Canucks finalize opening-day roster, giving key prospect a big opportunity
The Vancouver Canucks made no further moves on Monday, despite there being some intriguing names on the waiver wire.
That meant when the Canucks submitted their opening-day roster for the 2026-27 season by Monday’s deadline, there were no real surprises.
At least, no new surprises. It was arguably a little bit surprising to see who had already made the cut, including two prospects who are exempt from waivers.
Here is the Canucks’ opening 23-man roster:
Forwards
- Arshdeep Bains
- Brock Boeser
- Paul Cotter
- Jake DeBrusk
- Brendan Gallagher
- Linus Karlsson
- Jonathan Lekkerimäki
- Drew O’Connor
- Liam Öhgren
- Elias Pettersson
- Aatu Räty
- Marco Rossi
- Max Sasson
Defence
- Luke Schenn
- Jamie Oleksiak
- Tom Willander
- Zeev Buium
- Filip Hronek
- Elias Pettersson
- Guillaume Brisebois
- Victor Mancini
Goaltenders
- Leevi Merläinen
- Kevin Lankinen
With Filip Chytil and Thatcher Demko out to start the season, that made the Canucks’ roster decisions a little bit easier.
It’s somewhat surprising that Victor Mancini made the cut, given his struggles in training camp and the preseason. He was arguably outplayed by Kirill Kudryavtsev.
But Mancini has a few advantages. He’s older, bigger, and is a natural right-side defenceman.
That makes it easier to slot Mancini alongside the veteran Guillaume Brisebois as the team’s seventh and eighth defenceman, while allowing Kudryavtsev to play big minutes in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks.
Brisebois, meanwhile, is one of the best stories out of camp. The 29-year-old defenceman has dealt with significant obstacles on his way to the NHL, and will look to surpass his career high of 17 NHL games.
Lekkerimäki gets a chance
The Canucks are hoping that their patience with Jonathan Lekkerimäki will pay off.
Despite picking up a few secondary assists early in the preseason, Lekkerimäki appeared overmatched. When he got one more chance to prove himself on the top line with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk, however, Lekkerimäki looked right at home.
“We’re going to give [Lekkerimäki] a chance,” said Canucks co-president Henrik Sedin on Halford & Brough. “I think he took a step in the last game against Seattle; he looked good there.”
Lekkerimäki is coming off shoulder surgery, which might explain some of his earlier hesitance to engage physically.
“We’ve talked about it; for him, it’s more than scoring,” said Henrik. “He needs to get to the next level when it comes to getting into people, those 50/50 battles. You can’t just wait for the puck in this league; you’ve got to take it to the next level.
“He’s aware, and he’s open about it. We’re going to give him a chance, for sure. He needs to see where he is, and we’re excited for him. He has a tremendous shot, he can score from anywhere, so it’s him learning this league.”
The key quote there is “learning this league.” If that’s the most important step Lekkerimäki needs to take, it’s not something he can do in the AHL. He needs to take that next step in the NHL. That, more than anything, is why he’s on the opening-day roster.
If Lekkerimäki can develop that all-around game this season and give himself more opportunities to use his elite shot, that would be a major boon to the Canucks’ rebuilding efforts.