RSS Canucks Team Notes

[Vancouver Canucks]

Tom Willander impressing Canucks coaching staff with his quick learning from training camp to the NHL

Tom Willander is just four games into his NHL career, and he’s already showing the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff that he’s learning and progressing much quicker to the professional level than many initially believed.

Coming into training camp, Willander came as advertised — a smooth, agile skater. There were some concerns about him losing puck battles along the walls, but as a 20-year-old defenceman going up against bigger-framed NHL-calibre players, that was to be expected. But again, he’s young, and as he physically develops, so will that aspect of his game.

Willander began the season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL. Over his first set of games against the Henderson Silver Knights, Willander still looked like he was trying to find his footing, oftentimes getting a little overzealous with the puck on their stick.

However, in the following series against the Laval Rocket, Willander seemed to simplify his game, stuck to his strengths, which helped propel him into more minutes. That quick learning — and a handful of injuries on Vancouver’s blueline — earned him his first NHL call-up.

As we covered in our “The Tape” series, Willander had some growing pains in his NHL debut, but he quickly nullified those errors in the following game. That improved play saw his ice time increase from 12:37 in his debut against the New York Rangers to 19:12 against the St. Louis Blues.

That’s a big transition for a young defenceman so quickly into his NHL career. So, what are the Canucks coaching staff seeing from Willander at the NHL level that they did not see during training camp and the preseason, which has earned him some runway in Vancouver:

“Well, I think one thing we saw early on with him was his gap [control],” Canucks assistant coach Brett McLean analyzed. “Sometimes he was getting beat wide, maybe judging NHL speed — which is normal, obviously, first time seeing it — but he seems to have done a very, very good job with that lately. So if he’s able to handle the rush well against, then he can obviously add to our rush offensively like we’ve seen.”

Elias Pettersson has often been paired with Willander, offering him some comfort on the backend, being with a fellow Swede with whom he shared he’s played in years past. Pettersson told CanucksArmy last week, ahead of Willander’s debut, that the most challenging part of transitioning to the NHL for a young defenceman was puck retrievals. Willander shared the sentiment, saying the European game allows defenders time to “cool down the game, but you have to make quicker plays here.”

But as he gets more reps and playing time in the NHL, Willander is seeing that progression in his game.

“I feel more comfortable with the puck generally,” Willander shared. “I think I fit into the way we play a little bit more. But I think confidence to just kind of move and use my skating more with and without the puck.”

He’s even receiving praise from Canucks captain and fellow defenceman, Quinn Hughes:

“He moves well,” Hughes said. “He’s got good skill, good reads. He’s so young, he’s 20. So he’ll continue to get better and better and more confident, and I’m looking forward to watching that.”

While it has been a relatively successful first stint for Willander in Vancouver, he’s still aware that there is still a long way to go in his development before he gets to become an everyday NHLer.

“I think positioning,” Willander told CanucksArmy when asked what areas he’s looking to improve. “Being in good positions, reading the play better — especially defensively — being on top of guys and containing guys better, with and without the puck. Getting in front of guys and making sure I’m in the right spot for rebounds and stuff like that. There’s a lot I could go on all day.”

McLean touched on what Willander has to do to become a guy that isn’t just here for an NHL call-up, and what the message is to a young defenceman so early on in his career:

“I think confidence is the big thing, and handling those downplays and down times, which are going to happen — all young players, especially young defencemen, those are going to happen. He’s had some really good games here. But you know, when those adversity-type plays happen, if he can still build off those, and then he becomes a guy that we can really start to rely on.

“Just be confident with it, continue to work on your gaps, continue to respect that speed. But when you get an opportunity, play with confidence, play with the puck, because we don’t just want you throwing the puck away. Use your assets like you would at any other level, but make sure that you’re aware and respect the speed that these guys come at you with.”

With the Canucks starting to get healthy again, we’ll see if Willander’s long for the NHL this season, or if he’s best suited to continue his development playing top-pairing minutes in Abbotsford. But while he’s in Vancouver, the Swedish defenceman is soaking up this opportunity to learn from some of the Canucks’ veteran defencemen.

“I’m trying to learn as much as possible,” Willander said. “I played a bit with Marcus [Pettersson], and I think he’s excellent when it comes to breaking pucks out, finding those little, short passes, through people to the open ice. And I think just being here, seeing that, it’s just good experience to kind of just get the mental reps in and just kind of learn the game.”

Willander is projected to slot into tonight’s lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks. This game will be his fifth in the NHL, matching his AHL total already. And there may be many more to come if Willander can continue to progress as quickly as he has from training camp now to the NHL.

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[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Kane’s 10 shots on goal not enough as Canucks fall to Blackhawks

The Vancouver Canucks may have lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks, but at least it was an entertaining loss? Kind of? For a couple of periods at least?

I don’t want to say this game marks the official start of “moral victory” season, but if you wanted to, you could probably file away some silver linings from it.

The good? Evander Kane had around a billion shots in this game, although the NHL officially credited him with ten at the end of the day.

The Canucks offence through two periods, while not lethal, were at least generating chances? No one will claim Spencer Knight stole this game for Chicago, but it was probably the most exciting hockey Vancouver has played this year, just in terms of tempo and shot volume.

But when asked after the game if Knight played well or if it was a failure of execution from Vancouver, Hughes had a question of his own for David Quadrelli, in a passive mic drop for the ages:

“I mean, I didn’t see any insane saves, did you?”

Put me down for a Zara jacket with that written on the back. I think we might have something here.

But curtness and snark aside from what looks to be another season of grumpy media scrums from the Canucks captain, you could almost see how this game was going to end from streets away.

As anyone who has watched hockey (and this team in particular) knows, the second the buzzer sounded after two periods with no goals for Vancouver, you got that feeling in your chest. That injection of trepidation that floods through your body when you sense something bad is about to happen, when you just know an event comprised purely of contempt and derision for your happiness is waiting right around the corner for you.

So, was the third period breakdown unexpected? Of course not. In many ways, it was like visiting with an old friend. Sometimes it’s reassuring to have that level of stability in your life, just knowing you can count on certain things to happen; it’s your totem to let you know you aren’t dreaming. When the Canucks broke down in the third period after two periods in which it felt comical they didn’t get at least one goal on the board, at least I knew the wind outside wasn’t a slowed down Édith Piaf song.

Which brings us back to the age-old question of any game early on in an NHL season: What do you take away from this one?

And while we will probably pause the Jack Adams polls for Adam Foote for a game or two, I think the takeaway is that this team remains flawed. It still very much remains a team based on the “if everything goes right…” game plan.

And so even on a night in which they probably win this game nine times out of 10 in normal circumstances, it just feels like another building block of a season that is predicated, yet again, year after year, on the idea of “get in and see what happens?”

Which, after a decade plus of that, isn’t the easiest sell in this town.

Also, any game plan that ends with a question mark lacks conviction.

Just do it?

I’m lovin’ it?

Finger Licking’ good?

It just invites a lot of questions, that’s all I’m saying.

We have so many clips to get to, so let’s dive in.

Best chaotic start

Tyler Myers LOOOOL. How is he sooo bad every game? My god. #Canucks

— Mike K (@MikeK_mode) November 6, 2025

Now that Rick Tocchet’s GOTI system is gone, I am starting to wonder if the Chaos Giraffe will appear more frequently.

Last game we saw Myers struggle to get the puck out of his own end multiple times, and he struggled with turnovers, so it wasn’t too surprising to see him continue that trend with an early pizza in this one:

I assume he was trying to get the puck to Lukas Reichel, but it’s also CG57, so for all I know, he was trying a multifaceted bank pass that involved a series of events my puny brain cannot even begin to comprehend.

Myers then followed that play up a shift later by chopping in the general direction of Connor Bedard, perhaps still angry at the Chicago forward for leaving his car in the driveway:

It’s not quite a 10/10 on the Carlo Colaiacovo jumping into your living rooms via the glass, but it was still a solid bump from the hometown kid.

Best go go power rangers

Loving the speed and pace to the start of this game #Canucks

— Tyson Cole (@tyson_cole) November 6, 2025

As stated in the intro, while it might not have been an ’80s Oilers-level of finish from Vancouver, it was still a fun pond hockey style of game for most of the night. Like, if you saw this game at Planet Ice, you would have thought it was solid action, despite the propane smell in the air from the leaky Zamboni.

Early on, you had the traditional “chance to score” from Arshdeep Bains, who continues to generate a rush on net every third game or so:

Then you had Jake DeBrusk trying some shots along with Brock Boeser:

I mean, I didn’t see any insane saves, did you? But at least the Canucks were winning the Corsi war and creating scoring chances on occasion. They were officially credited with 18 high danger chances on the night, although your mileage may vary on just how dangerous they were, especially using the “no insane saves spotted” measuring stick.

And while Chicago wasn’t producing nearly as much as Vancouver, they were still able to get good looks on Kevin Lankinen in the first period.

On this play, Oliver Moore sends the puck over to Ryan Donato, and you can see Drew O’Connor and PO Joseph both following the puck, while Aatu Räty has to scramble to close the distance, which allows Moore to sneak into the slot for a shot:

Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t think the Rick Tocchet GOTI system would have changed much for Vancouver this season, but I will give him credit for drilling into his players where they need to be on the ice. I think that’s one of the more noticeable differences on the season, there are more breakdowns in the defensive zone under Foote.

That, and we don’t get to hear a coach sighing heavily while discussing Andrei Kuzmenko. I kind of miss that.

But there have been many times this season where you see multiple Canuck players going after the same guy, which just opens up so much space in the defensive zone for the other team. The Canucks also get caught up puck watching at times, like in this clip where Ryan Green just sort of walks into the middle of the ice and gets off a quick one timer on Kevin Lankinen:

For their part, the Canucks kept out-shooting Chicago (eventually ending the game with the 45 to 28 edge), even if, yeah, Quinn Hughes wouldn’t describe this as an insane save on Linus Karlsson:

Maybe the bar is too low for me, but I’d rather a team generate shot volume than grind out a low shot loss. You clearly give yourself more chances to have the odds be ever in your favour if you’re at least getting the puck on net and forcing the goalie to make not-quite-insane saves. Sometimes those pucks go in off of the weirdest bounces, which can help even the weakest of tributes.

I just think we’ve seen enough “dump the puck in the corner, go for a line change” to last us a lifetime in this city, and we deserve to see shots on net, damn it.

Best bend don’t break

Aatu Räty went down very awkwardly into the boards. After a brief conversation at the bench with the trainer, he walked down the tunnel, using his stick to help support him. #Canucks

— David Quadrelli (@QuadrelliD) November 6, 2025

The Canucks dance with the injury bug looked like it might continue in this game when Aatu Räty collided with the boards while trying to fend off Oliver Moore:

The Finnish forward would return later in the period so I guess that’s a moral victory?

Is avoiding injury a moral victory at this point? Maybe?

Best Kane is able

Evander Kane probably could have had 20 shots in this game, one of which would have been on this play had he not shot the puck in the general direction of the Holdom skytrain station:

See, at least you can watch that and appreciate the rush chance the Canucks generated. Elias Pettersson busts out a deke, Hughes skates with the puck and dishes it off to Garland, taking the defenceman with him to give room to Conor, and it ends with Kane getting the puck in a good spot.

Yes, it ends with the Mason Raymond special of a missed shot leading to a breakaway for Connor Bedard, but I promise you, Kevin Lankinen made a save on that clip that ends mere microseconds before Bedard shoots the puck. I can even tell you Lankinen’s glove fell off in the process. It wasn’t an insane save, mind you, but it was solid.

That’s the thing about Evander Kane, though. The dude is a beer league player; he just happens to be one of the best beer league players in the world. Defensively, he’s not about that life, but offensively, he’s going to get shots on net all night long, and on occasion, bust out a nice between-the-legs dangle:

That is an incredible move by a very skilled player, but we all live in fear of what happens when the puck goes the other way. Kane gains 5 kmph to his stride when he’s trying for offence; that’s just how beer league works.

Near the end of the first period, Kane and Pettersson hooked up on a partial breakaway that resulted in yet another situation in which Quinn Hughes could probably be muttering about the lack of insane saves:

Kane and that beer league energy means he’s never in a hurry to get anything done, so his slight hesitation to send that puck to Elias Pettersson on a full-fledged breakaway. And as we know about EP40, the second he feels pressure on a breakaway, the first thought that races through his head appears to be “oh dear god, how do I get out of this situation without having to shoot?” In many ways, I imagine Elias relates to Jesse Pinkman.

And of course, there is a case to be made for making that pass; you don’t watch Henrik Sedin make a million passes like that without coming to appreciate passing out of a high danger shot in order to set up a teammate.

But we’re at the point where Elias just needs to start shooting. Imagine if EP40 had ended the night with 10 shots instead of Evander Kane? They’d probably be planning the parade downtown as we speak. Freshii would be handing out coupons for wraps no one ever buys, and we’d be applauding the effort from Pettersson.

Instead, we continue to see EP40 defy all odds by finding new ways to pass out of a shot, which, I have to tell you, is starting to feel a bit silly.

Best case of the zoomies

Love watching DeBrusk use his speed to gain the zone. I knew he was a fast skater. Glad to see him using it more this season!#Canucks

— Canuck Girl (@CanuckGirl43) November 6, 2025

To the Canucks’ credit, they kept marching onwards, generating shot after shot, hoping one would find its way behind the Chicago goaltender.

Jake DeBrusk was the next player to attempt a goal, even though he’s due for another 10-game hibernation after scoring last game:

It might not have been an insane save, but you put 40+ of these types of shots on a goalie, you normally get at least a goal out of it. I do think luck was not on Vancouver’s side on this night. Probably because Crazy P scared it away, screaming in its face and demanding it cheer louder or else he would throw it down some stairs.

Best so bad he can taste it

Might be one of the best periods I’ve seen from Connor Bedard, and somehow he was pointless. Just doing everything himself out there.

— CSS (Kantserov Truther) (@ChicagoSufferer) November 6, 2025

I won’t lie, most of the excitement I get from watching Chicago play Vancouver is seeing how long they could prevent him from scoring on Rogers Arena ice. The kid can dance; he’s more talented than Grover at a handball tournament, on that we can all agree.

So when he’s out here almost beating four Canucks and scoring a goal, it’s not too surprising; you’re just hoping it doesn’t open the floodgates for years upon years of hometown torture via the Joe Sakic method:

Although I think Quinn Hughes saw that and took it personally, as he would end the period dingling his dangle in front of Bedard and almost scoring to end the period:

I appreciate Spencer Knight flopping to the ground to try and make it look like he made an insane save, but he’s not fooling Quinn on that one. It was merely decent. Average, even.

Best are you sure about that?

Reichel robbeddddd #canucks

— 44 (@canuckinsanity) November 6, 2025

Lukas Reichel is just out here trying to get his first point as a Canuck, let alone a goal:

I am going to get ahead of this one and say that I don’t think we can consider Drew O’Connor or Lukas Reichel breakaways as high-danger scoring chances. We can all appreciate that top-tier pass to set up that breakaway from Quinn Hughes at least.

Though, how bad does that have to feel that you’re out here with a breakaway and your captain after the game is like “man, sure wish we made the other goalie have to make a tough save.”

Best tightening the screw

21 shots not even half way thru the second period? wow #Canucks

— sell the team (@vancity1114) November 6, 2025

The Canucks best chance to score first on the night was during the second period, starting with Quinn Hughes rushing down the ice and ending with a shot that didn’t require insanity:

I think Hughes was looking to feed Brock Boeser, but Brock is what I would call a “methodical skater,” which is like telling someone they aren’t “traditionally handsome”, so Colton Dach is able to speed back down the ice and break up any chance of a pass.

The Canucks also had multiple looks during their power play where it felt like they were about to score, one of which was after Conor Garland broke the ankles of Frank Nazar:

I have to assume Elias Pettersson is trying to shoot-pass in the general area of Jake DeBrusk, which isn’t a bad play, mind you. Jake does his best work in the blue paint on the power play, and sometimes he does a delightful little shuffle dance with his hands after goals, and you can just picture him doing the same thing after opening up a really good pack of Pokémon cards.

But there has to be a world in which EP40 is walking into the middle of the ice to unload laser beams and not just slap passing his way through every scenario.

Still, the power play continued to generate looks on net. Conor Garland is the pick-six king on the Canucks, as he once again stole a pass and drove the puck hard towards the net:

If there was any save on the night that you have to give Knight his due on, it’s this one. I know Hughes would have preferred to see the Blackhawks goalie do a barrel roll into a scorpion save on this play, but much like Thatcher Demko, sometimes an amazing save looks far less exciting than it actually is. That’s a tough save, and Knight played it perfectly.

Which brings us back to Evander Kane continuing to pile up shots, this time driving to the slot and unloading a wrist shot:

And then near the very end of the power play hitting the post as he tried a cheeky little shot in close:

And then Kane once again in close, this time from Conor Garland who set up shop behind the net after once again intercepting the puck:

It’s a bang-bang play, and it certainly didn’t generate much of a save from Spencer Knight as he just stood his ground, but that last shot was the kind of play where, on most nights, if you keep generating chances like that, you end up scoring.

So while I agree with Quinn Hughes that execution wasn’t at the highest level, I still think the team was playing good hockey.

Go look back at the clip of Kane walking in from the slot on the power play; even getting the puck back to him was a slick setup from his teammates. There were two very well-played passes along the blue line that set up that chance in the first place, so yeah, I thought Vancouver probably deserved better on the night.

And I will say for all his beer league strategies, at least Kane is generating shots on net. It’s why I enjoyed Tyler Toffoli; sometimes you need that guy who is out there shooting for days, trying to score on every shot. Who cares if he comes back to the bench and grins at you and says “almost had him” on a dump-in from centre? I’ll take the shot volume injection in the lineup.

