Just two days after the start of the Vancouver Canucks’ 2026 training camp, the team is hitting the ice for their first game of the preseason.
On Saturday at 6:00 p.m., the Canucks will take on the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. The game is listed as being available to watch on Sportsnet Plus, but the Canucks have also said the game will be streamed on their website.
With the quick turnaround from the start of camp to the start of the preseason, it was a challenge to get the team up to speed.
“Trying to cover all your systems in two days is a tall task,” said head coach Manny Malhotra on Friday. “We feel that we’ve done a good job of touching on everything just to make sure that they have an understanding of what it’s supposed to look like.”
The Canucks will be taking a young group to Seattle, which isn’t surprising. The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) did away with the rule requiring a minimum if eight veteran players in a preseason game. Instead, veterans are now limited to just two preseason games.
Most of the Canucks’ lineup will be 26 and under, with the two oldest Canucks on defence: AHL veterans Jimmy Schuldt and Guillaume Brisebois, the latter of whom has been with the Canucks since he was drafted way back in 2015. Only Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko have been part of the organization for longer than Brisebois.
Vancouver Canucks projected lineup
While Malhotra said that he wanted to keep lines consistent from the start of camp to the start of preseason, the lines that will take the ice Saturday night are mostly quite different from what was observed at camp.
Here are the projected Canucks lines, courtesy of Jeff Paterson:
Arshdeep Bains – Braeden Cootes – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Adam Novotný – Ilya Safonov – Trey Fix-Wolansky
Max Sasson – Aatu Räty – Riley Patterson
Vilmer Alriksson – Chase Wouters – Matthew Stienburg
Elias Pettersson – Victor Mancini
Guillaume Brisebois – Kirill Kudryavtsev
Sawyer Mynio – Jimmy Schuldt
Nikita Tolopilo
Aleksei Medvedev
The Canucks’ first-round pick from 2025, Braeden Cootes, will centre a line between Arshdeep Bains and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. While all three will be pushing for a job in the NHL, this could be the top line for the Abbotsford Canucks this season.
Max Sasson spent the last two days at centre between Drew O’Connor and Brendan Gallagher — a potential bottom-six line — but will be back on the wing in Seattle. His centre, Aatu Räty, will be looking to prove he deserves consistent minutes.
2026 first-round pick Adam Novotný has a chance to earn a cup of coffee in the NHL to start the season and could technically play in the AHL this year.
Also keep an eye on Ilya Safonov. The 25-year-old centre has experience in the KHL but has yet to make a big impression at camp. With his intelligent two-way game, he could thrive as more structure is introduced.
The most intriguing battle to watch could be on the right side on defence.
Victor Mancini shoots right, so he is a more natural fit on the right side, but the left-shot Kirill Kudryavtsev has shown that he can play both sides effectively. Those two are the favourites to be the Canucks’ seventh defenceman this season, with the potential to step in on the right side for Luke Schenn.
Seattle Kraken projected lineup
The Kraken have kept a tight lid on which players might be in the lineup on Saturday night.
Since they’re on home ice, however, they’ll likely have more veterans in the lineup than the Canucks, as they’ll want to make a good impression with their fans who paid to attend the game.
The Kraken website provided a projected lineup that they stressed is “not official,” but seems to be how they’ll take the ice:
Jani Nyman – Oscar Fisker Molgaard – Frederick Gaudreau
Eduard Sale – Morrison – Jagger Firkus
Ben Meyers – Jake O’Brien – Jacob Melanson
Lleyton Roed – Julius Miettinen – John Hayden
Ryan Lindgren – Ville Ottavainen
Joshua Mahura – Cale Fleury
Tyson Jugnauth – Ty Nelson
Joey Daccord
Nikke Kokko
Here’s how their two groups lined up at training camp, via Emerald City Hockey.
Group Blue:
Jared McCann – Matty Beniers – Mackie Samoskevich
Kaapo Kakko – Berkly Catton – Shane Wright
Curtis Douglas – Ben Meyers – Jacob Melanson
Eduard Sale – Oscar Fisker Molgaard – Jagger Firkus
David Goyette – Ian McKinnon – Nathan Villeneuve
Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Joshua Mahura – Ty Nelson
Gustav Olofsson – Kaden Hammell
Caden Price – Alexis Bernier
Philipp Grubauer
Nikke Kokko
Group White:
Bobby McMann – Chandler Stephenson – Jordan Eberle
Ryan Winterton – Frederick Gaudreau – Jani Nyman
Lleyton Roed – Jake O’Brien – Carson Rehkopf
Ryden Evers – Julius Miettinen – Mitchell Stephens
Jon-Randall Avon – Logan Morrison – John Hayden
Andrei Loshko
Ryker Evans – Brandon Montour
Ryan Lindgren – Cale Fleury
Tyson Jugnauth – Ville Ottavainen
Will Reynolds – Rylan Singh
Finn Kearns
Joey Daccord
Victor Östman