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But in his first full season in North America, two years removed from the draft when Benning swung for the fences and gambled a third-round pick on the defenceman, Tryamkin can’t properly develop or even get in game-shape just practising.

Although Benning believes Tryamkin can be an impactful top-four defenceman in the NHL, he isn’t good enough now to make the Canuck lineup. So he practices and waits.

Until Sunday, another spare defenceman, Alex Biega, has been waiting with Tryamkin. But Biega dressed as a forward against the Ducks due to injuries Saturday to Derek Dorsett (shoulder) and Alex Burrows (neck).

Biega is also 28 years old and has the patience, experience and tradecraft to keep himself ready and be able to play when suddenly plugged into the lineup by coach Willie Desjardins. Tryamkin is still in the early stages of his development as a professional.

And having struggled toward an NHL-calibre level of fitness since his arrival from the KHL’s Yekaterinburg last March, it’s doubtful Tryamkin can get in peak condition simply by practising.

“I am concerned,” Desjardins conceded. “You have to establish your culture, kind of what it is to be a Canuck. One of the parts of being a Canuck is being in good shape and being ready to play the way you can play. That’s one of the things we expect from our players. And when you’re not that, then you get into a different scenario. It’s not that you don’t have the ability to play, but to be your best you have to be in a certain (condition).