RSS Canucks Team Notes

[Vancouver Canucks]

How to watch tonight’s Canada vs. Sweden World Junior preliminary game, and the rest of Canucks’ prospects schedule

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

And no, we’re not talking about the holidays. We’re talking about World Junior season.

Even though the tournament rolls around every year, few events in hockey carry the same weight and intrigue as the World Junior Championship. Whether it’s the short-burst intensity of international play, the national pride, or the simple fact that every player involved is under 20 and still chasing their dreams, the tournament always finds a way of pulling fans in.

This year, the Vancouver Canucks could have three prospects involved, all with strong chances of earning spots on their respective teams.

Canada: Cootes on the inside track​

Braeden Cootes has been skating with Team Canada since the weekend as he pushes to secure his place on the final roster. Canada’s preliminary schedule begins on Wednesday, December 17, with a two-game set against Sweden, both of which will be televised on TSN. Their third and final tune-up game will be streamed on USAHockey.com, which requires a paid subscription.

• Canada vs. Sweden — Wednesday, December 17 at 4:00 pm PT (TSN 1/4)
• Canada vs. Sweden — Saturday, December 20 at 4:00 pm PT (TSN 5)
• Canada vs. Denmark — Tuesday, December 23 at 5:00 pm PT (USAHockey.com)

With camp now several days in, Cootes has spent time skating alongside players such as Michael Hage (Montreal Canadiens), Tij Iginla (Utah Mammoth), Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames), and Carter Bear (Detroit Red Wings).

Based on several reports from TSN’s Mark Masters, Braeden Cootes will skate on the team’s second line alongside Cole Reschny and Carter Bear.

Projected lineup for tonight's 1st pre-tournament

McKenna – Hage – Martin
Bear – Reschny – Cootes
Desnoyers – Luchanko – Greentree
Vanacker – O'Brien – O'Reilly

MacKenzie – Parekh
Aitcheson – Verhoeff
Reid – Smith
Carels

George starts@TSN_Sports

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 17, 2025

According to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, the forward bubble appears relatively clear from the first few skates. In his most recent article, Wheeler noted in the comment section that Jake O’Brien, Marek Vanacker, Cole Reschny, Liam Greentree, and Carter Bear are all vying for those final spots on the team, while Cootes is not viewed (by him) as part of that group.

Team Canada is expected to make three cuts — one forward, one defenceman, and one goaltender — with the roster remaining open until December 22 in the event NHL clubs elect to release players. Berkley Catton remains the most notable potential addition up front, though his availability following a recent injury remains uncertain.

Switzerland: Sansonnens settling in​

Team Switzerland opened its exhibition schedule on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota State (NCAA), marking the start of its preliminary schedule. Canucks 2024 seventh-round pick Basile Sansonnens — widely viewed as a near lock to make the team — skated on Switzerland’s second defensive pairing, a role he’s expected to maintain throughout the tournament.

Switzerland will continue its preliminary slate with games against Denmark and Sweden. Both matchups will be streamed via USAHockey.com.

• Switzerland vs. Denmark — Sunday, December 21 at 5:00 pm PT (USAHockey.com)
• Sweden vs. Switzerland — Tuesday, December 23 at 5:00 pm PT (USAHockey.com)

Sweden: Björck joins the mix​

Rounding out the trio is Wilson Björck, who will suit up for Team Sweden and is considered a near lock to earn a spot. Like Canada, Sweden will play two televised games against Canada on TSN before closing its exhibition schedule against Switzerland via online stream.

• Canada vs. Sweden — Wednesday, December 17 at 4:00 pm PT (TSN 1/4)
• Canada vs. Sweden — Saturday, December 20 at 4:00 pm PT (TSN 5)
• Sweden vs. Switzerland — Tuesday, December 23 at 5:00 pm PT (USAHockey.com)

While nothing is ever guaranteed, all three Canucks prospects have a strong chance of earning final roster spots for their respective countries. The tournament kicks off on Boxing Day (December 26) in Minnesota, USA. Wilson Björck and Team Sweden will kick off the tournament against Czechia at 10:00 am PT.

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-wa...ame-rest-vancouver-canucks-prospects-schedule

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

A post-Quinn Hughes cap space update for the Canucks

It’s over, it’s done, and the Puckpedia page has been updated.

Quinn Hughes is a Vancouver Canuck no longer. In his place, however, stand three new players – Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren – and an extra first-round pick yet to be made. Obviously, any three- or four-for-one trade is going to have an impact on the shape of the roster. And any changes to the roster have an impact on the salary cap. So much has changed since this trade that we felt the need to provide a quick update on the Canucks’ cap space post-Hughes and what they might be able to do with it moving forward.

For the record, this writing is being done on Wednesday morning, following the Canucks’ Tuesday shutout of the New York Rangers, and following the waiving of Arshdeep Bains.

Bains coming off the roster leaves the Canucks with an active cast of 13 forwards, seven defenders, and two goalies, with all of Elias Pettersson (Sr.), Teddy Blueger, and Filip Chytil still listed as being on the IR, while Derek Forbort is still listed on long-term injured reserve.

The best news about the Bains re-assignment is that it almost certainly means another forward will be activated and rejoin the lineup ahead of Friday’s game against the New York Islanders. The odds seem good that it will be Pettersson, whose injury was always described as day-to-day. And with that, the Canucks should be officially under the salary cap for the first time in a good long while.

The Canucks, of course, started the 2025-26 under the cap, and had designs on staying that way throughout the entire campaign, so as to accrue cap space – but injuries got in the way of that. By a couple of weeks into October, the Canucks had lost enough bodies that they needed to make more recalls than the cap would allow. At that point, they placed Nils Höglander on retroactive LTIR to gain a little relief space, and eventually, Forbort was also placed there, too. Using LTIR space allows a team to temporarily exceed the cap so as to replace an injured player, but while ‘in LTIR,’ teams are not accruing any additional cap space.

Thankfully, as of now, that is over, at least for the time being. In fact, the waiving of Lukas Reichel already brought the Canucks to just a smidgen under the cap. The subsequent waiving of Bains puts them below enough to actually begin accruing some meaningful cap.

The Canucks’ Puckpedia page will be updated with the exact numbers whenever Bains either clears waivers or is claimed by another team later today. But if our morning estimates are correct, the Canucks were about $874,782 under the projected cap with Bains, and should be about $1.65 million or so under the projected cap with Bains’ $775,000 hit removed.

But the ‘projected cap’ is just a measure that means ‘if nothing changed between now and the end of the year, how much of the $95.5 million total yearly cap allowance would this team spend.’ In other words, it’s not a team’s ‘real’ or functional cap space. To get that, we have to add accrual into the formula.

We know we’ve explained this one countless times, but we’re getting better at doing so succinctly. In reality, the salary cap is daily, and the real salary cap is the total cap ($95.5 million) divided by the number of days on the NHL schedule (days, not games). In short, a team can’t spend more than that number, in terms of cap hits, on any given day of the season. So, for each day they spend less than that number, they save a little bit of cap that could be spent in future days.

Best of all, as the season progresses, the amount of daily cap hits a team has to pay for any given player decreases, making players with large annual cap hits easier to fit under a daily cap ceiling if space has been accrued.

The Canucks did successfully accrue some space at the start of the season, and that money doesn’t go away until it is spent. So, even prior to the Bains demotion, they were at about $1.38 million of functional cap space, and that amount was projected to accrue to about $3.99 million in usable space by the Trade Deadline.

Now that Bains is off the roster, that amount increases daily. Assuming no changes to the roster between now and March, the current setup would accrue to more than $6 million by the deadline, which means that’s the amount of annual cap hit the Canucks could freely add to their roster at that point.

Of course, the current setup will not hold. More injuries will inevitably occur, and it sure sounds like more trades are coming in the near-ish future. The roster will change, the cap will change as a result, and the amount of ‘Deadline Space’ will go up and down on a near-daily basis.

But at this point, it is a bit hard to imagine the Canucks doing anything different than accruing more and more space as the year wears on. It doesn’t seem like they’re in the market to add major cap hits, and if they do, it will probably be in the form of a cap dump at or near the deadline. In fact, carving out space to accommodate cap dumps is probably the smartest thing the Canucks can do with this accrued cap, as taking cap dumps can yield some nice draft picks around the deadline.

There are also the roster freezes at the holidays and again during the Olympics to consider. The Canucks should be able to accrue some extra space over those periods by setting their roster a little minimally heading in – like, for example, sending the likes of Elias Pettersson (Jr.), Liam Öhgren, or Max Sasson down to Abbotsford for some extra seasoning prior to that December 19 freeze.

The major takeaway, however, is that the Canucks are now significantly below the cap after being above it for much of the season, putting them back on track to have extra cash to spend at the Trade Deadline.

There’s really no downside to that.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/post-quinn-hughes-cap-space-update-vancouver-canucks

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

World Juniors: Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes survives Team Canada roster cuts

Well, that didn’t take long.

After just three on-ice sessions and a single preliminary game, Team Canada has made the bulk of its roster cuts ahead of the 2026 World Junior Championship.

On Thursday, Hockey Canada announced the release of three players from its camp:

• F Jake O’Brien (Seattle Kraken)
• F Marek Vanacker (Chicago Blackhawks)
• D Jackson Smith (Columbus Blue Jackets)

All three players dressed in Canada’s opening tune-up game against Sweden on Wednesday, using the limited opportunity to make their final case before decisions were made.

According to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Canada is still expected to release one goaltender before its final roster is officially announced.

For Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes, the early cuts indicate that his spot on the roster is unofficially safe. With multiple forwards removed from contention and no indication that Cootes is among the remaining bubble players, he has likely secured a spot on Team Canada.

One variable still worth monitoring is Berkly Catton, another Seattle Kraken prospect, who has been working his way back from injury. There remains a scenario in which Catton could be loaned to Team Canada ahead of the tournament’s roster deadline. Even in that case, however, insiders attending the tournament do not view Cootes as part of the group at risk.

If officially named, Cootes would become the second Vancouver Canucks prospect in as many years to represent Canada at the World Juniors and the first Canucks forward to do so since Jake Virtanen in 2015–16. Last season, Abbotsford Canucks defenceman Sawyer Mynio appeared in three games for Canada, recording one assist and two penalty minutes.

Canada opened its preliminary slate on Wednesday with a 2–1 victory over Sweden in Kitchener, Ontario. Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna led the way offensively, collecting two primary assists in the win.

Cootes skated on Canada’s second line alongside Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames) and Carter Bear (Detroit Red Wings). While he didn’t register a point, he was trusted in all situations, seeing time on the top power play unit and featuring on the penalty kill. His versatility and ability to play in all situations directly align with his strengths for this Canadian team.

The Sherwood Park native captained Canada’s U18 team earlier this year, leading the team in scoring with 12 points (six goals, six assists) en route to a gold medal finish.

Canada and Sweden will meet again on Saturday before Canada wraps up its exhibition schedule against Denmark. The World Junior Championship officially begins on Boxing Day (December 26) in Minnesota, with Canada opening the tournament against Czechia at 5:30 pm PT.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/world-...aeden-cootes-survives-team-canada-roster-cuts

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks: Brock Boeser opens up about emotions surrounding Hughes trade

As the dust settles from the blockbuster trade sending Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild, his former Vancouver Canucks teammates have had a few days to reflect on the loss of their former captain.

In an article published by Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic, veteran winger Brock Boeser opened up about the trade and the relationship he had with Hughes.

“I know there’s a few of us, especially myself — I was feeling so many different emotions, because he’s one of my best buddies on the team and such an important piece. Couldn’t really explain. I was sad. I was mad. I was happy for him. It was just a ton of emotions.”

Boeser and Hughes played together in Vancouver for parts of eight seasons, highlighted by an outstanding 2023-24 season that saw Hughes collect the first Norris Trophy in franchise history, a 40-goal campaign from Boeser, and a trip to the 2024 All-Star game together.

News of the trade broke on Friday evening, just as the Canucks touched down in Newark, NJ, to begin a five-game, East Coast road trip against the New Jersey Devils, another team Hughes was closely linked with in trade talks before the deal with the Wild was finalized.

While Quinn had already left the team bus to be with his brothers, Jack and Luke, his teammates were left stunned. None of them believed it would happen so soon.

Before heading to join his new group of teammates in Minnesota, Hughes was able to meet with Boeser, Conor Garland, Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers for dinner. To end the evening, Hughes made a toast to close out his time as a Vancouver Canuck. When asked what was said during the toast, Boeser was candid in his answer, using the word “emotional” to describe his parting words with his friend, followed by hugs.

While Quinn Hughes’ on-ice talent is known across the NHL, Boeser talked about the person behind the player, a relationship that carried as much off the ice as it did on it.

“He was one of my few teammates that came to my dad’s funeral, and I think that kind of proved everything to me — the person he is and how he was raised by his parents,” Boeser says. “That meant a lot to me. He just has a good heart, and he cares about people, and he cares about hockey, and that’s just who he is.”

A Minnesota native, Boeser was also asked about Hughes heading to the team he cheered for growing up. He shared that the move left him with mixed emotions, and that he had to turn his phone to ‘do not disturb’ after getting texts from people from Minnesota: “And when people were texting me about his first game, I’m like, ‘Too early. Too early.’”

The team will see Hughes once more this season in early April, as they head to St. Paul to take on the Wild. As for Canucks fans, the return of Quinn Hughes will have to wait until the 2026-27 season to see No. 43 again in Rogers Arena.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...opens-about-emotions-surrounding-hughes-trade

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks Game Day: Shooting for a New York area sweep against the Islanders

The Vancouver Canucks (13-17-3) shoot for a third straight victory when they visit the New York Islanders (19-12-3) at UBS Arena. The opening face-off is slated for 4pm PT.

The Canucks will be looking to sweep the New York Metropolitan area for the second time in three seasons. They also accomplished the feat in January of 2024 when they beat New Jersey 6-4, the Rangers 6-3 and the Islanders 5-2.

What we know​

With games over the next two nights and three games in four days leading into the holiday break, the Canucks elected not to skate this morning in an effort to conserve energy.

Thatcher Demko will start in goal for the fourth straight game. The 30-year-old is coming off a 23-save shutout in a 3-0 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. This will be the first time he has started four consecutive games since January 16th-23rd.

Demko has allowed just one goal in his last two games and his shutout streak sits at 95:58 dating back to a Luke Hughes goal early in the second period on Sunday in New Jersey. In three starts since his return from a month-long injury layoff, Demko has allowed four goals, has a 1.35 GAA and a .938 save percentage.

