Canucks' Head Coach Jeremy Colliton wanted the Canucks to be aggressive and play with energy at the Young Stars Classic.
In their first outing, Vancouver beat Calgary 7-1 and saw seven different scorers.
“I thought we started really well, love the work ethic, forechecking, aggressiveness, thought our defense did a good job defending the rush so we were able to make a lot of plays for that. It’s fun to watch,” Colliton said.
Puck management was sharp in the first and third periods and Calgary made a push in the second but Vancouver continued to work on the details like board battles and tipping in rebounds that led to their success.
One such tip-in resulted in the first goal of the game from Vilmer Alriksson after Cole McWard took a shot from the point.
Prior to the goal there was a frenzy in front of Calgary goaltender Matt Radomsky, but the Canucks stuck with the play, maintaining possession and getting a look.
McWard said the team took Coach Colliton’s words to heart: individual success comes from team success.
“It was awesome. I think there was a lot of energy from our group coming in. It’s a really great group of guys right now and we’re all clicking. We want to go out there and play for each other,” McWard said.
Vancouver’s next goal came from Aidan McDonough on the power play after Calgary’s Jaden Lipinski took a penalty, assisted by Max Sasson and Akito Hirose.
With nearly five minutes remaining in the first Vancouver led shots on goal 15-1 and at the end of the period Vancouver was leading 18-2.
In the second, Lucas Ciona got the Flames on the scoreboard off assists from linemates Adam Klapka and Lipinski.
Canucks’ Marc Gatcomb answered, which put the Canucks up 3-1 to end the second period.
Vancouver put the game out of reach in the third with goals from McWard, Jacob Maillet, Filip Johansson on the power play and Karel Plasek.
McWard played five games for Vancouver at the end of last season after finishing up with Ohio State University and knows the pro game is tougher and more physical. He was pleased with how he showed up ready to attack.
“I had to get that bite to my game. I wanted to move my feet and play physical, play hard and not play timid,” he said.
Although the final tally for shots on goal was 36-13 for Vancouver, McWard said they missed a few opportunities in the second period, but overall, the intensity was there.
The Canucks play Winnipeg Sunday, September 17 at 2:00 p.m. PST.
