Canucks Live Blog: Who will move roster meter against the Flames?

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Checking the right boxes

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What is Bruce Boudreau looking for Sunday from a lineup dotted with some roster regulars to meet pre-season requirements — namely Luke Schenn, Conor Garland, Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, Tyler Myers, Vasily Podkolzin and newcomers Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev — and those who have a narrow window to impress the coaching staff before the Canucks start playing for keeps Oct. 12?

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“Just trying to see what they’ve retained from what we’ve shown them in Whistler and how they take direction,” Boudreau said before puck drop in a split-squad meeting with the Calgary Flames. “And then you see if you’ve got something for the future.”

Rathbone getting a PP1 look

Boudreau doesn’t really have a book on Jack Rathbone, but he will contend that he saw enough during a three-day training camp that the left-shot defender might be a third-pairing fit with Luke Schenn.

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“We can always look for another offensive defenceman, and so a guy who can move the puck quick and skate, Rathbone has both of those qualities,” said Boudreau. “We’ll see how he moves the puck on the power play and how he handles that.”

Rathbone’s 1.03 points-per-game and 19 power-play assists last season in the American Hockey League were fifth among defenders, and he was named to the league all-rookie team. It screams future second power-play unit quarterback. He even had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick — goal, assist, fight — to demonstrate a feisty determination that the 5-foot-11, 190 pounder packs in being a fourth-round pick in 2017.

His 40 regular-season points (10-30) in 39 games proved a willingness to take his game to another level, but challenges remain. Can he show better reads, positioning, defending and zone exits in the NHL?

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Lockwood must get locked in

Players can see the writing on the wall. For Will Lockwood, who played 00 NHL games last season, and teased of speed and grit elements that should translated into a fourth-line fit, formation of The Reconstruction Lines of Jason Dickinson between Dakota Joshua and Curtis Lazar can be taken one of two ways.

Either understand that the club is all in on finally returning to the post-season, or do something to make decisions harder for Boudreau. You’d like to thing Lockwood is capable of doing the latter, but the bench boss needs some convincing.

“It’s more of what we’ve seen from him in the past,” said Boudreau. “The only difference is hopefully he’s a little bit stronger than he was at the end of last year and he can find that net a little bit more. If he can do those two things, he’s close to being an NHL player.”

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Perhaps as a speedy and edgy Tyler Motte 2.0 clone, who packs a punch and can find the net?

Last last season, Boudreau had the confidence to play Lockwood in the third period to help protect a lead. It said something about a level of responsible two-way play. So did dropping the mitts in that rite of passage to see if you’re as tough as advertised and not just an irritant.

That was answered April 11 when the 23-year-old Lockwood made an early statement at Rogers Arena. After throwing a big hit on big San Jose Sharks leading scorer Timo Meir, who had a 35-pound advantage, Lockwood was challenged to a scrap by Noah Gregor. Lockwood was awarded the decision.

Lockwood went pointless in 13 NHL games last season and had 25 points (9-16) in 46 games with the Abbotsford Canucks.

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