Thatcher Demko is slated to make his fourth consecutive start Friday on Long Island. Kevin Lankinen will start Saturday in Boston, per Adam Foote.

Club will make a decision on the Philadelphia game after this back-to-back set. #Canucks

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) December 18, 2025

Based on practice Thursday, it appears the Canucks will use the same line-up they did to beat the Rangers. Evander Kane opened the scoring and newcomer Liam Öhgren scored his first goal as a Canuck and his first goal in 19 games this season.

The Canucks have won back to back games and held a 5-1 edge in goals despite registering just 15 and 17 shots on net. The team killed off all four Ranger power plays and the PK is now seven for seven to start the road trip. In their last 12 games, the Canucks have killed off 84.6% of their penalties. Also in those 12 games, the Canucks have managed just 25 goals. Conor Garland leads the team with 1+5=6 over that span. His empty net goal on Tuesday gives him 19 points on the season which makes him the team’s leading scorer in the line-up tonight.

Veteran defenceman Tyler Myers will appear in his 1100th NHL regular season game tonight. He has played 464 games with the Canucks. Centre Elias Pettersson will miss a sixth straight game with an upper body injury. As a result, he remains at 499 career games played. Aatu Räty and P-O Joseph will be the healthy scratches tonight.

The Opponent​

#Isles lines at Thursday's practice:

Drouin-Barzal-Heineman
Lee-Pageau-Holmstrom
Duclair-Ritchie-Shabanov
MacLean-Cizikas-Gatcomb
E: Tsyplakov

Schaefer-Pulock
Pelech-DeAngelo
Boqvist-Mayfield
E: Warren

Sorokin
Rittich

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) December 18, 2025

The Islanders are coming off a 3-2 loss in Detroit on Tuesday. Emil Heinemen and Scott Mayfield scored their goals and Ilya Sorokin made 18 saves in net. Sorokin gets the call in goal again tonight.

The loss snapped the Islanders three-game win streak, however the team has won six of its last eight overall.

The Isles will be without former Canuck Bo Horvat tonight. He’s been out for a week with a lower body injury. Horvat’s having an incredible season with a team-leading 19 goals and 31 points. In his absence, Heinemen leads the team with 11 goals while Mat Barzal has 26 points. The Coquitlam native rides a five-game point streak (1+4) into action tonight.

First overall pick in June’s draft Matthew Schaefer has burst onto the NHL scene. The 18-year-old blueliner has nine goals and 23 points and leads all rookies with five power play goals and 93 shots. He leads his team averaging 23:48 of ice time per game. No other rookie in the league is within three minutes of that mark.

The Islanders had just 18 shots on goal against the Red Wings on Tuesday. That was one more than they had against Tampa last Sunday when they established a season-low with 17.

Unlike their crosstown rivals, this New York team has enjoyed success on home ice this season. The Islanders are 10-6-2 as the home team and have won five straight at UBS including snapping Colorado’s 17-game point streak.

News and notes​

The Isles will visit Vancouver one month from tonight on January 19th. These teams split their two meetings last season with each winning 5-2 in the other team’s building.

With Schaefer, Zeev Buium and Tom Willander all sharing the ice tonight, the game will feature three of the six highest scoring rookie defensemen in the NHL this season.

The coaches in tonight’s game – Adam Foote and Patrick Roy – were teammates together in Colorado from 1995 through 2003 and won Stanley Cups together in 1996 and 2001.

The referees for tonight’s game are Jake Brenk and Peter MacDougall.

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.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-game-day-shooting-new-york-area-sweep-islanders

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Quinn who? Canucks extend winning streak to three games with 4-1 win vs. Islanders

Maybe the best way to convince Quinn Hughes to stick around by winning games was by trading Quinn Hughes?

I’m not sure what logical loops we need to jump through to make this the landing point of the entire situation, but watching the Vancouver Canucks go 3-0 since they traded their captain has me convinced of my conclusion.

Small sample sizes or not, it has been fun watching a Canucks team play the game of hockey without any overarching questions about team drama better suited as a plot point in a season of The OC. No more wondering if Julie Cooper and Quinn Hughes hate each other and/or have a secret love child that is dating Ryan Atwood, no, instead, Vancouver is simply winning hockey games.

Now, a lot of that has to do with their level of competition. A large chunk of it can also be attributed to Thatcher Demko’s addiction to ruining draft pick positioning. I think it’s also reasonable to suggest the Canucks are probably enjoying life without wondering if/when their best player is going to be traded out of town.

But you know what? Give them credit for their 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, because the Canucks also busted their asses to secure that victory. I honestly think they played the style of game Rick Tocchet always dreamed about, as the Canucks made life pretty miserable for the Islanders on Friday night. They constantly harassed New York whenever they got the puck, forcing the Islanders to work for every inch of the ice. I think the Canucks mentally beat Patrick Roy’s team before the first period was even done, as Vancouver made it pretty clear early on that hard work was going to have to win the day.

Vancouver didn’t kick the sh!t out of the Islanders, mind you. It was a decently close game for the most part, which is where Thatcher Demko came into play. Whenever New York did manage to generate a good look on net, the Canucks goaltender shut it down pretty easily. And when you’re facing a team that’s willing to battle you for sixty minutes, with a red-hot goalie as the last line of defence, that tends to make for a pretty long night.

I think it’s important to watch these games with an eye for the future. See who stands out, see which young players might have the juice. Take a moment to ponder why Adam Foote hates Aatu Räty, of course, but then get back to watching Liam Öhgren and trying to see what Vancouver has in him.

You obviously have to keep in mind that Vancouver will win enough games to become buyers at the deadline, as the “think of it more as a rebuild hybrid” terminology has started to get tossed around today. You should always worry that the Canucks management team has a hair-trigger response to buy now and go all-in the second they think they might make the playoffs. You wouldn’t be wrong to fear a world in which Derek Forbort and Teddy Blueger return to the lineup to lock down the penalty kill, with Elias Pettersson rediscovering his form upon his return, leading to a red-hot Canucks team racing into the mushy middle, as is tradition.

But there is time enough for that later.

For now, just sit back and enjoy getting to know the new players and enjoy a world in which you don’t have to actively worry which player is unfollowing which on Instagram.

Let’s dive into the game.

Best you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry

Myers is maaaaaaad #Canucks

— Ravneet Dhatt (@rdhatt19) December 20, 2025

The turning point in the game might have actually come within the first few minutes of the game. With the Canucks already serving a penalty, Kiefer Sherwood generated a potential scoring chance on a cross-crease pass to David Kampf, before promptly putting the Canucks down two men after taking down Matthew Barzal:

Having an extended two-man advantage is a tough hill to climb, but you know what helps? An angry Tyler Myers.

For the most part, Myers doesn’t really play like a large dude. Sure, he uses his wingspan, but it’s not like he’s out there living life as a Bash Bro, taking guys out with huge hits.

Except when you piss him off.

Normally, it’s when someone slashes him, you kind of see his eyes go red, and you can tell he’s gone full tilt. A Tyler Myers looking for revenge is on some Game of Thrones level where you know it either ends in a questionable hit or a penalty, and usually it’s both.

But when you’re already down two men, the refs tend to let you get away with murder, which is something the Chaos Giraffe used to his advantage by first taking out Anthony Duclair with a solid cross-check/loving shove from behind:

This gentle love tap resulted in Vancouver clearing the puck down the ice, much like this next hit from Myers on Max Shabonov did as well:

This was the more egregious of the two Myers plays, but the refs swallowed their whistles and let the boys play on, which led to the eventual killing off of both penalties.

And like all things in life, anytime Myers wasn’t there attempting murder, Thatcher Demko was there to make sure nobody scored.

If the Islanders score here, maybe it’s a different outcome, but the early penalty kill was a massive swing point in this game, in my humblest of opinions. A humble opinion on par with my apple pie being the crumblest.

Best breaking bad

Boeser has forgotten how to score. #Canucks

— Kerry Banks (@bad_kicker) December 20, 2025

Marco Rossi and Brock Boeser appear to be generating some chemistry with each other, even if Boeser is not currently legally allowed to score a goal in the NHL.

The first good look Boeser had on net was due to a perfect backhand pass from Rossi through the middle of the ice, created after the Canucks kept the puck in the zone at the blue line:

And the second good chance was again due to the Canucks managing to pester the Islanders into turning the puck over in their own zone, as Rossi was able to find Boeser alone in front of the net after stealing the puck near the blue line:

Boeser had a couple of more chances to score this period, but I feel like his fans have been through enough the last month, so just trust me when I say he probably could have had four goals in this period. But as my high school janitor told me, theoretical goals are Satan’s highway, so if the Canucks truly want to ruin the season by getting the 14th overall draft pick, they really need Boeser to start scoring some actual goals here soon.

Best stonks rising

Tank nation was short lived #Canucks

— bavel_puree (@rickcochrane_re) December 20, 2025

I used to think only Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane could fetch the Canucks a first-rounder, but after watching David Kampf’s first as a Canuck, I’m convinced he’s in the running as well:

This goal is a pretty good example of how the Canucks played all night long. Nobody took too many shifts off, and for the most part, Vancouver was 100% locked into that annoying effort level you run into at beer league. You know where one guy is trying way too hard at like an 11:30 pm puck drop, and you just know this guy is dealing with some emotional baggage, and he REALLY needs the win?

That’s how Vancouver was going the entire game. They were just constantly putting pressure on the Islanders, which, when you’re facing off against a team that doesn’t have that high-end skill of a Colorado Avalanche team, tends to pay off more often than not. New York couldn’t out-skill their way out of the heavy forecheck, which led to a lot of extended shifts in the offensive zone for Vancouver.

On Kampf’s goal alone, the Canucks caused two turnovers in a few seconds, thanks in part to their hard work along the boards, which, again, tells me that somewhere in the world, Rick Tocchet didn’t look up into the sky and smile and/or howl with delight.

Best elite playoff performer

Send this Sherwood goal to all scouts …top prospect + 1st rd pick #canucks

— Therichnpoor (@Therichnpoor1) December 20, 2025

Kiefer Sherwood’s hat trick was the fuel for this game, and while his third goal was an empty netter, you’d be hard pressed to find a better resume leading highlight goal than his first one of the night:

He gives Matthew Schaefer a quick little “welcome to the NHL, kid” moment by stripping him of the puck at his own blueline, then walks in and just absolutely lasers home his 14th of the season. Some real Han Solo energy on this goal if we’re being honest, and I can firmly say that Han shot first here.

Again, we have no idea if the Canucks “hybrid rebuild” aka “Quinn Hughes forced us to trade him so we’re going to pretend it’s a rebuild, but the second we win some games we might say its already done” game plan involves keeping Kiefer Sherwood around, but if you were looking to boost trade value this is the goal that does it. There is just something about a guy outworking and outthinking another player that gets GMs going to the point that, yeah, maybe a first-rounder is your starting point in any conversation.

Speaking of rookies learning on the job, Zeev Buium did his best to showcase an end-to-end rush, only to get shut down hard along the boards:

Buium had another quietly strong game, forming a very effective partnership with Tyler Myers on the night, however. They led the defence in Corsi and angrily threw cross checks.

As for the Islanders, their scoring chances were few and far between in the first period, leading to many of what I assume is one of only two looks Patrick Roy can have: Angry, want to murder you looks, and slightly bemused, want to murder you looks.

New York’s best chance in the opening frame was when Anthony Duclair harassed Marcus Pettersson behind the net by calling his cell phone repeatedly, leading to Callum Richie sending the puck high and wide from tight in the crease:

Best bumpers for the boys

We're going to the playoffs at this rate boys n girls #Canucks

— Dombrova (@dombrova22) December 20, 2025

Kiefer Sherwood’s second goal of the night came right out of the Bo Horvat playbook, as he finished off a perfect pass from Fil Hronek in the bumper spot:

It’s a new world without Quinn Hughes, so it will be interesting to see how this team’s special teams evolve without their former captain. No longer can they constantly feed the puck back to Hughes the second they run into trouble. No longer can they stand in one spot, transfixed by the skating of Quinn. Now the team has to find old-fashioned ways of getting scoring chances with the extra man.

It’s actually kind of funny because the Canucks really moved away from featuring the bumper spot on the power play once Bo left town, so maybe that’s an area they revisit now that they need to figure out a new way to live.

Best making them sad

Welp… that was the worst period of the season. #Canucks #Isles

— LuckyIsles_13 (@LuckyIsles) December 20, 2025

After being unable to score for almost an entire period, the Islanders resorted to cheating when Anders Lee high-sticked a puck past Demko near the end of the first:

I have to assume he just wanted to know what it felt like to score on Demko at this point.

Best a whole new world

Smattering of boos from the Islanders faithful at the end of the first period. #Canucks have now outscored their opponents 8-1 since trading Quinn Hughes.

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) December 20, 2025

It’s fun to talk about Quinn Hughes being the problem all along because it makes him the problem, and not the horrifying knowledge that this team might never win with the current owners in place.

But realistically, every team in the world wants a Quinn Hughes, and we have several years of “how the actual f*** did this happen?” ahead of us as we try and figure out why it had to come to this.

That being said, there is probably a certain level of momentum happening on Vancouver’s end from being removed from all of the “is he staying or is he going?” that was following the team around. We saw the Psycho Mantis levels of damage this team went through last season, so it’s not too forward to suggest that the Hughes situation was affecting the team to the point of it reaching the ice. It just felt like near the end of the Hughes era, we were watching some dystopian version of hockey in which Hughes would be given the puck and everyone just waited for him to create magic.

There was no teamwork. There was no creativity. There was no enthusiasm. It was just watching Hughes lug the puck around the ice for over thirty minutes a night, losing hockey games, and generating very little in the way of actual points on the board. It was like watching a reboot of The Road, only somehow more depressing. It was about as close to a “show up, clock in, clock out” level of hockey as we have seen in some time in this city.

Which is depressing for many reasons, but mostly because Quinn Hughes’ hockey should be beautiful hockey. You’re seeing that come to life in Minnesota, in which he is once again making love to the puck, winning games, and creating must-watch highlights. It’s almost annoying in a way watching people from Minnesota go “Gawrsh, he is SO good at hockey!” as if Vancouver hadn’t been screaming that for the past seven years.

So while the rest of the world showcases proof they didn’t stay up late enough to watch Quinn Hughes play hockey when he was with Vancouver, at least both Quinn and Vancouver are playing a more rewarding style of hockey that doesn’t feel like James Bond getting sacked in the nuts with a heavy rope repeatedly.

