Vancouver Canucks Reveals How Many Spots Are Actually Up For Grabs on the Opening Night Roster
Photo credit: NHL
Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford recently reveals how many spots are actually up for grabs on the team's opening night roster.
We're nearly a week away from the start of the 2025-26 season for the Vancouver Canucks and as training camp continues to roll along, the team's coaching & management staffs are starting to get a better picture of who will be on their opening night roster, which needs to be submitted to the NHL by 2 p.m. PT next Monday.
With two preseason games to go, including tonight's against the Calgary Flames, there aren't many opportunities left for fringe players to prove themselves and this week, it was revealed how many spots are available on the team's roster to start the 2025-26 campaign.
Jim Rutherford reveals how many spots are up for grabs on opening night roster
Earlier this week, while on 100% Hockey with Darren Millard & John Shannon, Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford opened up on a number of topics ahead of the new season, including that the team still wants to add some center depth.
Also among the topics the trio discussed was the Canucks' opening night roster and when asked how many spots are up for grabs right now, Rutherford shared that he believes there are three forward spots available, along with two or three defensive battles.
While Rutherford understandably didn't give any names, it's pretty easy to find out who is battling for those three forward spots on the opening night roster - Aatu Raty, Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Vitali Kravtsov, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Linus Karlsson and even 2025 first round pick Braeden Cootes, who is already impressing the team's coaching staff.
"I had the chance to talk to him during one of the drills today and he was just excited, as you'd expect. He also stood out today. He had a really good day. Getting on pucks and he's obviously smart and creative in some of the drills. So he's not just out here excited to be here, he's here to make an impression and he's done that through the first two days." Assistant Coach Brett McLean said.
Meanwhile on the blue line, there's probably four players that fans should keep an eye on in the final two preseason games as they battle for spots on the Canucks' opening night roster and it could lead to some very interesting decisions for Adam Foote & Patrik Allvin.
Tom Willander, Victor Mancini, Elias Pettersson and Pierre-Olivier Joseph are the four defenseman that are looking to make their mark over the next few days and prove that they should be in the NHL with the big club to start the season.
We'll have to wait and see how the next five or six days shake out, but it's going to be interesting to find out who will end up winning those battles for roster spots and who will have to start the season down in Abbotsford, with the change in waiver status for some players in the organization likely to play a part in their final decisions.
Source: 100% Hockey
Jim Rutherford on Quinn Hughes, Canucks' Roster & Season Expectations
Jim Rutherford on Quinn Hughes, Canucks' Roster & Season Expectations
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 1 | 1282 ANSWERS Vancouver Canucks Reveals How Many Spots Are Actually Up For Grabs on the Opening Night Roster Which defenseman do you think has the best shot at landing a spot on the opening night roster? | ||
| Victor Mancini | 394 | 30.7 % |
| Tom Willander | 84 | 6.6 % |
| Elias Pettersson | 767 | 59.8 % |
| Pierre-Olivier Joseph | 37 | 2.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
