Canucks Assign Mancini & Willander to the AHL; Cootes Makes the Team

On Sunday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks continued to finalize their 2025-26 opening night roster by assigning defencemen Victor Mancini and Tom Willander to the American Hockey League (AHL). It was expected that Willander would be assigned, but given Mancini’s performance in the preseason, where he stood out with two goals, it was surprising to see him get sent down.

Willander was selected 11th overall by the Canucks in the 2023 Draft and will be making his pro debut this season after two years with Boston University. He looked okay in the preseason, but clearly needs to work on his game before making it as a full-time NHL defenceman. He will get a lot of ice time under head coach Manny Malhotra, likely in the top four with Mancini.

While Mancini probably deserved to make the team, he was a victim of his contract. Since he could be sent down freely, the Canucks could keep players like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson, who need to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL.

With Mancini and Willander heading to Abbotsford, the Canucks appear to have their 23-man opening night roster. That means rookie Braeden Cootes has made the team as an 18-year-old, the first Canuck to do so since Petr Nedved in 1990.

Forwards (14)

Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains – Filip Chytil – Conor Garland
Evander Kane – Braeden Cootes – Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Drew O’Connor – Teddy Blueger – Kiefer Sherwood
Aatu Raty – Linus Karlsson

Defence (7)

Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort – Elias Pettersson
Pierre-Olivier Joseph

Goaltenders (2)

Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen

Injured (3)

Nils Höglander
Guillaume Brisebois
Jett Woo