Don’t look now, but the Vancouver Canucks are only a few days away from playing games that actually count in the standings. On Friday, they wrapped up their preseason schedule with a comeback win over the Edmonton Oilers, finishing with a solid 4-2-0 record, which included victories in their last two games icing a near-NHL lineup. They appear ready to take on the challenge of the regular season that begins on Thursday with a date with the Calgary Flames, a team they just dismantled 8-1. Although Dustin Wolf wasn’t in net for that one.
So, with that, let’s dive into the third and final roster projection and talk about who will make the team and what the line combinations and defence pairings will look like on opening night.
Forwards
There have been a few major changes since our second projection following free agency: Dakota Joshua was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nils Hoglander was injured and will be out 8-10 weeks, and Braeden Cootes and Jonathan Lekkerimaki have emerged as favourites to make the team. Those three changes have shaken up the line combos, to say the least.
1st Line: Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
Even though there was speculation that Evander Kane would get a chance on the top line in the preseason, head coach Adam Foote decided to run with Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser at the start of training camp and never looked back. That trio has been together for the entire preseason and, for the most part, has looked good. DeBrusk appears to be faster than last season, and Boeser has already showcased his ability to be a one-shot scorer, sniping his only goal of the exhibition season on a breakaway on Wednesday.
As for Pettersson, his work in the offseason has seemingly paid off. In the small three-game sample size, he looks stronger on the boards and with the puck, and most importantly, he has turned back the clock on his one-timer and wrist shot, which look eerily similar to his rookie days. If this is the Pettersson we see on opening night and throughout the season, the Canucks have a legitimate top line that should be able to run with some of the best in the league.
2nd Line: Drew O’Connor – Filip Chytil – Conor Garland
As mentioned in Drew O’Connor’s player preview, he and Filip Chytil looked like they were building some chemistry together last season before Chytil was injured. In 117:06 of five-on-five ice time, they had a 56.52 Corsi for percentage (CF%) and 23 high-danger chances. The Canucks also out-chanced the opposition 62-45 with them on the ice. So, it’s a little confusing that Foote deployed the duo for only 2:57 in the preseason, because even with the very limited ice time, they still out-chanced the other team 3-1 (one high-danger) and logged an 80 CF%.
Related: Canucks 2025-26 Player Previews: Drew O’Connor
Boeser was their regular winger last season (65:10 even-strength ice time), but even Garland was successful in the 15:25 he played with them, logging a 68.97 CF% and out-chancing the opposition 10-7 with three high-danger chances and one high-danger goal. If Foote decides to reunite this line, they promise to be a speedy unit that not only generates scoring chances off the rush but also gets in on the forecheck and makes plays along the boards. I honestly am surprised they didn’t feature this line in the preseason, but if I were Foote, I would definitely put them together for opening night.
3rd Line: Evander Kane – Braeden Cootes – Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Call this the kid line plus their dad. Cootes, 18, and Lekkerimaki, 20, have been aligned with the 34-year-old Kane at various times this preseason, and they have looked excellent together—particularly Cootes and Lekkerimaki, who appear to have some burgeoning chemistry. The Canucks hope this will one day be two-thirds of their top line, with the maturity and two-way play of Cootes and the one-shot snipe show of Lekkerimaki leading the way. Who aligns with them in their prime remains to be seen, but right now, it’s Kane, the veteran of 930 NHL games.
I don’t think anyone had Kane, Cootes and Lekkerimaki on their bingo cards before training camp, but after what we’ve seen over the last two weeks, it just makes sense to open the season with them. Between Cootes looking like a seasoned veteran and Lekkerimaki’s snipes and improved two-way game, this line offers offensive depth the Canucks didn’t have before the offseason began. Bottom line is, you ice the best team possible, and adding Cootes and Lekkerimaki does just that.
