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Canucks’ 2026 Draft: A recent history of the 24th overall pick

Stephan Roget — Mon, 18 May 2026 14:00:47 GMT

The Minnesota Wild being eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs was a win for the Vancouver Canucks and their supporters in a few different ways.

It prevented the pain that would have been caused by seeing former captain Quinn Hughes find success with his new franchise in the same year as the blockbuster trade that sent him to Minnesota. It also prevented the first round draft pick returned from that trade from moving any further back in the selection order.

The Wild’s first round pick, now belonging to Vancouver, started out the playoffs slotted in at 24^th overall. Had the Wild advanced to the Western Conference Finals, however, it would have been bumped back to either 28^th or 29^th overall. Had the Wild made the Stanley Cup Finals, the pick would have been bumped all the way back to 30^th or 31^st.

But the Wild didn’t make it to the Western Conference Finals or the Stanley Cup Finals, and so the pick stays at 24^th overall. (For a moment, there was also a brief chance that the pick could be bumped up, via the Anaheim Ducks making the Western Conference Final, but that dream died when the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated them in six games.)

The last time the Canucks had a pick locked in for this draft, at third overall via the Draft Lottery, we drew up a recent history of that particular selection slot, so as to provide a rough idea of the quality of player the Canucks could hope to be getting there.

Today, we’re doing the same for the recent history of the 24^th overall pick, though with the caveat that the first round becomes more of a crapshoot the later one gets into it, and that the only real trend we’re going to show here is that the quality of a 24^th overall pick can range wildly.

2010: Kevin Hayes (RW) at 24^th overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	805	185	260	445

Current Status: Bottom-six forward
Peak Status: Top-six forward

We’ll start in 2010, both because we did last time, and because Hayes makes for a pretty good ‘average’ 24^th overall pick. He’s still in the NHL after all these years – though he’s approaching the end – and has settled into a depth role after being up-and-down as a top-six talent for a while. Hayes was never a star, but in his best season, he scored 54 points in 71 games. As you’ll see throughout this list, that’s more than most 24^th overalls can say.

2011: Matt Puempel (LW) at 24^th overall to the Ottawa Senators

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	87	11	5	16

Current Status: Retired
Peak Status: NHL call-up/AHL star

Our list of third overalls featured only one player that could be properly called a bust, and even that was a little iffy. That will not be the case with this list. Puempel is an outright bust who maxed out at 27 NHL games in a single season, and he’s not even close to the least successful pick on this list. The fact that he played in five different NHL seasons for four different NHL teams, all the while starring in the AHL, puts him in the upper-tier of 24^th overall busts, at least.

2012: Malcolm Subban (G) at 24^th overall to the Boston Bruins

	Record	GAA	Save Percentage
Career	36-34-9	3.10	.898

Current Status: Czech League goaltender
Peak Status: NHL backup

There are going to be a lot of familiar names on this list, starting with the brother of a one-time Canucks prospect. Malcolm Subban was the second-most successful of the Subban siblings, having crafted a short-term career as an NHL backup over a span of about four years. He then went back down to the AHL level for a stint, and then, this past season, went overseas for the first time, where he won a championship with Paradubice HC.

2013: Hunter Shinkaruk (LW) at 24^th overall to the Vancouver Canucks

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	15	2	2	4

Current Status: Retired
Peak Status: Top-six AHL forward

This one, you know. The first of two consecutive 24^th overall picks by the Canucks was a true bust, who only ever really managed top-six production at the AHL level on a few occasions. Shinkaruk seemed to get worse with each passing year, and is now retired from hockey after a four-game stint in the EIHL to round out his career. At least the Canucks got a good run out of Markus Gralund in exchange for Shinkaruk.

2014: Jared McCann (C) at 24^th overall to the Vancouver Canucks

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	720	204	234	438

Current Status: Top-six forward

The Canucks did significantly better on their second try at 24^th. Well, at least in terms of the pick. After taking a while to get going, McCann eventually turned into a top-six forward, albeit an inconsistent one. He’s scored as many as 40 goals and 70 points in a single season, but tends to hover more around that 50-60 range in most years. The Canucks didn’t wait for that, however, and flipped McCann (and a second round pick) to Florida for Erik Gudbranson, the man who led off our recent history of third overalls.

2015: Travis Konecny (RW) at 24^th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	727	225	319	544

Current Status: Top-line forward

There’s really no doubt about who is the best player on this list. It’s Konecny, and it’s not particularly close. His stats don’t exactly jump off the page, but he’s topped out at 33 goals and 76 points in a single season, and plays the sort of well-rounded game that helped him make Team Canada for the 2025 Four Nations Faceoff. He probably can’t be called a true superstar, but he’s as close as anyone else on this list will come to that distinction.

2016: Max Jones (LW) at 24^th overall to the Anaheim Ducks

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	305	35	34	69

Current Status: Depth forward

Jones was drafted with the profile of a hard-hitting depth winger who could maybe chip in some offense, too. In the end, he’s mostly skipped on the offense, and settled into a long-term depth role. The last two seasons have seen him spend more time in the AHL than the NHL, but he’s still getting plenty of big league minutes along the way, and on some decent teams, so that qualifies him better as “depth” than a “call-up.”

