Canucks prospect Aatu Räty continuing his strong push towards opening night roster spot

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Cooper Godin
October 2, 2024 (6:22 PM)

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Vancouver Canucks prospect Aatu Räty is continuing his strong push towards an opening night roster spot.

The Vancouver Canucks made a number of roster moves on Tuesday afternoon including the placement of four players on the waiver wire and assigning nine players to Abbotsford, including 2022 first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

Among those still on the Canucks' roster after the cuts made yesterday is Finnish forward Aatu Räty, who has played quite well through four preseason games so far.

On Wednesday's edition of Sekeres & Price, Jeff Paterson discussed Aatu Räty's chances of making the opening night roster next week. Paterson said that there are some factors at play when it comes to having Aatu Räty on the opening night roster, one of which includes the team's cap situation. The Canucks don't want to use LTIR right out of the gate, meaning they may start the year with less than the maximum allowable players on their roster.

Another factor is the play of Pius Suter, which Paterson said has been quiet and hasn't been great in the faceoff circle. Because of this, Räty could push his way into an opening night roster spot, which needs to be submitted to the National Hockey League at 5 pm ET (2 pm PT) on Monday, October 7th.

"There's a number of factors at play here. One is what he's done and I think he has done an awful lot to make it right down to the final cuts, to make it difficult for the coaching staff here. But I think you have to remember guys, if the Canucks are true to their word about not wanting to go into LTIR, we may all have to be prepared for them to start the season with 21 guys on their roster. Like I do think there are some cap gymnastics at play here where they start with two home games, they could start the season well under the roster limit and that's going to impact those guys that are right there on the bubble. So, let's see where things go on that front." Paterson said.

"The other is what's happening around him. I will say this that it has been remarkably quiet around Pius Suter here through camp and his three preseason outings. Now, it's never loud around Pius Suter, I get that, but I think I went to Canucks camp figuring he was going to start the season as the 3C. He has had a really quiet preseason. He scored an empty netter in the first game against Seattle. He has been absolutely crushed in the face off circle and if you're going to be a center and a natural center, that's part of the job description and it has not gone well for Pius Suter to this point."

Paterson later went on to add, "I'm just not convinced Teddy Blueger long-term is the answer as a third line center. I know he had a nice run there with Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland. Joshua's not here right now, so that third line is going to take on a different look and so saying all of that, I think there are question marks around the incumbents and maybe the door for Aatu Rätyf."

With one preseason game still remaining on the Canucks' schedule - Friday vs Edmonton - it's going to be interesting to see what the team does in terms of Aatu Räty and where they feel is the best spot for him to start the 2024-25 season.