{"id":902227,"date":"2026-09-19T23:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T23:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/902227\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T23:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T23:36:15","slug":"canucks-notebook-ohgren-turns-heads-in-scrimmage-with-powerful-shot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/902227\/","title":{"rendered":"Canucks Notebook: Ohgren turns heads in scrimmage with powerful shot"},"content":{"rendered":"

PENTICTON, B.C. \u2013 The ping of Liam Ohgren<\/a>\u2019s bar-down goal during the Vancouver Canucks<\/a>\u2019 scrimmage on Saturday was not the first time the powerful winger has heard a metallic bang with his shot.<\/p>\n

At his mom\u2019s house in Stockholm, Liam and his younger brother, Noel, built a shooting rink in the front yard. It has plastic ice, boards, and a double layer of netting behind the goal. But sometimes pucks get away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe puck has gone through the netting a couple of times,\u201d Ohgren said after scoring twice in the scrimmage at South Okanagan Events Centre. \u201cI don\u2019t think our neighbours are too happy about it because there is a house there. And there\u2019s a road with cars crossing. There was one time we heard a big crash or something, but the car didn\u2019t stop, so I don\u2019t know if it was the puck or not for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

So maybe there\u2019s a Volvo somewhere in Sweden with a puck-shaped dent, just as there is a goal frame here with the rubber scuff from Ohgren\u2019s laser.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old National Hockey League sophomore, whose play surged in his rookie season after a December trade to the Canucks from the Minnesota Wild, is literally and figuratively aiming high.<\/p>\n

Besides his heavy shot, Ohgren\u2019s speed, power and directness were on display Saturday, as they have been since Vancouver opened its camp Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

He beat veteran goalie Kevin Lankinen on consecutive shots early in the 30-minute scrimmage that ended with Brock Boeser\u2019s shootout goal and a 4-3 win for the Whites against the Blues.<\/p>\n

The line of Ohgren and Boeser, centred by Marco Rossi, reunited after finishing last season together, was the most dangerous unit.<\/p>\n

After failing to register a point in 18 games with the Wild, who sent Ohgren to Vancouver as part of the Quinn Hughes blockbuster, the former first-round pick played his way up the lineup for the Canucks, contributing eight goals and 18 points in 51 games. Over the final 28 games, Ohgren\u2019s average ice time of 16:02 was fifth among Vancouver forwards.<\/p>\n

From what we\u2019ve seen at training camp, Ohgren\u2019s 11.6 per cent shooting percentage last season may not have been a fluke. He has been practising his shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, my whole life,\u201d he smiled. \u201cI usually don\u2019t count pucks, but I\u2019d say I\u2019m out there (in the front yard) for an hour just shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know this was just a scrimmage, but you want to show everyone around that you belong. It was high-paced even though it was just a scrimmage, but it was nice to get a couple of goals. Good for the confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible Ohgren will start the season as the second-line left wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a guy that helps the team win with goals and points,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a top-six guy. Even when I started lower down in the lineup, I\u2019ve always worked my way up in previous years in Sweden. That\u2019s who I want to be in the NHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I\u2019ve said before, the trade was like a fresh start for me. Getting an opportunity to play with great players and play more minutes than I had before was great for me. I feel like I took advantage of it and showed I am capable of playing in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one got a bigger cheer in the shootout \u2013 from fans and teammates \u2013 than 36-year-old, stay-at-home defenceman Luke Schenn, who scored top-corner for the Blues against goalie Ty Young.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy last shootout attempt was 2008, pre-season against Manny Legace,\u201d Schenn told Sportsnet. \u201cThat\u2019s a fact. So I guess nobody\u2019s got a book on me. And I did score then, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so funny because the guys (on the bench) were telling me to go right at the start. I was like, \u2018Nope, not going. Not going. Not going.\u2019 Finally, the boys kept pushing me so I said, \u2018Screw it, I\u2019m going.\u2019 I had peer pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the rebuilding team starts to come together around new systems and a healthier environment under head coach Manny Malhotra and general manager Ryan Johnson, Schenn seems to be at the middle of the gravitational pull among players.<\/p>\n

The Canucks may or may not name a captain this season. But there is no doubt that Schenn, signed as a free-agent on July 1 to boost character and help mentor younger players, has naturally and quickly become one of their strongest leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think there\u2019s a great attitude here right now, for sure,\u201d Schenn said when asked for his takeaways from camp. \u201cGuys are working, competing. There is lots of information that guys are digesting on the fly with the system and not only the way Manny wants us to play, but his terminology and how he operates. Everyone is sort of adjusting and learning. It\u2019s been a great effort so far but, obviously, a ton of room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

News on the eve of camp that starting goalie Thatcher Demko isn\u2019t yet ready to practise fully after undergoing major hip surgeries last February has added some urgency to veteran Chris Driedger\u2019s professional tryout with the Canucks.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old journeyman who last played in the NHL with the Seattle Kraken 2 \u00bd years ago, allowed two goals while playing half of Saturday\u2019s scrimmage. He signed his PTO with the Canucks on Aug. 27 knowing there was a chance that Demko might not be ready for the start of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was kind of the idea, that there might be an opportunity here,\u201d the six-foot-four veteran of 67 NHL games said after the scrimmage. \u201cI feel good out there. I\u2019m just trying to be consistent, be reliable. That\u2019s kind of how I built my career. I was in Russia last year, so to come back to North America feels good, feels comfortable. I feel confident and I\u2019m just trying to do what I can to prove I belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driedger\u2019s impression of the Canucks: \u201cIt feels like a driven group, from the top down. R.J. and Manny have been very specific in what they want and what they expect. It sounds like there are high standards and they\u2019re going to hold everyone accountable. That\u2019s how it should be in the NHL. It\u2019s the best league in the world, and if you want to win, you\u2019ve got to bring your best every single day. Obviously, it\u2019s a bit of a change here … but the players seem to be buying in early. I\u2019m excited to see what comes out of this group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The projected first line of Elias Pettersson between wingers Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson had a quiet start to the scrimmage but some dominant shifts in the second half. Pettersson scored one goal and was robbed by goalie Ty Young on the prettiest rush of the day, after defenceman Tom Willander joined the attack on a four-way passing play.<\/p>\n

Johnson has been emphatic about building a \u201ccomfortable\u201d environment for his players and, especially, the quiet Pettersson, who famously clashed with former teammate J.T. Miller amid the Canucks\u2019 previous dysfunction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying previous years it hasn\u2019t been comfortable,\u201d Pettersson said Saturday. \u201cBut I think just for everyone to come here and work hard and have fun, you can tell the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely feel good. Obviously, (Ryan) wants the best for me and, I mean, the fact he\u2019s speaking highly of me and wants me to do well, I feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

A prospect-heavy third contingent of Canucks travelled Saturday afternoon to Seattle to open Vancouver\u2019s four-game pre-season against the Kraken.<\/p>\n

After breaking camp here on Sunday, all players will get Monday off before the Canucks play their second warmup game Tuesday in Calgary against the Flames.<\/p>\n

The Canucks\u2019 pre-season ends with home games Thursday and Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers and Kraken, respectively, before Vancouver opens its 84-game regular season Sept. 29 in Edmonton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PENTICTON, B.C. \u2013 The ping of Liam Ohgren\u2019s bar-down goal during the Vancouver Canucks\u2019 scrimmage on Saturday was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-902227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}