Best silver linings

Liam Ohgren is a very very noticeable player.

— Main go (@goalofmain) December 20, 2025

Being noticeable as a former mid-first-rounder can be a very good thing or a very bad thing.

Turning over the puck so many times that it gets nicknamed a pizza whenever you do it? Not the greatest PR.

Being strong on the puck and looking good in bursts in the offensive zone? That’s the good stuff.

We have no idea what Öhgren’s ceiling will end up as, of course. For every Todd Bertuzzi in the world, there are a hundred Nikolay Goldobin and Mirco Mueller’s HockeyDB pages waiting to tell you all about the exciting world of Swiss and Russian hockey leagues.

Early returns from Liam, though, feel positive. He just seems to be around the puck in a good way on most shifts. He’s not making mistakes, while you go, “well at least he’s from Abbotsford??”, lying to yourself about the likely career path you see ahead of him.

Instead of making terrible shots from the corner, he’s able to generate shots off the rush, and then has the instincts to be in position to grab rebounds and get further shots on said net:

It just feels like he might have the right IQ for the NHL game, that the game isn’t too quick for him, nudging him past that quad AAAA player line.

Speaking of noticeable, Zeev Buium has also showcased good defensive instincts with Vancouver so far. We all know the hype around his offensive game, but all it takes is one bad contract, and you find yourself turning into Seth Jones, with the cashew-eating Russians making charts and graphics showcasing how god awful you are in your own zone.

A great example of his defensive prowess was during a Canucks power play where he made sure to get back in his own zone to shut down a shorthanded rush with ease:

It’s extremely easy to get lazy defensively when you’re on the power play, so kudos to the kid for making sure he took care of his own end on this play.

Which isn’t to say we haven’t seen a little of that offensive swagger to his game, either. Obviously, there is only one Quinn Hughes, but just in terms of being that new-age mobile defenceman that can make moves along the blueline to create room for himself? He has that in his bag as well:

Nothing outrageous, just a little shimmy and misdirection to give him some room to skate into, but he also finished the play with a smart, safe pass, and didn’t just bomb a shot on net that went around the boards and out.

And speaking of hyped new-age defenceman, Matty Schaefer made sure to remind the world that he is going to be an exciting player in this league for a long, long time when he broke around Fil Hronek, Evander Kane and Tom Willander to almost score an end-to-end goal:

I think this kid might be good. I won’t commit to anything yet, but I think that’s where he’s trending.

Also, how in the world did Willander not get a penalty there?

I don’t think Tom tripped him, mind you. But usually, if you’re close enough to the scene and you get a stick near a dude who busts out a move like that, the officials hand out a pity penalty on the play.

Best embrace the future

#Canucks vs Wild in the Conference Finals is gonna be a hell of a series!

— Ketchup Man (@RaiderEbs) December 20, 2025

Kiefer Sherwood once again showed that worth-a-first-rounder effort as he dove back for a puck, only to have to watch as Demko made yet another save in which you instinctively held your breath, wondering if human contact was going to injure him again:

Demko would be fine on the play, but I must say the Canucks really have a pickle on their hands with Thatcher. If the “hybrid rebuild,” aka the rebuild they plug in and leave in the garage overnight, is their end game, then Demko is most likely a huge part of that. When Demko is on his game and not hurt, he is a top-five goalie in the league.

The problem is that he is injury-prone, and there is nothing to suggest that won’t continue to be the case. So do you sit here, watching Demko raise his value by rocking absurd numbers in December, making people forget his injury history, and try and cash in on a trade?

Or do you keep him and see if he’s part of the next wave?

A proper rebuild most likely involves dealing with the American goaltender, but again, this is a hybrid world we live in, apparently, so who knows at this point.

Best who needs Quinn

Could someone please tell the #Canucks that 'tanking' doesn't mean tanking your chances of getting a high draft pick.

— Jay (@BBLPWSTLR) December 20, 2025

I will say there is some grim amusement in watching Tyler Myers out here playing elite-level lockdown hockey now that the team finally said the word rebuild. Near the end of the second period, the Islanders tried to get the puck behind him, but nope, Tyler one-handed chops the puck away, doesn’t take a penalty, and shuts the play down perfectly:

Leave it the Chaos Giraffe to always leave us on our toes I guess.

Speaking of raising your game, Evander Kane had what was probably his best game as a Canuck? Planet Ice can generate a lot of shots on net, but the majority of them will end up being like shots from the second row. He just shoots from anywhere, so a 20-shot game from Evander is usually like three good shots followed up by gaming the system and juicing his shot totals.

But on this night, Evander Kane showcased a true, honest-to-goodness power forward game, as he used powerful skating to constantly drive the puck on net.

On one shift, not only did he create a two-on-one scoring chance with Drew O’Connor, but he also followed up with a couple more shots on net in the same shift:

Kane, a big fan of uppies, then called for Hronek to airmail a lob pass over to him, creating yet another rush on net, this time drawing a penalty:

It was just a solid game from another player that, yeah, if you are looking to trade some of the veterans, you’re probably using video from this game to dump in the group chat as soon as possible.

Best forcing the issue

I know it’s only been 3 game but Ohgren is noticeable on every shift I think the #canucks have a real player on thier hands

— LaZeMoon (@Moonraker1972g1) December 20, 2025

While I agree that this was Öhgren’s best game as a Canuck, and Sherwood aside, he might have been the Canucks best player on the night, it felt like the entire team was working hard and playing smart hockey.

A great example of this is just the small things where, yeah, they would extend a shift an extra five seconds or so by making it hard for New York to exit their own zone:

Öhgren’s hard work at the end of that clip forces the Islanders to take seven more seconds to get out of the zone with the puck. And while those seven seconds might not seem like a lot, that’s the sort of thing that buys time for line changes or prevents a team from getting out of their zone with speed. It limits their ability to find a guy in behind your defence.

Best hey while you’re down there…

BARZAL AND SHERWOOD my silly boys i love them

— emy (@hearts0fhorrors) December 20, 2025

Hey, who amongst us hasn’t pretended to hit a dude with a weapon to see if he’d flinch:

Best keeping up the pressure

We’ll take a first for Evander Kane too #Canucks (historical playoff performer)

— Marcel Pascuas (@MarcelPasc9396) December 20, 2025

Early in the third period, Evander Kane once again generated a scoring chance by skating hard with the puck on the counterattack:

We talked about it earlier in the season, but Kane is coming off of major surgery just last year, so there is a very possible chance his game will continue to get better as this season goes along.

Definitely worth at least a first-rounder.

Best uppies

Former Abbotsford #Canucks Marc Gatcomb trying to drop the gloves with Jake DeBrusk, who fell into Ilya Sorokin.

— Izzy (@izzycheung37) December 20, 2025

I blame Evander Kane for spreading the Canucks love of the high-arcing long bomb, as the team has really seemed to jump on board with it.

The latest example? Jake DeBrusk popping the puck up in the air for himself, only to run headfirst into Ilya Sorokin at the local Tim Hortons:

A for effort, C+ for execution.

I also think it’s hilarious that someone tried to fight Jake DeBrusk. Dude just wants to score goals in the crease and collect Pokémon cards, he doesn’t want any heat, let him live his best life.

Best showcasing the talents

Never experienced a “hybrid rebuild” before, but man is it quick. #canucks I recommend it for all cellar dwellers

— Robby (@Dosange) December 20, 2025

The Islanders third period push was met with, well, Thatcher Demko being Thatcher Demko.

Oh, Matty Barzal wants to score on a point-blank shot? Sorry, Thatcher isn’t having any of that:

How about some more uppies from Vancouver, as Marco Rossi sends a high spiral up and over to a Brock Boeser and Conor Garland breakaway:

Kudos to Sorokin, that’s a brilliant save to be fair.

And how about Marco Rossi extending a shift and forechecking hard, leading to the Islanders once again having no easy shifts on the night:

The Canucks played hard. They played smart. It was one of the most complete games from the team this season.

Best train of logic

STOP FUCKING HITTING MATTHEW SCHAEFER OH MY GOD STAY AWAY FROM HIM GET A JOB ?!?!?!

— erin ! hr spoilers at your own risk (@sportsenjoyer22) December 20, 2025

Look, I enjoy giving a penalty as much as the next guy, but when you watch the replay, Tom Willander’s stick came nowhere near Schaefer on this play:

The problem, you see, is that Schaefer literally tried to skate horizontally when making his cut to the net, so it wasn’t too shocking that he fell flat to the ice. Only Connor McDavid can make that kind of cut at that speed, and I’m still convinced he’s a boring robot sent to kill John Connor, except he discovered a passion for hockey and forgot to finish the job.

Best pity goal

#Canucks Thatcher Demko's shutout streak ends at 150:53, 10th longest in franchise history

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 20, 2025

Anders Lee finally got an actual goal, when, after pulling their goalie, New York managed to break down the Canucks defence for the tap-in goal at the side of the crease:

Tyler Myers was already playing the puck carrier in a hyper-aggressive manner, so I think Elias Pettersson needs to back off there and protect the middle of the net. Instead, DP25 pushes over to make a play on the puck, leaving Lee open for the easy finish.

A small blip on an otherwise solid night from Vancouver.

Best tricks involving hats

NHL GMs are gonna regret not getting him today. After the break. Bidding starts are 1st plus. #Canucks

— Anthony Riglietti (@anthony604) December 20, 2025

And to complete the hat trick, Hronek does the time-honoured tradition of “I’m going to slap the puck really hard! Ha ha, just kidding, I’m passing instead” as he finds Kiefer Sherwood to ice the game:

Hey, it was a good game from Vancouver. The kids show encouraging signs. It was the perfect game, aside from hurting the draft position. Like I said, though, worry about that another day. You might as well finish off the year enjoying a game of hockey or two.

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[Vancouver Canucks]

The Farmies: Jonathan Lekkerimäki extends goal streak in Abbotsford Canucks’ 4-2 win over Roadrunners

What a difference a few players can make.

The Abbotsford Canucks have received several reinforcements over the last few games. Slowly but surely, the team has put up competitive efforts and has finally found the winning ledger, with many of the results directly attributable to the additions. Last week, Victor Mancini and Jett Woo added stability, edge, and presence to the lineup. This time around, the boost came up front, with Lukas Reichel and Arshdeep Bains injecting pace, skill, and confidence into a group that’s been searching for consistency.

Those additions didn’t magically fix everything overnight, but they certainly changed the complexion of tonight’s game, especially in the third and final frame. As a team, Abbotsford looked more connected, more dangerous off the rush, and far more capable of dictating play when it mattered. Behind another signature goal from Jonathan Lekkerimäki and a timely push in the third period, the Canucks opened their two-game set with a measured 4–2 win.

Starting  lineup​

Bains–Aman–Lekkerimäki
MacEachern–Reichel–Berard
Alriksson–Mueller–Wouters
Kunz–Khaira–Kambeitz

Kudryavtsev-Mancini
Schuldt–Woo
Arntsen-Mynio

Tolopilo

Scratched: Josh Bloom, Danila Klimovich, Anri Ravinskis, Nikolai Knyzhov, Phip Waugh, Nick Poisson, Arnaud Durandeua
Injured: Guillaume Brisebois, Cooper Walker, Chase Stillman

First period: Captains goals​

Both teams came out firing, giving the home crowd plenty to latch onto early.

Vilmer Alriksson created the game’s first look just seconds into the night, collecting a stretch pass from Jimmy Schuldt before using his reach to shield the puck and feather a one-handed feed to Ty Mueller on the rush. Playing his first game back from injury, Mueller found himself alone in tight but couldn’t finish on the point-blank chance.

Moments later, Nikita Tolopilo “eased” his way into the night by denying a breakaway. Cameron Hebig, one of the league’s hottest scorers, was sprung through the middle and tested Tolopilo’s blocker early.

That kicked off what would be a hectic start. Less than two minutes in, the game already had several quality looks at both ends, with shots sitting at 3–3.

It was Abbotsford who struck first.

Abbotsford goal – 1–0 – Chase Wouters from Vilmer Alriksson and Jimmy Schuldt

After a strong backcheck from the captain, the Canucks forced a turnover and transitioned up the ice quickly. Alriksson threaded a perfect through pass to Wouters, who corralled it off his skate in stride and snapped it top shelf over Matthew Villalta for his third of the season.

The Canucks continued their press, collecting several looks off sustained pressure from that momentum.

Failing to provide the go-ahead, however, Tucson took the puck the other way to capitalize.

Tucson goal – 1–1 – Austin Poganski from Sammy Walker and Noel Nordh

Trying to move the puck off the boards, Wouters ran into traffic, and the puck spilled loose to Sammy Walker. He showed patience down low before dropping the puck back to the captain, Austin Poganski, in the slot. Arshdeep Bains let up in the slot, giving Poganski the time and space to shovel the puck past Tolopilo to even the score.

Tucson didn’t sit back after the equalizer. Following a Tolopilo giveaway, the Roadrunners threw the puck on net, forcing the goaltender to drop and kick out a pair of strong saves with chaos ensuing in front of him.

Suddenly, in what was a relatively calm opening stretch, tempers finally flared. Jett Woo delivered a heavy hit below the Tucson goal line, drilling Max Szuber into the boards on the dump-and-chase. With the hit being in the numbers, the Roadrunners took exception, and a scrum followed, resulting in offsetting penalties and a brief 4-on-4.

As the players left the box, Ben McCartney made it clear he intended to challenge Woo immediately. The two dropped the gloves, marking Woo’s second fight in as many games.

Since re-joining the team from injury, Jett Woo has provided an incredible spark in each of his games. Looking back on the Abby season thus far, it’s clear the absence of their AHL veteran defender was a gaping hole.

Moments later, Tucson nearly grabbed the lead when a point shot deflected off Victor Mancini, slipped past Tolopilo, and rang off both posts before staying out.

What began as a strong start for Abbotsford was quickly swinging toward the visitors, with shots heavily favouring Tucson. But the Canucks steadied themselves to close the frame.

First, the Bains–Aman–Lekkerimäki line pushed for the go-ahead goal, generating sustained pressure and nearly connecting on multiple looks.

On the next shift out, Lukas Reichel gained the zone with speed, pulled up on a button hook, and found Jimmy Schuldt for a final chance.

It was a fast-paced, physical opening for twenty minutes, with both teams trading chances and leaving the ice deadlocked.

Shots: ABB 9, TUC 19
Score: ABB 1, TUC 1

Second period: MacKenzie ties it up​

Nikita Tolopilo was forced into action early, bailing out his teammate after Joe Arntsen committed one of the first no-nos you learn as a young defenceman — a blind backhand up the slot. Tolopilo reacted quickly, squared himself, then squeezed the pads together to keep the puck out.

