The Canucks lost in Calgary, but Aatu Raty continues to impress.
Every pre-season features a name that stands out, a guy who draws attention, sometimes even ideas of, what if?
Unlike some of these heroes of the past — Justin Kurtz, anyone? — Raty is still young and still very much a prospect.
But he’s close to making it. He’s very, very close.
The reasons why have been on display this week — and on Saturday night, he was notable.
Not only did he score a lovely goal on a two-on-one, but he hit a post and was a persistent presence with the puck all night.
It’s what you do in the games, and how you’re doing it, that matters.
And Raty is showing the best of his game so far.
Of course, the questions remain about his skating. He remains a clunky skater, though he has improved his pace. One could point out that Leon Draisaitl is also a clunky skater and he does just fine.
To be clear, this is not a comparison of Raty to Draisaitl: Raty is not the second coming of the great German.
It’s just a point: it’s not how you look, it’s what you’re doing.
But that trio would also require lineup decisions elsewhere.
Lekkerimaki gets on the board
Jonathan Lekkerimaki wasn’t as notable in this one, but he scored his first goal in a game in North America, even if it was a pre-season game.
And he’ll probably not want to think much about it, since it came off a bizarre deflection that popped the puck high in the air. Flames goalie Dan Vladar lost track of it and the puck plopped down into the net behind him.
That said, he got a goal and that’s all that matters.
He made some nifty decisions on the puck, showing the flair that will get him into the NHL when the time comes.
Showing heart
Ty Mueller is a long-shot prospect. That’s just the truth.
But he had a great effort in his hometown.
He was around the net plenty and got lots of chances.
Surely he’ll wish he buried one of those chances, but for a guy who isn’t generally highlighted in the media guide, being around the puck as much as he was is a good thing.
Long shots
And it sure looks like the Flames got the scouting book on Silovs too, scoring twice on long shots.
It’s something that Silovs is going to have to figure out if he’s going to push Kevin Lankinen out of the way.
Hirose doesn’t return
Akito Hirose has had a tough pre-season. He’s struggled to make an impact.
And now he’s worse for wear.
He took an ugly hit early in the third period from Calgary goon Adam Klapka, a hit that the refs should have called boarding.
Klapka knocked Hirose down from an awkward angle, in the danger-zone distance from the boards.
Hirose didn’t look great leaving the ice and he didn’t return.
Whither Miller
Why Miller hasn’t suited up yet isn’t clear, though the Occam’s Razor answer is that he doesn’t like pre-season, he’s got an obvious spot on the roster and the coach understands he just wants to get to the regular season.
Miller has spoken with the media just about every day this week — when there’s been availability — and he’s been active in every practice.
It’s hard to think he’s hurt.
NEXT GAME
Monday
6 p.m., Rogers Place, TV: ESPN Pacific, Radio: Sportsnet 650