On Sunday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks continued to complete their opening night schedule from 2025-26 Defensemen assign Victor Mancini And Tom Willander to the American Hockey League (AHL). It was expected that Willander would be assigned, but given the performance of Mancini in the preseason, where he stood out with two goals, it was surprising to see him being sent.
Related: Braeden Cootes forces himself to the future of the Canucks
Willander was generally selected by the Canucks in the 2023 design and will make his pro debut after two years at Boston University this season. He looked good in the preseason, but has to work clearly on his game before he makes it a full-time NHL defender. He gets a lot of ice age under head coach Manny Malhotra, probably in the top four with Mancini.
Although Mancini probably earned the team to make the team, he was the victim of his contract. Because he can be sent freely, the Canucks players such as Arshdep Bains and Linus Karlsson can keep those exemptions to be sent to the AHL.
With Mancini and Willander on their way to Abbotsford, the Canucks seem to have their 23-man opening night schedule. That means that Rookie Braeden Cootes made the team as an 18-year-old, the first canuck to do this since Petr Nedved in 1990.
Forwards (14)
Jake Debbrussk – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeer
Bastile Bains – A Cytil Flip – Garland Conor
Evander Kane – Braeden Cootes – Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Drew O’Connor – Teddy Blueger – Kiefer Sherwood
Aatu Raty – Linus Karlsson
Defense (7)
Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronk
Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort – Elias Pettersson
Pierre Olivier Joseph
Goalkeepers (2)
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Injured (3)
Nils Höglander
Guillaume brisebois
Jett Woo
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