New Vancouver Canuck Ilya Mikheyev (centre) talks with new Russian teammate Andrey Kuzmenko while Elias Pettersson (right) waits to speak during the first day of Vancouver Canucks training camp in Whistler on September 22, 2022. Photo by by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

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WHISTLER — They didn’t score in contention, but Elias Pettersson’s line centering young Russian wings Andrey Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev was very effective in the midday game on the first day of Vancouver Canucks training camp.

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Mikheyev’s speed is obvious, while Kuzmenko’s smart play in close has a good chance of creating even more space for Pettersson to work with. Sign up to receive The Canucks Report newsletter, delivered directly to your inbox at the start of each series. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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“He’s such a smart guy and I hope we can use our speed,” Mikheyev said of skating with Pettersson. “We just helped each other out and then today we got down to business. Great,” he said of learning his new team’s game systems. Will Kuzmenko and Peterson learn Russian? “Probably,” he said, with a broad smile. “We’ll try, but maybe we need Swedish.” Russian players Andrey Kuzmenko (left) and Ilya Mikheyev (right) at Canucks training camp in Whistler on Thursday. (Photo: Patrick Johnston) Kuzmenko did well in his first English-language media session. He spoke alongside Mikheyev, who occasionally served as a translator. If it turns out to be a trio when the season starts, he thinks they’ll gel quickly.

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“Very smart player with me and Ilia. And Peterson is a very good striker.” The NHL game might prove a little faster than what he’s used to in the KHL, but he’s not worried, Kuzmenko said. “I think hockey is a very simple game,” he said. “The adjustment with me is every day, every game is better, better, better, better.” He also said he was excited to play on the NHL’s smallest ice surface. He thought it would suit his instincts to play on the move and how fast you are at the net. On the KHL’s biggest ice, winning a puck battle doesn’t open up an immediate scoring opportunity. “I like the small one because when you win one-on-one in the corner, you go shoot,” he said. On the ice at Canucks training camp in Whistler on Thursday. (Photo: Patrick Johnston) Mikheyev is a new teammate for Kuzmenko as well. Mikheyev said he remembered skating a few shifts with Kuzmenko for the Russian national team several years ago.

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“I don’t remember,” Kuzmenko said, getting laughs as a counter. Pettersson said he enjoyed skating with the Russians and said one of his good friends back home in Sweden is Russian, so he knows some of the language. “Only the bad words,” he joked. He believed they had great potential as a line. “Mikheyev is extremely fast. It opens up space for us and Kuzmenko, maybe we’re kind of similar in the way we play,” Pettersson said. Perhaps the perfect combination of talents? “That’s what I was thinking. I had a conversation with coaches and they want to try it. And I’m ready for it,” he added. Peterson was caught defensively in the collision, with Vincent Arsenault opening the scoring for the opposing team. “Defense, you can learn. I think offense is like happening. I mean all three of us are skilled. Today, I think in the first goal I was a little too excited for a breakaway. But it’s just little details like that that you can learn and I don’t worry too much about it. I know what we can do.” In the clash, Cole Shepard also scored for Group C, who added an empty netter to beat Pettersson’s Group B 3-0. Rookie Canucks winger Andrey Kuzmenko is all smiles on the bench during the first day of Canucks training camp in Whistler on Thursday. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Learning the place

Kuzmenko said he’s loving Vancouver so far. He is a big fan of the outdoors. And he lives in the Aquilini-owned rental tower next to Rogers Arena and has already taken several gigs. “The mountains, the oceans, the forest, I like them,” he said. He has also been to a Whitecaps game. “Why not? It’s only 100 meters from the football field.”

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Fast sessions

The first team on the ice worked briskly through a series of drills. A new year, a fresh atmosphere. And a new coach noted for his colorful comments on the ice. Tanner Pearson said that even a decade into his professional career, the start of a new season remains exciting. “You always have butterflies, right? Start of a new season. You know, awake at six o’clock this morning. And you come down here, everybody’s the same way,” he said. Brock Boeser at Canucks training camp in Whistler on Thursday. (Photo: Patrick Johnston)

Boeser wants 30

Brock Boeser said this year is a fresh start mentally. Last year was a real drain. His father’s ill health weighed heavily on him and the pressure his father’s ill health put on his mother was doubly difficult. “With my father’s death, there is not much to worry about. So I can really focus on hockey,” he said.

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And yes, he knows 30 goals is the goal. “This is the year,” he said.

Line tracking

While Boeser skated on a line with JT Miller and Tanner Pearson, Bo Horvat focused on Vasily Podkolzin and Connor Garland. It’s three lines with a lot of potential for goals. The apparent fourth string, at least for now, includes two other summer signings: Dakota Joshua and Curtis Lazar joining Jason Dickinson. That left Nils Höglander as the first man out. The diminutive Swede, who is undergoing groin surgery, was his usual peppery self in the scrimmage, but he skated with two Swedes who are almost certainly bound for AHL Abbotsford in Nils Åman and Linus Karlsson. [email protected] twitter.com/risingaction More news, less ads, faster load time: Get unlimited, ad-lite access to the Vancouver Sun, The Province, the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites for just $14/month or $140/year. Subscribe now through the Vancouver Sun or The Province.

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