“Trust Your Game”: How Canucks Goaltender Kevin Lankinen Elevated His Play With A New Team

Vancouver Canucks fans were left worried after news reports broke in August about Thatcher Demko and Artūrs Šilovs both potentially being injured to start the regular season. While Šilovs’s injury was not as bad as it was initially expected to be, the team would have been much worse off if they’d been forced to start him for the first two months of the season. Despite proving himself in the playoffs, the workload he would have faced in October and November would have tired him out quickly. In a calculated, patient move, management turned around and signed former Nashville Predators goaltender Kevin Lankinen to a one-year deal at a shocking $875,000 value.

Latest From THN's Vancouver Canucks Site:

Which Canucks Would Make This Year’s Hypothetical All-Star Game?

"We Need Two Points, There's No Vengeance": Canucks Focusing On Leaving Edmonton With A Victory

"It Got Him Into The Game": Canucks DeBrusk Discusses How Being Booed Motivates Brad Marchand & The Social Media Noise Surrounding Conor Garland Ahead Of Their Matchup Against The Oilers

The 29-year-old went undrafted early on in his career, inking his first NHL contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018. However, he didn’t play a game for them until January 19, 2021, when his team took on the Florida Panthers and lost 5–4 in overtime. Lankinen made 25 saves in the defeat. In his first NHL season, he started 37 games, winning 17 of them. The season after, and his last with Chicago, he played in 32 of the team’s games and won eight of them.

Lankinen went to free agency after his stint with the Blackhawks, with the Predators stepping up and giving him a home for the next two seasons. He served as a reliable backup to Nashville’s Juuse Saros, playing in 19 and 24 games for the Predators in 2022–23 and 2023–24 respectively. Over that span of time, he collected 20 wins.

After signing with Vancouver on September 21, fans expected that Lankinen would provide security for a young Šilovs, with both goaltenders possibly sharing the spot as the starter. However, it was clear early on that Lankinen was the guy that the Canucks needed. Since first putting on the Canucks’ green and blue, Lankinen has posted four shutouts, won 16 matches, and set a new NHL record by becoming the first goaltender in history to win their first 10 road games of the season. But how did he get to this point?

“I mostly just trust in my own process,” Lankinen said. “I’ve been working extremely hard at preparing for a good opportunity like this for the last four or five years.

“Whether you play 60 games or 25 games, my approach doesn’t change. Every time I strap [pads] on and go on the ice, I give my best. So there’s never really a switch to go from practice mode to game mode. It’s always just an easy, easy preparation to go to the game and do your best, because you’ve prepared as well as you ever can. I think that’s just led to some good results this year, and obviously I’m going to keep doing that.”

With how quickly Lankinen has adapted to his team, especially given the shorter amount of offseason training time he had with them, you wouldn’t be shocked if he secretly revealed he has been a member of the Canucks for years. In reality, he’s only been with Vancouver for around four months.

“Ever since day one, the guys have been super welcoming, so that has helped a lot just to adjust and get to know everybody,” he mentioned on becoming accustomed to the team. “Obviously it’s a great group of guys with some special skill here. I think we’ve got something good cooking.”

Part of the smooth transition to Vancouver has come from the presence of a familiar face. Also new to the Canucks organization after spending two seasons in Nashville is Kiefer Sherwood, with whom Lankinen and his fiancée “are good friends.”

“Just having somebody to rely on,” he said when touching on the significance of having Sherwood on the team. “When you come here for the first time, you don’t really know the guys as much. He’s a great team player. I’m really happy to see the success he’s having, the work he’s put in. And it’s showing now. It’s just good, and I feel like it’s a good fit for him as well.”

Lankinen also added onto his comments about adjusting by focusing on how it has gone for him on the ice. “As a goalie it’s probably a little bit easier than as a player, because you just basically focus on stopping the puck first and then everything else follows.”

The Finnish goaltender started two preseason games for the Canucks, losing 3–1 to the Seattle Kraken and 3–2 in a shootout to the Edmonton Oilers. He made 20 saves on 23 shots against in the game versus the Kraken, and stopped 24 of 26 against the Oilers. Despite the losses, he said he “felt pretty good.” Those two warm-up games were enough to get Lankinen adjusted to the Canucks’ system.

“The structure is pretty simple. We have some great defencemen, some good veteran guys who know how to communicate and play a solid defensive game. It’s been an easy adjustment.

“As a whole I’m really positively impressed with the organization, with the facilities, with how they treat players, how they treat wives and spouses,” Lankinen said of the hockey club. “Overall, it’s been a really positive experience.”

Lankinen has been everything and more that the Canucks could have asked for. As they make the push for a playoff spot this spring, the goaltender’s efforts in the first half of the season can’t be forgotten. It’s probable that they wouldn’t be nearly as close as they are now, especially considering the injuries and absences from the rest of the team. With contract extension talks looming, and the knowledge that Lankinen wants to stay with Vancouver as per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, it’s not a stretch to say both the team and Lankinen would be better together.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.