SAN JOSE, Calif. — He has been in this situation before. But, of course, after nine years and nine teams in professional hockey, Adam Cracknell has been in most situations before.

The 30-year-old journeyman forward from Victoria has a genuine chance to make the Vancouver Canucks’ opening-night lineup.

Two weeks ago, if you’d listed on paper new players who might make the National Hockey League team, Cracknell’s name — if it appeared at all — would have been an afterthought scribbled in the margin. In pencil, so it could be erased. He’s not Jake Virtanen or Jared McCann, first-round picks who appear to have a long, lucrative future with the Canucks whether it begins next week or not.

Signed at the end of August for organizational depth and to provide leadership and experience on the Canucks’ farm team in Utica, N.Y., Cracknell was chosen 279th by the Calgary Flames in the 2004 entry draft. The NHL draft doesn’t even go that deep anymore.

In nine pro seasons in three different organizations, Cracknell has played 82 NHL games and 507 in the minors.

But here he is, one week until the Canucks’ season-opener in Calgary, threatening to push incumbent Linden Vey out of a job.

“I know they brought me in for maybe some depth,” Cracknell said before Vancouver’s pre-season game here Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks. “But I came here with the mentality of making this team. They’ve given me a very good look here, and the way I’m playing, I think I’ve shown what I can do. I just have to keep doing it.

“It’s hard for any guy to stay in the NHL. The first step is making the NHL, but the second is staying here. I got rewarded with an opportunity, and that’s all I’m looking for. You create your own opportunities with the way you play. I have to show them I can play here.”

Cracknell’s candidacy has been helped by the poor pre-season Vey carried into Tuesday’s game. Canuck staff love the 24-year-old’s puck skills and believe they may be essential for power-play depth.

But as a potential fourth-line centre playing behind Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter, Vey, a step slow and without the natural inclination to create physical contact, looks unsuitable. It’s the same miscasting that led coach Willie Desjardins to scratch Vey from the playoffs last April.

“I think the way I play complements a couple of other guys on the team that play big and physical,” Cracknell said. “It may be something (the organization) wants more of. It’s something I can provide. I know what my role is and I know how I have to play it. That’s how I can stay in the lineup.”

Cracknell, whose family moved to Victoria from Prince Albert when he was 15, was excited Tuesday to centre rugged wingers Derek Dorsett and Brandon Prust. It was essentially a test flight for the potential fourth line.

“We all bring grittiness and physical play, and still definitely provide some offence with how hard we work,” Cracknell said before the game. “I think this is somewhere I can fit in.”

So far, that hasn’t happened for Cracknell at the NHL level. He has played bits of the last five seasons with the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets. But Cracknell has never logged more than 24 NHL games in a season.

“I think every year that goes by, you definitely think about that,” Cracknell said. “When an opportunity comes knocking like it did this summer, I have to understand where my career sits and what’s in front of me. I think this is where maybe my experience comes into play. I can only take care of how I play, and if I give my best effort, then I give myself a chance.”

imacintyre@vancouversun.com

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