And it wasn’t a one-off. The Roadrunners controlled the early portion of the period, pushing the pace and forcing Tolopilo into several key stops as Abbotsford struggled to find traction.

Although in the midst of a penalty kill, the Canucks wouldn’t generate their best look of the frame until the 13-minute mark. Providing pressure, Nils Aman knocked a puck down mid-air, shielded it with his reach, and snapped a one-handed shot before being hauled down. The effort earned Abbotsford its first power play of the night.

Running a top unit of Chase Wouters, Arshdeep Bains, Lukas Reichel, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and Sawyer Mynio, the Canucks moved the puck well and enjoyed sustained zone time, but came away with just a single shot on goal.

Failing to capitalize would prove costly.

Tucson goal – 2–1 – Dmitri Simashev from Michael Kunc and Cameron Hebig

Tolopilo made the initial save, but Kunc stayed with the play and slid the puck back to the blue line. Simashev leaned into his stick and beat Tolopilo clean for his second career AHL goal.

Aman continued to drive play moments later, springing himself on another partial break after an executed spin-around feed from Lekkerimäki. He drew yet another penalty, giving Abbotsford a quick chance to respond.

On that ensuing power play, Aman nearly made good again, collecting another partial break thanks to a clean zone entry from the speedy Lukas Reichel.

That didn’t work, but the Canucks found their equalizer just seconds later.

Abbotsford goal – 2–2 – MacKenzie MacEachern from Kirill Kudryavtsev and Nils Aman

Working the puck around the perimeter, Aman grabbed the puck at the goal line before feeding Kudryavtsev up top. Outwaiting traffic, Kudryavtsev saw coverage break down and finally put one toward the net. Left all along in front of the netminder, MacEachern swatted it out of mid-air, tying the game at two.

The Canucks were held up for most of the initial ten minutes, but poured on the pressure in the second half thanks to a pair of power play opportunities. They were outshot, but the only number that mattered was the score.

Shots: ABB 20, TUC 31
Score: ABB 2, TUC 2

Third period: Here’s Johnny!​

The Roadrunners started the third the same way they opened the second — with pressure. Three shots came in quick succession, forcing Tolopilo to stay sharp as he kicked away each look to keep the game level.

And just when you might have thought Jonathan Lekkerimäki had been relatively quiet at five-on-five, he reminded everyone why that’s never a safe assumption.

Abbotsford goal – 3–2 – Jonathan Lekkerimäki from Joe Arntsen and Arshdeep Bains

Working the cycle, Lekkerimäki sent the puck down low, where Bains dropped it back to Arntsen to sneak behind the net. Lurking into space, Lekkerimäki drifted into the circle, took the return feed, and absolutely hammered a one-timer past the netminder.

The goal marked his fifth straight game with a goal and his seventh consecutive game with a point.

And the top line wasn’t finished.

Abbotsford goal – 4–2 – Arshdeep Bains (unassisted)

The sequence started defensively, with Lekkerimäki blocking a shot in his own zone and sending the puck forward. The camera panned out, but somehow Bains ended up with the puck on his stick. Driving wide, he handled the puck and slipped it through the goaltender’s legs for his first AHL goal of the season in his return.

Was he attempting to slide the puck over to Aman? Perhaps. But we will give him the benefit of the doubt that everything was intentional.

Those two goals were the payoff for a strong night from the top trio, with Aman particularly noticeable. The Swede was everywhere, generating chances, extending possessions, and driving play when it mattered most.

Tucson made its final push late with the goalie pulled, but the Canucks held firm. A composed third period — powered by their top line — sealed the win in the opening game of the two-game set.

Final shots: ABB 27, TUC 35
Final score: ABB 4, TUC 2

Final thoughts​

This was a response game in every sense. After being outplayed early and weathering sustained pressure in the middle frame, Abbotsford leaned on its best players in the third and got rewarded. Lekkerimäki delivered another signature release, Bains opened his AHL season with a pair of points, and Aman quietly tied everything together with one of his more complete performances of the season.

Tolopilo held steady when the Roadrunners pushed, and the Canucks showed a level of composure that hasn’t always been there this year. It wasn’t flawless, but it was effective. Suddenly, the Canucks have won four of their last eight games. Now, to get on a roll and win back-to-back before the holiday break.

What’s next?​

There won’t be much time to rest. The Canucks and Roadrunners are right back at it for a matinee rematch on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. PT at Rogers Forum.

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[Vancouver Canucks]

Instant Reaction: Liam Öhgren scores the shootout winner as Canucks beat Bruins

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​

Projected #Canucks lines vs. @NHLBruins

Garland. Rossi. Boeser.
Kane. Kämpf. DeBrusk.
O’Connor. Räty. Sherwood.
Öhgren. Sasson. Karlsson,

MP29. Hronek.
Buium. Myers.
EP25. Willander.

Lankinen

4pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/ZOSIt490va

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) December 20, 2025

Aatu Räty drew back into the lineup (finally) at the expense of Nils Hoglander. It doesn’t appear that it is injury-related, but perhaps is a coach’s decision to healthy scratch the Swede in an effort to ease him back into the lineup. Otherwise, Adam Foote moved Drew O’Connor back to the wing and slid Max Sasson between Liam Öhgren and Linus Karlsson.

First Period​

Both teams start out feeling each other out, not really getting too much extended zone time and going up and down the ice. Not a lot of action or shots racked up through the first five minutes, but that’s better than the alternatives.

Boston gets itself a power play, and that’s all the advantage they need to capitalize. Morgan Geekie rips a bomb off a feed by Charlie McAvoy to give the Bruins the lead.

1-0 Bruins.

Vancouver does respond pretty well though – they continue to move their feet, go after their opposition on the forecheck, and make life hard for their opposition at 5v5 play. There’s not a lot of open ice for either team to work with, but a bad turnover by Max Sasson nearly gifts the Bruins their second goal of the game at the halfway point of the period. Kevin Lankinen comes up big with a glove stop off the tight 2-on-1.

Marcus Pettersson gets his stick tangled up in the feet of David Pasternak to send the Bruins back on the man advantage. Boston is all over Vancouver, but somehow this Canucks group bends and doesn’t break. It certainly adds plenty of shots to the Bruins counter, that’s for sure.

The Canucks get their first crack at a power play late in the period. They don’t really manage to do much, unfortunately.

Boston gets themselves a flurry of chances with under two minutes left and aren’t able to capitalize. Some back and forth action results in the Canucks generating a big takeaway in the offensive zone, as Linus Karlsson knocks over his man to find a wide-open Max Sasson to knot the game up at 1.

CANUCKS GOAL

Max Sasson scores with 14 seconds remaining in the 1st period!

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

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

1-1 tie.

First period takeaways:

• Love, love, love the Canucks forecheck in this game. They look relentless, with players hounding the puck carrier and a next man up mentality. They’re heavy and fast, and getting plenty of opportunities as a result of it.
• On the other hand, there’ve been dicey moments and turnovers – far too many of them, giving Boston some near clean breaks that the Canucks barely manage to break up in time.

Second Period ​

Canucks start the period trying to find the tie-breaking goal. They find themselves on the power play after Zeev Buium gets high-sticked. It was a pretty poor power play all things considered, but the Canucks got their goal after Jeremy Swayman was caught behind the net. Evander Kane collects the puck in the corner and centres it to a wide-open Linus Karlsson to put Vancouver in front.

CANUCKS GOAL

Evander Kane finds Linus Karlsson alone in front with an empty net and he buries it!

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

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

2-1 Canucks.

The Bruins respond by upping the physicality. They get a couple of turnovers to go their way as the heat is firmly pressed to the Canucks here. Lankinen makes a couple of big stops to keep the game all knotted up as the Canucks sell out to protect their net.

Boston continues to press, but Vancouver finds their legs soon enough. They get some extended zone time, but are unable to really test Swayman all that much. A 4-on-4 sees Jake DeBrusk get a breakaway but gets absolutely robbed by the Bruins netminder.

Nikita Zadorov head-man’s a rush into the Canucks end, drawing all the defenders to him before finding a wide-open Pavel Zacha who buries it into the yawning cage.

2-2 Tie.

Scrambly, panicky hockey afterward on the Canucks part sees Tanner Jeannot bury a wide-open one-timer to put Boston back up by one.

3-2 Bruins.

Canucks almost get a chance to respond right away, but a 3-on-2 rush shot by Öhgren only results in a point-blank save by Swayman.

A big blast by Hronek from the point ends up being deflected by the hand of Marcus Pettersson. Unfortunately, it’s too much hand contact for Toronto’s liking, and the tying goal is wiped off the board.

Marcus Pettersson knocks the puck into the net with his glove. The league called it a no goal after a review.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/8H1pAYDwVq

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

Second period takeaways:

• Canucks need to clean up their turnovers. Things have been way too dicey and Boston is in the lead because of it.
• They also need to bury on chances. They’ve gotten opportunities, and they continue to press (which is a good thing!) but they need to capitalize on them now.

Third Period​

David Kampf takes a tough hooking call to put Vancouver back on the penalty kill early in the third. Doesn’t do much to help the comeback efforts, that’s for sure. Canucks kill it off well though, but Boston continues to press and get their chances in bunches.

An innocent floating puck in the netural zone is spotted by Linus Karlsson, and he charges onto it and rips on top shelf gloves side to tie this game up at 3. Great puck pursuit, as has been the theme through the game for the Canucks.

CANUCKS GOAL

Linus Karlsson ties things up with his 2nd goal of the game!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/sYo9im2hFx

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

3-3 Tie.

Winning face-offs is important, as on another icing by the Bruins, Kampf wins the draw back to DeBrusk who moves the puck to Marcus Pettersson at the point. His blast is tipped by Liam Öhgren in front to send the Canucks back into the lead.

Also, great job by Öhgren to get right in front of Swayman, going to the dirty areas to get that puck past the Boston netminder.

CANUCKS GOAL

LIAM OHGREN SCORES AGAIN! THE CANUCKS TAKE A ONE GOAL LEAD IN THE 3RD PERIOD

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/BV8pUDZV5l

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

4-3 Canucks.

Another Boston penalty puts the Canucks on the power play shortly after Vancouver strikes twice in four minutes. Nothing really happens until Hampus Lindholm takes a rough tripping call to put the Canucks on a 5-on-3 advantage for 20 seconds. Unfortunately, Vancouver loses the face-off and can’t make the most of the two-man advantage.

Canucks swing the puck around well but just can’t generate those Grade-A chances. Power play over.

More end-to-end action for both teams as the third continues to tick away. The Canucks do a good job at limiting the opportunities that the Bruins can create, pushing them to the perimeter and skating in transition to try and get chances themselves.

Boston does start cranking up the heat as the clock ticks down in the third. Andrew Peeke is the beneficiary of it, as he sends a shot from the right point that goes right off the post. Unfortunately, it hits Lankinen off the back of his left arm and right into the net.

4-4 Tie.

Some end-to-end action closes out the period with neither team managing to break the deadlock. Not many chances to speak of after the tying goal.

Third period takeaways:

• So. Much. Momentum. Swings. Credit to both teams for riding the waves, bouncing back from lows to spur themselves to the highs.
• The Canucks have had some really dicey moments breaking the puck out of their own end. Seems like everyone is bobbling pucks or misplaying passes.
• Nice defensive stickwork to disrupt Boston’s chances in general.

Overtime​

Mark Kastelic being the face-off specialist for the Bruins is hilarious.

Brock Boeser fanned the hell out of a pass off the corner as Raty heads off on a change. McAvoy gets a glorious chance, but Lankinen stones him before making an excellent follow-up save to keep the Canucks in the running.

Zeev Buium is robbed in OT

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/96pWFY7bsq

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

The teams continue to trade chances as has been the case all game. Boston gets a boost of momentum thanks to Marco Rossi and Conor Garland getting caught out for a long shift. That saw the Bruins dominate puck possession for the rest of the extra frame, but were unable to bury.

Overtime takeaways:

• Some really bad lapses from Rossi there. Probably tired from being out for so long, but there were more than a couple of suicide passes that kept him out longer than he needed to be.
• One of the more exciting overtimes to watch, at least for the first half. Plenty of chances and the frame opening up slightly.

Shootout​

DeBrusk – No.

Middlestadt – Off the post

Karlsson – Rips it wide.

Pasternak – Gets Lankinen to bite, rips it high and beats the Finn, but not the crossbar.

Boeser – Unable to find the five-hole on Swayman.

Khusnutdinov – Rips it high and wide.

Garland – Can’t beat Swayman on the far side.

Peeke – Rips it at Lankinen, who loses track of the puck but stays out of the net.

Sherwood – Poked off the puck.

Eyssimont – Lankinen closes the 5-hole on him quick.

Kane – Stoned by Swayman’s blocker.

Elias Lindholm – Gets Lankinen to go down, but a big left pad save keeps the Canucks alive.

Öhgren – Beautiful deke, forehand to backhand, and beats a frozen Swayman.

Liam Ohgren scores the shootout winner for the Canucks!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/jHS3E9nTfb

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

Geeke – Stopped by Lankinen!

5-4 Canucks win in a shootout.

Takeaways from the game:

• Gutsy effort from the Canucks. To go on the road, after trading away your franchise player and captain, and then to take all four wins and this one of the second half of the back-to-back? It’s quite frankly something that not many fans would’ve seen coming. They sit 4 points out of a playoff spot.
• Would not be opposed to seeing this forecheck stick around for a bit longer. The entire team just seemed to come in waves, and surely helped push back against some tough stretches they faced. Boston never really took full hold of the game, at least not for long.
• What a performance from Öhgren. Physical, fast, engaged, and getting some offence. You can see why he was picked in the first round.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/instan...inner-vancouver-canucks-5-4-win-boston-bruins

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Wagner’s Weekly: Has the Canucks’ tank ended before it even began?

The Vancouver Canucks have done a very odd thing since they traded away their captain, Quinn Hughes, and admitted they’re entering a rebuild: they’ve gone on a four-game winning streak to climb out of last place in the NHL.

Now, still not even halfway through the 2025-26 season, the Canucks find themselves just four points out of a playoff spot, with at least one game in hand on each of the four teams ahead of them.

So, uh, I guess congratulations are in order for a successful rebuild. Time to call off the tank and trade that first-round pick acquired in the Quinn Hughes deal for some immediate help, right?

