Ten games in, the Vancouver Canucks are not exactly where we thought they'd be, but they're close! Six-game road trips down the entire East Coast of the US aren't the easiest runs to make, and it showed.

The plan is to lose, but to lose well. Is the team managing that part?

Home for a Rest

The Canucks opened the season on the road, spoiling the Oilers' debut, and that's always fun. The three-game home stand was also fun to watch, if somewhat bewildering. Were they somehow going to be a high-scoring team? That can't be right. Is veteran goalie Kevin Lankinen the least reliable player on the squad? That's not right, either, contrary to the boxcar numbers.

There is some thinking that nothing brings a team together like a long roadie, so surely some answers would come early. And yes, yes they did.

The Markers

In Goal

Moving Nikita Tolopilo down to Abbotsford wasn't part of the plan. But Leevi Meriläinen was suddenly available, and that has a way of changing things. No need to trade for a player when you are at the top of the waiver wire waiting list. Thatcher Demko was in worse shape than we thought, and Lankinen had a new backup who has been great in his six appearances.

Being fair to Tolopilo, his numbers in a shaky pre-season are a LOT better than Lankinen's regular-season ones are now. But Tolopilo didn't look ready for the burden of a regular season in pre-season games or training camp, and we have been through this before. Arturs Silovs, anyone? Or Spencer Martin? Instead of recreating those experiences behind an even worse team than those goalies had, the decision was made to put him in the AHL.

All in all, that move pretty much ends Tolopilo's Canucks career. He's in a squeeze between Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo coming up, and now Meriläinen in the bigs. Demko's ghost is somewhere in there, too, and with him around, that makes Tolopilo the fourth choice. At 26 years old, it's not a great place to be.

As for Lankinen himself, well, his numbers are self-evident. He hasn't done well. On the other hand, his team is getting outshot by a ludicrous margin, and a whole lot of those goals are rebounds. Yes, that means he has to control his rebounds better. It ALSO means his team has to clear those rebounds - or opponents going after them - away from dangerous areas. Cruel as it is, he's the veteran, and he's going to wear a lot of the team's mistakes this season.

On Defence

That Elias Pettersson the Defenceman, huh? He has been full of surprises since the Canucks drafted him in 2022! He's been physical, getting into fights in the NHL, which he hasn't in any other league. Now this smart offensive play style has been added to his repertoire. He's not just charging in and getting lucky; Pettersson's choosing his time and claiming the moment. And also getting a little lucky. But with the right odds! No one's saying he's the second coming of Adrian Aucoin (look it up, kids!), but the added offence is welcome.

Tom Willander is another one of the Blueline Kids, and he hasn't been as impressive. But that's fine, too. It would be nice if he showed more scoring touch, but that's not really what is expected from him. He was drafted with the idea of being a solid, middle-pair guy, with good mobility, who could be trusted in all situations. He's a really good, four-direction skater with solid defensive awareness.

It's probably not a coincidence that Willander and Pettersson do well as a pair. It will undoubtedly get a longer look sometime this season, but you can understand if Manny Malhotra is a little hesitant to put a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old together. I want to see a bigger sample size, thankyouverymuch. Especially now that the team will be home for a bit.

Zeev Buium is skating like he's wearing a heavy mantle, and he's got to shake that off. He's not here to replace Quinn Hughes; he's here to find out who he is. That's what this season - and the next, and the next - are going to be about. The talent's there; we know that. Odd as it sounds, he has to stop thinking about the future. Let Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson worry about that.

Up Front

Soooooo... We can say he's back, right?

Yes, I'm kidding! But Elias Pettersson the Forward has been so nice to watch so far this year. Seeing him lay bodies out was fun, but he shouldn't be the one doing all that. We got that stretch of three games where he was leading the league, which was great! But his frame isn't really built for it. That brain, on the other hand, looks like it's back in gear.

Ten games in, and he's looked tired at times, but he hasn't looked exhausted by life this year. He looks like he's taking the game seriously again, but without an aura of grim resolve. It's been nice. We mentioned before what a "back!" Pettersson might look like, and I'm sticking with my hope for the recently retired Anze Kopitar's career cycle. Rock-solid defence with 70-ish points a season? I'd be happy to have that player on my team. Let's see if it happens.

Part of the reason Pettersson's done well might be because he's part of the only trio that could be considered a line this year. Along with Jake DeBrusk and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, they've been a consistent unit for about 75 minutes of ice time. That's triple any other group of forwards on the Canucks. And in that time, they've been just a bit below par. Which, given the scores lately, isn't too bad.

Lekkerimäki's been shooting and getting some results, so that's good. Paul Cotter had one of those hilarious "Who's THIS guy?" starts that crops up from time to time, but has settled down since. Linus Karlsson has been everything we could ask for. Liam Öhgren has been solid. Aatu Räty has been traded, and Brendan Gallagher has had disappointing results, though the effort is there.

Everyone else? Pretty much lumped together in a big sack of "slightly disappointing". They don't have to all delight us every game, but maybe they can take turns..?

Overall

It's been rough, exactly as advertised. Perhaps the worst part has been special teams, where the penalty kill has been a waking frikkin' nightmare. The power play has been good enough for now, but there's room for improvement.

The biggest problem so far has been ending opponents' plays in the defensive zone. Not being able to get the puck back has led to players getting trapped for a minute or longer in their own end. Tired players make mistakes, and a lot of them show up there.

There has been plenty to enjoy in individual performances so far, and we are only ten games in. This isn't a judgement call on the season, but nobody needs to be blind to the flaws, either. It's more a case of "Huh, lookit that. Wonder if that'll improve?" while having fun with what the team's giving us.

The best news? Philadelphia has two wins in a row; Calgary won two of their last three; and Los Angeles... has four games in hand on us, I guess? Lordy, those guys suck. But other than the Kings being atrocious, the plan of finishing in the bottom three of the league this year is right on schedule. Frankly, it probably is for next year, too. After that? We'll see.

We haven't played ten games out of 84 here. We've played 10 out of 252. And so far, it's working.