Vancouver Canucks Prospect Aatu Räty Sends Clear Signal He's Ready to Claim His NHL Role
Photo credit: Bob Frid - Imagn Images.
Vancouver Canucks rookie forward Aatu Raty believes he's ready and has worked hard to be in the National Hockey League right out of the gate this season.
With the Penticton portion of training camp wrapping up today, the Vancouver Canucks are gearing up for some more intense battles over the next couple of weeks both in practices and preseason games as younger players in the organization look to prove that they're ready to make the jump to the National Hockey League.
One of those players to keep an eye on is Finnish forward Aatu Raty, who signed a new two-year deal with the club one day before he was eligible to become a restricted free agent and after a spending all summer training hard, he's ready to make a push to be in the NHL on a full-time basis.
Aatu Raty believes he's ready for full-time NHL role this season
While there might not be too many spots available in Vancouver's bottom-six to start the season, with upwards of six or seven guys competing for just two spots, Aatu Raty might have an inside track for one very big reason - his waiver status.
This summer, Aatu Raty, and a few other members of the organization, saw their waiver status change and will now need to be placed on the wire in order to be sent down to the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks.
When healthy, Raty has shown that he's outgrown the American Hockey League and in a recent interview with Izzy Cheung of The Hockey News, the Oulu, Finland native said that he's going to try his very best in every single practice between now and early October to prove that he is ready to be a full-time NHLer.
"I'm always trying to better everything in my game, but especially skating. I think that's one thing that in today's hockey you've just got to be good at. And I'm trying to feel like bit by bit, I'm getting better each and every day. So I think that improved this summer, and I'm excited to kind of get playing again and see how my speed is. But I think my skating definitely got better." Raty said.
He added, "Just do my best - nothing more I can do. I think I've worked hard for so long. I think I do my best every skate, so that's all I can do, and just see if that's enough."
He added, "Just do my best - nothing more I can do. I think I've worked hard for so long. I think I do my best every skate, so that's all I can do, and just see if that's enough."
The Vancouver Canucks certainly don't want to risk losing Aatu Raty for nothing on the NHL's waiver wire this fall and at this point, unless something drastic changes such as an injury or him being outplayed by a mile by another bottom-six candidate in the preseason, you can probably pencil the 22-year-old in for a roster spot on October 9th.
Source: Izzy Cheung/The Hockey News
«Just Do My Best - Nothing More I Can Do»: Canucks' Aatu Räty Discusses 2025 Off-Season And Working Towards Full-Time NHL Role
«Just Do My Best - Nothing More I Can Do»: Canucks' Aatu Räty Discusses 2025 Off-Season And Working Towards Full-Time NHL Role
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 21 | 970 ANSWERS Vancouver Canucks Prospect Aatu Räty Sends Clear Signal He's Ready to Claim His NHL Role Do you think Aatu Raty will be on the Vancouver Canucks' opening night roster? | ||
| Yes | 858 | 88.5 % |
| No | 112 | 11.5 % |
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