That’s a tad hyperbolic, of course. I don’t think anyone is actually thinking that way, least of all the decision-makers in the Canucks’ front office.

After all, the Canucks may be four points back of a playoff spot, but they’re also just one point out of last place. It will take a lot more than a four-game winning streak for them to escape the gravitational pull of the NHL’s basement.

Besides, the goal isn’t making the playoffs — or, at least, it shouldn’t be. The goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and the Canucks still have a lot of rebuilding to do before they can match up against the likes of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars in the Western Conference.

Still, if the Canucks extend this winning streak much further, they will do some damage to their tank treads.

But not irreversible damage. It brings to mind the 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens.

After trading Tyler Toffoli that season, the Canadiens went on a five-game winning streak and, furthermore, won seven of eight games. That streak pulled the Canadiens out of last place.

Now, Toffoli isn’t Quinn Hughes, and the winning streak came later in the season when the Canadiens were firmly entrenched in the NHL’s basement, and it also coincided with a coaching change and other factors. But it’s funny to look back at social media from that time, because you can find Canadiens fans concerned that the team was ruining the tank with their winning ways.

Not to worry: the Canadiens lost 19 of their next 26 games, including a nine-game losing streak, to finish firmly in last place, after which they won the draft lottery and picked first overall.

I’m not saying the Canucks’ situation is like the Canadiens’, but I think there’s something illustrative about that team.

The 2021-22 Canadiens were one season removed from going to the Stanley Cup Final. That gave them every reason to believe that they were a good team on the cusp of something great heading into the season. To explain their dreadful 2021-22 season, they could have pointed to devastating injuries and absences as an excuse, as they set an NHL record for the most man-games lost, with key players Carey Price and Joel Edmundson missing almost the entire season.

Instead of making excuses, however, they committed to a rebuild and traded away as many veterans as they could to add prospects and picks.

It wasn’t even that many trades, but it made a difference. Heading into the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the Canadiens had two picks in each of the first three rounds. They would’ve had three first-round picks if they hadn’t made a panic trade in the offseason to add Christian Dvorak after Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes.

That draft epitomized the truth of Jason Botchford’s exhortation, “We need picks…We need an army.” The point of accumulating picks isn’t the hope that each of those picks will turn into a quality NHL player, but that by giving yourself more darts to throw, you increase the chances that one of those picks will turn into something special.

Late in the second round of the 2022 draft, with a pick acquired by trading Brett Kulak, the Canadiens selected Lane Hutson.

Now, as the Canadiens lead the Atlantic Division three years after he was drafted, Hutson is averaging over 23 minutes per night and has 32 points through 35 games. It’s pretty easy to make the argument that he’s a lot more important to the Canadiens’ success than the first-overall pick they got that year, Juraj Slavkosvky.

All that is to say, whether or not the Canucks are successfully unsuccessful in their tanking efforts this season, the priority should still be to add more draft picks. Lots more. They need more darts to throw in hopes of hitting a Hutson.

Right now, the Canucks have an extra first-round pick thanks to the Hughes trade, but that’s their only extra pick in the draft, and they lack a third-round pick thanks to the Nikita Zadorov trade a couple of seasons ago.

That’s why the Canucks still need to be shopping their veteran players — at least, for after the holiday roster freeze. And if moving out some of those veterans makes the team a little bit worse to get them closer to drafting Gavin McKenna, all the better.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/wagners-weekly-has-vancouver-canucks-tank-ended-before-even-began

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

3 Canucks Stars of the Week: Liam Öhgren exceeds expectations in first week as a Canuck

Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!

This week, the Canucks took the concept of reverse psychology and ran with it. After officially declaring a rebuild and trading away their captain and franchise player, they then proceeded to win four games straight on the road. Canucks logic, it never gets old.

The Canucks won all three games in their New York road trip for the first time two years ago – a team that might as well look like they’re from a different planet, these days. Now, they’ve done it again after reaching rock bottom, somehow. Again, if you thought the Vancouver Canucks were going to make sense, you’re watching the wrong team.

In the wake of the loss to their locker room, the team has stepped up on the morale front and has started…passing around an honorary axe to show it. When it comes to the common tradition of locker room wins awards, this is a new one, but definitely not the weirdest one in the league. Plus, it’s a solid homage to Johnny Canuck.

And the goes to… pic.twitter.com/T8rFTrgiPD

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 21, 2025

Liam Öhgren​

I’ve seen enough from this man. Plan the parade.

All jokes aside, even if it is a brief surge before his game settles, Öhgren has proved that he has some serious middle-six potential. Despite going pointless this season while he was with the Wild, Öhgren has had two goals and an assist in just his first week with Vancouver. He also put the laborious seven-round shootout against the Boston Bruins to bed with a single winning shot – after some encouragement from Brock Boeser.

Brock Boeser called the winning shot in the shootout. For Liam Ohgren.

Coach Adam Foote said Boeser led the lobby for the new Canuck, who had 0 goals in MIN, to take the lucky 7th shot for VAN. Ohgren’s 1st NHL shootout attempt gave Canucks 5-4 win vs Bruins.

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) December 21, 2025

Öhgren is a bulky forward at just 21 years old, coming in at six feet tall on the dot and 187 lbs, but he looks light on his feet enough, and has proved he’s got a powerful shot to match. He has a ways to go, still, but I’m happy to take on a reclamation project if this is what reclaiming looks like.

liam öhgren: pic.twitter.com/piwCrsaJRl

— Memarzadeh (@ArashMemarzadeh) December 21, 2025

Kiefer Sherwood​

While most fans – and allegedly management, too – know that selling high on Kiefer Sherwood before the deadline is a no-brainer, it would still be an absolute tragedy to lose this player. The Rolling Stones say you can’t always get what you want, but what if I really want Sherwood to remain a Canuck? Has no one considered that?

CANUCKS GOAL

Kiefer Sherwood pickpockets Matthew Schaefer and rips one past Ilya Sorokin to put the Canucks up by two.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/izevupsdw2

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 20, 2025

Sherwood pulled off a hat trick to steamroll the New York Islanders 4-1, even if the final goal was an empty-netter. Those count!

As it stands, Sherwood is on an expiring contract of just $1.5 million against the cap, an extremely attractive number for a playoff team looking for depth scoring and physicality down the stretch. He has 20 points through 35 games, compared to 40 points in 78 games last year, and he sits at second place league-wide in hits at 153. Wherever Sherwood lands will be his fourth NHL team, and they will be fortunate.

Linus Karlsson​

Linus Karlsson, you have now become one of my elite employees.

Karlsson hears the term “depth scoring” and simply responds, “Bet?” He has certainly earned his spot with the big club this year after winning the Calder Cup with Abbotsford in the spring – hopefully, he gets his championship ring sooner or later.

CANUCKS GOAL

Linus Karlsson ties things up with his 2nd goal of the game!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/sYo9im2hFx

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 21, 2025

Karlsson had a four-point week, three of which came in one game against the Bruins. His two goals and an assist came in his very respectable 13:01 ice time, a good chunk of which was on the power play. That worked out, considering his own power play goal.

All of a sudden, the Canucks seem determined to prove that their season record does not represent the team they are on paper, and I’m inclined to agree. How you should be playing does not matter much when you aren’t, but Karlsson has been consistent even through the disaster-class of an autumn stretch that the Canucks put on.

Honourable Mentions​

These are the first 3 Stars honourable mentions of the season! To be quite frank, there hasn’t been much extra merit to honour with the Canucks so far this season. That said, more than three players contributed to Vancouver’s most important win streak this year. Besides, it’s the holidays, and I’m feeling generous.

The Tendy Team​

Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen were both locked in this week. I don’t think I’ve been able to say this. Through no fault of their own, these two have rarely been healthy and playing well at the same time as a proper tandem.

Demko recorded his 10th career shutout after he backstopped the team to a 3-0 shutout win against JT Miller’s middling Rangers, and stopped 24 of 25 shots from the New York Islanders to secure Vancouver’s 4-1 victory. In fact, Demko was between the pipes for all three New York metro area wins this week.

Kevin Lankinen had a .905 SV% against the Bruins – nothing to sneeze at, stopping 42 out of 46 shots – but most importantly, he set a league-wide record. Kevin Lankinen now holds the highest career shootout save percentage in NHL history. We’ve long known that Lankinen is a shootout specialist, but this is still one of those random records that you never predict. No one ever suspects the backups.

The Finnisher. pic.twitter.com/25awzFol2D

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 21, 2025

Filip Hronek​

Quinn Hughes’ former D-Partner has quietly been having a fantastic season, and this past week was a statement for him, as it was for the whole team. Hronek now leads the Canucks defence corps, with help from veteran presences like Marcus Pettersson and Tyler Myers. They have young, gifted defencemen in Elias Pettersson, Tom Willander and Zeev Buium to contend with, employing a blue-line strategy I am electing to call “3 Men and 3 Babies.”

His guidance on and off the ice has certainly made an impact, and his rocket of a shot hasn’t gone anywhere, either. Hronek had four points through three games this week.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/3-vanc...ohgren-exceeds-expectations-first-week-canuck

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks: Breaking down Kevin Lankinen’s ridiculous shootout success

When it comes to shootouts, Kevin Lankinen is a god.

Lankinen’s reputation with the Vancouver Canucks this year might be based on his struggles in regulation and overtime, but if a game goes to a shootout and Lankinen’s in goal, walking away with a win is a near guarantee. And on Saturday against the Boston Bruins, he turned in his magnum opus; seven Boston shooters stared him down, and Lankinen stopped them all to give the Canucks a 5-4 win.

In three shootouts this year, he’s yet to allow a single goal. In fact, in his entire career, only six shooters have found the back of the net against him.

Kevin Lankinen has stopped 45 of 51 career shootout attempts. That’s insane. Those are decent in game numbers, where you have like defencemen and stuff.

— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) December 21, 2025

So what lends your game so well to the shootout? That’s what we’re here to find out.

Lankinen starts by staying in his net until the player crosses the blue line, allowing him to pinpoint where the player is skating into the zone from. Challenging out after the player crosses prevents Lankinen from wasting additional energy by making adjustments all the way from centre ice in.

On this attempt, you can see him charge out as soon as Marat Khusnutdinov crosses the blue line.

Lankinen really likes to get low in his stance as players close in, and that makes sense. Most players won’t shoot from distance in a shootout, so they have two options: shoot in close or deke.

Here, Mikey Eyssimont chose shot. He chose poorly.

By crouching low and taking away the bottom of the net, Lankinen closes off most of the available space right away. And with his aggressive push far into the white ice, he’s fast enough on his feet to run players out of real estate as fast as they close in.

The toughest part is matching the player’s speed as they skate in. Move back into your net too slowly, and they have time to deke around you. Move back too fast, and you open up more net to shoot at.

David Pastrnak nearly found the Achilles heel when he froze Lankinen at the hash marks just long enough to lose his rhythm, but Kevin held his ground long enough to swipe at Pasta and force him to hit the crossbar.

If the player decides to deke, Lankinen has a split second to guess a direction, and if he guesses wrong, he needs to be fast enough to correct it. Kevin’s overreactiveness might cause some regulation problems, but in a 1v1 situation, he’s able to lock in much more clearly.

On this late deke by Elias Lindholm, Lankinen is able to read that the former Canuck is going back to the right, stops up immediately on his outside foot and pushes back to his glove side to get the pad down.

From experience as a goalie, in most cases, your best option as a shooter is to cut in from a corner, force the goalie to cut down an angle, and shoot without a deke. Morgan Geekie knows that, based on the route he took on Boston’s final attempt.

But with Kevin Lankinen in net, that’s a lot easier said than done.

This very specific skill in Lankinen’s toolkit might not be one that can help a team in the playoffs. But there’s no getting around the fact that he is very, very good at shootouts. And in a league full of snipers, that’s a unique and impressive skill for a goalie to have.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...n-kevin-lankinens-ridiculous-shootout-success

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Canucks get back on track with loss to Flyers

I don’t quite know what to make of the Vancouver Canucks as of late. In any normal world, a 4-1 record on a road trip would be met with fanfare and adulation. Flowers would be thrown from windows as the team returned home, with people talking breathlessly about the road-warrior mentality needed to grind out a winning record in enemy territory. Heck, a new seat or two might have even been installed to show just how much the owners appreciated their efforts.

But in the world of a rebuild, a word used by Jim Rutherford himself, the Canucks probably don’t want to win too much? I know, I know, the age-old debate of not embracing losing in sports is something we can scream about over a beer at GRETA another day, but realistically, a rebuild should try to bring in top prospects as quickly as possible. And winning five games in a row? Well, heck, that might give management the wrong idea about what a rebuild is all about and-

What’s that? Patrik Allvin called it a hybrid retool on air tonight?

Oh.

OK, so clearly the Canucks weren’t using Quinn Hughes forcing himself out of town as a chance to pretend they were embracing a rebuild, right?

Right?

They wouldn’t jump at the first sniff of success and hide behind the “hybrid” terminology to excuse away any lack of future-looking moves, right?

Right?

Well, the good news for people hoping for a top-five pick in the draft this year is that I don’t think the Canucks are going to go on many 4-1 runs during this season. If you dive into the numbers, the Canucks were shooting an absurdly high 16% during their four wins, and had a .948 save percentage (shoutout to former Stanchies writer Trent for the stats).

I don’t know if they will play this badly too often, as the end of a road trip is often waved away as a tired team with nothing left in the gas tank, but I think the team is closer to the Philadelphia Flyers game than they are to anything they showed in the four wins.

If anything, the 5-2 loss against the Flyers was a bit of a wake up call for the fun jokes we got to have about the team being better without Quinn Hughes. I don’t think Hughes would have won this game for Vancouver, mind you, but watching Rick Tocchet’s team dominate the play and hem the Canucks in their own zone for most of the night, you’d be remiss if you didn’t find yourself pinging for the days where Hughes would at least get the puck away from the opposition for a shift or two to give you a breather.

Now, I don’t know if “hybrid retool” is just Allvin being loose with branding, or if Jim was shooting from the hip when he dropped the word “rebuild” earlier in the month.

Either way, I do think the team should be very careful with how it talks about its future plans. You already have a market that has become frustrated with the team’s approach over the last decade, so it would behoove them to make sure their talking points are aligned.

All I know is if you speak of a rebuild, and then walk that back to the retool that works on either gas or electricity, you’re going to find yourself in a very unhappy market. The rebuild genie was let out of the bag, and if losing Quinn Hughes was the ultimate price for that, you best believe you need to make sure whatever you do next is a success. Start treating the market with respect, and you might be shocked by how well it works for you.