2017: Kristian Vesalainen (LW) at 24^th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	70	2	3	5

Current Status: Overseas depth player

Another bust. Vesalainen got plenty of opportunities to make it in Winnipeg, but never even really found much success at the AHL level. On top of that, he’s bounced around Europe after heading back overseas, and has gone from near-point-per-game status in the SM-Liiga to just four points in 16 games in the Czech league last year. He cannot even be properly called a “top-six Czech league forward right now,” and that’s saying something for a former first rounder.

2018: Filip Johansson (RD) at 24^th overall to the Minnesota Wild

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	0	0	0	0

Current Status: SHL top-four defender

If there’s a worst pick on this list, it’s Johansson. He developed so poorly that the Wild did not even sign him, instead allowing him to become a free agent and taking a compensatory second round pick in exchange. That led to Johansson signing with the Canucks, where he spent some time in Abbotsford before heading back to the SHL, where he remains to this day. Other than the very recent picks, he’s the only player on this list to have never played an NHL game.

2019: Philip Tomasino (RW) at 24^th overall to the Nashville Predators

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	218	34	61	95

Current Status: NHL call-up/depth forward

Tomasino is a player who started his career with great promise, notching 32 points in 76 games as a rookie. Unfortunately, he seemed to peak there. Tomasino has only managed as many as 50 NHL games in any season since, and has mostly yo-yoed between the NHL and AHL as a regular call-up, but not someone who can find a regular spot in the lineup.

2020: Connor Zary (C/W) at 24^th overall to the Calgary Flames

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	191	39	47	86

Current Status: Bottom-six forward

Technically, Zary is still trying to find his way as a Calgary Flame. But it’s been diminishing returns for him through three NHL seasons, going from 34 points in 63 games to 27 points in 54 games to 25 in 74 this most recent campaign. By the end of 2025-26, Zary was receiving healthy scratches. His $3.775 million AAV contract is one the Flames might even consider buying out. He’ll probably be most remembered for his sucker-shot on Elias Pettersson.

2021: Mackie Samoskevich (RW) at 24^th overall to the Florida Panthers

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	156	27	36	63

Current Status: Middle-six forward

Samoskevich is a hard player to define. He’s embraced a depth role on two championship teams in Florida, but it has also seemed like he could do more if given more opportunity on a lesser roster. But then, that didn’t really happen in 2025-26, when the Panthers themselves took a step back and Samoskevich was able to grab more minutes. He’s well-rounded enough to call him more of a middle-six forward than a depth piece, but if he’s going to be more than that, he’ll have to show it soon.

2022: Danila Yurov (C) at 24^th overall to the Minnesota Wild

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	73	12	15	27

Current Status: Burgeoning middle-six forward

We are now approaching the ‘too-soon-to-call’ territory. Yurov just completed a fine rookie season and a decent playoff run with the Wild, and looks poised to develop into a middle-six centre with a good blend of size and skill. But as others on this list have demonstrated, a strong start doesn’t necessarily mean all the much in the long run.

2023: Tanner Molendyk (LD) at 24^th overall to the Nashville Predators

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	0	0	0	0

Current Status: Top-five prospect

The last three names on our list are all too raw to have made it to the NHL yet, but all remain high-quality – if not blue-chip – prospects. If we had to pick out a best of the three, it’s Molendyk, who made the Canadian WJC squad in 2025-26 and just had a fine AHL rookie campaign.

2024: Cole Beaudoin (C) at 24^th overall to the Utah Mammoth

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	0	0	0	0

Current Status: Top-five prospect

Beaudoin is another good prospect who just had a breakout in the OHL in his Draft+2 season. He’ll probably have a tougher time breaking into the NHL lineup than will Molendyk, just because of the young forward depth within the Utah organization, but he’s trending well all the same.

2025: Will Horcoff (C/W) at 24^th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins

	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Career	0	0	0	0

Current Status: Top-five prospect

Horcoff is massive, talented, the son of a long-time NHLer, and just put up a near-PPG season with the University of Michigan the year after he was drafted. He seems like he’s well on the way to an NHL career of some sort, though it’s far too early to say for sure.

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Canucks at Worlds: Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson hit the score sheet on Day 3

Dave Hall — Sun, 17 May 2026 21:30:27 GMT

Day 3 of the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland, saw another pair of Vancouver Canucks representatives hit the scoresheet.

Through the opening few days of the tournament, three of Vancouver’s four players have now recorded points, with Max Sasson joining the mix during Sunday’s action.

Great Britain vs. USA

While most of North America was sleeping, Max Sasson and Team USA handled Great Britain with relative ease in a 5-1 victory.

And Sasson’s line played a noticeable role in the result. Once again centring the Americans’ third line, this time between Mathieu Olivier and Paul Cotter, the trio combined for six points in the winning effort, with Sasson contributing his first assist of the tournament.

