks contract in short order.
  • Hook this Hughes play to my veins.

 

 

  • Also, take a look at Utunen on that play. Hughes undressed Utunen with that between-the-legs ridiculousness, but Utunen stuck with the play and picked off Hughes’ pass. I like this kid.
  • The Canucks ended the prospect showdown with a shootout. Everyone participated and there were a couple standouts. Rathbone showed better hands than he did during the game, but hit the post. Invitee Tyler Soy made a slick move on Thiessen, tucking the puck in after a fantastic cut to the forehand. And Lukosevicius added to his great night with a quick shot past Boes.
  • Hughes got in one last highlight, scoring a great goal in the shootout. He showed his quick hands to change his shooting angle, then lifted the puck into the top corner as casually as if he was wearing boat shoes. He's going to be good, folks.