So, while we wait for the next description of the Canucks’ future plans, may I invite you to read about a game in which the Canucks were thoroughly outplayed, and most of the highlights are from the Flyers?

Hey, don’t leave-

Best and here we go

#Canucks have to play pressure with pressure

— TG (@tangill747) December 23, 2025

I will say that I think this version of the Flyers is what Rick Tocchet probably had in mind for the Canucks if it wasn’t for the whole, you know, entire team imploding because the top centers hated each other thing. We saw the worst of the Tocchet Era, in which dumping the puck into the corner and going for a quick line change was a high point of the night for most games, so it became a bit exhausting by the end.

But Monday evening, the Flyers played that GOTI hockey Rick was always going on about, with the North/South hockey, the getting in hard on the forecheck, and protecting the middle of the ice, and they used it to absolutely hammer the sh!t out of the Canucks. Without the Quinn Hughes cheat code to auto-generate zone exits/entries, the Canucks found themselves struggling to do much of anything during the game. I actually pined for the days when the Canucks could execute a good dump-in and line change at one point.

Initially, I didn’t realize what lay in store for the Canucks because early on the Flyers were playing the light version of GOTI hockey, the kind where you work the puck in deep, find someone at the point for the shot, and then you crash the net:

Like, they won some puck battles, and they got a shot on net. That’s perfectly fine, but I assumed the Flyers would top out at 21 shots and that Demko would handle them with ease. Except on this night, the Flyers got 39 shots, and almost half of them were in very dangerous spots, which doesn’t even count the shots they missed the net on.

In comparison, this was one of the top five plays from the Canucks, in which Zeev Buium generated an offensive rush with Jake DeBrusk that resulted in what I’m calling a “hybrid shot on net,” aka a pass that didn’t connect:

The Flyers, though, were getting into great danger areas to shoot the puck. On one play, Travis Konecny waltzed into the slot and just missed wide, only for the Flyers to keep cycling the puck until they fed Rasmus Ristolainen, who absolutely walked into a piss missile of a shot from the point:

This was one of those scenarios in which Thatcher Demko ended the game with an .895 save percentage, but it was clear that without him, this could have easily been much worse for Vancouver.

Best Henrik Sedin confidence

Zegras gets the puck alone in front but with his back facing Demko. He opts to pass and set the play, rather than use some stick handling trickery to shoot.

Probably the right call on that, but wouldn't have surprised me if he had tried it.

— Anthony Mingioni (@AnthonyMingioni) December 23, 2025

Believe it or not, there was a point in the game where I thought Trevor Zegras passing out of dangerous shooting areas was going to bite the Flyers in the ass, but alas, a confident Zegras is a good Zegras:

And even though Zegras passed out from in front of the net, it still led to a shot from a good location that could have scored.

Zegras did it again later in the period, when he got the puck in the middle of the ice and then tried feeding the point, only for it to end up leaving the zone:

So what started off as me thinking “I can’t wait to laugh about this doofus passing out of scoring positions” it quickly became apparent that Zegras was one of the most noticeable Flyers on the ice, and that when you’re involved in like half the scoring chances from your team, it’s ok if you mix in some passing plays here and there.

I honestly couldn’t tell you if Brock Boeser played in this game, hand to God. I am pretty sure he must have been there, but I can’t remember a single play of his. Whereas with Zegras, he consistently generated offence each period, which I feel is probably a sign he was doing something right.

Best tanking the tank

If Demko didn’t have injury problems, he’d be considered the best goalie in the nhl. Too bad bro is injured every other day

— Ramon (@bgav23) December 23, 2025

With the Flyers on the power play in the first period, Thatcher made sure to give Tocchet a little bit of a scare that he might be getting Demko’d. Not going full Hasek or anything, but just making enough saves that Rick might sweat a little bit.

With the Flyers moving the puck around with aplomb, they ended the play with a Konecny one-timer that Demko stopped easily:

And when the Flyers tried getting real freaky naughty with the puck in the crease, Demko stood tall and shut the door, and not once did I think of the word “popliteus”:

Now, the more astute of you out there will notice that I only showed one offensive highlight from Vancouver in the first period, and that was a rush that ended with no shot on net. As I said, this was not a good game for Vancouver. The Flyers were outshooting the Canucks 14-5 after the opening frame, and they never really found their footing in this one.

Best that’s a paddling

tocchet watching michkov attempting michigan’s on demko #canucks

— nucks (@hockeyluvr321) December 23, 2025

I was worried Matvei Michkov was going to get benched for attempting this, I won’t lie:

If we’re being honest, Demko would have stopped it anyway. You don’t practice with Nils Höglander for years without getting a healthy dose of Michigans during practice.

Best tired team or team tired

Connor Garland is having a rough game. #Canucks

— Petey (@Canucks_Fan40) December 23, 2025

You know how much I appreciate Corolla Garland’s game, but even I have to admit he hasn’t played up to his usual standards the last handful of games. Injury? Fatigue? Randomness of life? Who knows, but as one of the most consistent Canuck players, it does stand out when he’s not on his game.

It’s either his passes not connecting, or him not getting involved in board battles as much, or him not darting in to intercept a pass, or a situation like this, where he misplays the puck, and it leads to an odd-man rush the other way:

It just feels like something has been off with Garland the last few games.

Best it never gets better

just one shot on goal on two #Canucks power plays. Haven't looked sharp

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) December 23, 2025

Speaking of Zegras, here he is again generating some offence, this time pushing the puck towards the net and just missing wide:

If you watched this game, you kind of felt like the Canucks MIGHT win if they could get to the third period and get a lucky bounce or wake up and find some energy. It felt like it might follow the script from the earlier road trip, where things just sort of fell into place for Vancouver, because damn it, hybrid rebuilds give you a lot of leeway.

But realistically, it just felt like a matter of time until the Flyers scored because if it wasn’t Demko having to make a big save, it was the Flyers juuuuuuust missing on a scoring chance. The Canucks barely sniffed the Flyers end of the ice, and when they did, it was like some sort of homage to Tocchet’s last year in Vancouver, utilizing the good old-fashioned thoughts and prayer soft wrist shot towards an unscreened goaltender.

I am not even going to mention the Flyers’ goalie by name because they don’t deserve it; their night was too easy to deserve any praise.

Best welcome to “The Shift”

Just maintaining possession for longer than 5 seconds is a feat now #canucks

— kevin (@kevinlambert23) December 23, 2025

The first and best extended shift of the game for Vancouver finally happened around halfway through the game, which ended with Evander Kane dancing all day, ending with a boom, headshot:

He had nowhere else to shoot, and unless the goalie who shall not be named’s pads fell off, it’s hard to imagine Kane scoring in any way on that shot, but hey, you take what you can get at this point.

Other highlights included Kiefer Sherwood shoving the puck out of the zone:

That’s a mighty fine shove.

Oh, there was also a Max Sasson chance after he was set up by Linus Karlsson, after the long bomb pass from Marcus Pettersson:

That at least felt like it had a chance to go in, and was probably the high point of the second period from the Canucks.

Best all good things come to an end

It was coming…Demko can’t save it all..time for Boeser and the rest of the forwards to show up #Canucks

— Mike Ng (@mikeng_12) December 23, 2025

Mercifully, the Flyers decided to finally end any hope of a win when they opened the scoring near the end of the second, when Nikita Grebenkin got a piece of Emile Andrae’s point shot:

This is the poster boy for Tocchet GOTI hockey. Get the puck in deep, win a couple of puck battles, work it back to the point, layer two guys in front of the goalie, shoot on net, and score.

I will say that Tocchet hockey looks far more appetizing when it involves a healthy mix of shots in dangerous areas and in the crease. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good tipped shot from the point, but you can’t make that the main course. It’s like going to the Oliver Garden and making a meal out of the free breadsticks. Sure, you can do that, but you probably shouldn’t do that. Especially not 82 times a year.

Best foreshadowing

Getting outshot by Tocchet hockey #Canucks

— Dombrova (@dombrova22) December 23, 2025

The Flyers then did the honourable thing by letting the Canucks know who was going to score later in the game, by having Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, and Trevor Zegras all take turns ALMOST scoring, which is hockey’s version of foreplay. Well, at least it was before Heated Rivalry came out and changed that dynamic forever.

Up first, you had Michkov, scoreless in enough games to be mentioned by the broadcast repeatedly, power the puck on net, only to be thwarted by Thatcher:

Michkov would then follow that up with a deft tip on net that Demko just barely got enough of to stop:

Owen Tippet was next to announce his intentions, as he raced right around Elias Pettersson to get a clear-cut breakaway:

Terrorizing young defenceman seems to be Tippett’s thing as he would absolutely pants Tom Willander later in the game, but we’ll get to that.

First, we have to go back to Trevor Zegras, who, after Zeev Buium was stripped of the puck, had a two-on-one chance with Konecny:

The broadcast seemed to think Buium merely fumbled the puck, but I detected a hint of him trying to play the puck with a stick betwixt his legs, which, hey, I am here for it. Do your dekes, bro, why not at this point.

Then, finally, it was Owen Tippet once again terrorizing Elias Pettersson, skating right around him and trying to bulldoze the puck into the net:

The takeaway from all of this is that the Flyers found countless ways to generate offence against the Canucks. Point shots, shots from the slot, pucks in the crease, it felt like any time the Canucks tried to bring the puck up the ice, the Flyers shut them down and countered them oh so easily.

Good for team tank, mind you, but not an entertaining game from Vancouver’s side of things.

Best old habits die hard

Going to need more than just Demko to win this one here, but the gas tank may be empty for Vancouver at this point

2-0 Flyers#Canucks

— What The Nuck (@WhatTheNuckPod) December 23, 2025

With the Canucks clearly on the ropes, the Flyers connected on a straight right that would have dropped Jake Paul in his tracks when Carl Grundstrom collected his own rebound and made it 2-0:

Not that fatigue can excuse the countless times this season Vancouver has left a man wide open in front of their net, but four players stuck in the mud, watching as a dude races by them to double-tap a puck, tells me this team needs a bit of a rest.

Best keep ’em coming

my dad went to the grocery store when it was 0-1 how am I supposed to face him when he gets back

#Canucks

— em tweets (@empathytweets_) December 23, 2025

Christian Dvorak would then make it 3-0 after tipping in a puck out of the air after a lucky bounce off the glass:

Initially ruled no goal, the replay showed Dvorak’s stick was legally allowed to enter the bar, which then led to the Amazon Prime announcers laughing about Montreal giving up on Dvorak and how they’d rue the day they’d moved on from him. Which initially you’re like “ok, relax guys” but then you see Dvorak is on pace for a career high in points and he once scored 121 points in the OHL, and sure he’s already 29 years old, but what if that’s just entering his prime and his time is now???

Anyway, this was not a fun game.

Best cheap shot

Buium hurt? #Canucks

— FnNuckFan (@FnNuck) December 23, 2025

Praised by the play-by-play as showcasing some grit, Michkov took out Buium in what was clearly interference but was let go by the refs:

Zeev would be ok, mostly because Tyler “Dad” Myers let his son know he’d get through this, but Michkov is signing some checks; he’d better be sure he can cash.

Best Sasson-ing the moment

That’s the first nice pass I’ve seen a #Canucks player make this game and they score on it

Hot stick for Max Sasson

— What The Nuck (@WhatTheNuckPod) December 23, 2025

Armed with his new NHL contract, Max Sasson continued to prove me right in my group chat as he scored one of the two goals for Vancouver after Garland set him up for a mini-breakaway:

That’s one of those goals where a guy makes it look like he gave so little effort to score, as if to say “that’s a little embarrassing I scored that easily on you, you should feel bad.” when in fact it’s such a highly skilled goal. Once again, Sasson’s NHL speed keeps him in the NHL, and, along with eight goals on the season, has him about as firmly cemented in the lineup as he’s ever been in Vancouver.

Best learning moment

Yikes… Tom Willander. Welcome to the #NHL #Canucks

— Tyson Fedor (@TysonFedorTV) December 23, 2025

Owen Tippett’s 10th shot of the game was definitely his best one, as not only did he absolutely undress Tom Willander, he also used Jake DeBrusk’s own move against him:

Going full Fat Joe is Jake’s move, and I can only imagine the seething frustration that coursed through his body after he saw that.

Owen Tippett remains one of those players that you think might always have a second gear to their game, that maybe they can be a 70+ point player one day, but has never quite gotten there. Against Vancouver, though, his power and speed stood out in a big way.

Please note: out of kindness, I didn’t bother showing the Michkov empty-netter goal. You know how those work; there’s nothing to break down on it.

Best outlook

I’m ok with the loss:- because we ain’t making playoffs anyways:/ yeah it sucks but we need to draft well: #canucks

— Robbie Mann (@RobbieMann77) December 23, 2025

The Canucks losing is kind of the agenda going forward, if we’re being honest. I just think people want some excitement while it happens?

Maybe mix in some one-goal losses here and there, and some games where the home team gets three or four goals, you know?

Against the Flyers, it was the young defenceman on the team getting terrorized repeatedly that made it a bit of a tepid watching party from Vancouver’s side of things. Silver linings and selling the hope of the future is what it’s all about, whether that’s in the form of losing so the draft pick gets better, or it’s watching Buium skating end to end before setting up Drew O’Connor for a goal:

That’s what you hope for at this point: that the young players continue to give you moments where you can see a future beyond the Quinn Hughes/JT Miller/Elias Pettersson fallout, to a world in which your GM doesn’t have to come up with new car terms for how your team is being built.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanchies-vancouver-canucks-get-back-track-loss-philadelphia-flyers

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks sign Garland and Demko to contract extensions on day one of free agency: Top 10 Canucks stories of 2025 – #10

Welcome to our annual series here at CanucksArmy, where we ring in the new year by looking back at the top 10 Vancouver Canucks news stories of the past calendar year.

NUMBER 10: Canucks sign Conor Garland and Thatcher Demko to contract extensions​

Oh, to go back to the good vibes of the offseason.

It’s almost hard to believe that the Canucks got long-term commitments from Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and Thatcher Demko in free agency just a few months ago, when you consider where the team is at today. Now looking at a rebuild following the trade of Quinn Hughes, the Canucks having these three veteran players under contract poses some interesting questions about their next steps and the future ahead.

Demko’s extension came in at three years at $8.5 million annually, while Garland signed a six-year deal worth $6 million annually. Here’s what the organization said of the signings at the time. On Garland:

“Conor is a core member of our hockey team and a player who has taken on a bigger role with the club the past couple seasons,” said GM Patrik Allvin. “His commitment to us by signing this deal shows how confident he is in our organization’s vision and direction. He competes hard every day, drives play on the ice, is relentless on the forecheck and is really tough to play against. Gars is an emerging leader in the group and works extremely hard to keep himself and the players around him accountable.”

