The Vancouver Canucks are more than halfway through training camp and they got down to business Friday in a major way.
Group A, looking very much like an NHL-level 23-man roster, took the ice. The players worked on breakouts and special teams, then concluded with the type of area drill game you might see during the NHL regular season, as opposed to a more standard training-camp-style scrimmage.
In icing a roster chock full of mainstays, the Canucks had to tip their hand on a couple of big-ticket items. Is Brogan Rafferty now the front-runner to break camp as Vancouver’s eighth defenseman? Is Loui Eriksson really still going to be on this team? Who exactly will kill penalties?
And are we prepared to conclude that Nils Hoglander is going to start the season in Vancouver’s top six?
Here are our notes and observations from Day 5 of Canucks training camp:
The Bo Horvat endorsement
Sometimes you can read a lot into training…
