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The Real Reason the Vancouver Canucks Decided to Cut Victor Mancini and Tom Willander Comes to Light
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
An analyst has explained the most likely reason why Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin decided to cut defencemen Victor Mancini & Tom Willander.
Vancouver Canucks regular season hockey is officially back this week with the club opening the 2025-26 campaign against their Western Canadian rivals, the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena.
Before Vancouver hits the ice later this week, the team's management group, led by GM Patrik Allvin had some difficult decisions to make regarding their roster and in the end, the Canucks decided to cut Victor Mancini & Tom Willander ahead of the NHL's opening night roster submission deadline on Monday.
"General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that D Victor Mancini and D Tom Willander have been assigned to Abbotsford (AHL)." the Canucks said on social media.
Analyst explains Vancouver Canucks' decision to cut Victor Mancini & Tom Willander
Daniel Wagner of Vancouver is Awesome broke down the team's final roster cuts on Sunday, starting with Tom Willander, who is entering his first season of professional hockey in North America after spending the last two years with Boston University in the NCAA.
Wagner said the Canucks assigning Willander to Abbotsford isn't much of a surprise as he isn't ready for the National Hockey League just yet and will be able to refine his game down in the AHL under Manny Malhotra.
The real surprise for Wagner was the decision to cut Victor Mancini, who he believes had a strong camp, however, looking the team's defensive situation, it was likely Elias Pettersson's spot to lose on the opening night roster and the Swede also performed well during his preseason appearances.
"If the job was Pettersson's to lose, he didn't lose it in the preseason. Pettersson played a solid, dependable defensive game, with a physical edge both before and after whistles. He certainly wasn't perfect - I thought he had some particularly rough moments against the Seattle Kraken last week - but he also showed why the Canucks are so high on him." Wagner said.
He later added, "The odds are very good that Mancini will be back up with the Canucks before too long, as he's right at the top of the depth chart on defence. How soon that call-up comes will depend on the health of the Canucks' blue line."
He later added, "The odds are very good that Mancini will be back up with the Canucks before too long, as he's right at the top of the depth chart on defence. How soon that call-up comes will depend on the health of the Canucks' blue line."
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to announce their opening night roster later today and one bit of news fans are still waiting to see is if 2025 first rounder Braeden Cootes has officially made the team or if he's heading back to the WHL.
Source: Vancouver is Awesome/Daniel Wagner
Canucks Camp Cuts: Why Mancini and Willander were sent down to the AHL
Canucks Camp Cuts: Why Mancini and Willander were sent down to the AHL
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 6 | 1135 ANSWERS The Real Reason the Vancouver Canucks Decided to Cut Victor Mancini and Tom Willander Comes to Light Do you believe the Vancouver Canucks made the right decision to keep Elias Pettersson on the roster over Victor Mancini or Tom Willander? | ||
| Yes | 730 | 64.3 % |
| No | 132 | 11.6 % |
| Too early to tell | 273 | 24.1 % |
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