Best innovation

Drew O'Connor appears to have opened the scoring, but I'd expect this to be challenged for goalie interference so… who knows? #Canucks

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) November 6, 2025

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Drew O’Connor found a new way to not score an NHL goal:

This was called off due to goalie interference, and while we could sit here and endlessly debate the call, I think it’s pretty apparent that the NHL is all vibes when deciding on plays like these. I’m more amazed the play wasn’t called dead when the puck was under Knight’s legs, to be honest.

But it was deemed that Calendar shoved Knight to the ground and was not pushed in, which, if this were a scene from Game of Thrones, would have ended in bloodshed in a future jousting tournament. But as this is real life, Drew merely skated back to his bench for a line change.

Best hello from the other side

fantastic save from Lankinen!

— Ellis (@EllisHockey2003) November 6, 2025

Kevin Lankinen’s struggles on the season continued on this night, as his save percentage continues to plummet to playoff Dan Cloutier levels at times. He did have some good saves in this game, however, and I want to show proof of that because he could probably use a pick me up:

Kudos to Elias Pettersson, who initially tries to cover Quinn Hughes’ check before hoofing it back to get back into position on defence.

Later in the period, Lankinen utilized the “Do I have the puck? Oh sh!t, I don’t have the puck” pad stack save in which you slowly fall to your side as you grab at your five hole and pray that somehow the puck hits you:

There will probably be a solid debate for a while about what the right play was in the offseason with the goalies. And ultimately, it probably made the most sense to go with Demko and Silovs just due to contracts alone. I also saw the idea behind “Well, what if Demko breaks another unknown part of his body that nobody has ever heard of again?” insurance play of having Lankinen around, though.

Ultimately, I don’t think Silovs vs. Lankinen is the debate some people think it will turn out to be. I just don’t see either goalie ending up being a monster in this league, which just brings you back to “well yeah, they should have probably just paid one goalie a lot of money and gone with the cheap backup.”

I, of course, reserve the right to come back and claim this statement was made by AI should Silovs ever become a Vezina candidate.

Best never gonna happen

omg no please just let reichel get his first canucks goal already

— amy (@huggyquinnifer) November 6, 2025

Again I don’t think this is a high danger chance, but at least it’s a shot on net from Reichel?

The guy does a lot of right things, but like a lot of guys on this team, it’s really starting to feel like we’re back in a sea of Granlunds.

Fun fact: only Max Sasson ended the night without a shot for the Vancouver Canucks.

Best careful what you say

mikheyev denied yeah i’ve heard that one before

— r (@6ffside) November 6, 2025

With the game tied heading into the third, the Canucks breakdowns in their own zone started happening at a higher frequency than you were probably comfortable with.

Fortunately for Vancouver, it was old friend Ilya Mikheyev taking most of the shots early on:

Unfortunately for Vancouver, Chicago has their own blue paint specialist in Tyler Bertuzzi, who set up shop in Tim Horton’s and kind of but not quite kicked a puck into the net:

First off, that’s a fantastic play from Matt Grzelcyk. He skates around and gets the Canucks puck watching and finds Tyler Bertuzzi at the side of the net.

For his part, Tyler sort of brings his heels together, but it wasn’t enough to claim he made a kicking motion. In today’s NHL, unless you wind up and scream, “I’M HERE TO KICK PUCKS AND CHEW BUBBLE GUM AND I’M ALL OUT OF GUM,” they usually let it count.

This goal also brings up another point, though: Vancouver seems to get lost in their own zone when the other team has the puck. We saw it in the last handful of games: Canucks opponents start skating and looking for those back-door/side-of-the-net plays, and it usually results in a good scoring chance.

The structure of the Canucks in their own zone has been breaking down at an astronomical pace as of late whenever the other team starts skating with the puck in their zone.

Best I pick you

Barely even touched him #canucks

— Pat (@WestBud) November 6, 2025

Tyler Myers was then called for interference on what was a pretty soft pick:

I think they call that because Myers skates a long distance out of his way to land that pick. The pick itself was whatever; it didn’t do much, and it was a pretty nothing forecheck situation to begin with, but it’s like if I walked into a bank screaming, “I don’t have a gun and I don’t intend on robbing you!” the police would most likely still have some questions. It was a not-so-subtle, subtle pick, which is very much on brand for the Chaos Giraffe.

The Canucks got the first big chance on the penalty kill; however, when Garland and Elias Pettersson started a counter-attack that ended in, and this might shock you, multiple times where neither guy got a shot on net:

Just when you thought EP40 optics of not shooting the puck couldn’t get worse, here we have Garland and EP40 seemingly fighting over who got to the guy who didn’t have to shoot the puck.

Again, I’m just at the point where Elias just needs to shoot from everywhere. Sit him down with Kane, teach him your ways, Evander. Unlock your inner bear league beauty, Elias. Just shoot. All day. Every day.

Puck in the corner? Shoot it.

Puck behind your net? Shoot it.

Puck in the refs hand? Chop at his hand and then shoot the puck.

Like, why not at this point? This team isn’t rife with finishing ability; you’re not out here setting up 40-goal scorers. Just shoot the puck.

Otherwise, you know what happens? You don’t force the goalie to make insane saves. And you know who doesn’t like that? Your captain.

This, of course, resulted in Tyler Bertuzzi scoring with the extra man a few seconds later on a very accurate backdoor pass from Bedard:

This time Tyler had the decency to use his stick to score the goal, but the end result was the same: this game was quickly slipping out of the hands of the Canucks.

Also, how much does this penalty kill miss Derek Forbort?

Best those were the days my friend

Ilya mikheyev just scored on us, time to wrap of the season and look towards next year. #Canucks

— james cooper (@User673987) November 6, 2025

Chicago’s third goal was the result of the Canucks just sort of farting around in their own zone:

There is no structure there. There is no plan. It’s just a team reeling from letting in two goals in a game they should have been winning, losing the mental game with themselves.

Best regrets

Changed my mind

— Andy Cole (@AndyCole1984) November 6, 2025

Tyler Bertuzzi would then complete the hat trick after a bad rebound from Kevin Lankinen combined with Tyler Myers rolling around like he somehow caught fire:

From thinking they should be winning the game to being down 4-0, this one changed on a dime.

Best every time

#Canucks score finally and I turn the TV off…

— Mark (@MrkDvd) November 6, 2025

Thanks to Mark turning off the TV, there were three more goals in this game. But unlike that magical comeback against the Dallas Stars, this was merely scoring in junk time.

First up, Räty got a nice goal off the rush for Vancouver:

You’ll notice how it was just a random shot from the middle of the ice, much like many of the other shots they got on the night. This is what I’m saying, most nights they get a couple of those goals just on shot volume alone.

Then Evander Kane, he of 10 shots, finally got one through:

Which, again, through the first two periods, these were the kinds of chances they generated. Knight doesn’t have to make an insane save there, even if he were to stop it. The Canucks are just putting on volume and trying to score. This is why I give them credit for the first two periods because this is a team that has struggled to do even that at times. It’s not like the Canucks just busted out two highly skilled goals in the last few minutes. All they did was keep shooting and waiting for Knight to let one in.

But the comeback was stopped there, and even worse, Bedard finally got his first goal on Vancouver ice:

That’s an empty net goal, so how good can that feel, really, but the end point remains: Chicago won the hockey game.

Up next a double tap of Columbus and Colorado on the weekend.

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[Vancouver Canucks]

Projecting Canucks prospects for the 2026 World Junior Championships

Are you in the holiday spirit yet?

With Halloween now in the rearview, the daily reminders are everywhere — the Christmas season is fast approaching. And you know what that means, don’t you? That’s right, the World Junior Championships are just around the corner.

This year’s tournament takes place in Ottawa, Canada, and as per tradition, it all kicks off on Boxing Day. Vancouver Canucks fans have been spoiled in recent years. Not by the quantity of players sent, but the quality of those who have represented.

Whether it was Jonathan Lekkerimäki dazzling his way to tournament MVP honours and a silver medal in 2024-25, Tom Willander holding down Sweden’s blue line the past two events, or Sawyer Mynio cracking Team Canada last year, Vancouver’s prospect pool has consistently provided a higher calibre prospect worth cheering for.

This year, things may look different. As it stands, the Canucks have nine eligible prospects (by age) who could take part in the event. That said, the realistic number of players who may earn spots is three. It would be four if Russia were eligible to participate (Aleksei Medvedev).

Let’s take a look at the most likely candidates to don their nation’s colours in the nation’s capital.

Basile Sansonnens, LD, Switzerland​

We’ll start with Basile Sansonnens, a Swiss-born defenceman and the lone Canuck prospect who looks like a lock to make his team.

The steady, defensive-minded blueliner has been a mainstay in Switzerland’s international program for years and got his first taste of World Junior action at last year’s event. Now a year older, he’s expected to take on a larger role.

Currently skating amongst men with Lausanne HC in the Swiss National League, Sansonnens is averaging just under 11 minutes per night. His new role offers valuable experience for a player expected to help Switzerland play its usual dark-horse role at the tournament.

The 19-year-old is currently with the Swiss U20 team at the Five Nations tournament, an annual pre-World Junior event featuring Switzerland, Sweden, Czechia, Finland, and the USA. He logged second-pairing minutes in their opener against Sweden, which is a strong indication that his role will expand when the World Juniors begin.

Known for his defence-first, shutdown presence and reliable penalty-killing, Sansonnens should be a fixture in key defensive moments for the Swiss squad.

Wilson Björck, F, Sweden​

Wilson Björck wasn’t named to Sweden’s Five Nations roster for two reasons. First, as a Colorado College freshman, NCAA players generally don’t participate in the mid-season event. Second, he’s been sidelined since mid-October with an upper-body injury.

That said, Björck remains firmly in Sweden’s plans. He impressed at the World Junior Summer Showcase, finishing tied for second in scoring across all participants with six points (one goal, five assists) in five games.

Before his injury, he was adjusting nicely to the NCAA game, posting a goal and two assists through five contests while playing top-six minutes for Colorado College.

At 6-foot, 173 pounds, Björck may not intimidate with size, but his motor, edge, and willingness to battle in hard areas make him a handful for opponents. Offensively, he’s creative and unpredictable, able to generate chances in multiple ways.

His recovery timeline is still unclear, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll be healthy in time for the tournament. But if he is, expect him to contend for a roster spot — possibly alongside his younger brother, Viggo, a projected top-10 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Braeden Cootes, C, Canada​

When the season began, it seemed unlikely that 2025 first-rounder Braeden Cootes would crack Team Canada’s lineup. Given the country’s elite depth, it’s always an uphill climb for 18-year-olds to make the final cut.

Then came training camp, where Cootes came in and blew the doors off. His three-game NHL stint proved he has the pace, compete level, and intelligence to at least enter the conversation for a roster spot.

Cootes has a strong history with Hockey Canada, having most recently captained the U18 squad while leading the team in scoring at last spring’s World Championships. Combined with his newfound NHL experience, that pedigree could help him sneak onto the final roster as a responsible, high-motor, two-way center.

Back with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, Cootes is firing at over a point-per-game pace with seven points (three goals, four assists) and winning 56.5% of his faceoffs as team captain.

He’s intelligent, mobile, and poised beyond his years and is quickly becoming one of the most exciting young additions to the Canucks’ prospect pool.

Overall, the Canucks may not have a large contingent in Ottawa this year, but the few who do make it could provide some exciting moments.

Sansonnens looks like a sure bet for Switzerland, while Björck is a strong candidate if healthy, and Cootes — the organization’s newest blue-chip prospect — could make things interesting for Team Canada’s brass.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/projecting-vancouver-canucks-prospects-2026-world-junior-championships

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

It’s almost certainly time for the Canucks to rebuild: Canucks Conversation

On Thursday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal tackled a topic that’s been hovering over the Vancouver Canucks for years – whether it’s finally time to stop running from the inevitable and commit to a full rebuild.

After a 5–2 loss at home to the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks, patience has worn thin, and the guys admitted the current direction just isn’t leading anywhere close to contention.

“What this Canucks team needs to be championship calibre over the next few years, I don’t see a realistic path,” Harm said. “I can see a path for, if things break right, making the playoffs, but is that really the bar we want to throw up there? The goal is just making the playoffs?”

It’s a question that hits at the core of where the organization has been stuck for nearly a decade – good enough to chase the bubble, never good enough to climb higher.

“We often think through the lens of ‘this organization won’t rebuild,’ so we don’t talk about it,” Quads said. “We’ve looked at it as, what can this team do to get there without a rebuild? I’m at the point now where, best case scenario, this team can’t get to a point where they’re contending for a Stanley Cup without a full rebuild. You have to do the hard work and go through those painful years.”

The painful years, as Harm pointed out, have already happened – just without the payoff.

“The crappy thing is, they went through the painful years – they had all the pain and more of a rebuilding team, they’ve been bad for eight years, but because they took shortcuts, they had too many self-inflicted wounds,” he said. “It’s not even so much that 10 years ago they had to commit to a rebuild, but at every checkpoint, they’ve shot themselves in the foot by trying to accelerate too quickly.

“In 2015, why did you need to trade a 19-year-old Jared McCann for Erik Gudbranson? Look at the player McCann has become. When the 2021 season ended, coming off the bubble playoff run, then the disastrous year in the All-Canadian division, there was only one year left of pain with the Eriksson, Roussel, and Beagle contracts. It was such a layup to ride that out, and they’d have had all this cap space when cap space was king, but they went out and made the OEL trade, and that draft pick traded away ended up becoming Dylan Guenther. Just so many missteps along the way, and now you’re at a point where you’re stuck in mediocrity.”

The guys agreed it’s not yet time to blow it up completely, but any talk of buying or adding more short-term fixes should be off the table.

“This early into the season, we’re not sitting here and saying they have to blow it up this minute,” said Harm. “However, we clearly have a lot of concerns about this team and at the very least, they’re in a position where buying should be off the table. I can’t say trade Quinn Hughes yet, it’s too early for that and you have to see how the season plays out, but at this moment as the Canucks, you can’t be in on Pavel Zacha, for example. You’re not a Pavel Zacha move away from righting the ship, and you can’t take the risk of mortgaging additional future assets.

“You’re going to have to ride it out the way you built this roster, and if it leads you to a bottom-10 finish in the league, then you have to have some conversations down the road. At the bare minimum, this team should not be discussing trading for help because it hasn’t proven it deserves those reinforcements yet.”

Quads pointed to the pattern of half-measures that have defined Vancouver’s front office approach for a decade.

“There were years where publicly the ownership and management were saying, ‘We really like our young players, we’re going to commit, we have to stick to our timeline and our process,’ but it was always a shortcut here and there,” he said. “It was one foot in the rebuild pool while the rest of their moves were trying to win now.”

That constant hedging, Harm added, is exactly how the Canucks ended up with a roster that lacks the foundation of a true contender – especially down the middle.

“The team’s biggest issue is its centre depth right now. They have one top-six centre in Pettersson, but when you retrace the steps, why does this team have centre issues?” he said. “They had Miller and Horvat, and they moved those guys to address some of the holes on the back end. The first-round picks in those trades indirectly became Marcus Pettersson and Filip Hronek.

“If you had accumulated draft picks while you were rebuilding, drafted maybe a single defenceman outside of Quinn Hughes, maybe you wouldn’t have been in this spot. If you have other young defencemen coming, you don’t have to trade Miller and Horvat to address back-end needs. If you had just done it properly the first time, you would have perhaps been able to keep those assets down the middle and had a proper team rather than robbing from your centre depth to pay for your back-end goals.”

For Quads and Harm, the message was clear: Vancouver’s decade-long attempt to skip the hard part has only delayed the inevitable. If the Canucks want to truly contend one day, they’ll have to stop patching holes and finally do what they’ve avoided all along: rebuild, for real this time.

You can watch the full replay of the show below!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/its-al...ancouver-canucks-rebuild-canucks-conversation

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Farmies: Abbotsford Canucks forced to turn to an EBUG in Loveland, Colorado

This season officially has everything — and we mean everything.

Sporting an eight-game losing skid, the Abbotsford Canucks rolled into Loveland, Colorado, with half a roster, one healthy goaltender, and a prayer.

But by the third period, that prayer fell short.

After a strong 18-save performance, starting netminder Ty Young exited with injury, forcing Abbotsford to turn to an Emergency Backup Goalie — a 21‑year‑old Farmers Insurance sales rep from Denver — to close out the third period against the league‑leading Colorado Eagles.

Because of course it did.

While he made a commendable effort, it failed to bail them out of their predicament, as the visiting Canucks would drop a ninth straight game in front of a sold-out crowd at Blue Arena.

The 2025-26 season has quickly become a matter of survival rather than playing out a legitimate hockey season.

Starting  lineup​

These days, all you can do is laugh. Jujhar Khaira did not take the trip to Colorado, Nikita Tolopilo was still unavailable, and Jiri Patera was called up to Vancouver before the team left. Game by game, this team is left with further holes as they scrounge bodies to make ends meet.

Sure, Kirill Kudryavtsev rejoined the team, but he can only make such a difference.

Ravinskis–Aman–Berard
Alriksson–Mueller–Klimovich
Durandeau–Labate–Kambeitz
Kunz–Wouters–Bloom

Schuldt –Mynio
Knyzhov–Kudryavtsev
Arntsen–Daschke

Young

Scratched: Jayden Lee
Injured: Jett Woo, Guillaume Brisebois, Nikita Tolopilo, Cooper Walker, Chase Stillman, Jujhar Khaira

First period: Surviving in Colorado​

Despite playing the American League’s top team, the Canucks made strong work of the initial five minutes, limiting the Eagles to zero chances.

The way things have gone lately, that’s considered a win.

Of course, they may have dodged an early bullet, as T.J. Tynan blasted a seeing-eye laser from the point that caught iron for the best chance of the early game.

But the visiting team was just as eager, with their third line doing some nice work on the transition.

