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VANCOUVER – It flew under the radar when the National Hockey League schedule was announced last month, but the Vancouver Canucks have committed to play preseason games around the province. It starts with a Sept. 29 contest against the Arizona Coyotes in Kelowna this season and will continue with games in various locales in the years ahead.

It’s all part of the organization’s master plan to reduce the strain on season-ticket holders’ wallets by reducing the number of preseason games at Rogers Arena while also building out future training camps and turning them into more than a barnstorming visit to cities around B.C.

President of hockey operations Trevor Linden says the idea was hatched a year ago when the Canucks cut training camp short and travelled halfway around the world to play the Los Angeles Kings in Beijing and Shanghai.

“Last year when we went to China, one of those games came out of what was a four-game home preseason at Rogers Arena which I think our season-ticket members were appreciative of,” he explained during a break in the team’s summer development camp on Wednesday. “Moving forward, I think it (the preseason game) will probably be part of training camp if we have training camp in Victoria, Kamloops, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Prince George wherever that might be, we’d likely have training camp and that game would be our first game of the preseason. This is B.C.’s team and everywhere we go with training camp the building is full and it’s great to see families with kids. For them to be able to see an NHL preseason game in those places would be a lot of fun.”

This year Canucks training camp will be in Whistler in mid-September followed by three home preseason games and then the final four on the road wrapping up at Prospera Place in Kelowna. For fans in the Okanagan, Linden figures that final game on the preseason schedule should provide a glimpse of what both the Canucks and their opponents that night, the Arizona Coyotes, will look like next season.

“That last preseason game is a big one – it’s a home game for us essentially and so we’ll likely dress the lineup you’re going to see in Game 1 of the season,” he explains. “I think, for me, understanding the importance of having training camp throughout the province – it started in Parksville, Victoria, Vernon, Kamloops, Whistler – it’s always been important and I’ve seen the community reaction to the team coming to those centres. It’s great for our players and great for our fans.”

In 2015, the Canucks packed their bags and set up shop in Prince George for training camp and Linden isn’t ruling out a return to Northern B.C. at some point. But there are a number of places throughout the province the team would like to explore so don’t be surprised to see a rotation of staying close to home one year and taking camp on the road the next. That would allow the Canucks to entertain the idea of games in the Fraser Valley (Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack) while also keeping open options like Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna and a number of locales on Vancouver Island.

And with a head coach in Travis Green who hails from Castlegar, Linden says there are Canucks fans in the Kootenays who would like to see the hockey club come that way. And he’s not ruling out a place like Cranbrook.

“I would think that’s a valid point,” he said, laughing, when it was pointed out that the southwest pocket of the province has perhaps been underserved by the Canucks over the years. “Travis hasn’t mentioned Castlegar yet, but the folks there should send him some messages. The real challenge for some of the smaller centres is to meet the NHL standards for these rinks – with the boards and the glass. And that precludes a lot of rinks. But in B.C. we’ve got a lot of terrific buildings.”

One of those fantastic facilities is the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton which has been home to the Canucks Young Stars tournament since 2010. It will again host the event this year, albeit a scaled-down version with the Canucks and Winnipeg Jets prospects playing a pair of games while the University of British Columbia battles the University of Alberta in two others.

It’s a far cry from the event which has hosted as many as five NHL teams and in recent years was a matchup of the four Western Canadian clubs. That won’t be the case this year after the Alberta teams decided to branch out on their own.

“We kind of got caught off guard, quite honestly, with Edmonton and Calgary pulling out and doing something local whether it was cost or just doing something for their own fans,” Linden says. “Perhaps we see a situation where we alternate between Alberta and B.C. for Young Stars. I think the whole concept is excellent with four teams all in one place. It’s a great environment for our kids to be in. Maybe we go back and forth between Penticton and wherever they decide to have it in Alberta. I know Winnipeg loves coming out. We have to figure out the future of what that rookie tournament looks like.”

Linden says the Canucks will make the best of this year’s modified event and then figure out where the tournament goes from here.

“We’ll talk to our counterparts in Calgary and Edmonton and see how they’re feeling about their experience and how we can either make it better or figure our another solution,” he explains, suggesting the tournament could return to B.C. at some point, but in a city other than Penticton. “We love being in Penticton and they love having us, but it doesn’t have to be there. It could be any place in B.C. Some of the trouble with Western Hockey League rinks is availability at that time of year.”

With Young Stars in Penticton and a pre-season game in Kelowna, the Canucks certainly have the Okanagan covered this year. Beyond that, however, it sounds like they plan to cast a wide net to expand their brand throughout B.C. And wherever they go, expect the Canucks to make their mark as next year’s training camp will be the launching point to the team’s 50th anniversary season in the NHL.