On Demko:

“Thatcher is one of the top goalies in the National Hockey League and a key leader in our locker room,” said Allvin. “His desire to continue his career in Vancouver says a lot about what we are trying to accomplish and where this organization is headed. Demmer is one of the hardest working players on our team and gives our group great confidence when he takes the net. A complete package of size, strength, rebound control, and athletic ability, our players know that they have an opportunity to win each and every game he plays.”

Now, given the increase in the NHL’s salary cap, Garland’s extension has already begun to look like a steal. With more and more players electing to re-sign with their teams and not hit free agency, it could be slim pickings in NHL free agency for at least the next handful of years. We will likely see players who are less productive than Garland sign bigger tickets than what the Canucks are going to be paying him at the start of next year.

And the same might be able to be said about Demko’s extension as well, but step one is for the Canucks’ All-Star goaltender to remain healthy for an extended period of time.

Could a big story of 2026 be that one of these veterans is traded? Only time will tell…

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...hl-free-agency-top-10-canucks-stories-2025-10

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks Christmas Wishlist: Trade for more draft picks

The Vancouver Canucks have been winning games since the Quinn Hughes trade, and Jim Rutherford uttered the forbidden word “rebuild.” The hope is that they don’t use this recent road trip as an excuse to rush the process and believe they’re closer to competing than they actually are.

In the past, the Canucks have elected to retain some of their pending UFAs and veteran players to push for the playoffs. Last season, the best examples of this were Brock Boeser and Pius Suter, who, at the time, were heavily rumoured to be on their way out and unlikely to sign extensions in the offseason.

Now, of course, Boeser ultimately extended at the 11th hour, but this season the Canucks need to embrace the rebuild and sell off some of their pending UFAs and aging veterans.

As of this moment, the Canucks currently hold six picks in the upcoming 2026 NHL Entry Draft. They have their own first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth round picks as well as the Minnesota Wild’s first rounder.

This isn’t enough for a team to start building a deep prospect pool. It’s great to pick up an addition first, but there’s still more work to be done by the Canucks management group to amass more draft capital.

Let’s kick things off with the most obvious trade target, Kiefer Sherwood. What Sherwood has been able to do in Vancouver has been incredible. He’s gone from being a player with only one double-digit goal season to now being a legitimate contributor offensively while playing such high energy, never taking a shift off – the perfect player for a playoff contender looking to bolster their lineup.

The next choice would be to move off of Conor Garland. He means a ton to the Canucks and is a big part of the team’s current culture. That said, he’s 29 years old, with a contract extension kicking in that will pay him through age 36 and includes a full no-move clause.

The truth of the matter is that, although he’s been an integral part of the Canuck lineup over the past couple of seasons, the team needs to continue to get younger and undergo a cultural shift. Having money tied up in veterans with a term makes rebuilding even more difficult to nail.

The two of Conor Garland and Kiefer Sherwood on the trade market could get you a first-round pick for each, and potentially some additional late-round picks or young players/prospects as well.

Heading into this year’s draft with four first-round picks in what a lot of people believe to be a high-end draft class would be an excellent way to propel the rebuild, especially if management wants this to be a quicker one.

Let’s not stop there. Evander Kane and Drew O’Connor are another couple of pieces the Canucks could look to move for some more draft capital. They won’t net you a return of a first-round pick, but there is potential for these two guys to get back a similar return to the Mason Marchment trade.

Kane is a proven playoff performer and is on an expiring deal. The cap hit is high, but if the Canucks retain half his salary at the deadline, a contending team may be willing to give up a high-to-mid-round pick and take a chance on him for a playoff push.

O’Connor might even be easier to convince another team to take a shot on. He’s 27 years old, has top-end speed, and is scoring at half a point per game, with a modest $2.5-million salary and an extra year. He would fit a bottom-six role perfectly on a contender, adding some depth, scoring production and defensive ability.

Not only would moving these players give the Canucks more draft capital and help them bottom out for a better chance at winning the draft lottery, but it would also result in more young players being integrated into the lineup and playing significant minutes at that.

The Canucks are in a prime position to better their future while seeing what they have in the young players currently in the system. Liam Öhgren and Jonathan Lekkerimäki could have the opportunity to play top-six minutes consistently at the end of the year, helping them develop and grow at the NHL level.

There are many benefits to being a seller, particularly this year, when there are so few around the National Hockey League and the way that season has gone to this point, there isn’t really a downside to point to.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Is more draft picks on your Christmas Wishlist this year? And if so, who do you think they should look to move to get those draft picks? Let us know in the comments below!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-christmas-wishlist-trade-more-draft-picks

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks Christmas Wishlist: For Marco Rossi to solve the centre depth issues

When the Vancouver Canucks shocked the hockey world and dealt Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in a blockbuster trade, one of the positions the team was hoping to fill was the second-line centre position. Ever since the team traded JT Miller, it’s been a position they have been actively trying to fill via both the trade market and free agency.

In the trade that sent Miller to the New York Rangers, one of the pieces the Canucks received was Filip Chytil, whom they thought would fill Miller’s spot. However, injuries have prevented him from playing to his full potential as the team’s second-line centre.

Fast-forward to the Hughes trade: Marco Rossi enters. One of the key returns involved in the trade, Rossi, is a player the Canucks have previously been linked to. He fits the mould of exactly what the Canucks have been rumoured to have been looking for: a skilled forward under the age of 25.

If all goes to plan, the Canucks may have gotten exactly what they wished for in Rossi.

In his six seasons with the Wild, the 24-year-old Rossi frequently centred a line with Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, two of the Wild’s top wingers. Despite playing with those two, Rossi often found himself competing for ice time with players such as Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman.

On the Canucks, Rossi will have more than enough time to display the skill that made him such an important target for the Canucks this past offseason. Through his first five games with the team, Rossi found himself playing alongside Brock Boeser and, recently, Conor Garland. That duo have looked good together, doing so with David Kämpf as their centreman. Placing a more established scoring threat in Rossi between them should, in theory, give the Canucks an offensive boost.

But it’s been a bit of a slow start with the Rossi, with only one point in five games, but he has found chemistry with Minnesota native Boeser in particular. If Boeser and Rossi can continue to develop chemistry long-term, it would be a welcome sight for the Canucks, as both players have struggled to produce this season.

Before coming over to the Canucks, Rossi had four goals and 13 points in 17 games with the Wild. Last season, Rossi set a career high in goals with 24, along with 60 points. But much of that was him, and how much of that was him benefiting from playing with two play drivers in Kaprizov and Boldy?

In 68 5v5 minutes with Rossi, Kaprizov and Boldy on the ice that season, the Wild controlled 59.4% of the shot share. But with Rossi on the ice without Kaprizov or Boldy, the Wild controlled just 50.4% of the shot share at 5v5. So now, without both of them in Vancouver, Rossi will be expected to drive play on his own line.

But it hasn’t been the most encouraging start for Rossi in a Canucks uniform. With Rossi on the ice, teams have outshot the Canucks 27-42 (38.57%) at 5v5, and out-attempted them 57-92 (38.26%). However, he’s currently skating as the team’s top centre with Pettersson on the shelf. And in Vancouver, he’s not fortunate to play with the calibre of wingers like Kaprizov or Boldy. He’ll have to show he can carry more of the load on his line with his current allotment of wingers in Vancouver.

There’s no doubt that Rossi has the skill to be a top-six centre in the NHL, but at the age of 24, Rossi still has room to grow. If he can develop into a consistent 50-60 point centre with the Canucks, it would pay huge dividends as the team continues to rebuild its core.

And if the Austrian forward can become that player, the team would likely be set down the middle with Pettersson and Rossi. The team also has young centres like Braeden Cootes and Aatu Räty waiting to break out as full-time NHL players, but they’ll need to rely on Rossi until they become ready.

If the Canucks’ plan for a quick turnaround is possible, it all starts with Marco Rossi further developing and contributing as a secondary option down the middle behind Elias Pettersson.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...ishlist-marco-rossi-solve-centre-depth-issues

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

When the Canucks drafted Braeden Cootes: Top 10 Canucks stories of 2025 – #8

Welcome back to our annual series here at CanucksArmy, where we ring in the new year by looking back at the top 10 Vancouver Canucks news stories of the past calendar year.

NUMBER 8: Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick of 2025 NHL Draft​

Team Canada forward Braeden Cootes. That’s got a nice ring to it.

With the World Juniors just a couple of days away, it sure is fitting that the Canucks’ selection of Braeden Cootes at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft comes in at number eight on our list of the top Canucks stories of 2025. Selected at 15th overall, Cootes arrived ahead of schedule when he knocked down the door and managed to make the Canucks’ NHL roster in the first training camp of his young career. Cootes stood out in both training camp and the preseason, and earned a quick three-game NHL cup of coffee before returning to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds to further develop his game.

But the surprises didn’t stop there.

Originally thought of as a bit of a long shot or a fringe option to make Canada’s World Juniors squad (due mostly to his age), Cootes has made Team Canada’s roster for the tournament, and even got some time on PP1 during the exhibition games. In a redraft done today, Cootes likely doesn’t fall to 15th, and Canucks fans are happier for it.

With a story like this, it’s always fun to go back and see what we said about Cootes at the time. Of course, CanucksArmy’s prospect guru Dave Hall is always pretty bang on, so it’s no surprise to see that he was especially high on Cootes when the pick was made:

“Cootes checks all the right boxes the Canucks could hope for in a prospect. Known for his relentless work ethic, he’s the kind of player who leaves it all on the ice, earning a reputation as a “heart and soul” type with leadership potential written all over him… He’s a tireless competitor on the ice, providing a real “Energizer Bunny” brand with his non-stop motor. He’s a responsible, all-situations (right-shot) pivot who thrives in all three zones, bringing a pest-like forecheck that wears down opponents.”

And it’s also worth mentioning in the Canucks Conversation draft recap show, Dave said Cootes’ off-puck traits give him a high floor that would almost guarantee he’d play NHL games. Bang on, I tell you!

Check out our other top 10 stories of 2026 so far!
#10 – Canucks sign Garland and Demko to contract extensions on day one of free agency
#9 – When Rutherford hinted at trading for Jack and Luke Hughes to keep Quinn in Vancouver
#8 – Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick of 2025 NHL Draft

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-drafted-braeden-cootes-top-10-stories-2025-8

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

World Juniors: Draft-Eligible prospects Canucks fans should be watching

The World Junior Championship always offers an intriguing glimpse into the NHL’s future. But for the Vancouver Canucks, this year’s edition comes with far more riding on it.

Armed with two first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft — one of which could land near the very top of the board — the organization and its beloved followers have an added incentive to monitor this year’s tournament closely. While much of the focus will fall on recently drafted forward Braeden Cootes (Canada), he is far from the only reason Canucks fans should be invested. This year’s event features a deep group of draft-eligible talent, many of whom project in first-round territory and could factor into the franchise’s next wave of youth.

Here are the players worth watching through a Canucks lens at the 2026 World Juniors.

Top of the board​

Gavin McKenna, Canada
Position: LW | Height: 6’0″| Weight: 170 lbs | Age: 18 (December 20, 2007)

Gavin McKenna enters this year’s tournament with more eyes on him than any other player in this class. Once viewed as the crown jewel of the 2026 draft, the Whitehorse native now carries something to prove after questions began to surface during his transition to the NCAA.

McKenna is expected to play a significant role for Team Canada, and this tournament represents a prime opportunity to remind scouts why his offensive ceiling remains so tantalizing. His vision, creativity, and ability to find seams quickly are considered elite. And for Canucks fans, he’s a name worth watching not only for a potential gold medal run, but as a possible franchise-altering forward should Vancouver land a top pick.

Ivar Stenberg, Sweden
Position: LW | Height: 6’0″| Weight: 181 lbs | Age: 18 (September 30, 2007)

If McKenna is trying to reassert himself, Ivar Stenberg is pushing hard to leapfrog him as that unanimous top forward. The Swedish winger has been one of the biggest risers in this draft class and enters the tournament with genuine momentum.

Stenberg brings high-end skill, but what separates him is his competitiveness and completeness. He impacts the game in all three zones and doesn’t rely solely on offence to drive value. Of course, scoring at a potential historic high in the SHL, there is tons to be excited about in the offensive department.

For fans who may already be locked in on McKenna, this tournament could be the one that changes minds.

Keaton Verhoeff, Canada
Position: RD | Height: 6’4″| Weight: 212 lbs | Age: 17 (June 19, 2008)

Rankings continue to swing back and forth, but the consensus among most pundits has Keaton Verhoeff as this year’s top-ranked defender. Considering the names on Canada’s backend, the 17-year-old may not see high minutes throughout this tournament. But even making Team Canada alone speaks volumes about his trajectory.

Verhoeff isn’t flashy, but he plays a composed, efficient game and projects as a versatile, high-floor defender. If rounding out an already budding blueline is what the Canucks are after, Verhoeff’s two-way game is a safe bet.

High-ranked climbers​

Chase Reid, USA
Position: RD | Height: 6’2″| Weight: 187 lbs | Age: 17 (December 30, 2007)

While Verhoeff has held his spot, Chase Reid has surged up draft boards with remarkable speed. The right-shot defenceman has been outstanding in the OHL, combining strong skating with vision and offensive instincts that translate well at pace. Sitting second among OHL defenders in scoring, Reid has quietly worked himself into top-10 — and potentially top-five — territory of the 2026 draft.

For a Canucks organization that values mobile defenders who can move the puck, Reid’s tournament play could make him a name to circle early.

Carson Carels, Canada
Position: LD | Height: 6’2″| Weight: 194 lbs | Age: 17 (June 23, 2008)

Another defender worth watching is Carson Carels, who, like Verhoeff, earned a spot on Team Canada at just 17. His role may be limited, but his ability to handle heavy minutes at the junior level, sometimes north of 30 minutes, suggests he won’t be overwhelmed.

Carels skates well, plays with confidence, and has shown the ability to bring high-end power-play quarterback potential. If the team’s three-game preliminary stretch showed us anything, it’s that Carson Carels is ready to make a statement and boost his draft stock heading into the back half of the season.