Breaking up the ice, Arnaud Derandeau and Dino Kambeitz nearly connected on the cross-crease play to open the scoring. Unfortunately, it was deflected just wide of Vancouver alumni, Trent Miner.

But as expected, the play was primarily tilted in the visiting end, with Ty Young seeing the puck well.

Things were relatively stale as the period progressed. But with just under two minutes on the clock, the Canucks were handed the game’s first power play, after Danil Gushchin tripped up Jimmy Shchuldt in the slot.

But that opportunity lasted all of 10 seconds after Colorado had won the initial face-off clean to send themselves on an early shorthanded odd-man rush. Ben Berard was given a hooking penalty on the play.

Having nearly survived the opening period, Danila Klimovich got a little overzealous on the forecheck, taking a very late penalty to hand the home team the man advantage for the start of the second period.

Another game, another poor penalty from the top-line winger. That was the most we’d see of the sharpshooter, as he was held off the score sheet for the seventh consecutive match.

But all things considered, they’d take a 0-0 draw after 20 minutes and run.

Shots: ABB 3, COL 11
Score: ABB 0, COL 0

Second period: Seal broken​

The good news is that Abby’s penalty kill bailed Klimovich out, allowing no shots against through the two minutes.

As was the case for much of the first, Ty Young was strong and standing tall against all the Eagles’ chances.

And there were tons of them.

First, Ivan Ivan provided a nice drive against Jimmy Shchuldt, going in and out before testing Young in tight.

Second, after several minutes of sustained pressure, the Eagles combined for a heavy one-timer chance, which Young remained composed on the effort.

By this point, the Canucks were merely surviving this game. After several minutes of pressure in their own end, the Canucks would send a Hail Mary outlet pass in an attempt to kick off a transition.

But really, nothing was working, and it was all Eagles.

And just before the midway point of the period, the Canucks took a penalty, and the home team made it count.

Just before the goal, Ty Young made an incredible save, robbing Danil Gushchin of the one-timer attempt.

Colorado goal – 1-0 – Danil Gushchin from T.J. Tynan and Sean Behrens

But just seconds later, the same trigger man got a second chance, and he made no mistake to wire one to the top corner for his league-leading (tied) ninth goal of the season.

The way this game was trending, it felt like a matter of time before the home team drew first blood, as Young could only hold the fort for so long.

And later in the period, the Eagles pounced again.

Colorado goal – 2-0 – Tye Felhaber from Ronnie Attard and Wyatt Aamodt

Ronnie Attard showed terrific poise and patience at the blueline, walking around Vilmer Alriksson on his drop-in hockey-esque fly by. With his head up, Attard sent a perfectly placed backdoor pass to Tye Felhaber at the far side, who beat out Danila Klimovich on the backcheck.

With just 11 seconds remaining in the frame, the Canucks were finally gifted some good news. Getting his stick stuck in an Abby skate, Ivan Ivan took a late tripping call for the visiting team to enjoy with a fresh ice clean in the third.

Shots: ABB 6, COL 20
Score: ABB 0, COL 2

Third period: EBUG to the rescue​

As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Abbotsford Canucks’ season, the third period began without a crucial member of the team: Ty Young.

With Ty Young out, Nikita Tolopilo injured, Jiri Patera in Vancouver on an emergency basis, and Aku Koskenvuo down in Kalamazoo, who was left to tend the net?

Meet CJ Kier, a Farmers Insurance Sales Development Representative in Denver. At 21 years old, Kier had played NAHL hockey for Danbury Jr. Hat-Tricks in 2023-24 and was asked to attend the game before puck drop.

There’s no way he could have predicted that he’d actually play.

Believe it or not, he kicked off his newly found pro career with a pair of saves, getting the shoulder on a nice shot up high.

But his debut was spoiled quickly, as the team in front of him hung him out to dry as former Canuck Tristen Nielsen welcomed him to the pros.

Colorado goal – 3-0 – Tristen Nielsen from Alex Gagne and Keaton Middleton

Getting behind the defence, rookie defender Alex Gagne found the “bulldog” with a stretch pass. Going to his bread and butter, Nielsen pump-faked before tucking it between the sprawled-out Kier.

But wait, the Canucks grabbed life.

Abbotsford goal – 3-1 – Vilmer Alriksson (unassisted)

Following a missed shot from an Eagle, the puck rang around the boards to spring the young Swede.

Following up on his initial shot, Vilmer stuck with the puck, jamming the rebound past Miner to put his team on the board for his second of the season.

Down by just a pair, you could imagine the buzz on the Abby bench, pulling themselves together to play hard to grab a win for their new netminder.

And boy, was Kier battling for them.

With time ticking down and the Canucks down a pair (the score clock was wrong), they made several attempts to get Kier out of the net in an effort for a final push.

But with the Eagles pressing, they could not find a time to get him out.

Finally, they called him off, and just as he was getting to the bench, the Eagles fired the puck in the back of the net as Kier watched in disgust.

Colorado goal – 4-1 – Alex Gagne (unassisted)

Firing the puck into the empty net from his own end, rookie Alex Gagne scored his first career AHL goal.

Although he couldn’t play hero, CJ Kier made five saves in the period in his uncalled-for professional debut.

Final shots: ABB 10, COL 27
Final score: ABB 1, COL 4

Final thoughts​

Given the roster that is being dressed on a nightly basis, it’s hard to expect a win from the Abbotsford Canucks. Up against the best team in the AHL, the odds were incredibly stacked against them, and with an EBUG fending the Eagles off for an entire third period, you could say they actually put up a good fight.

CanucksArmy three stars​

First star

CJ Kier – We are handing out one star from this game, and that star goes out to the Insurance Rep who came out and put together a solid effort in the third period. It may be the only time he sees the ice at the professional level, so shoutout to him for his effort.

What’s next?​

The Canucks will be back at Blue Arena on Saturday for Game 2 of their weekend series. Puck drop is at 6:05 pm PT. Who will start in goal for the Canucks? Tune in and see.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-abbotsford-canucks-forced-turn-ebug-loveland-colorado

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Abbotsford Canucks series primer: Canucks look to snap 8-game losing skid vs. Eagles

The Abbotsford Canucks are back on the road.

Following a difficult six-game homestand, the team now heads to Loveland, Colorado, for a weekend doubleheader against the Colorado Eagles. The two-game set marks a fresh opportunity for the struggling Abbotsford Canucks, who enter the series riding a league-worst eight-game losing streak.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that Abbotsford has had success against the Eagles in recent memory. Last season, the Canucks dominated the season series with a 6-2-0-0 record, followed by a 3-2-0-0 run in the playoffs en route to their first Calder Cup championship. But this isn’t last year.

The 2025–26 campaign has proven much less forgiving, and Abbotsford arrives in Colorado sitting near the bottom of the entire league, while the Eagles sit comfortably atop the AHL standings with a 9-2-0-1 record. But help is on the way.

The depleted Canucks lineup finally received a much-needed boost this week as Kirill Kudryavtsev was reassigned from Vancouver and is expected to draw back into the top defensive pairing immediately.

Despite sitting idle in the press box with the Canucks, Kudryavtsev still sits tied for second in Abbotsford team scoring with five assists on the season. His return will bring some much-needed relief to Jimmy Schuldt and Sawyer Mynio, who have been shouldering heavy minutes over the past four games.

However, the team also absorbed more roster blows. Forward Vitali Kravtsov, who signed over the summer, was placed on waivers for mutual contract termination and has returned to Russia. Though he had only two points through the early stretch, any subtraction from an already thin forward group is a tough pill to swallow.

On Friday, Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali reported that Jujhar Khaira did not make the trip to Colorado. Later, the Vancouver Canucks announced that goaltender Jiri Patera was recalled on an emergency basis and will stay in Vancouver.

Players to watch​

Kirill Kudryavtsev, LD

Riding in on a white horse is the Russian defender, who’s been stewing in the Vancouver press box for the last two weeks. Despite being gone, he still sits in a tie for second on the team in points with five assists on the year. He’ll provide some relief to Jimmy Schuldt and Sawyer Mynio, who have been shouldering far too many minutes over the team’s last four games.

Sawyer Mynio, LD

As a result of a much-needed reinforcement, Sawyer Mynio’s minutes could come back down to earth ever so slightly. However, he has proven that he’s capable of not only logging heavy minutes but standing out in them. He now leads the defensive corps with two goals on the season.

Key injuries​

Jett Woo (upper body): Injured during the 2025 Calder Cup run, which he played through. Woo is listed as month-to-month.

Guillaume Brisebois (lower body): The full extent of the injury is unknown, but he is expected to miss significant time, with a possible return not anticipated until early 2026.

Nikita Tolopilo (lower body): We have yet to receive an official update on his status, but Nikita Tolopilo has missed the last five games after sliding awkwardly in the team’s home opener on October 28.

Jujhar Khiara (undisclosed), Chase Stillman (lower body) & Cooper Walker (lower body).

Familiar faces in Vancouver​

A significant chunk of Abbotsford’s core is currently with the big club, including:

Mackenzie MacEachern, Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki (injured), Aatu Räty, Victor Mancini (injured), Tom Willander and Jiri Patera

What’s ahead​

After the weekend set in Colorado — Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8 (both at 6:00 PM PT) — the Canucks will return home to face the San Jose Barracuda for their first matchup of the season. That two-game homestand begins Tuesday, November 11 and continues Wednesday, November 12 at the Abbotsford Centre.

Projected lineup (not line combinations)​

Forwards

Ben Berard – Nils Aman – Danila Klimovich

Vilmer Alriksson – Ty Mueller – Joseph Labate

Josh Bloom – Chase Wouters – Anri Ravinskis

Arnaud Durandeau – Jackson Kunz – Dino Kambeitz

Defence

Jimmy Schuldt – Kirill Kudryavtsev

Joe Arntsen – Sawyer Mynio

Nikolai Knyzhov – Derek Daschke

Jayden Lee

Goaltenders

Ty Young

Aku Koskenvuo (has yet to be called up, but should be the next man up)

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/abbots...-look-snap-8-game-losing-skid-colorado-eagles

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Instant Reaction: Canucks hang on to beat Blue Jackets 4-3

The Vancouver Canucks‘ Wednesday night loss to the Chicago Blackhawks sure feels like it happened ages ago. Plenty of conversations about the future of the team have been had since then, and the Canucks actually had a chance to practice! The NHL’s condensed schedule to accommodate Olympic hockey is going to make any time there are two consecutive days without games feel like an eternity. How would they follow up their last game against the Blackhawks? Let’s find out!

Starting Lineup​

Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @BlueJacketsNHL

Kane. EP40. Garland.
Boeser. Reichel. Sherwood.
O’Connor. Räty. DeBrusk.
Bains. Sasson. Karlsson.

Hughes. Hronek.
MP29. Myers.
EP25. Willander.

Lankinen

7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/KYYrbpTKYm

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 9, 2025

First Period​

Aatu Räty hit a post early, and Lukas Reichel took the game’s first penalty shortly after that. The Canucks’ PK has been very bad this season, and they sure came close to giving up a goal early on in this one, too. Truly, it’s almost shocking how permissive the Canucks’ penalty killers can be. They allow so much east-west passing and give up the middle of the ice for puck carriers to move into. There were multiple close calls on the PK’s first chance of the night. Kevin Lankinen stood tall on a couple of opportunities, and had some help from the crossbar behind him on one of Columbus’s chances. And perhaps worst of all: there were multiple occassions of Columbus players getting the chance to take whacks at loose pucks in the crease with little pushback from the Canucks’ defence. But you’ll see more of that in The Stanchies tomorrow morning.

Lankinen made some downright fantastic stops in the first period:

Kevin Lankinen robs Dmitri Voronkov! He's been sharp to start this game.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/0xLfwfcEIw

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

With just over three minutes left in the first, Cole Sillinger held onto Quinn Hughes and gave the Canucks their first power play of the game. It didn’t go well. With five seconds remaining in the first, Lukas Reichel found himself with what looked like a great chance to score, but his attempt deflected up and out of play.

Lukas Reichel comes close to picking up his first goal and point as a Canuck, but the puck deflects into the netting.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Z8Ha18wp9N

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Some takeaways from the first:
-Tom Willander giving a cross check to Mathieu Olivier made me say “uh oh”.
-Absolutely love that Kevin Bieksa highlighted the Willander cross check on Olivier during the first intermission. Not a great idea!

Second Period​

The Blue Jackets got another power play opportunity early in the second, and again, it was Lankinen who was the Canucks’ best penalty killer.

That kept the game scoreless and let the Canuck to go the other way and open the scoring. Aatu Räty and Drew O’Connor teamed up to set up Jake DeBrusk, who roofed a shot over Elvis Merzlikins’ glove to give the Canucks the game’s first lead.

CANUCKS GOAL

Jake DeBrusk beats Elvis Merzļikins over the shoulder in tight! What a shot!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/4TWZvPWHlR

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

1-0 Canucks.

That lead didn’t last long, as Kirill Marchenko scored a bit of a weird one as Tyler Myers knocked the puck off the pegs as the puck went in.

Columbus ties the game shortly after Jake DeBrusk opened the scoring

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/aXtICLWUhC

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

1-1.

Moments after the goal, Mathieu Olivier hit Elias Pettersson, the defenceman, in the numbers. DPetey’s head hit the boards and he needed to be helped off the ice. That was a late hit, and the Canucks were given a five minute power play as a result.

Mathieu Olivier hits D-Petey on the numbers.

Olivier was assessed a 5 minute major and a game misconduct.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/maPqLJK3rK

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Both of the Canucks’ power play units struggled to gain the zone, and when they did, there were only a couple of shots that made their way to Merzlikins. Side note: As Elias Pettersson (forward) got stripped of the puck after hesitating, boos were certainly heard from the Rogers Arena faithful. Not trying to pile on, it’s just worth noting. Anyways, the Canucks didn’t capitalize on their five minutes of power play time.

And then the Blue Jackets went back the other way and scored:

Dmitri Voronkov puts the Blue Jackets up 2-1

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Htd6XWNsbi

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

2-1 Blue Jackets.

Good news: DPetey returned before the end of the second! Bad news: Forward Elias Pettersson passed up another opportunity to shoot and turned the puck over instead:

Elias Pettersson is set up in a prime position to shoot but he attempts a pass that fails.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/AfKDUcOOPk

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Some more good news: Drew O’Connor notched his sixth point in his last five games when he evened this game up late in the second.

CANUCKS GOAL

Drew O'Connor puts home a rebound and ties this game for Vancouver!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/CExGZHMkMd

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Before the end of the period, we saw one of the worst missed calls in recent memory:

HOW IS THAT NOT A PENALTY????

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/gTjz08jUyv

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Some takeaways from the second:
-Good to see Drew O’Connor being rewarded for the strong efforts he’s turned in lately.
-Thank goodness this team didn’t lose DPetey as well.

Third Period​

The Canucks didn’t exactly press the Blue Jackets in the third, but once again, some key saves from Kevin Lankinen gave the Canucks a chance to take the lead. And take the lead they did.

After some extended time in the offensive zone, Elias Pettersson made a nice pass to a streaking and fresh Tyler Myers, who made a quick shift around Adam Fantilli to put himself into a prime scoring location. Conor Garland was then there to finish off the sequence.

CANUCKS GOAL

CONOR GARLAND FINISHES OFF A GREAT SHIFT BY THE CANUCKS WITH A GOAL! IT'S 3-2 VANCOUVER!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/QIcrxkj3yF

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

3-2 Canucks.

Columbus didn’t go away after that, though.

Kirill Marchenko got in on another goal, this time serving as the triggerman:

Kirill Marchenko ties this game for Columbus.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/cOSEMkc6ZT

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

That’s one Lankinen will want back. 3-3.

Quinn Hughes turned in a phenomenal shift with seven minutes left in this one. First, he broke ankles:

Quinn Hughes breaking ankles. What's new?

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/hI7LA5qKhn

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Then he danced around the offensive zone some more and swung the momentum very firmly in the Canucks’ favour. On the next shift, with Hughes off the ice, Brock Boeser scored his seventh goal of the year when he bunted down a Kiefer Sherwood aerial pass and shot glove side on Merzlikins.

CANUCKS GOAL

BROCK BOESER PUTS VANCOUVER UP BY ONE!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/WvFMM6Abjk

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

4-3 Canucks.

That’s Kiefer Sherwood’s first assist of the year. Brock Boeser scoring the game-winning goal on Hockey Fights Cancer night gets a big old hell yeah from me.

Aatu Räty was called for interference with 2:46 remaining, giving the Canucks’ PK their most important kill of the game…

And they did it! Canucks win!

Shoutout to Elias Pettersson, who fearlessly blocked two shots late in the game.

Petey comes up with a couple big shot blocks late in the 3rd period

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/1z86PQJpf7

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/instan...anucks-hang-on-beat-columbus-blue-jackets-4-3

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks Game Day: Goaltending decision looms ahead of visit from league-leading Avalanche

The Vancouver Canucks (8-8) return to action to complete a back-to-back weekend when they host the league-leading Colorado Avalanche (9-1-5) at Rogers Arena. The Canucks are coming off a 4-3 victory over Columbus last night, while the Avs were busy destroying Edmonton 9-1.

What we know​

With the quick turnaround, the Canucks did not host a morning skate. Adam Foote will meet the media at 4pm, so it will be closer to game time before the head coach reveals his lineup for tonight. General Manager Patrik Allvin said on After Hours following Saturday’s game that Thatcher Demko was a possibility to face the Avalanche. If Demko isn’t ready, the Canucks will have to decide whether to come right back with Kevin Lankinen, who made 29 saves in the win against the Blue Jackets, or turn to third stringer Jiri Patera.

The Canucks are unlikely to make any line-up changes to their forward group. However, it’s possible P-O Joseph could draw in on defence after Elias Pettersson was shaken up on a hard hit that earned Matthieu Olivier a five minute major and a game misconduct. Pettersson left the game briefly, but did return.

Brock Boeser became the first Canuck with multiple game winners this season when he broke a 3-3 tie with 5:45 to play last night. Boeser has three goals in the past three games, has seven goals on the season and the team’s last two winning markers after scoring in overtime in Nashville last Monday.

Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Drew O’Connor and Conor Garland had the Vancouver goals last night. O’Connor had a goal and an assist last night and has had three multi-point efforts in his last five games.

After opening the season with a team-leading nine goals in 12 games, Kiefer Sherwood picked up his first assist of the season in his 16th game when he set up Boeser’s game winner last night. On the same play, Lukas Reichel recorded his first point in his eighth game with the Canucks after being acquired from Chicago two weeks ago.

Quinn Hughes had an assist and logged a team-high 27:22 last night. The Canucks captain leads the NHL averaging 26:49 per game.

The Opponent​

The Avs became the first team in the NHL to score nine goals in a game this season last night in Edmonton. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Jack Drury and Parker Kelly each scored twice and Gavin Brindley had their other. MacKinnon also had two assists to give him 12 goals, 12 assists and a share of the NHL scoring lead with 24 points. He also leads the league with 67 shots on goal.

Makar leads all NHL defencemen with six goals and his 20 points are seven more than any other blueliner.

For all the team’s firepower, the Avs went 0 for seven on the power play against the Oilers and at 15% on the season, they rank 27th in the NHL with the man advantage. Quite remarkably, they are one for 28 (3.6%) in nine road games this season. Martin Necas has their lone road power play goal and it came on opening night in Los Angeles. Somehow, Necas, who has 18 points on the season, did not figure in any of the team’s nine goals last night.

Colorado sits second in the league in goals per game (3.93) and is the top team defensively averaging 2.40 goals against. The Avs have scored a league-best 59 goals and boast the NHL’s best goal differential at +21. The Avalanche is 4-0-1 in its last five games and during that time has had games in which it scored eight and nine goals.

Scott Wedgewood has been the busiest netminder in the league this season starting 13 of the team’s 15 games including last night. Mackenzie Blackwood is likely to make his second start of the season tonight against the Canucks. He is 0-0-1 after dropping a 3-2 shootout loss in San Jose on November 1st.

News and notes​

The Canucks swept the Avalanche in their three-game season series outscoring them 10-2 last year. That included a 3-0 shutout victory and 3-1 win in the two games played in Vancouver.

Canucks head coach Adam Foote won two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche, served as team captain for two years (2009- 11) and had his No. 52 jersey number retired by the franchise. Canucks assistant coaches Scott Young (1995-97) and Brett McLean (2005-07) also played for the Avalanche.

For the second night in a row Kendrick Nicholson will officiate a Canucks game. He’ll be joined by Cody Beach tonight.

Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Join the live YouTube chat with your thoughts on the hockey game.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...looms-visit-league-leading-colorado-avalanche

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Instant Reaction: Canucks lose 5-4 in OT vs. Avalanche after gutsy comeback effort

Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

Starting Lineup​

Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @Avalanche

Kane. EP40. Garland.
Boeser. Reichel. Sherwood.
O’Connor. Räty. DeBrusk.
Bains. Sasson. Karlsson.

Hughes. Hronek.
MP29. Myers.
EP25. Willander.

Lankinen

7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/xKcEOGrI2t

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 10, 2025

First Period​

The Colorado Avalanche are a very good team, particularly at creating chances off the rush. Unfortunately for the Canucks, that was quickly made apparent. Cale Makar (drafted after the Avs finished with the NHL’s worst record in 2016-17) burst up the ice and Nathan MacKinnon (who the Avalanche drafted immediately after posting the NHL’s second-worst record in 2012-13) opened the scoring in this one.

Nathan MacKinnon opens the scoring for Colorado.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/2hundVNKPO

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

1-0 Avalanche.

Before I even had time to write that friendly reminder that real short-term pain often leads to long-term gain, the Avs got the first power play of the game. And you can guess how well that went.

Nathan MacKinnon scores his second goal of the 1st period.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/8kP8pr6YoD

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

2-0 Avalanche.

The Canucks got a power play chance of their own. Elias Pettersson ripped a wrist shot off the post, and that was the Canucks’ first unit’s best chance. The second unit did some good work, with Linus Karlsson creating a good chance for himself. After the penalty expired, Quinn Hughes stayed out and danced all over the offensive zone. Truly, Hughes was remarkable, just like he was in the third period last night. So naturally, he didn’t get a point on this between-the-legs goal from Linus Karlsson:

CANUCKS GOAL

Linus Karlsson goes between the legs for his first goal of the season!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/LxVoVj5uoX

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

2-1. Quite the move from Karlsson!

Cale Makar gave the Canucks their second power play of the game when he tackled Conor Garland after a whistle. Brock Boeser ripped a shot that didn’t stick to Mackenzie Blackwood — which was quickly becoming a theme in the first period — and Elias Pettersson nearly buried the rebound. That was the Canucks’ best chance of the two-minute sequence as they trailed heading into the second.

Some more takeaways from the first:
-It’s been a slow start for Hughes (by his standards, of course), but he’s begun to show signs of dramatically tilting the ice in the Canucks’ favour once again. A great first period from him.
-I loved the Canucks’ strategy of getting plenty of shots onto Mackenzie Blackwood, who is still just getting his feet wet this season.

Second Period​

In the second period, the Kiefer Sherwood show continued. After falling over while battling for a puck on the forecheck, Sherwood benefited from a fortunate bounce that left the puck loose in front, and he made no mistake in sliding home his 10th goal of the season.

CANUCKS GOAL

Kiefer Sherwood scores his 10th goal of the season and ties this game!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/fF6nlw6nVb

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

2-2.

If there’s one thing it’s been hard to question this season: It’s the effort level of these Canucks players. Pettersson received his flowers for his fearless shot blocks last night, and this team’s shortcomings so far this season don’t stem from their players taking nights off.

With the game tied and the Canucks continuing to lead on the shot clock, the Canucks got another power play to work with. The Canucks created some good chances and generated some serious momentum, but ultimately couldn’t score once again. They didn’t have to wait long for their next chance though, as Conor Garland drew another penalty. Again, the Canucks’ power play looked dangerous, and again, they couldn’t score.

This one was tied heading into the third.

Some takeaways from the second:
-Nice to see Elias Pettersson shooting the puck.
-Filip Hronek deserves a lot more love for how good he’s been this season.
-Conor Garland. Great player.

Third Period​

28 seconds into the third, Brent Burns found Arturri Lehkonen in the slot, who deflected the hard pass from Burns up and over Lankinen.

Artturi Lehkonen puts the Avalanche up by one early in the 3rd period.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/eGVYSJCMUL

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

3-2 Avs.

Kevin Lankinen made some great saves shortly after this goal to keep the Canucks within one. The Canucks built some serious momentum on the next couple of shifts, as Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes worked with multiple forward lines to tilt the ice in the Canucks’ favour. The Abby line, in particular, turned in a great shift in which they came close to tying this one up. That momentum was quickly killed when Evander Kane took an offensive zone tripping penalty.

Despite that though, the Canucks scored the game’s next game, as Drew O’Connor moved in on the rush and sniped a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood for his fourth goal of the season.

CANUCKS GOAL

Drew O'Connor scores a short handed beauty to tie this game!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/kkHHa54R9r

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

3-3.

Tom Willander was called for holding shortly after the Kane penalty expired, putting the Avs right back on the power play. You can only play with fire for so long.

Artturi Lehkonen scores his second goal of the game. It's 4-3 Avs

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/iCj0k8tNns

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

4-3 Avalanche.

The Canucks worked hard to even this game up again, and it was a thoroughly entertaining finish to what had already been a very entertaining game. To make things more interesting, Gabriel Landeskog took an uncharacteristic cross-checking penalty to put the Canucks on the power play again. And this time, the Canucks broke through.

CANUCKS GOAL

JAKE DEBRUSK TIES THIS GAME WITH AN UNBELIEVABLE TIP!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/lN4fg70eau

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

4-4.

Huge shoutout to Elias Pettersson’s work in the faceoff dot tonight. That was a major weak spot for him and the team as a whole, and he had some very timely faceoff wins tonight. Perhaps none more timely than that one.

This one needed overtime.

Overtime​

That… is a tough break for Kevin Lankinen, who played well despite playing on back-to-back nights.

Gavin Brindley scores the OT winner for the Avs.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/gIg6C1Bs2W

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

That is a strong effort from the Canucks. It was entertaining, and was probably the best both Hughes and Pettersson have looked offensively all season long.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/instan...4-ot-colorado-avalanche-gutsy-comeback-effort

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Vancouver Goldeneyes training camp day one live blog

Vancouver, BC — Professional women’s hockey has officially arrived in Vancouver, as the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes host their inaugural training camp this week at the Pacific Coliseum. Here at CanucksArmy, that means bringing a portion of our in-depth coverage to a brand new hockey team, starting with our training camp live blog.

We’ll be updating this blog every day throughout this week, so keep this page bookmarked as we bring you all the biggest stories from Goldeneyes camp!

The new #Goldeneyes centre ice logo. They're the only PWHL team as the sole tenant of their arena. pic.twitter.com/7gYXshXamm

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) November 10, 2025

Day 1​

11:15: The Goldeneyes players have been split up into two groups and are playing keep away drill, where four players stand at the corners of the neutral zone and players in the middle have to try to break the play up.

11:00: The players have hit the ice as one big group today, a change from the originally scheduled two skate plan, so a shorter day plan.

No names or numbers on the backs of the practice jerseys is making things a little hard to tell who is who, but I can tell you that the national team players have arrived after playing in the Canada-USA Rivalry Series this week. The media will be talking with a few of them, including Sarah Nurse, Jenn Gardiner and Emerance Maschmeyer later this afternoon.

The coaches have started by putting the players and goalies at separate ends, with drills running for the netminders at the east end of the rink while head coach Brian Idalski runs skater drills.

10:30 AM: We were officially underway at the Pacific Coliseum.

Today has been a mixture of announcements, both for the arena and the team. First, PNE President and CEO Shelley Frost showed the media the Coliseum’s assortment of new food offerings for Goldeneyes games, including charcuterie boxes, Black Forest cake in a jar, gourmet sausage rolls, and the undoubtedly crowd-pleasing $5 draft beer and wine.

Then, Frost unveiled the arena’s $6 million in upgrades, with the crown jewel being the Coliseum’s new Samsung video board. Frost said the PNE was waiting to make any major renovations until a new tenant for the building came in, and the PWHL expansion presented that opportunity. The board isn’t the most technologically advanced, featuring a simple four-screen and bottom ring design, but it is a massive upgrade from the previous board used by the Vancouver Giants in the 2010s.

After Frost, up stepped Goldeneyes president of Director of Business Operations Tania Richards, to reveal the brand new logo at centre ice. This is a first for any team in the PWHL, having an arena to themselves and the ability to put the giant Goldeneye and sponsors on the ice and dasher boards. For anyone who’s spent a day in this rink before, be it for a Canucks or Giants game, let me tell you: the ice (and the arena) is sparkling.

The players have now hopped on the ice, and the real work begins. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day!

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-goldeneyes-training-camp-day-one-live-blog

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Foote getting creative with line combinations to keep Canucks’ opponents guessing

With the sheer number of injuries the Vancouver Canucks have dealt with this early in the season, Head Coach Adam Foote has had to experiment with multiple different combinations of his forward group.

The first-year head coach has been tested on that front and is also tasked with teaching young forwards like Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Linus Karlsson, and Aatu Räty as they go through the growing pains of learning the NHL game. He has kept the Bains-Sasson-Karlsson line together for the most part, but he’s had to get creative to get some of his players going.

Against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night, Foote kept his first (Evander Kane – Elias Pettersson – Conor Garland) and fourth (Arshdeep Bains – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson) line intact, but made some adjustments to the middle-six lines.

Foote moved Kiefer Sherwood to the second line with Brock Boeser and Lukas Reichel, dropping Jake DeBrusk to the third line with Drew O’Connor and Aatu Räty.

And those new combinations looked good against the Blue Jackets. Those two lines scored three of the Canucks’ four goals en route to their 4-3 regulation win.

The Canucks Head Coach spoke with the media postgame and touched on what he saw from his new combinations and the value of having threatening scoring options deeper in the lineup:

“Yeah, it’s nice. I mean, when you have young guys come up and the injuries we had, you sometimes think you have to put your top guys together. I think teams coming in might mark [the young guys as] easier to check. You know, when you’re missing some key guys, they can put their top defensive pair and their top defensive line on [your top lines], and that’s hard to get those guys away from that hard matchup at 5-on-5. So, I think just moving a couple of guys around, we got Jake some room, right? He exposed it. It worked tonight. What I like is the guys have been accepting it. Boes has been accepting it, and that’s a good teammate.”

While you can call one line the second and one line the third, they truly operated evenly at 5-on-5: Räty’s line played 9:19 minutes, while Reichel’s line played 8:58.

In these changes, Foote had a proven goal-scorer in Boeser and DeBrusk on the ice during the middle sixes’ shifts, allowing them to lead by example offensively with some of their less-experienced linemates. They were also able to line-match those goal scorers against lesser opponents. Räty’s line skated most of its 5-on-5 ice time against the Miles Wood – Sean Monahan – Kent Johnson line, while Reichel’s line matched up against the Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier/Boone Jenner line.

This resulted in a massive night for the Räty’s line, controlling 77.78% of the shot share at 5-on-5. The trio also scored the Canucks’ first two goals of the game – including this beauty from DeBrusk:

CANUCKS GOAL

Jake DeBrusk beats Elvis Merzļikins over the shoulder in tight! What a shot!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/4TWZvPWHlR

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

Reichel’s line was a little more low-event than they would have hoped – getting outshot 4-3 at 5-on-5 – but they worked into the scoring when it mattered. Sherwood sprung Boeser on the partial breakaway for what stood as the game-winning goal:

CANUCKS GOAL

BROCK BOESER PUTS VANCOUVER UP BY ONE!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/WvFMM6Abjk

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 9, 2025

These two lines combined led them to victory as they accounted for three of the four 5-on-5 goals for the Canucks.

Fast forward to Sunday night against the high-flying Colorado Avalanche, Foote rolled with the same forward lines, and it didn’t affect them. All four lines held their own at 5-on-5.

Räty line mostly matched up against the Gabriel Landeskog – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson line. They held their own, splitting the shot share 4-4 at 5-on-5.

Reichel’s line mostly played against the Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichuskin line. While they were outshot 4-5 at 5-on-5, the trio scored the Canucks’ only 5-on-5 goal off the stick of Sherwood:

CANUCKS GOAL

Kiefer Sherwood scores his 10th goal of the season and ties this game!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/fF6nlw6nVb

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 10, 2025

On paper, it’s not the prettiest middle-six forward lines. However, Foote has gotten the most of those new combinations over the previous two games. His thought process to strengthen the depth of his team by having one of DeBrusk and Boeser on different lines helped the Canucks with their 5-on-5 scoring this weekend, accounting for four of the five 5-on-5 goals.

As the Canucks start to get healthy again, DeBrusk and Boeser will likely reunite on a line. But in the meantime, Foote’s decision to spread out their lines has resulted in on-ice success at even strength in back-to-back games against two of the highest-flying offences in today’s National Hockey League.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/foote-...ons-keep-vancouver-canucks-opponents-guessing

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Scenes from morning skate: Demko starts, Lekkerimäki and Mancini full participants ahead of Canucks vs. Jets

The Vancouver Canucks (8-8-1) wrap up a four-game homestand when they host the Winnipeg Jets (9-6) at Rogers Arena. The Canucks get their ace in goal back as Thatcher Demko starts after taking the weekend off to tend to a minor medical issue. It sets up a star-studded goaltending match-up with Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes at the other end of the ice.

What we know​

#Canucks at morning skate
Kane-EP40-Garland
Boeser-Reichel-Sherwood
O’Connor-Raty-DeBrusk
Bains-Sasson-Karlsson
Lekkerimaki/MacEachern

Hughes-Hronek
MPettersson-Myers
EPettersson-Willander
Joseph-Mancini

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 11, 2025

The Canucks had a number of extra bodies on the ice this morning as the team continues to get healthier by the day. Thatcher Demko was joined at morning skate by Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Victor Mancini. Both have been out of the lineup for a couple of weeks, and both had shed their non-contact jerseys and were full participants in this morning’s session. Neither Lekkerimäki nor Mancini will play tonight, but both could travel with the team on its upcoming road trip.

Aside from Demko returning to the net, there will be no lineup changes for the Canucks tonight. The team had three healthy goalies on the ice this morning, with Kevin Lankinen and Jiri Patera sharing a net.

The Canucks are coming off a spirited 5-4 overtime loss to Colorado on Sunday. Kiefer Sherwood scored his team-leading 10th of the season while Jake DeBrusk, Drew O’Connor and Linus Karlsson also scored. DeBrusk and O’Connor have both scored in back to back games while Karlsson netted his first of the season. After a sluggish start, DeBrusk is heating up with goals in three of his last four games. Meanwhile, O’Connor’s goal came shorthanded in the second period and gives the winger four goals and three assists in his last six outings.

Team scoring leader Conor Garland is set to appear in his 500th NHL game tonight. He has 79 goals and 207 points in 335 games as a Canuck.

The penalty kill continues to be a concern. The Canucks surrendered a pair of power play goals for the sixth time this season on Sunday and have now allowed a league-high 18 power play goals against. Their PK enters the night 31st in the league at 67.9%.

The Opponent​

The Jets scuffle into town on a three-game losing streak following a 4-1 setback in Anaheim on Sunday. In three games in California last week, Winnipeg was outscored 9-2. Kyle Connor had the team’s lone goal against the Ducks while Eric Comrie allowed four goals on 21 shots.

