NHL Insider Reveals Which Young Blueliner is Poised to Crack the Canucks' Opening Night Roster
Photo credit: Bob Frid - USA TODAY Sports
A reporter recently revealed which young defenseman could end up earning a spot on the Vancouver Canucks' opening night roster for the 2025-26 season.
A lot of the talk this summer has been about the Vancouver Canucks' forward group, with the team searching for a suitable option for their second line center hole while also having a bit of a logjam lower down in the lineup with upwards of six players competing for one or two spots on the opening night roster.
On the blue line, the Vancouver Canucks also have an abundance of depth, which will certainly bode well later on in the season if injuries arise, but as we inch closer to the start of training camp, Adam Foote and his coaching staff are going to have a difficult decision to make on who will end up on the right side on the third pairing to start the year.
Reporters share which blueliner has inside track on making Vancouver Canucks' opening night roster
During a recent edition of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Jeff Paterson spoke about the team's situation on the blue line heading into training camp, which is officially less than four weeks away.
As things stand right now, five of the six defensive spots on the opening night roster are already known - Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers, Marcus Pettersson and Derek Forbort, the latter of whom re-signed with the club in early June.
With that said, the Canucks are going to have essentially four players vying for one spot on the opening night roster and that could very well end up going to Victor Mancini based on his performance in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs, as discussed by Jeff Paterson.
"It looks like a pretty crowded blue line. Harman's talked a lot already about how it doesn't seem like Adam Foote would want to go, and I think Adam Foote kind of told us this himself when he was talking about that he didn't want to go with a third pairing that just had young defensemen on it in Elias Pettersson, Victor Mancini or Tom Willander on that right side. Obviously they signed Derek Forbort to another contract, so that's not going to be the case it looks like. Victor Mancini though, how do you see his season shaking out?" Quadrelli said.
Jeff Paterson added, "Well, you could barely take your eyes off him in Abbotsford in that Calder Cup run. I mean, big body, skates well, the confidence with which he played at the American Hockey League level was in stark contrast to what we saw after the trade as he tried to, you know, get his footing in a new organization. Traded at the NHL level for the first time. You can understand that comes with challenges. A big personality, likeable guy, wants to get better. At the AHL level, he was able to skate around and through everybody and generate offense and played in a bunch of situations and you can just feel the confidence oozing from this guy.
So yeah, there's an opportunity there without a doubt. When you look, Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers...I think Derek Forbort probably starts just because they love his penalty killing utility and that's why he was brought back and then, let the games begin."
Jeff Paterson added, "Well, you could barely take your eyes off him in Abbotsford in that Calder Cup run. I mean, big body, skates well, the confidence with which he played at the American Hockey League level was in stark contrast to what we saw after the trade as he tried to, you know, get his footing in a new organization. Traded at the NHL level for the first time. You can understand that comes with challenges. A big personality, likeable guy, wants to get better. At the AHL level, he was able to skate around and through everybody and generate offense and played in a bunch of situations and you can just feel the confidence oozing from this guy.
So yeah, there's an opportunity there without a doubt. When you look, Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers...I think Derek Forbort probably starts just because they love his penalty killing utility and that's why he was brought back and then, let the games begin."
If it does end up being Victor Mancini taking that final spot on the blue line, then the Canucks will more than likely go with Pierre-Olivier Joseph as the seventh defenseman on the roster, allowing Elias Pettersson and Tom Willander to get big minutes and develop down in Abbotsford.
Pettersson and Willander would also be among the first defensemen called up during the season if an injury pops up to the Canucks' blue line, but for now, it would be best for them to get some top-four minutes under their belt in the AHL, especially the latter, who is making the jump to professional hockey after two seasons in the NCAA with Boston University.
The Vancouver Canucks will open up their training camp on September 18th in Penticton, British Columbia before beginning their preseason slate a few days later - September 21st - against the Seattle Kraken.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 24 | 1549 ANSWERS NHL Insider Reveals Which Young Blueliner is Poised to Crack the Canucks' Opening Night Roster Do you think Victor Mancini will land a spot on the Vancouver Canucks' opening night roster? | ||
| Yes | 952 | 61.5 % |
| No | 597 | 38.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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