Mid-round targets​

Alberts Smits, Latvia
Position: LD | Height: 6’3″| Weight: 205 lbs | Age: 18 (December 2, 2007)

Latvia’s Alberts Smits faces a tall task as Latvia’s top defenceman, but he’s built for it. Standing 6-foot-3 and already accustomed to playing against men in Finland’s Liiga, Smits brings a steady two-way presence that doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet. He moves the puck well, defends with authority, and should log significant minutes throughout the tournament. For evaluators, this is a player you’ll need to watch live to fully appreciate, as the stats may not show up well in this type of environment.

Adam Novotny, Czechia
Position: LW | Height: 6’1″| Weight: 205 lbs | Age: 18 (November 13, 2007)

Adam Novotny, already highlighted on our draft eligibility list here at CanucksArmy, will be a key player for Czechia. The 6-foot-1 winger is enjoying a strong rookie season in the OHL and plays a mature, two-way game built on skating, effort, and a reliable release. We’ve really liked what he’s brought to his North American game, and this tournament should allow him to showcase his ability to contribute in all situations as a big-role player on this Czech roster.

Viggo Björck, Sweden
Position: C | Height: 5’10″| Weight: 172 lbs | Age: 17 (March 12, 2008)

Having him in the “mid-round targets” section may be seen as controversial. Once considered a top prospect among this crop, Viggo Björck – brother of current Canucks prospect Wilson – has seen his stock drop since day one of the season. But it’s not because of his skillset.

Despite being an undersized forward, Björck is dynamic with the puck and capable of taking over games in short bursts. Look no further than his performances against Canada during the preliminary round. He’s going to be a vital fixture to Sweden’s offensive punch, and this tournament could set the stage for a massive revitalization in his stock. Given the amount of skill, combined with the brotherly connection, he’s a player that Canucks fans should keep a close tab on.

Oliver Suvanto, Finland
Position: C | Height: 6’3″| Weight: 209 lbs | Age: 17 (September 3, 2008)

The Finnish centre isn’t stealing highlight packages, and it’s unlikely this Finnish team will give the young pivot an enormous platform to work off. But he’s a highly responsible and powerful centre whose game focuses on the defensive side more than most. His defensive awareness, strength, and projectable middle-six traits make him an interesting option in the mid-ranges of the first, particularly for teams prioritizing structure down the middle.

Juho Piiparinen, Finland
Position: RD | Height: 6’3″| Weight: 203 lbs | Age: 17 (August 10, 2008)

Juho Piiparinen offers a similar appeal to Suvanto, but from the back end. The right-shot defender isn’t going to wow with offence, but he skates well, processes the game with a strong hockey mind, and won’t stand out with many poor plays. His upside may be limited, but his floor is appealing. The best way to describe Juho Piiparinen’s game is simple: he’s just solid.

Back-half options​

Tomas Chrenko, Slovakia
Position: C | Height: 5’11″| Weight: 170 lbs | Age: 18 (November 2, 2007)

Tomas Chrenko represents one of the more creative options likely to be available later in the draft. The smaller Slovakian centre plays with flair, soft hands, and deceptive skating, making him a difficult matchup despite his frame. Already playing against men, he should be a fixture for Slovakia and a player whose value could rise with a strong showing.

William Håkansson, Sweden
Position: LD | Height: 6’4″| Weight: 207 lbs | Age: 18 (October 8, 2007)

William Håkansson rounds out the list as a stabilizing defensive presence for Sweden. At 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds, he brings size, composure, and experience against men in the SHL. He won’t dominate offensively, but he plays a reliable, structured game and should see top-four minutes throughout the tournament.

The World Junior Championship is rarely a definitive measure of talent. But it does offer a solid piece of the puzzle.

With two first-round picks in hand and one potentially near the very top of the board, the Canucks brass and its followers should be watching this tournament with a fine-toothed comb.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/world-juniors-draft-eligible-prospects-vancouver-canucks-fans-watching

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks Christmas Wishlist: Generate more high-danger chances consistently

Christmas is always a good time to ask for things, right?

The title seems like common sense. Yeah, no duh, the Vancouver Canucks want to create more high-danger chances. Which fanbase, which team doesn’t want to be getting the best looks at the net, the ones that have the highest probability of becoming goals?

But it’s been easier said than done for this team.

To get a sense of the Canucks’ struggles offensively this season, let’s take a look at the numbers. So far this year, the Canucks have totalled 63 goals, tying them for fifth-worst in the league. That’s not great, and it isn’t as if Vancouver has been getting unlucky either. They’re the seventh-worst team in total scoring chances, sitting at 295 high-danger chances total, putting them as the fifth-worst team in the league.

Obviously, those aren’t great numbers, and more than explain why this team has been as bad as they have been this season. The lack of offensive production has also been affecting their overall share metrics, as they are the fourth-worst team in HDCF%, largely due to allowing the second-most high-danger chances against (378). The only team worse than them in that regard is Anaheim, but the Ducks at least get the fifth-most high-danger chances in the league to offset that impact.

Suffice it to say, the stats reflect the eye test. This team is hard to watch at times. They can’t get great looks at 5v5 play, the lackadaisical nature of their even-strength play spills over to a mostly anemic power play, and they continue to have difficulty defending in any setting. Not exactly the characteristics of a winning team.

If you’ve been keeping up with the Statsies at all this season, more often than not, it’s a lake of red in front of the Canucks’ own net, while there’s a frozen tundra in the offensive zone. And I do mean those adjectives literally.

Especially as this team undergoes another rebuild, looking to try and gain something out of this lost year, I hope that this group can figure out how to consistently generate those high-danger looks. This is an opportunity to rebuild this team’s identity and structure. Whether Adam Foote remains at the helm or not, for the team’s long-term success, they need to focus on those high-probability areas.

It’s not good enough to rely on netminding to bail them out. Kevin Lankinen has looked more than a little mortal this season after a stellar 2024-25 campaign. And while Thatcher Demko is brilliant, we’ve seen what happens when this team leans on him too much, given his injury concerns.

One of the more interesting things to come out of the Quinn Hughes trade is how the numbers have shifted for Vancouver. Don’t get me wrong, they still struggle to create scoring chances. Between December 12 and the time of this writing (December 23), the Canucks have the second-worst total scoring chance, only barely ahead of the New York Islanders in last. It’s marginally better in the high-danger chance category, where Vancouver sits in fourth-last.

That much makes sense, though. You lose your best defenceman in franchise history, and more often than not, the most dynamic, offensively creative skater on the roster. The offence will take time to adjust; it will take a hit, and the team as a whole probably won’t be able to fully recreate the impact a player like Hughes has.

But what has been interesting is how the Canucks have improved defensively. Vancouver sits just above average in total scoring chances against, good enough for 12th-best in the league over this span. They’re still giving up a lot of high-danger chances against, but in terms of overall numbers, it’s definitely a much better sight than where they were.

In an ideal world, the Canucks can continue to build on this defensive improvement and limit their opponents’ chance creation. A good, structured defence goes a long way, especially in post-season hockey.

But getting there in the first place requires this team to score goals. And what gives the Canucks the best chance of scoring is getting those high-danger chances. It’s an opportunity to develop good habits, to get into consistent, sustainable ways of creating offence, and to provide a long-term foundation for the younger players to develop that scoring touch this team so desperately needs.

It would also make this season far, far more enjoyable to watch.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...enerate-more-high-danger-chances-consistently

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

When Rick Tocchet was brutally honest about JT Miller’s poor play: Top 10 Canucks stories of 2025 – #6

Welcome back to our annual series here at CanucksArmy, where we ring in the new year by looking back at the top 10 Vancouver Canucks news stories of the past calendar year.

NUMBER 6: When Rick Tocchet was brutally honest about JT Miller’s poor play​

It’s almost hard to remember that JT Miller and his eventual trade from the Canucks to the New York Rangers is part of the Canucks’ story of 2025. When we look back, 2025 will almost certainly be remembered as the year of the Quinn Hughes trade, after the captain informed the Canucks that he wouldn’t be signing with the club long term around US Thanksgiving. That’s caused the Canucks to pivot and target young players and future assets as they get set to chart a new course in a Hughes-less world. We don’t know what the future holds for this next era of Canucks hockey, but no matter what, 2025 will almost certainly be remembered as the year of the Hughes trade.

Which is why it might be hard to remember that in early 2025, the Canucks traded JT Miller. The trade followed months of poor play from the Canucks’ forward, not to mention an off-ice feud with Elias Pettersson that Jim Rutherford proclaimed there was “no good solution for” before shipping Miller to the Rangers. As mentioned, prior to the trade, Miller was far from his best. He was turning pucks over, giving up on plays, oozing bad body language, and wasn’t putting up the point totals he’s used to.

Notably, there was the third period benching against the Nashville Predators, with a ten-game leave of absence for Miller that followed immediately after. But on January 16th, 2025, with the LA Kings in town, Miller’s time with the Canucks really felt like it was coming to an end. That game — and more specifically, Rick Tocchet’s comments about it post game — come in at number six on our list.

The Canucks lost to the Kings by a final score of 5-1. Miller finished as the low man of the forward group in even-strength ice time, playing just 9:25. It was clear that the head coach was growing frustrated by Miller’s poor play, but just in case you weren’t sure, Tocchet made it abundantly clear post game.

“He’s struggling. He’s caught in between. You know, it seems like every time he’s on the ice, something bad happens. I think he’s got some bad luck, but he’s also got some reads that he’s got to – big pause – he’s got to look at himself right now and focus on some of these reads. You can’t dive in on the four-on-four, things like that. I think he’s trying, [but] sometimes the focus level has to get a little higher.”

Of course, the part of that quote that got the most play was “it seems like every time he’s on the ice, something bad happens”, as that’s quite unusual to hear a coach say about a top player. But Miller wasn’t playing like a top player at that time. And in his first full season with the Rangers, who named him captain at the start of the season, Miller has struggled to produce offence as his club sits on the outside of a very crowded Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Check out our other top 10 stories of 2026 so far!
#10 – Canucks sign Garland and Demko to contract extensions on day one of free agency
#9 – When Rutherford hinted at trading for Jack and Luke Hughes to keep Quinn in Vancouver
#8 – Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick of 2025 NHL Draft
#7 – Brock Boeser details Allvin’s last-minute phone call that kept him in Vancouver

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/rick-t...-play-top-10-vancouver-canucks-stories-2025-6

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

World Juniors: Canucks’ Cootes and Team Canada beat Czechia 7-5

The Christmas gifts have been handed out. The turkey dinner has been eaten.

Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy one of the most anticipated stretches of hockey on the calendar — the U20 World Junior Championship.

Kicking off on Boxing Day, eight of the tournament’s 12 teams opened their slate, with two Vancouver Canucks prospects in action.

Sweden opens with a 3-2 win — without Björck​

Wilson Björck’s Team Sweden officially opened its tournament against Slovakia. Thanks to a late third-period dagger from top draft-eligible forward Ivar Stenberg, the Swedes skated away with a narrow 3–2 victory.

WHAT A TUCK!

Ivar Stenberg with the CLUTCH go-ahead goal with just a few minutes to go in the game! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/oZkvvupjFJ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2025

Unfortunately for Canucks fans, Björck was one of Sweden’s healthy scratches and did not factor into the win.

Canada survives a wild opener against Czechia​

That evening, Team Canada kicked off its tournament against a familiar thorn in its side: Czechia. A matchup that has delivered drama in recent years lived up to expectations once again.

Braeden Cootes centred Canada’s fourth line and did not see time on special teams. He took the ice for just 12 shifts for a total of 9:21 of ice time in the win.

The game opened with a back-and-forth first period. Nashville Predators prospect Brady Martin got Canada on the board first, finishing off a tremendous centring feed from top draft-eligible forward Gavin McKenna.

Brady Martin scores Canada's first goal of the tournament! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/IforUbXVRq

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

The lead didn’t last long. Tomáš Poletín tied the game after being left unchecked in front, deflecting a point shot past Canadian netminder Carter George.

CZECHIA TIES IT UP!

Tomas Poletin with a beautiful tip in front to score Czechia's first goal of the tournament. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/3svU396dvU

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Canada regained the lead late in the second period when Michael Hage trailed the play, took a pass in stride, and ripped a pinpoint shot off the crossbar and in.

BARDOWN FROM MICHAEL HAGE!

Canada leads 2-1! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/TKrUKvkZHX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Czechia responded in the middle frame with back-to-back goals from Vojtěch Čihař and Petr Sýkora, giving the Czechs their first lead of the tournament.

Vojtech Cihar takes advantage of the delayed penalty with a nice tip to tie it up for Czechia! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/K1KUysK2kn

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Petr Sikora finishes it off, Czechia has grabbed their first lead of the game! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/9PTKVqY7gG

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

With time winding down, Zayne Parekh scored a massive goal to even the score before the period’s end. The defenceman ripped home his first of two goals on the night to tie the game, then struck again early in the third to restore Canada’s lead.

ZAYNE PAREKH WITH THE SNIPE!

We're all tied up! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/NKdDOuXPiv

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

ZAYNE PAREKH WITH ANOTHER SNIPE, THIS ONE TO GIVE CANADA THE LEAD! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/k6eFAQfIrS

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Once again, Czechia answered. A wild bounce off the end boards kicked directly to Poletín, who batted the puck past George for his second of the game.

Tomas Poletin scores his second, Czechia ties it up AGAIN! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/pUHCpgkUw3

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Just over a minute later, Tij Iginla responded, stepping into a Michael Misa drop pass and firing another perfectly placed shot to make it 5–4.

TIJ IGINLA POTS HIS FIRST! Canada re-takes the lead just 71 seconds after Czechia tied it up! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/WDpYHePtsJ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Before the midway point of the third, the two-time undrafted defenceman — and current Canucks prospect Parker Alcos’ defensive partner in Edmonton — Ethan MacKenzie scored his first of the tournament to provide Canada with some insurance and the eventual game winner.

ETHAN MACKENZIE TALLIES, CANADA LEADS BY TWO! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/ZlcplQCrqS

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025

Canada wouldn’t look back. Despite one final push from the Czechs, the Canadians held on for a thrilling 7–5 victory to open their tournament on a high note.

What’s next​

Canada will face Latvia on Saturday, December 27, at 1:30 p.m. PT — one year to the day after Latvia made history by dramatically upsetting the Canadians.

Basile Sansonnens and Team Switzerland open their tournament against the United States later that day, with puck drop set for 3:00 p.m. PT.

Meanwhile, Wilson Björck and Team Sweden will enjoy a day off before returning to action on Sunday against Switzerland at 11:00 a.m. PT.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/world-juniors-vancouver-canucks-cootes-team-canada-beat-czechia-7-5