The start of the NHL season gets closer and closer every day, and the Vancouver Canucks will have pretty big expectations heading into the 2025-26 season. Vancouver is expected to have a bounce-back season after last season’s disappointment, and making the playoffs should be expected for this team. What makes a good playoff team in the NHL is defence, and with the Canucks core group of NHL players and their prospects in the American Hockey League (AHL), they will have a great group on the backend for the entirety of the upcoming season.
The Core
Vancouver’s core of NHL defenders is an incredibly strong group that will be able to move the needle offensively and prevent goals defensively. The Canucks’ defence begins with Quinn Hughes as the team’s captain and best player. Hughes has already won a Norris Trophy and has been one of the Canucks biggest leaders during his time in Vancouver. His silky smooth skating abilities, great shot from the point, ability to always find the open player, and great defensive game are always reasons to tune into Canucks games, and he will be the quarterback of the defence in this upcoming season.
But outside of Hughes, Vancouver has several other players on their defence core that make their group formidable. Players like Filip Hronek, who has been Hughes’ defence partner since he arrived in Vancouver in 2023. Hronek is a great complementary piece to Hughes, and he also has a bomb from the point that is always greatly needed. The Canucks also now have two great shutdown defenders in Tyler Myers and recently acquired Marcus Pettersson. These two players are great at limiting chances for the opposition, and having them play together at either 5-on-5 or the penalty kill will be huge for the Canucks. Lastly, a great piece of their current core is the defensive Elias Pettersson, who got a call-up at the end of last season and played valiantly in his 28 games. Pettersson specializes in the defensive game, which is great for the Canucks and with a bigger role this season, Vancouver hopes to see his offensive game evolve to where he can be used in more offensive situations.
Help in the AHL
With a great group of defenders in the NHL, Vancouver also has lots of help in Abbotsford that they can call up when injuries eventually occur. They have a long list of potential call-ups, but the first that comes to mind is Tom Willander. Willander is Vancouver’s first-round pick from 2023 and has had two seasons of development at Boston University. The now 20-year-old signed a contract in the offseason and will be able to play on the Canucks if needed, and could potentially make the team out of camp. He’s a smooth-skating defenceman who was the quarterback of the Terriers’ power play and also Team Sweden’s power play at the most recent World Juniors. Canucks fans and management have been waiting to see what he can bring at the professional level.
Outside of Willander, three players come to mind as potential call-ups. Newly acquired defender Victor Mancini was able to play 16 games for the Canucks last season and showed some strides as a new player in the organization. He also joined Abbotsford for their Calder Cup run and played an important role on that championship team. Now that he is more comfortable in the organization, I can definitely see him as an option to play for the Canucks if he is needed.
Related: Vancouver Canucks’ Top 10 Prospects: 2025-26 Preseason Edition
Another player that broke out last season in the AHL was Kirill Kudryavtsev. A seventh-round pick of the Canucks, he took big strides last season when he played in Abbotsford and even got into two NHL games. With more improvement potentially coming, Kudryavtsev could definitely play for the Canucks this season and for a longer period of time.
Finally, you have Sawyer Mynio, a third-round pick and native of Kamloops, B.C. He is finally able to play pro hockey in the AHL after four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL), and many have had their eyes on this intriguing prospect. If he can come to Abbotsford and establish himself on the team, Vancouver will definitely have their eye on him as a player they could call up if need be.
The Canucks are trying to rebound from last season, and having a good defensive group will help. Their NHL core is in the top half of the league, in my opinion, and they have a lot of help in the AHL. Those are all things that teams need, and the Canucks have that in spades.
