The Vancouver Canucks’ preseason training begins on Tuesday evening with a game against the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Arena.

While it’s not exactly the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there’s still a lot at stake in the preseason games as some players are fighting for roster spots or a spot in the top six lines. Others, whose spots in the lineup are more secure, will at least be trying to improve their play and get a head start in the regular season.

At the very least, it should be an improvement over the Young Stars youth tournament or the training camps.

This is the second preseason game for the Kraken, who lost 6-1 to the Calgary Flames on Sunday. The Kraken missed the playoffs by 17 points last season, but significantly improved their defense in the offseason by signing Brandon Montour to a long-term deal and further bolstered their already strong forward depth by adding Chandler Stephenson.

In other words, the Kraken should be the better team this season. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be a better team in Tuesday’s preseason game, because the quality of their team can vary greatly depending on the lineup.

The expected lineups of the Vancouver Canucks

While the lineup in the first few preseason games is not always representative of the team that will take the field in the regular season, fans who make the trip to Rogers Arena or watch the game on Sportsnet will see a good mix of veterans and promising young players.

This includes having Brock Boeser skate on a line with Pius Suter and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. This is an interesting lineup decision considering Lekkerimäki has skated primarily with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk during training camp.

Here are the projected lines based on Tuesday’s morning skate:

Head coach Rick Tocchet emphasized that JT Miller was in the top three in the team’s fitness tests before training camp and therefore he sees no need to give him many preseason games.

The most exciting lineup here might be Nils Höglander, Aatu Räty and Conor Garland. This lineup has been running together all camp, but it feels like Höglander and Räty are just placeholders for Dakota Joshua and Teddy Blueger to return to the lineup. Where does Höglander fit when Joshua returns? Does Räty have a real chance of getting into the lineup?

In the meantime, Sammy Blais will continue to compete for a paying contract and skate with junior Vilmer Alriksson, who had a great training camp, and center Max Sasson, who is looking to become the team’s first AHL signing.

In defense, promising Elias Pettersson will form the top pairing with Filip Hronek, which is a great opportunity for him to prove his skills against NHL competition.

Arturs Silovs will start and is expected to play the entire game, although Tocchet also hinted that he might take him out of the game after two periods to put the promising Ty Young in goal for a period.

Seattle Kraken projected lines

Here are the projected lineups for the Kraken after Tuesday’s morning skate:

Jaden Schwartz – Ben Meyers – Andre Burakovsky
Brandon Tanev – Yanni Gourde – Eeli Tolvanen
Ryan Winterton – Logan Morrison – John Hayden
Eduard Sale – Carson Rehkopf – Jacob Melanson

Jamie Oleksiak – Brandon Montour
Maxime Lajoie – Will Borgen
Gustav Olofsson – Ty Nelson

Joey Daccord
Ales Stezka

The Kraken will field two attacking lines that are fairly representative of what we saw from them in the regular season, but not their front line of Jared McCann, Matty Beniers and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

The fourth line is one to keep an eye on, with plenty of talent. Rehkopf is one of the Kraken’s top prospects, Eduard Sale is a 2023 first-round pick who has a wealth of offensive skills, and Jacob Melanson scored 50 goals in the OHL just a year ago.

The Kraken’s defense also includes well-known free agent Brandon Montour, who will play his first game in a Kraken jersey alongside his planned partner Jamie Oleksiak.

Backup goalie Joey Daccord is expected to start in goal for the Kraken, but will be replaced by Ales Stezka in the third period.