Tonight is the fourth game of a six-game road trip that will continue to Seattle and Calgary. The Jets don’t play their next home game until next Tuesday.

Mark Scheifele leads Winnipeg in scoring with 21 points. He and Connor share the team lead with nine goals apiece.

Reigning Hart and Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck has performed as expected. He’s started 11 of Winnipeg’s 15 games posting a 2.30 GAA and .922 save percentage. He gets the nod in net tonight.

The Jets started the season without a couple of key pieces. Captain Adam Lowry has played just three games and Cole Perfetti made his season debut on Sunday. Jonathan Toews has two goals and seven points through 15 games in his return to the NHL.

A couple of former Canucks come back to town tonight. Luke Schenn and Tanner Pearson are both mainstays in the Winnipeg lineup. Pearson has a couple of goals and an assist while Schenn is still looking for his first point in 12 games this season.

News and notes​

The Canucks went 1-2 against Winnipeg last season with the home team winning on all three occasions. These teams will meet twice more this season 10 days apart out of the Olympic break (February 25th and March 7th).

Forward Elias Pettersson will celebrate his 27th birthday tomorrow. Aatu Räty (November 14th) and Linus Karlsson (November 16th) also have birthdays later this week.

After tonight, the Canucks will travel to Carolina on Wednesday. They face the Hurricanes on Friday, Tampa Bay on Sunday and the Florida Panthers on Monday.

The referees for tonight’s game are Tom Chmielewski and Graedy Hamilton.

What we heard​

Adam Foote on what he appreciates about Conor Garland’s path to 500 NHL games: “Well, he’s resilient. He’s there because of how he’s raised. He’s raised the right way. He grinds, he competes, he doesn’t quit on pucks. I think the rest of the group loves that about him. He leads by example. He’s fun to be around. He holds guys accountable in his own way. He’s coming into a nice leadership role and it’s nice to see him have success.”

Marcus Pettersson on getting Thatcher Demko back in goal: “It’s huge. He’s had a great start to the season here. Kev, playing back-to-back as a goalie nowadays is tough, and he did a great job for us and got three out of four points against two pretty good teams. But Demmer has looked so good early on in the year here and it’s a boost every time we get somebody back in the lineup.”

Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Join the live YouTube chat with your thoughts on the hockey game.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes...-participants-vancouver-canucks-winnipeg-jets

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Attention shifts to Demko after Canucks’ loss to Jets

The Winnipeg Jets rolled into town Tuesday night, leaving with a 5-3 win and I assume celebratory hot dogs at the Costco across the street. And much like when you see the rats that roam up and down Expo Boulevard near Rogers Arena, sometimes all you want to do is pretend that everything is fine and that health codes are up to proper standards.

But unfortunately for Vancouver, both Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko sustained injuries during the loss to the Jets. In Demko’s case, he left after the first period and never returned, whereas Quinn Hughes left briefly, only to return minutes later through what I assume were magical physiotherapy techniques learned from 1980s movies about karate tournaments.

You can take nothing for granted in sports, and much less so when it comes to Vancouver, so who knows what the status of Quinn Hughes will be going forward. For his part, he seemed almost inspired by the fact that his body briefly let him down, as he turned in a vintage performance where he attempted to will his team to victory, one blue line dangle at a time. Amusingly enough, he ended up leading both teams in ice time with a whopping 28:17 minutes.

Maybe after the adrenaline wears off, we will hear a different tale, but for now, you can probably be cautiously optimistic that he will play 42 minutes next game.

As for Demko, he of the infamous “maintenance day” cloud of rhetoric that has followed him around the past week, I won’t even begin to hazard a guess as to his status. Him being injured shouldn’t be a shock at this point, as it feels like his body struggles with the day-to-day rigours of NHL hockey at the best of times now. Goaltending in the NHL can break down even the strongest of people, as the position has come a long way from 5’4″ Darren Pang strapping a pair of pillows from Grandma’s couch to his legs, casually standing straight up while Gretzky slid his sixth goal of the game passed him, to the almost robotic like, technical nature the crease demands you contort your body into now.

It’s almost hard to imagine the days when Roberto Luongo played 70+ games for four straight seasons, whereas now, when a goalie plays over 60 games, you start to worry for their health. Hell, take the Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina winner, as a case study for how many games is too many for a goalie. Connor has played four straight seasons of 60+ games, and his playoff performances haven’t come anywhere close to what he does in the regular season, which invariably leads to talk of load management and mean-spirited memes.

Which is why it must be all the more frustrating for the Canucks and Thatcher Demko, because for all the hubbub surrounding the “maintenance days” and the “is he injured or not injured” questions, it felt like they were trying to do right by Demko. He felt sore? He wanted to rest up? Sounds good, that sounds reasonable. At the end of the day, Demko taking time off to make sure he didn’t overexert himself made all the sense in the world, white noise aside.

Yet here we stand, watching another game in which Demko has injured himself, despite taking precautions.

And again, I don’t know what this means for Demko, as we don’t know the extent of the injury. According to Trevor Beggs, a Canucks spokesperson has said the injury is unrelated to the maintenance days taken off, which feels like a worse scenario? Either way, I think it’s safe to say that the Canucks are at a path in which relying on him being healthy enough to provide a 60+ master class of a season like he did back in 2022 is no longer a possibility, and now we’re left wondering if can even manage 50. Which is probably why they signed Kevin Lankinen to that contract in the offseason, in the hopes he would play like he did at the start of last season, to help platoon you through a year with solid goaltending.

But for a team already dealing with injuries and depth issues to begin with, that rebuild talk the Canucks wanted nothing to do with? It might be forcing their hand sooner than they’d like. Because when you watch a game like the one on Tuesday night, you can see the effort the team is putting out there. It wasn’t a case of the team being checked out or not trying hard enough. They just simply don’t have the guns to keep up with top teams. You’re basically relying on Quinn Hughes going supernova, Elias Pettersson finding his smile, one of Evander Kane’s three thousand shots on the night going in, and your goaltending drawing upon the power of Dominik Hasek to steal you some wins.

And that is not a recipe for success, no matter what that angry guy on Reddit tells you.

Let’s get into this one.

Best Portage & Main Dagger

I thought I was done seeing Jonathan Toews score on the #Canucks forever

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) November 12, 2025

Look, man, we were done. Jonathan Toews won his Stanley Cups; he won most of the series against Vancouver. Our business together was finished.

Yet here we are in the year 2025, and he’s out here booting pucks into the net like a young Bob Cameron:

If you’re thinking the Canucks’ defensive coverage on this goal looks sloppier than a steak at Truffonis, then congratulations — your gut instincts serve you well. The goal almost looks too easy from Winnipeg’s side of things, as they basically move in on Fil Hronek and Quinn Hughes in the corner and pounce on a rare fumble of the puck from the Canucks captain, before feeding the puck to the point where Josh Morrissey is able to send the puck into the skates of Toews for the redirect.

You also have to give a lot of credit to Cole Perfetti on this goal, as he basically uses hockey foreplay on the puck to just ever so softly caress the pass from Vladislav Namestnikov to change its trajectory, which really throws off Jake DeBrusk, who had charged in to make a play on the puck. After Jake biffs on the defensive effort, the point is wide open, and Morrissey takes the time and space given to him to send in the perfect pass/shot.

Best reaction

Something tells me we are going to get a lot of mileage out of this gif. You can almost see the meter going all the way to “oof size” at the end of the clip.

Best cherish these moments

At this point I assume anytime Demko has to stretch to make a save, I wonder if something in his body has broken. Was this the save that caused issues? I don’t know, but it was a pretty big save on Cole Perfetti either way:

The astute of you out there will notice that this feels like a long stretch of hockey in which opponents are looking for back-door tap-ins on the Vancouver Canucks. Whether that is specifically being done to target something Vancouver is doing, or simply a strategy more teams are leaning on, all we know is that we have seen our fair share of them in Canucks games as of late.

It also feels like a really big opportunity for the Penthouse to come up with a funny sign, if we’re being honest.

Best finding their feet

Always a great system when it takes over 7 minutes for your first shot on goal! #canucks

— 44 (@canuckinsanity) November 12, 2025

Linus Karlsson got the first, official, “hey that maybe could have gone in, what a time to be alive” moment of the game for the Canucks, when he spun out from behind the net and attempted to jam the puck in behind Hellebuyck:

I think the plan failed because Linus didn’t drag the puck between his legs to shoot it. Come on, Linus, we know you’ve got that move in your bag, don’t hold out on us like that.

Dumping the puck in? Between the legs.

Passing the puck? Between the legs.

In the drive-through for Starbucks? I don’t know how, but I still believe in your ability to get that coffee between your legs.

Best bang for your buck

Sherwood!!! 11.2mil? #Canucks

— Crazy Canuck (@MyFartsStink73) November 12, 2025

My Farts Stink is correct, Kiefer Sherwood is in line for a hefty payday if this keeps up:

Quinn Hughes got a 5-on-5 assist on this play, something that has been a struggle for him this year. And this wasn’t some secondary assist where he touched the puck two periods ago but was still given a point, no no, this goal was very much a product of Quinn Hughes running into the room and shouting at Kiefer Sherwood, “Do you wanna build a snowman??” before taking off for the offensive zone.

It’s actually one of the prettier goals of the season from the Canucks in that it didn’t involve shooting from the point and wondering if someone will kick it in by accident. It’s essentially a slick little give-and-go as Hughes drives hard into the zone, drops the puck to Kiefer, who sends it back, thus thoroughly confusing former Canuck Luke Schenn into having no idea what’s happening. All he knows is he’s scared and he wants it to be over.

By the time Kiefer gets the puck back, Schenn just wants to go for a line change, so Sherwood snipes the puck home for the goal.

Best shark facts

Garland puts a Jets player in a headlock across the half boards and no call, followed by a weak call against the #GoJetsGo for the first PP of the game to the #Canucks. Officiating has been fucking brutal this season.

— PlayCourtCA (@PlayCourt) November 12, 2025

I do have to correct this; it was not a headlock. Accusing Conor Garland of deploying a headlock is to take away the subtlety and mastery you’re watching on display. No, Corolla is simply leaning down on the head of Alex Iafallo, using the power of science and physics at his disposal:

This is one of the many reasons I assume playing against Garland seems well-suited as a threat against troublesome children. “If you don’t go to bed right now, I’ll make you battle for a puck along the boards against Conor Garland!” feels like a good way to gain compliance.

And with the Canucks on the power play, while Conor Garland was legally and rightfully free on the ice, Vancouver made it 2-1 Canucks after Quinn Hughes dialled in long distance to send in Jake DeBrusk on a bit of a rush:

I don’t think many of us were expecting Jake to score from that angle, but he’s a deceptive shooter and has trained up many a Pokémon in his time, so who are we to question El Dandy.

Best bargaining power

Willander is here to stay. #canucks

— Steve Gutknecht (@stevegutknecht) November 12, 2025

Tom Willander continues to earn his stay with the parent club, I assume due to a healthy mix of enjoying an NHL contract as well as happily staying away from the 11-game losing streak the farm team is currently enjoying. Having a Calder Cup line in the NHL is all fun and games until you start to deal with the prospect of the Abbotsford Canucks gunning for a 10-win season.

One of the mainstays of Willander’s game is his effortless skating, which he put on display when he chased down a pass from Kiefer Sherwood, before sending it back for the one-timer in the slot:

You know how you know Kiefer Sherwood is feeling it? He was beaver-tailing his stick on the ice, loud enough to scare my dog. Dude was out here slamming and calling for the puck, and he’s not wrong to do it. Luke Schenn almost had PTSD watching Kiefer work another give-and-go in front of him.

Best all things must come to an end

Sherwood with 2 goals in the first one on each end. #Canucks

— Petey (@Canucks_Fan40) November 12, 2025

The Canucks penalty killing has been hot garbage this season, due to a variety of reasons:

• Derek Forbort injury
• Trading away Dakota Joshua
• Not re-signing Pius Suter
• Tocchet’s GOTI system leaving town
• Bees

So while it wasn’t shocking to see the Jets score with the man advantage, this one did feel more self-inflicted for Vancouver than usual:

I don’t love Marcus Pettersson feeding Kiefer Sherwood with a pass in coverage in front of his own net? He literally has the entire boards behind the net to clear the puck around, to an empty point no less? But for some reason, the game plan he went with was “feed the hot hand, give it to Kiefer,” which led to Sherwood looking like “wtf do you want me to do with this?” before spinning and firing the puck out of the zone without looking.

Which again, and not to beat a dead horse, but the right point was completely unmanned for the duration of this play, emptier than a high-priced downtown Vancouver condo. If Sherwood spins and puts it to that side of the ice, it’s cleared out of the zone.

But instead, he fires it back into traffic for reasons, and even worse, he sends it towards the Chaos Giraffe. Which means, of course, the puck hits Tyler Myers before careening perfectly towards Josh Morrissey, who then unloads a slapshot that Sherwood reaches out and deflects past his own goalie.

It was the perfect nightmare of mistakes that led to the Jets’ second goal of the game, but also underscores how the penalty kill is probably overthinking things at the moment.

They went from Marcus Pettersson having an easy out along the boards to Kiefer Sherwood panic-shooting a puck into Tyler Myers before tipping the next shot past his goalie.

Best live, die, repeat

Well this is on brand #Canucks

— Scott (@Chemainiac) November 12, 2025

About 15 seconds later, the Jets struck again, and this time it once again was a case of them forcing the Canucks into making mistakes:

Iafallo basically sons Defensive By Nature Elias Pettersson on a puck that’s been dumped into the corner. EP25 is a physical dude who loves himself a battle, so when Al comes in with speed, Elias is getting ready to throw down with him in the corner. Shoulder on shoulder, mano a mano, a true contest of physical prowess where whoever walks out the victor becomes the lord of the manor.

Except Al slaps his stick away and jumps around him, teaching EP25 a valuable lesson he could have learned from reading Game of Thrones. So while Elias was waiting to bang for the puck, Iafallo outplays him with a very smart maneuver, and now he has the puck with time and space.

This leads to Max Sasson, who, as much as I enjoy him as a player, does struggle defensively at times. And on this play, he hesitates on watching the puck battle in the corner and keeping an eye on Adam Lowry, who is prowling the centre of the ice. Max sees Al slip by Elias, so he makes a play at the puck, which releases Lowry and gives him an outlet. Lowry then circles the net and sends the puck towards Nino Niederreiter, who taps in the puck as Tom Willander handily loses the physical battle with him in the crease.

Like, it’s not the sexiest goal of the year, but hot damn, it was clinical. Just a smart play by a line playing like they had mustard in their back pocket, against some younger players on the Canucks who probably learned some valuable lessons in life on the play. Sasson is going to put up motivational posters in his apartment about life being a journey, not a destination.

I also think when you look at how the Canucks were generating scoring chances, you realize how often they rely on just shooting into traffic:

And hey, this almost works, as Conor Garland almost taps in the rebound.

It just doesn’t feel like a very empowering way to play. You’re hoping for a bounce rather than creating your own good looks on net.

Best call out

Demko looks hurt, talking to trainer during tv timeout, stretching, slow laboured movements. My bet is Lanks comes out for the second period #Canucks @RinkWideVAN @patersonjeff

— Thomas Belle (@tbelle31) November 12, 2025

Thomas called it, Demko did not return to the game after the first period. Here is a clip of him moving slowly and feeling out his body before calling it a night:

Kevin Lankinen, your time is now.

Best going back to the well

Teams are trying the same back door play against the #Canucks all the time, hoping for skates.

— Andreas Wahl (@AndehWahl) November 12, 2025

Lankinen’s first big test came when Namestnikov charged hard toward the net and attempted to accidentally-on-purpose have a puck bank in off of his skates:

The Jets forward ended up slamming his ribs into the crossbar and needed several moments of “why is metal so hard” reflection, but the point remains: teams are crashing the net and looking for tap-ins at a high rate in Vancouver.

Best noble quest

The crowd sounds like it has gone deadly quiet at @RogersArena since Demko has gone off! #canucks

— JD_Aust (@JD_Aust4005) November 12, 2025

With Demko out, there was a noticeable pallor that came over the crowd. Not even Crazy P was attempting to power bomb a child into screaming “GO CANUCKS GO”, as the building kind of deflated early in the second period.

Which is where you can give credit to the Canucks, as they did continue to press on the attack, even if none of the saves Hellebuyck made would register on Quinn Hughes’ scale of insanity.

Planet Ice made sure he continued to pile up shots on the night, as Evander Kane got two of his eventual eight on the night on this shift:

Kane is a volume shooter, so it’s not like he’s out here dialling up high-danger chances on every shot. A lot of the time, he’s in the corner or sitting on the bench, and he’s out here firing on net, using the beer league tradition of turning to your buddy and saying you thought you saw net. “Almost had him, bro!”

But don’t get me wrong, I enjoy that part of his game? I find it weirdly endearing to see Planet Ice out there racking up almost 10 shots a game every other night. If I’m Rick Tocchet, I get the Flyers to trade for Kane so I can add 10 shots on goal per game to get rid of the low-shot narrative.

I also look forward to the night when Kane’s shooting percentage goes absolutely off the rails and he ends up with a four-goal night.

It wasn’t just Kane, though, as Jake DeBrusk almost tied the game up on the tail end of a rush with Drew O’Connor and Aatu Räty:

That’s the kind of mustard in your back pocket chance you want to see from the Canucks. That’s a play with purpose and precision, and if it wasn’t for a save just bordering on the edge of insanity, DeBrusk ties that game up right there.

You also had Fil Hronek lining up and sending a piss missile that clanked off the post:

I though the second period was one of the better periods in which Vancouver used speed on the rush to back the defenders up, before finding a trailing player and giving them time and space to shoot.

Best avert your eyes

#Canucks ownership. You may not be into a rebuild, but a rebuild may be into you.