4th Line: Aatu Raty – Teddy Blueger – Kiefer Sherwood
With the emergence of Cootes down the middle, it leaves Aatu Raty in no-man’s land. He’s too good on faceoffs to keep out of the lineup, so he might have to play on the wing and jump into the circle as needed. At least to start the season, Raty will be on the “fourth line” with Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood, which could be a sneaky good scoring line. Sherwood had 18 goals last season, and Blueger and Raty should be good for double-digits as well. They also offer physicality and grit, and are very tough to play against.
Related: Canucks 2025-26 Player Previews: Teddy Blueger
Raty could swap with O’Connor and play on the second line as well, which still leaves Foote with a formidable fourth line. All in all, the Canucks should be able to ice four lines that have speed and can score goals, which I don’t think anyone could say even a month ago.
Extra: Linus Karlsson
Linus Karlsson makes it as the extra forward, while Arshdeep Bains gets put on waivers. Hopefully, he clears and is sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) so that the Canucks still have him available as depth and Abbotsford gets their fan favourite and top-line winger back. Karlsson has shown enough in the preseason and is probably the more likely forward to get claimed, so he makes the team over him.
Defence
The defence pairings stay the same as our last roster projection, with Victor Mancini winning the job next to Derek Forbort. Elias Pettersson and Pierre-Olivier Joseph stay on as the seventh and eighth defencemen, while rookie Tom Willander gets sent down to Abbotsford to gain experience and refine his game.
Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek
Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek open the season as the top pairing, for obvious reasons. Hughes already looks in mid-season form, skating circles around everyone and snapping accurate passes like he’s already played 70 games and has 80 points. Even though it was preseason, he played 27:53 against the Oilers, and despite an average shift length of 1:06 and multiple two-minute-plus shifts (one even approached three minutes!), it didn’t seem like he was breaking a sweat out there. He’s the engine that drives the team; that much is clear.
As for Hronek, he thrived next to Hughes in the preseason (big surprise, I know), with a 58.9 CF% in 55:56 of even-strength ice time. The Canucks also out-chanced the opposition 17-9 with them on the ice and generated six high-danger chances. Basically, they proved again why they are one of the best defence pairings in the NHL, right up there with Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers
The Canucks’ second pairing of Marcus Pettersson and Tyler Myers could be a surprisingly effective shutdown duo this season. In the short time Pettersson has been a part of the blue line, he’s been rock solid defensively with his stickwork, hockey IQ, shot blocking and physicality. Myers has also quieted down his “chaos giraffe” tendencies since Foote arrived behind the bench, and has become a very good two-way defenceman. Together, they form a solid pairing that should be able to match up against most top lines.
Derek Forbort – Victor Mancini
The final pairing was the only one up in the air heading into training camp, and Mancini quickly grabbed it by the horns and never let go. In the preseason, he showed improved speed and mobility, constantly jumping into the play and ended up scoring two goals. He was also physical and solid defensively. Derek Forbort, while not as impressive, will still start the season on the bottom pairing, given his size, physicality, and penalty-killing prowess.
Extras: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Elias Pettersson
Joseph didn’t play himself out of the lineup and onto waivers during the preseason and will start as the seventh defenceman with Elias Pettersson. Pettersson looked like his usual poised self throughout training camp and the preseason and won a spot over Willander, who needs some time in the minors to adjust to the speed of the NHL. Willander was good, but not great, and will benefit from reps on the top pairing under the guidance of Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra.
Regular Season Starts on Thursday vs. the Flames
The wait is finally over, Canucks fans. Hockey that matters in the standings returns on Thursday with a matchup against the Flames. There will be multiple storylines heading in, from Hughes becoming the standalone leader in points among defencemen (he only needs a single point to do so) to Cootes potentially making his NHL debut and maybe even recording his first point.
It all starts at 7 pm on Oct. 9 at Rogers Arena with the Canucks dusting off their Black Skate jerseys for the first time since March 9 against the Dallas Stars.
All advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick
