Could Daniel Sprong pair well with Elias Pettersson this season for the Canucks?

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It will be interesting to see if Vancouver Canucks’ Daniel Sprong and Elias Pettersson have chemistry on the ice because they have a connection off the rink as well.

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Sprong and Pettersson were among 20 Canucks players who took part in an informal skate at UBC on Thursday as they prepare for training camp, which begins Sept. 19 in Penticton.

Sprong was one of Vancouver’s new free agent signings this summer. A right-footed winger known for his puck-shooting ability, Sprong said Thursday he met Pettersson by chance while on vacation three years ago. The two spent time together and still keep in touch.

Pettersson was one of the first Vancouver players Sprong spoke with after signing with the Canucks. Coincidentally, finding a winger to mesh with Pettersson, the 25-year-old pivot who is Vancouver’s main player, has been one of the main talking points within the team since the end of last season.

“We really bonded on that vacation. It was a good trip,” Sprong, 27, said. He didn’t elaborate on where he went.“I was there and he was there at the same time. We just happened to meet there and went to dinner. We remain close friends and always talk after games.”

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Pettersson’s struggles late in the season and in the playoffs have been well-documented, and in his end-of-year media roundup he said he was struggling with knee issues in the second half of the season.

Coach Rick Tocchet said last season that Pettersson needed to drive the game more, and Tocchet didn’t deny that the winger played a role. Edmonton Oilers“I don’t know if he’s getting the help he needs at times,” Tockett told media.

Ilya Mikheyev has been a regular on Pettersson’s line for most of this season. Last season, he scored five goals in his first nine games and six in his next 80 games, combining regular season and playoff games.

The Canucks traded Mikheyev, who was making $4.75 million a year, to the Chicago Blackhawks in June for a fourth-round pick in 2027, along with fellow winger Sam Lafferty and a second-round pick in 2027. All to free up salary space, with Vancouver retaining 15% of Mikheyev’s salary for this season and next, or $712,500.

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When free agency opened on July 1, the Canucks signed Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen to revamp their forward line, and on July 20, they acquired Sprong on a one-year, $975,000 contract.

We’ll see what kind of line configuration Tockett wants in Penticton. Spron’s greatest strength is his shooting ability, and at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, it’s not hard to see him getting a chance to share an offensive role with Pettersson or someone else.

He played in the bottom six minutes with the Detroit Red Wings last year, finishing 11th among forwards with an average of 12 minutes of ice time per game, but still managed to score 18 goals in 76 games. The season before that, he scored a career-high 21 goals in 66 games with the Seattle Kraken.

Last preseason, then-Red Wings forward David Perron told Detroit Hockey Now: “I played with him this summer in a 3-on-3 league (in Montreal), and he can shoot from the corner, he can shoot from the blue line, he can shoot from the dot at any time. I think he’s always in scoring position. He’s got a really quick release and a nice shot.”

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Vancouver is Sprong’s sixth team and his defensive issues are a weakness. The modus operandi is similar to that of Andrey Kuzmenkothe big-shooting winger quickly wore out his welcome at Tockett, Calgary FlamesThe difference with Sprong is that he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins and played three seasons with them, so Tockett, general manager Patrick Albin and president Jim Rutherford are all former Penguins employees who are familiar with how things work. And, of course, they know Sprong.

Sprong said his conversations with Tocchet were one of the reasons he was attracted to signing in Vancouver, and Tocchet is certainly known for being an honest person.

“I’d love to play in the top six if I can, but I’ve played well as a reserve player the last few years and the numbers show that,” Sprong said. “I still think there’s a lot more potential in my game and hopefully I can show that here.”

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Among the players taking part in Thursday’s skate were Pettersson, forwards J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser and goaltender Arturs Silovs, who did not play for Latvia in the recent Olympic qualifying tournament because of knee ligament inflammation and is hopeful he will be ready in time for the start of the NHL season.

Goaltender Thatcher Demko, whose season ended in the playoffs because of a knee injury, was not on the ice Thursday and some reports say he may not be ready for the start of training camp, though some have said he is back skating.

The Canucks open the regular season at home against the Flames on Oct. 9.

Steve Ewen

Email: SEwen@postmedia.com

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