— Michael Paweska (@mrpaweska) November 12, 2025

With the Canucks unable to generate the tying goal, they ran into their worst fear: life without Quinn Hughes:

It feels like a nothing burger of a play, but one can only assume that while hooking with his stick, Hughes tweaked something. With the way his arm was dangling after the injury, you could guess it was shoulder-related. It could also be his wrist or arm — who knows at this point. “Upper body” and “lower body” is all we get in the NHL. Quinn Hughes could have his arm pop off, and I would still hesitate on whether the NHL would list it as upper or lower body.

And while that clip certainly looks serious, and Quinn Hughes took plenty of time before he left the ice due to said injury, he would later return to the bench just in time to make a power play three minutes later. I won’t say it was Paul Pierce-esque, as this didn’t involve pooping himself, but the vibe itself from the crowd was that of welcoming back their fallen hero.

He would immediately shoot a puck from the point that would tip off four Canucks players before just hitting Hellebuyck’s shoulder, and from that point onwards, it felt like Quinn Hughes was going to try to will the team to a win by himself.

Best graphic but accurate

I exhaled so hard I think I shit https://t.co/qrYf0IjoIM

— Lorne Gardner (@ThatGuy72) November 12, 2025

Best doing his part

Jesus Christ Lankinen that man probably had a family: #Canucks

— JS87 (@joshuaseinen) November 12, 2025

Mark Scheifele is probably wondering where the Kevin Lankinen that has struggled this season has gone after he got absolutely robbed by the Canucks netminder:

I think we can all agree that this save would clearly make Quinn Hughes’ Scale of Insanity.

Best just keep shooting baby

Kiefer Sherwood doing his part by taking a shot and then getting to the rebound so he can feed Planet Ice for the shot:

Which again, I can’t critique this. This is the good stuff. If a guy wants to get 15 shots on the night, have at it, let’s go. I’m telling you, there will be a four-goal game from Evander Kane at one point if he keeps this up.

Best crashing halt

that's 20 power play goals against #Canucks. They gave up 39 all of last season

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 12, 2025

Alas, the Canucks answer to no nut November continues to be their paltry penalty kill, as Gabriel Vilardi would put the dagger into the heart of the Canucks with this spinning backhanded laser:

Unlike the first power play goal, this at least didn’t feel like the Canucks handed the goal to the Jets. That’s a pretty damn good shot from Vilardi, with the only critique I can give being that the Canucks diamond penalty kill sort of melted away from Vilardi and let him get the pass to begin with.

After that, though, that’s the kind of backhand goal where Vilardi is 100% checking his group chat after the game to see their reaction to it.

Best if wishes were fishes

That absolutely crossed the line. But there’s no way they can overturn that. #Canucks

— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) November 12, 2025

Later in the third, the Canucks looked like they might have pulled within a goal after Boeser almost put in a Willander rebound, but much like stupid sexy Flanders, sometimes a butt won’t quit:

That puck most likely slid in when Hellebuyck sat down on it, but there was zero video proof of that puck ever crossing the line.

Best go go power Captain

QUINN HUGHES SCORE A GOAL

— bri (@THATSWHATlGET) November 12, 2025

At this point Quinn Hughes went fully into “skate around the entire ice until I can shoot the puck or set up a teammate” mode, which started with him trying to get the puck to the red hot Kiefer Sherwood:

And then continued when Elias Pettersson set up Quinn Hughes for a shot:

And continued some more when Quinn Hughes would once again dance along the blue line until he could find a lane to the net:

Keep in mind, the Jets were playing extremely effective shutdown hockey in the third period. They were already up a couple of goals, and their life is hard enough having to live in Winnipeg as it is, so they wanted no part of any spirited comeback. Which is what makes Quinn Hughes’ plays all the more impressive, as he was literally dancing on the ice with next to no room out there, generating scoring chances.

Now, they weren’t insane scoring chances, but he was truly making the most out of what he had on hand.

At one point, I thought Tyler Myers was being inspired by the one-man show from Hughes, as I was convinced he was going to go full Chaos Giraffe on this Conor Garland rush to give us an early contender for goal of the year:

Tell me you weren’t thinking for the briefest of seconds that Myers was going to pull that second dangle off before heading to the net and finishing off that Corolla rush.

Best working the grind

Every game is different. Every game the same. Experience #canucks hockey.

— bavel_puree (@rickcochrane_re) November 12, 2025

Once again, Quinn Hughes managed to almost generate a goal, this time with the goalie pulled and under three minutes left on the clock:

The fact that Quinn gets the puck at the blueline, is immediately covered, has no outs to pass the puck, and instead pauses briefly before spinning along the blue line before finding an open man to get a shot on net should be criminalized. I’m sorry, but kids should not be watching this sort of filth on TV. It’s very upsetting.

Best ol’ reliable

BROCKSTAR GIVES US A CHANCE! #Canucks

— Matthew (@mvancfc34) November 12, 2025

I know two things in life:

• One, oat milk is the superior choice for coffee
• Two, Brock Boeser is on the current Mt. Rushmore of “guys who will probably score with the goalie pulled.”

He just has that “it” factor cleverly hidden in that wonderful head of hair he has. I don’t pretend to know the science behind it, but I just know it starts with the hair:

Yes, that is Quinn Hughes getting his third assist of the night, this time after setting up Elias Pettersson in the slot. And yes, that is Elias Pettersson shooting the puck and registering his second shot attempt on the night, leading to Boeser cashing in the rebound.

Like I said, effort was not in question for this game. They fought until the end. The problem is asking for two empty net goals only works against the Dallas Stars.

Best this is the end, my friend

#canucks full of sadness and anguish this season. That's all

— jleeKCA (@JleeKCA) November 12, 2025

Now, I don’t love the Jets’ final goal. Elias Pettersson steps up to make a play on Niederreiter, but much like EP25, he loses the game of position. I know EP40 is trying to be aggressive, pinch up to steal the puck, and sort of generate a mini counter-rush as most of the Jets are pushing to leave the zone. If Pettersson gets the puck there, now he has some time and space, now he has some options.

But with the goalie pulled, that’s a bit of a risky gamble, so it feels like a better play is to stick your guy to the boards and wait for help.

That being said, it still took Quinn Hughes whiffing on a bouncing puck to get it over to Iafallo to end this game, so there is a bit of hindsight is easy at play here. Maybe in another world, EP40 snags that puck and Boeser scores again, the season turns around, Demko heals himself via a new acupuncture method involving bees, and the Canucks win the Cup.

But in this world, Elias got outmaneuvered on a board battle, and the Jets secured the victory.

Onto the next.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanchies-attention-shifts-demko-vancouver-canucks-loss-winnipeg-jets

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Blackfish: EBUG action in Abbotsford, Bloom’s first AHL goal, and a six point night for Cootes

Welcome back to Blackfish: Our Weekly Vancouver Canucks Prospect Report.

From emergency goalies in Colorado to six-point explosions in the WHL, this week felt like the entire Canucks system was auditioning for a reality show.

Abbotsford iced just one goaltender and had to finish a game with an insurance rep between the pipes. Josh Bloom collected his first in the American League, while Braeden Cootes casually dropped a six-spot on the city that drafted him.

Meanwhile, we’ve got injury updates, overseas tournament notes, and some international auditions to chat about.

Abbotsford Canucks​

It just keeps getting weirder in Abbotsford.

Travelling to Loveland, Colorado, to face the AHL’s top-ranked Colorado Eagles, the Canucks brought a heavily depleted roster and only one healthy goaltender. But they left with zero.

Following Jiri Patera’s recall to Vancouver, Ty Young travelled solo to Colorado as Abbotsford’s only active netminder. Despite allowing two goals through two periods, he was dialled in, stopping 18 shots and looking poised to finish strong. But he did not return for the third and was shut down for the rest of the weekend.

Enter the ever-growing player carousel.

In his place, 21-year-old CJ Kier, an insurance rep from Denver, was forced into action as the team’s emergency backup goalie. With no professional experience and a background in NAHL hockey, Kier strapped on the pads and played a full 20 minutes. He made five saves, allowing just one goal to former Abbotsford forward Tristen Nielsen. Despite the oddity of the situation, Kier gave the team a legitimate fighting chance.

Shoutout to CJ Kier, Colorado Eagles' EBUG, for stepping in to make five saves in his American League debut. #Canucks | #AHL pic.twitter.com/iLWqN8H1E3

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 8, 2025

The next day, Aku Koskenvuo was on a flight to rejoin the team, but it was recent call-up Jonathan Lemieux who got the start.

Koskenvuo must have been in a good mood on that flight, though. The Finnish prospect secured his first professional win on Friday night with Kalamazoo, stopping 35 shots in a 5–4 victory. He even carried a shutout into the third before a barrage of late goals narrowed the margin.

As for Nikita Tolopilo, CanucksArmy has learned that the injury sidelining him appears to be a groin issue and that he is roughly a week away from returning. Whether he’s ready in time for the California road trip remains to be seen. Ty Young was back in the lineup on Tuesday.

Up front, Josh Bloom finally got the monkey off his back. He picked up his first career AHL goal after collecting the puck in the neutral zone, turning on the jets to burn a flat-footed defender, and sliding the puck five-hole on the netminder.

It took 23 games, but with a recent surge in chances, the goal felt inevitable. Bloom has quietly been trending upward, and this goal was a long time coming.

Vilmer Alriksson, who already had his first AHL goal under his belt, added another in Friday’s 4–1 loss.

In a game where the Canucks generated almost no offence, Alriksson stayed with his own rebound and buried it past the netminder to give his team its only goal. That kind of second-effort play is becoming a staple in his game.

With Abbotsford’s injury woes, opportunity has knocked to give Alriksson a steady role on the team. He was bumped up to the top line on Saturday and has been rewarded with strong deployment in the last stretch.

While adding a bit more “jam” to his shift-to-shift game would help round out his profile, he’s quickly becoming a respected and trusted piece on this roster and a netfront headache for opponents.

He even dropped the gloves for his first professional fight.

VILMER ALRIKSSON BROU-HAHA pic.twitter.com/UCfQCc1sIF

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 9, 2025

He’s not NHL-ready yet, but he’s doing the things necessary to project as a potential middle-six contributor down the line.

It was another rough showing for Danila Klimovich, who continues to slide down the depth chart. Just three shots over two games and multiple turnovers in all three zones have his stock trending downward — fast.

It’s disappointing, especially coming off a career year, and with such a golden opportunity to shoulder some offensive weight. But so far, he hasn’t stepped up.

Chase Stillman remains out, and we’re hearing the injury is a broken fibula. A return does not appear imminent.

CHL​

Braeden Cootes had himself a night.

Facing the Vancouver Giants, Cootes exploded for six points in a 7–3 blowout. That performance gave him 13 points (5G, 8A) through eight games. He went 16-for-24 in the faceoff dot, was a plus-3, and fired five shots on goal for a career night.

He opened the scoring with a heavy one-timer that forced its way through the netminder, followed it up with two primary assists (a silky backdoor feed and a quick one-touch pass), and even his secondary assist was highlight-worthy as a spinning backhand cross-ice saucer. He capped the night with a standard empty-netter, earning third star honours — somehow not even first or second.

Here are all six points from Braeden Cootes tonight.

He posted two goals, four assists, five shots, a plus-3 and was named the third star. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/KwZxAejivY

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 9, 2025

He now ranks sixth in the WHL in points per game (1.63) and is making a strong early-season case to be named to this year’s Canadian World Junior team as an 18-year-old.

In Edmonton, Parker Alcos missed each of his team’s games and continues to be out. The WHL has yet to post its weekly report, so we cannot confirm that it is due to injury. However, after reviewing the tape, he took a slash to the hand late in a game last week and has not played since.

In the OHL, Aleksei Medvedev continues to impress. He dropped one game this week, allowing four goals on 34 shots, but bounced back with a 24-save performance in a 4–1 win.

His athleticism continues to impress us night after night. Yes, he overcommits to this shot below, but the recovery is incredible.

His 1.99 GAA slipped slightly to third in the league, but his .926 save percentage still tops the charts to continue his excellent draft-plus-one campaign.

Gabriel Chiarot moved into third in scoring on the Brampton Steelheads with a two-goal, two-assist weekend. He also scored a slick shootout goal during a rare Brampton win.

Brampton remains near the basement of the Eastern Conference standings (8th of 10), but Chiarot has been an early bright spot. He’s the only forward with a positive plus/minus (plus–3) and now has 13 points (7G, 6A) on the year.

Riley Patterson added two points this week, including a nifty shorthanded breakaway goal. He now sits third in scoring on Niagara with 18 points.

Riley Patterson tucks home a beautiful shorthanded tally on the breakaway. pic.twitter.com/ixC6l6cdYz

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 9, 2025

NCAA​

It was a big weekend in East Lansing, as Anthony Romani’s Michigan State squad hosted Penn State in a marquee series.

With Gavin McKenna in town, the series attracted plenty of NHL eyes from executives around the hockey world, and Romani made the most of his stage. He scored twice, once with a spinning slot shot and again with a power play rocket from the top of the circle.

It's a big night as Michigan State hosts Gavin McKenna's Penn State.

Anthony Romani (#Canucks) opens the scoring from the slot. pic.twitter.com/SRjXTDNl42

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 8, 2025

Boy, can Anthony Romani ever shoot the pill.

He picked up his second goal of the weekend today, giving him five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games as a freshman at Michigan State. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/AHYnW35gmA

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 9, 2025

He now has three goals and five points on the season, skating primarily on the third line with second-unit special teams usage. He’s yet to eclipse the 16-minute mark in ice time, so he continues to play in a secondary contributing role.

Wilson Björck returned from injury and notched a power play assist over the weekend.

While his box score impact was limited, his energy and involvement never were. He continues to show strong situational awareness and engagement, often driving plays that don’t show up on the scoresheet. In our eyes, he has fit just fine at the NCAA level.

Even here, he doesn’t get credit for an assist, but was a major reason this goal happened. He’s just always running.

Around the world​

Basile Sansonnens spent the week away from his club team, suiting up for Switzerland at the Five Nations U20 tournament. A lock for the upcoming World Juniors, Sansonnens picked up a goal and rotated between top and second-pairing duties.

It’s a strong indicator that Switzerland views him as a top-four option heading into the holiday tournament.

That will do it for this week’s Blackfish Prospect report.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/blackf...-blooms-first-ahl-goal-six-point-night-cootes

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks activate Jonathan Lekkerimäki from IR and assign him to AHL Abbotsford

The Abbotsford Canucks got some good news ahead of their Wednesday night matchup against the San Jose Barracuda. Shortly before the game, Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced that Jonathan Lekkerimäki has been activated from Injured Reserve and reassigned to AHL Abbotsford.

Lekkerimäki has appeared in four games this season, scoring on opening night against the Calgary Flames. The 21-year-old winger played in the following two games before he was made a healthy scratch to start their first lengthy road trip. He slotted back in against the Washington Capitals as Brock Boeser returned to Vancouver for personal reasons.

The Swede was injured in the first period of that game after absorbing a hit along the boards from Capitals defenceman Matt Roy. Lekkerimäki has missed the following 12 games with an upper-body injury. He returned to practice in a red non-contact jersey on Friday, sporting the same colour on Saturday’s morning skate, and shed the non-contact jersey for a regular uniform on Tuesday’s morning skate ahead of their match against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Abbotsford Canucks are currently on an 11-game losing streak as they’ve certainly felt the effects of losing key players from last year’s team, such as Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, Arshdeep Bains, and Aatu Räty, all of whom are currently part of the Canucks’ NHL lineup. Of course, they’ve also dealt with injuries of their own, most notably in goal, which was highlighted last week when the club had to use an EBUG thanks to Jiri Patera’s call-up to the NHL and Ty Young going down with a minor injury.

Young played two periods of last night’s game against the Barracuda, but was pulled in favour of Jonathan Lemieux after allowing five goals on 21 shots. While the goaltending wasn’t great, you can’t win when you don’t score, and the Canucks were shutout last night, with the final score reading 7-0 in favour of San Jose. Lekkerimäki should certainly help in the scoring department, as he scored 19 goals in 36 AHL games last season.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...jonathan-lekkerimaki-ir-assign-ahl-abbotsford

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks will ‘definitely’ be in on forward David Kampf: report

There’s an apparent interest from the Vancouver Canucks in a player who was recently put on the wire.

On Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward David Kampf on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination. That means, if Kampf were to clear waivers on Friday, he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Later that day, on his show Donnie & Dhali – The Team, Rick Dhaliwal stated that the Vancouver Canucks have interest in pursuing the 30-year-old.

“I’ve been told Canucks will definitely be in on Kampf,” Dhaliwal said. “I can confirm they will be in on him.”

Kampf has yet to play a game in the NHL this season. The Chomutov, Czechia native was placed on waivers prior to the regular season and was assigned to the Maple Leafs’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. He ended up playing in four games for the Marlies, posting one assist. His last game came on October 29, before Kampf left the team.

Last week, Toronto suspended Kampf for leaving the farm team without pay. It truly signalled the end of his tenure with the team that he had been with since 2021. Although Toronto was trying to move Kampf elsewhere, no deal has been reached, leaving the Leafs with no choice but to get rid of the veteran’s contract.

Kampf’s current deal has an AAV of $2.4 million through the 2026-27 campaign, with a signing bonus of $1.325 million. That was reportedly a hurdle the Leafs couldn’t overcome in trading the disgruntled centre.

Breaking into the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2017-18 season, Kampf has been a solid depth piece in his four seasons with the Leafs. He scored a career-high 27 points during the 2022-23 season, but fell out of favour with Toronto head coach Craig Berube last year, leading to him playing just once during the team’s run to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 536 regular-season appearances in the NHL, Kampf has scored 48 goals and 95 assists for 143 points. He’s also notched seven assists in 35 postseason games. He will be an unrestricted free agent as of Friday, November 14, and will be eligible to sign with whichever team he chooses.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-will-definitely-in-forward-david-kampf-report

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Should the Canucks sign forward David Kampf?

Desperate times. Desperate measures?

With a penalty kill barely hovering above coin flip territory over the past seven games (52.7%), should the Vancouver Canucks look at bringing in veteran centre David Kampf in an effort to shake up their shorthanded approach?

Kampf asked the Toronto Maple Leafs to terminate his contract after he balked at playing for the Toronto Marlies. On Thursday, his wish was granted, and the 30-year-old Czech now finds himself free to sign with any other National Hockey League club.

David Kampf's contract is getting terminated. Let the bidding war begin. pic.twitter.com/LloXQtpteP

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 13, 2025

For a team using a winger as one of its four centres for weeks now, the Canucks could surely plug Kampf into the middle on this roster as currently constructed. But what, exactly, would he bring to the mix?

In 59 games last season, Kampf scored five goals and added eight assists. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, but take a look at what the Canucks are getting from the centre ice position right now, and suddenly you can at the very least see a role for him here. A veteran of 536 NHL games, Kampf scored a career-best 11 goals in 2021-22 and posted a career-high 27 points the following year.

A career 51.4% faceoff winner, Kampf has finished with better than a 50% win rate in seven of his eight NHL seasons.

Last season, he led all Toronto forwards in shorthanded ice time, averaging 2:02 on the penalty kill per game. As a team, the Leafs were middle of the pack last season, ranking 17th on the penalty kill at 77.9%. Oh, what the Canucks would give to be anywhere close to that these days.

Kampf failed to make the Maple Leafs out of training camp, cleared waivers and was sent to the minors, where he played four games before stepping away to ponder his future. He was suspended without pay on November 2nd. Kampf had this year and next left on a four-year contract worth $9.6M ($2.4M annual cap hit). All of that has disappeared now that both sides have agreed to terminate the deal.

The biggest issue with signing Kampf to what would surely be a team-friendly ticket to get him back in the NHL isn’t finding a spot for him on the roster or in the lineup; it’s that Kampf is a depth piece at best and to slide him into a fourth line role would mean promoting Aatu Räty and/or Max Sasson to play higher in the lineup than they ought to. Then again, neither could produce less than Lukas Reichel has in his 10-game trial as a top-six centreman.

The Canucks have already travelled down Reclamation Boulevard with Reichel, with little to show for the low-risk proposition. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t consider a similar approach with Kampf. But with Teddy Blueger’s likely return from injury at some point this month, does adding Kampf really give the Canucks much more than they already have?

Again, Kampf’s biggest impact would likely come on a penalty kill that is in complete disarray, giving up 20 goals in the past 16 games – half of that total in the last seven games alone. He may not be the best penalty killer in the league, but he has to be better than the guys the Canucks are currently deploying. The team is dead last in the NHL in penalty killing at 66.7%. It is costing them games. For something near a league-minimum deal for the remainder of the season, is it worth spending a few bucks to give Kampf a chance?

Keeping the status quo on the penalty kill seems like a questionable strategy. So why not take a different approach? What’s the worst thing that could happen?

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/should-vancouver-canucks-sign-forward-david-kampf

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

‘You want to be the guy’: Lankinen ready to help lead Canucks to better results with more consistent workload

The Vancouver Canucks entered the season with a goaltending tandem regarded as one of the best in the entire National Hockey League: Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen. The biggest threat to that was a Demko injury, and not even a quarter of the way into the season, we’re already dealing with health issues with Demko.

After sitting out last weekend’s doubleheader against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche for precautionary maintenance, Demko returned for Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. However, he would last just 20 minutes as Lankinen led his club out onto the ice for the second period.

While the organization is still evaluating the injury to pinpoint a timeline for Demko’s return, it has been speculated that he will be out 2-3 weeks. That presents an opportunity for Lankinen to start the bulk of the games ahead and hopefully replicate his stellar play from the 2024-25 season. But Lankinen is ready for the task that is now presented to him:

“I’m ready to play every single game,” Lankinen said. “That’s what I love to do. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. So just got to keep preparing and help the team win.”

Lankinen signed with the Canucks late into training camp last season and was expected to share a 1A, 1B role with Arturs Silovs. However, Lankinen quickly emerged as the Canucks’ best netminder and ran with the opportunity.

The Finnish netminder won seven of his first nine starts in Vancouver and was undefeated in regulation through that point. Before Demko returned on December 10, Lankinen started the majority of the games, playing 20 to Silovs’ six. Over that stretch, Lankinen had an impressive 13-4-3 record, with a 2.65 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

Lankinen found his rhythm, which is something he hasn’t really been given the opportunity to see this season with a healthy Demko.

Before starting both Saturday and Sunday, Lankinen started six of Vancouver’s 15 games, with Demko getting all nine of the other starts. And, to be fair, it wasn’t the greatest start to Lankinen’s season. He had a 2-4 record with a 3.36 goals against average and a .880 save percentage – a significant dip from his 2024-25 numbers.

The difference could be Lankinen’s inconsistent starts. He did not make two consecutive games in a row over that span, and wasn’t able to string back-to-back good outings together. That would be the reason Canucks fans weren’t seeing the same Lankinen as they grew accustomed to seeing.

And there’s evidence of that. With Demko out for maintenance, Lankinen was asked to play back-to-back games over the weekend. His numbers may not jump off the page in those contests, finishing with a 4.03 goals against average and a .875 save percentage, but the eye test proved otherwise. Would he have liked to have Kirill Marchenko’s second goal back that trickled through him? Probably. But all things considered, the goals he allowed were not solely his fault.

Even when he came in relief after Demko left after the first period, Lankinen was the Canucks’ best player on the ice for the final 40 minutes. Coming in cold, he stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced, finishing with a 1.67 goals against average and a .952 save percentage. He looked locked in. And that’s large in part because he played 14 of the 15 periods over four nights.

A goaltender can’t get much more consistent play than that. Lankinen even acknowledged the importance of playing more consistently, which helps him get into a nightly rhythm and produce for his team on the ice:

“I think so, yeah, and probably most of the goalies would agree on that,” Lankinen shared. “The game slows down a little bit, and you make better reads when you’re in the game. The preparation gets a little easier, because, of course, you’re in the rhythm and you’re feeling it. So yeah, who knows what’s going to happen the next few days here, but learn from this and get better.”

While we still await an official timeline from the Canucks on Demko, it will be Lankinen’s crease to run with for the foreseeable future, and he’s ready for the challenge:

“Well, I feel great. The more I play, the better I feel. So that’s always what you want to do as a goalie. You want to be the guy; you want to carry the load, help the team win. I’ve been feeling really good, and hopefully we’ll get some more results here soon.”

That begins tonight when Lankinen leads his team out on the opening night of their three-game Southeastern road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes.

You can watch Lankinen’s full postgame availability after Tuesday’s loss to the Jets below:

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[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Lankinen’s big night, shot volume issues, and let’s talk about the Rutherford interview

Although the Vancouver Canucks managed to escape Carolina with a point in hand, your view of the 4-3 overtime loss might vary.

You might see a team struggling with injuries gutting out a point as something border on, well not heroic, but downright admirable. Any time this team can secure a point without Quinn Hughes in the lineup is probably a small reason to toast your glasses in appreciation. If ever there was a time to embrace your inner New York Italian, now would be the time to let out a “what are you gonna do?” as you commiserate with friends and family.

Or you might view the fact that the Canucks got outplayed, outshot and outchanced as another symptom of the rot that has buried its way into this roster. That even with a healthy lineup, the ceiling for this team will forever be stuck in the dreaded mushy middle. We’ve been fighting it for a while now, but it sure feels like we’re entering Moral Victory season.

I will say that despite leaving this game with an .895 save percentage, Kevin Lankinen’s 34 saves on 38 shots doesn’t tell the whole story. The Canucks ended the night with two, count them two high danger chances to the Hurricane’s 21. In fact the Canucks only had 17 total shots in the game, meaning Carolina surpassed them in high danger chances alone, let alone more than doubling them in total shots.

So while I won’t assign the MV label to Kevin’s performance, he at least can rest easy that he wasn’t to blame for this loss.

And if we want to stay positive, Elias Pettersson’s two points were a good story out of this game. He unleashed a vintage wrist shot at one point, scoring on the play, teleporting us to 2018, back when “Yanny” vs “Laurel” was our biggest worry. Although don’t worry if you want to scream at Elias Pettersson he did get beaten pretty soundly on the overtime winner, so you can take your pound of flesh if need be.

To the Canucks credit, winning a road game while drunk off of a high shooting percentage isn’t a unique spot to be in. Going up 3-2 in the game, you can excuse them for sitting back and trying to gut out the win. And for a while it felt like they’d lulled the Carolina players (and fans) into a sort of acceptance of their fate. Low energy, light fading, the need to sleep slowly crowding into their thoughts.

Luckily for the Canes, another Kane entered the fray, as a bizarre sequence in the third period from Evander pretty much dragged Carolina back into this game. We’ll get to that later.

Still, setting that aside, the Corsi paints the picture of one team in control, and the other one hoping their goalie plus luck going their way could steal a win:

Anytime a Corsi graph looks like an airplane taking off, it’s clear who was controlling the play.

So while you decide what viewpoint you want to land on, happy they got a point or tired of watching a team struggle, let’s jump into the guts of this game.

Best early warning signs

Carolina had good energy off the hop, and were it not for Kiefer Sherwood being Johnny-on-the-spot, they might have scored on their first shift of the game:

It was to be a night of this for Vancouver, endlessly watching shots and wondering to themselves “how did we get out of that mess?” before promptly going back and making another mess.

And while the team overall got caved in on Corsi, we do have to point out that the Kiefer Sherwood, Brock Boeser and Lukas Reichel line got absolutely murdered at evens on the night, as Sherwood was dead last a 3 for, 30 against.

So what I’m saying is if you’re a Kiefer fan, really embrace that video clip and enjoy it, as I don’t have much else to offer you. He’s been one of their best goal scorers on the team and I am not questioning his effort level, I am just saying on this night he lost the battle and/or I don’t think that’s a line combination we need to see again anytime soon.

I can give you a big hit though? You want a boom boom?

There you go, that’s a big boom boom.

Best here comes the pain train

Not even 5 minutes in and Myers is on pace to have his most chaotic game of the year #Canucks

— @d@m (@F1Canucks) November 15, 2025

Tyler Myers continues to resort to his more chaotic ways, as the absence of the Tocchet GOTI system the Canucks used to have in place is no longer there to provide the nurturing structured environment I think CG57 can excel in.

Basically when you tell Chaos to improvise, sometimes that involves him improvising in ways I wouldn’t expect:

Part of me kind of loves this? Like, Myers does this big sweeping turn and then is like “Nah, you know what, you can go get that Joseph” and motions at him to go take care of Logan Stankoven.

Best keep on rollin’ baby

Myers gave the puck away 3 times in 10 seconds, and then Sasson scores on a breakaway. This game is on drugs already. #Canucks

— Chris H (@Heavy__C) November 15, 2025

Despite the chaotic nature of the start of the game, the Canucks ended up scoring first when Mackenzie MacEachern managed a pass and a sweeping of the leg at the same time, allowing Max Sasson to skate into a breakaway:

MacEachern managing to kick the puck over while also hooking his leg behind Shayne Gostisbehere is the kind of Jarkko Ruutu energy I want to see more of from this team. A Cobra Kai approach to hockey is never a bad thing, as long as you don’t go full John Kreese mode. Just sort of hover around Terry Silver levels.

And kudos to Max Sasson for coming in and celebrating Alex Mogilny’s Hall of Fame induction with a five-hole goal worthy of the former Canuck. Sasson just casually walks in and while the goalie is wondering which corner Max is going to pick, he’s like “nah dog, I’ll just go through your legs” and now Pyotr Kochetkov looks like a fool, a fool!

Best animal nature

Why are the two #Canucks giraffes so bad this season?

— Tyson Fedor (@TysonFedorTV) November 15, 2025

The lead was short lived, however, as Tyler Myers attempted to thread the needle through several Carolina players, where it was picked off and promptly turned into a goal:

I have looked at all the angles of this goal and the best I can come up with is Tyler Myers was trying to dial in a long distance bank pass to a very far off Evander Kane (which is its own problem), effectively giving him four points of failure in regards to Carolina players waiting to make a play on the puck:

It ends up being a really well placed shot from Andrei Svechnikov that beats Kevin Lankinen, and I don’t think this turnover is the most egregious one you’ll see in the NHL. But in a game of inches any turnover in your own zone is never a good thing, so yes, you can safely say that Chaos Giraffe embraced evil on this play.

I’m mostly surprised Svechnikov didn’t elbow someone in the face to celebrate his goal, to be honest.

Best making it up as we go along

Vancouver gets a penalty for Jarvis getting high sticked in the face by his own teammate. The NHL is such a joke league. #Canucks

— Chumbles (@ChumblesP) November 15, 2025

Shortly after the Canes first goal, Seth Jarvis would get raked in the eye by his own teammate’s stick, leading to Marcus Pettersson getting a penalty for existing near the scene of the crime:

Now I have seen some terrible cross-checking penalties handed out in my time, just as soft as this one, but the penalty was clearly called because Jarvis fell to the ice and began kicking his legs in pain, the universal sign of “oh my god that hurt so much, why did that hurt so much”.

Jarvis left the game and didn’t return, so I am not saying he was embellishing it, what I am saying is I think an official saw Seth laying on the ice exhibiting a large amount of pain and was like “ok it must have been that tall guy with a stick, he did it”, so Marcus Pettersson was arrested. He just looks like the kind of guy who enjoys a good cross check. And he’s so big that the cross check would probably hurt. That’s how we got here.

This would then lead to Carolina immediately scoring off of the faceoff on the powerplay:

Once again the Canucks have given up an east/west goal, and once again the Canucks historically bad penalty kill continues to chase down records. I never thought we’d find ourselves wondering just how vital Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort were to a team’s success, but we might be at that point now.

Best shake and Jake

Nice move by DeBrusk

— Liv ️ (@HuggyxHoggy) November 15, 2025

Even though the Canucks controlled very little of the play Friday night, they did manage to counter attack at times with speed, which is only noticeable due to how much they struggled to do it last season.

Not that I am suggesting Adam Foote is the answer or that losing Rick Tocchet has crippled the team, I just mean at this point in the season we’re starting to see some differences emerge between the two styles, and it’s clear that a Foote coached team seems to generate offensive rush chances better:

That’s a nice little give and go from Drew O’Connor and Jake DeBrusk. DOC waits until he draws in the defender then finds Jake down low with all the time and space in the world, and Vancouver gets one of their two high danger chances on the night.

Best no gas, no brakes

WHAT DOES EVANDER KANE EVEN DO

— .☾⋆˚KAY⋆˚☆˖ – ROBIN DAY (@NY88LANDER) November 15, 2025

Planet Ice would put the Canucks down a man halfway through the first period with the most beer league penalty I have ever seen in my life:

Just a casual one handed stick to the face, complete with hand in the air as if to say “you’re calling that??” when the ref raised his arm.

Say what you will about the man, but this is one of the most technically perfect beer league penalties I have ever seen in my life.

Fortunately for Vancouver this led to a bit of a vintage play from Elias Pettersson, as Carolina accidentally hit the drop pass button on their break out on the power play:

Elias sees Sean Walker bobble the puck a tiny bit and put his head down so he reads the backhand pass right away. So EP40 jumps into the play, takes the puck, and then scores on a nice little drag shot as it to say “I’d like to see Sebastian Aho try that on ME in overtime, ha ha ha!”

Best next up mentality

Marcus Pettersson logged 9:40 in first period for #Canucks. Eating up those Quinn Hughes minutes

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 15, 2025

Marcus Pettersson would end the night with 30:23 of ice time on the night, leading both teams in that regard.

Best view from the other side

They can be the worst goalie(not saying Lankinen is anywhere near) in the league and then they play the Canes and stand on their head. Make it make sense.

— Ash (@EmoTragedy07) November 15, 2025

Thinking random goalies will always destroy your team is not just a Vancouver Canucks tradition, as other fan bases have similar outlooks.

We have seen Kevin do this before, however, as the first half of last season is what largely earned his current contract with the Canucks. And while he has looked far more like second half Kevin this season, tonight he did play his ass off, and grinded out that one point for the Canucks:

That’s a nice side to side save from Lankinen, but with the mount of east/west shots the Canucks are facing, I do fear for the groins of the goalies this season.

Also remember that party enthusiast who was really really good at side to side saves? He would have probably been nice to have around.

Best shoot for the moon

That's a difficult one-timer to get a good shot on for Garland, nice looking PP!#canucks

— Greg P (@gregprzada17) November 15, 2025

You don’t need shot volume when every other shot goes in:

With three goals on seven shots, the Canucks third and final scoring play of the night was a power play marker from Conor Garland, who managed to dig the puck near his feet and push a shot on net. With Jake DeBrusk set up in his Tim Hortons office screening the goalie, Corolla was just able to beat the goaltender in a similar fashion to the Hurricanes first goal of the night.

Best don’t say moral victory

With a goal and an assist tonight, Elias Pettersson has posted back-to-back multipoint games. #Canucks

That's the first time he's done so since March 12 (Calgary) and 15 (Chicago), 2025.

Just the second time in the calendar year.

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) November 15, 2025

Best sub plot

Not sure how other fans think of him but I’m a Tom Willander guy. He’s been getting better and better each game and hopefully he’ll get more opportunities soon. I hope he won’t be a casualty in a win now trade #Canucks

— EP (@_ooEP) November 15, 2025

Tom Willander’s NHL journey is just starting, and while his gameplay so far has centered around being a dependable Milford Man, every other game or so he goes on a rush where he almost scores:

His ability to jump in the rush now and then to provide a burst of speed to the net is one of the most exciting parts of his game.

I feel like we’re getting closer and closer to Willander’s first goal of his NHL career, and so help me god it better be off a delightful rush and not some thoughts and prayers screened shot from the point. We deserve a bit of hype this season. We aren’t even getting the “Oh man Lukas Reichel almost scored” moments anymore, we’ve got so little right now.

Best a bit much

kevezina lankinen… you are so special

— r (@6ffside) November 15, 2025

While I come to terms with “Kevezina”, I will say that the second period was mostly a lot of Kevin trying to deal with life against a team that seemed intent upon hating him in the form of generating as many shots as possible, while his teammates did their best to block as many pucks as possible.

This is why you would see a lot of Kevin making the initial save followed up by teammates jumping on the puck like it was a live grenade and they wanted to be the ones to make the noble sacrifice:

With the Canucks sitting back and defending, it would lead to moments where the Canes would gain the zone, pull up, and then find an open player. In this case it was the Stank who found himself in the slot but was unable to beat Kevin:

At one point Jackson Blake literally skated around four Canucks in an end to end rush, before missing the net on the shot:

Sometimes you’d get Gostisbehere walking into a shot and unloading a piss missile that Kevin would have to drop his stick in dramatic fashion to make a glove save on:

And sometimes the Canes would beat Kevin using the east/west puck movement that seems to slice up Adam Foote’s defensive zone system, only to just miss the empty net:

It was just a lot of that kind of gameplay where Vancouver would hold on and then offer up a counter rush now and again in the hopes of getting a two goal lead.

Again, not a unique strategy, as when it wins they call this a “solid road game” but on this night it felt a bit extreme? Like you’d watch this game and it just felt like playing with fire more often than not.

Best positive outlook

#Canucks’ performance tonight is better than the lopsided shot count suggests – they’ve absorbed Carolina’s possession edge without bleeding chances against , and have caused the Hurricanes some stress off the rush – and they own a 3-2 lead going into the 3rd.

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) November 15, 2025

I think that’s a very charitable read of the game through two periods but damn it, if Drance is going to be optimistic for once, I am not going to be the one to argue.

Best what are we even doing here

Great work by Evander Kane there to re-energize the 'canes & the fans #canucks

— Zadorov's Ghost (@Goalfinger91) November 15, 2025

The most memorable play of the game for me was the Evander Kane shift. I don’t think it will hit the point where I can go “The shift” when talking about Evander Kane and people will know right away what I’m talking about, but it’s close.

So to set the stage for this, the Canucks to this point had been hanging back and holding onto the one goal lead. And despite the fact it felt like Carolina could have been up a couple of goals to this point, you got the sense that Carolina had kind of stagnated in the third. They hadn’t scored, Kevin looked locked in, Stormy as a mascot is in reference to the heavy Carolina pork industry, giving it a rather bleak background, so there was a lot to worry about on their end.

But then Evander Kane lost a puck battle with K’Andre Miller and he got mad mad about it:

Planet Ice straight up loses the battle on that race for the puck, there’s nothing nefarious about it. Just two dudes in a puck pursuit and one loses the physical contest. But Kane seemed to get real angry about this, so he starts chasing Miller around the ice. He’s chirping Miller looking for a fight but nobody is giving it to him. Now you have to understand, we at home only saw the puck battle. We saw Evander fall to the ice and we were like “well that’s unfortunate” and we had all moved on in life.

But on TV there was a growing murmur from the crowd and the best I can describe the atmosphere is when a fan runs onto the field and the camera cuts away from them. You know some shit is going down, but they aren’t showing it, so all you can hear is the crowd getting louder and louder and you keep wondering what’s happening.

So while this is going on, the crowd energy is building up and up, until Kane eventually gets levelled with a big hit from Joel Nystrom. Now the crowd erupts again and you can see Carolina players start to feel the energy. They start another offensive rush, and when Kane finally goes for a line change, the Hurricanes now have the puck deep in Vancouver’s zone and Taylor Hall taps in an east/west pass from The Ghost and now it’s a tie game:

Tyler Myers does his team no favours on this play, as he loses the puck behind the net before going in front and just sort of spins in place, fully embracing a bubble hockey approach to life. But the entire mood in the arena just shifted on this play. Instead of being down and out, the crowd came to life, and the Hurricanes fed off of it. Evander Kane spent the majority of the shift trying to get revenge for himself because he fell down, and his resulting late line change just led to a disjointed defensive zone effort from his team.

Which again, the Canucks were bleeding shots and chances against, so it’s not like this was the only play this kind of breakdown happened; It’s just that this one felt so unnecessary. At least before it was Carolina shooting at the Canucks, but here it truly felt like Vancouver shot themselves in the foot.

It’s one thing to defend a teammate taken out with a big hit, but it’s quite another to attempt to fulfill a blood oath because you lost a battle for the puck.

Best holding on for dear life

how about the caucks stop making lankinen's life difficult

— Emily (@sportyandhot) November 15, 2025

With the Canucks now firmly in “oh dear god please let us get out with a single point” mode, Marcus Pettersson caught a case of the slips and Carolina almost went ahead halfway through the third period:

Hey man, the effort is there, we can all see that. Drew O’Connor comes flying in to add support on the play and the team continued to try and block shots at an absurdly high rate, to the point they had a 29 to 4 advantage by the end of the night.

But you could also see that Carolina had the horses on the night and it felt like Vancouver was lucky just to be in the conversation.

Best glorious chance

#canucks #canes this whole 3rd period has felt like a Canes power play

— Liams_Limes (@Liams_Limes) November 15, 2025

The Canucks officially had two high danger chances on the night, and while I thought one was this late third period Linus Karlsson shot, apparently it was not registered as such:

I still felt it was important to showcase what was probably the only memorable shot attempt by the Canucks in the third period.

Best reference

Doctor Strange ran through this game a million times in a million alternate realities.. Canucks win once.

— Gord Locke (@Gordylocke) November 15, 2025

Best eyes wide shut

Multiple #canes running roughshod on #canucks players.

— OpenMic (@OpenMicNHL) November 15, 2025

Fil Hronek was taken out of the game near the end of the third period after Svechnikov unleashed a move probably better suited for the UFC:

Concussion spotters pulled him after the hit and it’s easy to see why. No penalty was called on the play, mind you, as the official who was right there turned away from the puck being shot around the boards.

I will say that this is one of the more viscous elbows I have seen in hockey. Sometimes a guy hits through his check and his elbow comes up with momentum and we all scream and argue about intent or not, but in this case it’s pretty clear Svechnikov was trying to land that shot to the head. He comes in hard and over the top with his arm and lands that elbow flush at the head of Fil Hronek and if the league was serious about cleaning up the game and making it safer, this is the exact type of play they should be handing suspensions out on.

Best playing the long game

If those are the two goalies going into a shootout, I’d play keep-away all OT too.

Lanks is a shootout specialist. #Canucks

— Canuck Girl (@CanuckGirl43) November 15, 2025

The start of overtime was objectively hilarious as the Canucks held the puck for over two minutes at one point? It’s just, without Quinn Hughes, their offensive pressure amounted to entering the zone, passing the puck around briefly, before leaving the zone and making a line change.

The crowd would boo every time they left the zone, and the heel work being done by the Canucks was so effective that by the time Carolina finally got the puck back, the crowd cheered like a goal had been scored.

Unfortunately the Canucks didn’t make the Hurricanes work hard with all that puck possession, as Aho, who had been on the ice for the entire two plus minutes, stayed on the ice after Carolina got the puck back.

So A for effort in working the crowd, but it didn’t put a dent in the energy level of their opponent.

And once they lost the puck, Carolina seemed to understand the assignment: Avoid facing Kevin Lankinen in a shoot out at all costs.

Blake and Gostisbehere almost ended the game with under a minute left, but Kevin made a couple of key stops:

But Aho gonna Aho, as the overtime specialist called game when he danced around Elias and drag shot his way to victory:

That’s an absolutely clinical finish from Aho, as Kevin stood very little chance of stopping that.

Could Elias Pettersson have played that better? Sure. But sometimes top level players make big plays, and there’s not much more to it than that.

As we said at the start of the article, you’re either impressed the Canucks got a point, or disappointed they got buried by a good Carolina team so handily.

Best summary

94 shot attempts against ties a franchise record for the Canucks. Has happened three times before.

Canes had 101 shot attempts against the New York Islanders in November 2023.

— David Quadrelli (@QuadrelliD) November 15, 2025

It was an uphill battle all night long.

Best before we go

Jim Rutherford interview.

Spoiler alert: “A rebuild is not something that we're going to look at doing. Like I said, we’re in transition. But we’re not trading all these players for draft picks that may or may not end up playing someday.” https://t.co/StEuDSxhLk

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) November 14, 2025

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t dive into the topic of the day, which was Jim Rutherford’s interview with IMac. They cover a lot of ground in the Q&A, but the main points for me were:

• There is no rebuild on the horizon. The boogey monster that is the Buffalo Sabres remains the “See what can happen if you rebuild too hard??” talking point that all general managers refer to when they don’t want to tear down a team. Rutherford goes so far as to even refuse to mention the name of the Sabres, but I assume that’s out of decorum, not out of the fear of saying their name three times in a mirror and having them appear behind you to trade away your best players to Vegas.
• Rutherford admitted that he didn’t expect the Canucks to still be looking to acquire a second line center at this point in the season, but said the prices are just too damn high. Which I just have to say to any GM out there, if you’re looking for a top four d-man that can play significant minutes, or hunting for top six center depth, that’s what every team is always looking for, every day, until the end of time. The “maybe we can find one on Craigslist?” approach works on occasion, but most of the time you’re going to show up at the dude’s garage and now he’s asking you to pay $200 above asking. “I didn’t realize it was mahogany bro, my bad.”
• Rutherford did seem to embrace the team accepting its fate this season and riding out the injuries and continue to develop their players, instead of going all in to try and get a toe in the playoff pool. I have no doubt the team might change its tune if they acquire a second line center and go on a bit of a heater, but this might be a season in which the Canucks actually trade assets at the trade deadline, which I had assumed was illegal in Vancouver?
• On the opposite end of the Buffalo Boogey Man system is the St. Louis Was Last Once And Still Won The Cup system, which Rutherford made sure to point at just to let you know anything can happen. I don’t know if it’s reassuring or frightening that my last place fantasy football team mirrors the Canucks approach, but here we are.
• One of the rougher spots of the interview was when discussing Pius Suter. Jim said Pius wanted to come back but then there was “some miscommunication on term”, which was either a thinly veiled comment about Suter’s demands and what he ended up accepting, or the Canucks got locked out of their hotmail e-mail account and couldn’t remember the password. From the organization that brought you “we ran out of time”, this won’t go over well, but as this is a different regime, we can’t bury this Jim with the sins of Jims past. That being said, we also know the Canucks flexed to Brock Boeser hard out of nowhere, and Nikita Zadorov talked about feeling disrespected in contract discussions, so its understandable if you read that quote and feel a bit uneasy.
• He re-affirmed that the best-case scenario for this season is they get a 2nd line center, recover from injuries, and “if you get in the playoffs, you just never know.” which has been the war cry of this team for the last, what, 13 seasons? Which at this point they really just need to embrace this lifestyle. Enough with the “meet pressure with pressure” or “compete is in our nature”, it’s time to go all in. “Crazier things have happened?” should be written on the wall as the players walk to the ice. “You never know!” emblazoned on the locker room floor. “St. Louis did it once!” sewn into their gloves.
• Jim mentioned not making trades for “draft picks that may or may not end up playing someday” so if a Quinn Hughes trade does materialize down the road, prepare yourself for players who can play right away. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you win a deal and bring in top level talent, it’s just historically you rarely get those kinds of deals completed because usually the team bringing in a Quinn Hughes is looking to a Stanley Cup now, and won’t be willing to give up a lot of good players in their prime. There is a reason we always talk about the “Dave Gagner was not a throw in” lore in Vancouver. Marian Hossa for Dany Heatley trade is one of the rare times where two teams traded players in or near their prime, with both players going on to perform at a high level for their new teams. Which again, this is the exception rather than the rule. More often than not, yeah, your GM will trot out and explain how Dave Gagner was a vital part of the trade and would not have happened without him.
• The final talking point was the question about if Rutherford had full autonomy from the owner, to which he definitively stated he does. There will be some doubt on this, as the rumours and allegations surrounding the Jim Benning era about who was really driving the bus have reached infamy at this point, and as Patrick Johnston wrote, Mike Gillis had potential trades impacted by ownership. Maybe there is some Tony Soprano-esque cachet that Jim Rutherford brings to the table where he can do what he wants. But on the flip side, we only tend to hear about resistance from ownership when the dreaded rebuild talk is brought up, and as it appears right now, Rutherford’s vision for the team is still very much in a quick turnaround mode. It’s only when you push back against that do you suddenly find even golden child Trevor Linden on the outside looking in, wondering what happened.

My main takeaway from this interview is that it just all sort of feels like the same thing we’ve heard year in and year out, which is where the main fatigue of this lies. There will always be the people who support the Canucks no matter what they do, and are always willing to believe in whatever the current plan is. “Anything can happen in the playoffs!” is a legitimate strategy in the eyes of some, and they will be the first to tell you to relax about this interview, which hey, fair enough, have at it.

On my end, though, it’s tough to watch a team walk through the exact same steps they have done in the past decade, and hoping everything lines up properly this time. Short term gains has been the name of the game for far too long in this city, and after battling with people who assured me “give it time!” season after season after season, I do find myself wondering when will we ever get to the point where an actual rebuild with a viable plan gets put into place. Getting lapped by teams that did a proper rebuild is only going to worsen over the next few years, and now add in the fact that this might be a scenario in which the owners themselves will never get behind a complete rebuild, and it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel no matter which management is in place.

And as it stands now, “Hey maybe Celebrini and Bedard will wanna play for Vancouver when they’re free agents!” is a damning statement from the fan base about how it sees the best way to turn things around in this city.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanch...e-issues-lets-talk-about-rutherford-interview

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Abbotsford Canucks weekend primer: Canucks start a six-game road trip in California

The Abbotsford Canucks are on the road for an extended timeframe and will do so with a win on their side.

In the final game of a two-game set against the San Jose Barracuda, the Canucks earned their first win in over a month. With a shootout win, they snapped an 11-game losing skid to head on the road on a good note.

The six-game trip will begin in San Diego for their first match against the Gulls.

Despite enjoying their best season in franchise history, the Canucks were even-keeled against their Pacific Division rivals in 2024-25. Through eight games, the team’s finished with an even 4-4-0-0 record. All-time, the Canucks enjoy a lopsided 16-6-0-2 record, and will look to add to that total in a quick one-stop game on Saturday night.

Slowly, but surely, this team is on the brink of getting a few bodies back into their lineup. Important bodies.

After being activated off injured reserve and assigned to the team last week, Jonathan Lekkerimäki appears to be ready to join the team to assist in the offence.

While it’s unclear if he’ll make his return to game action this weekend, Nikita Tolopilo did join the team on their trip. It’s a good sign that he will get himself into action at some point on the journey.

Players to watch​

Jonathan Lekkerimäki, RW

All eyes will be on the sharpshooting winger, who is expected to rejoin the team and boost their offensive potency tenfold. Returning from a reported shoulder injury, there is a world where his minutes are somewhat sheltered. However, he should be viewed as the team’s go-to threat, both at even strength and on special teams.

Ty Mueller, C

Like everyone else, Ty Mueller has struggled offensively this season. With two points in the team’s victory earlier in the week, momentum is on his side to enjoy a little bit of a boost to find the scoresheet. He’s playing heavy minutes in all other areas, so now it’s a matter of finding the scoresheet on a more consistent basis.

Vilmer Alriksson, LW

The big Swede, Vilmer Alriksson, has been heating up as of late. Despite showing just two goals (and points) on his ledger, he has demonstrated an eagerness to plant himself at the net front and create havoc in front of the goaltender. Head Coach Manny Malhotra has gained trust in his abilities, lining him up on the top line over the last few games.

Aku Koskenvuo, G

Making his AHL debut, Aku Koskenvuo saved the day to snap the team’s extensive losing streak for his first career win. With that in mind, he could see a back-to-back start as encouragement for getting his team out of a deep, dark hole.

Key injuries​

Jett Woo (upper body): Injured during the 2025 Calder Cup run, which he played through. Woo is listed as month-to-month and is expected back sometime in December.

Guillaume Brisebois (lower body): The full extent of the injury is unknown, but he is expected to miss significant time, with a possible return not anticipated until early 2026.

Nikita Tolopilo (lower body): Recovering from a groin injury, Nikita Tolopilo joined the team on their road trip. While it’s unclear when he’ll return, it is expected to be sometime this week.

Chase Stillman (lower body), Cooper Walker (lower body), Jujhar Khaira (undisclosed).

Familiar faces in Vancouver​

A significant chunk of Abbotsford’s core is currently with the big club, including:

Mackenzie MacEachern, Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Linus Karlsson, Aatu Räty, Víctor Mancini, Tom Willander and Jiri Patera

What’s ahead​

The Canucks travel to Coachella Valley on Sunday for a one-game match at Acrisure Arena before heading to San Jose for a two-game rematch on November 21 and 22.

Projected Lineup (not line combinations)​

Forwards

Ben Berard – Nils Aman – Danila Klimovich

Vilmer Alriksson – Ty Mueller – Jonathan Lekkerimäki

Joseph Labate – Chase Wouters – Anri Ravinskis

Josh Bloom – Jackson Kunz – Arnaud Durandeau

Dino Kambeitz – Nick Poisson

Defence

Jimmy Schuldt – Kirill Kudryavtsev

Joe Arntsen – Sawyer Mynio

Nikolai Knyzhov – Derek Daschke

Phip Waugh – Jake Murray

Goaltenders

Ty Young

Aku Koskenvuo

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/abbots...r-canucks-start-six-game-road-trip-california