The line connected on the opening goal of the game in the first period. Hovering high in the offensive zone, Sasson gathered the puck in the slot following a failed clearing attempt and quickly threw it toward the net. The puck bounced through traffic before landing perfectly on the stick of Paul Cotter at the top of the crease for the easy finish.

Paul Cotter cleans up the rebound in front to open the scoring! 🇺🇸 #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/csHEpNRCBZ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 17, 2026

Sasson finished the game with an assist, a plus-1 rating, and 12:22 of ice time.

Great Britain managed to find an equalizer in the second period, but the Americans took over from there with four unanswered goals and three in the third period to seal the victory while finishing with a commanding 40-20 shot advantage.

The win marked Team USA’s first of the tournament after dropping its opener to Switzerland.

Denmark vs. Sweden

Sweden rebounded from its opening-game loss to Canada with a relatively smooth 6-2 victory over Denmark.

The Swedes controlled most of the game from start to finish, outshooting Denmark 29-15 while building a 4-0 lead before the Danes finally found the back of the net midway through the contest.

Much of Sweden’s offence came from its high-powered top line featuring Lucas Raymond, 2026 draft-eligible Viggo Björck, and Ivar Stenberg. Raymond finished with a goal and two assists, while Björck and Stenberg combined for four points.

But Vancouver Canucks forward Linus Karlsson also chipped in offensively from Sweden’s second line.

Late in the third period, Karlsson picked up his first goal and second point of the tournament after benefiting from a fortunate bounce off a centring attempt. Carrying the puck along the wall, he fired a feed toward the middle that redirected off a Danish defender’s skate and slipped past the netminder.

Sweden adds on another! It's 6-2. #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/gAngQaAC1J

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 17, 2026

Beyond the goal, Karlsson was active throughout the day, recording two shots, taking a pair of penalties, and finishing plus-1 in 14:22 of ice time.

Day 4 of the tournament will feature all four Vancouver Canucks representatives in action — and for the first time, they’ll face one another. First up, Aatu Räty and Finland will take on Max Sasson and Team USA. Later in the day, Linus Karlsson and Sweden will battle Filip Hronek and Czechia.

Canucks won’t cut corners under Johnson and Sedins, and that’s a big deal: Wagner’s Weekly

Daniel Wagner — Sun, 17 May 2026 17:00:40 GMT

In my opinion, Henrik Sedin had the best quote in the press conference that introduced himself, his brother Daniel, and Ryan Johnson as the Vancouver Canucks’ new executive team.

“To do this as fast as possible, we’ve got to be very careful and go slow,” said Henrik.

It was not just a pithy quote, but also a refreshing perspective to hear from a Canucks executive.

“We’re not going to race through it”

Canucks fans have seen clear proof of the inverse over the past 10+ years. Repeated attempts to rush a rebuild or avoid a rebuild entirely have led to too many wasted years.

When Jim Benning was hired, he said the Canucks were “a team we can turn around in a hurry.” His actions backed up those words, as he consistently sacrificed long-term assets for short-term gain. He looked for shortcuts, aggressively trading away draft picks and prospects for reclamation projects and middling NHL players.

The end result of his rush for short-term success was, damningly, no short-term success.

Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin were arguably more justified in seeking a quick turnaround, given where the Canucks were in their lifecycle when they took over the team, but their attempts to find a quick path to success were about as successful as Benning’s, resulting in just one trip to the playoffs.

The clear message from Johnson and the Sedins was that they won’t be looking for any shortcuts to success, and that makes me the most optimistic about the future of the Canucks than I have been for years.

“I think to put any type of timeline is unfair to the process,” said Johnson. “I think it’s more about building the environment first. It’s making sure that the staples are there, the things that we believe in: creating a safe environment where players can improve, can make mistakes, and have resources. But we’re going to do this step-by-step, and we’re not going to race through it.”

What that means, of course, is that the Canucks are likely to miss the playoffs again, for one or two — maybe three or more — years. But that’s what they’ve already been doing while trying to just get into the playoffs year after year without any sort of view towards long-term, sustainable success.

So, why not experience that same pain of missing the playoffs but with the benefit of some long-term hope?

Canucks want sustainable success

The rhetoric coming from Johnson and the Sedins is that they have no interest in just getting into the playoffs — they want to win a championship.

“We have a vision and a plan that we’re going to need to stick to, to not just get into a playoff one time, but that is sustainable,” said Johnson on the Canucks Insider Podcast. “I think you can cut some corners to try to get in [the playoffs]…I think if you try to skip the line, you can get a taste of it, but then take a step backwards.”

That’s a key insight: if your focus is making the playoffs, shortcuts will always be tempting, because they can work. The series of moves that Allvin and Jim Rutherford made when they took over the Canucks did lead to making the playoffs in 2024, but it cost the Canucks a lot. Ultimately, they had a taste of the playoffs, then, sure enough, took a step backwards.

Off a cliff.

Of course, a long-term, slow-and-steady approach requires patience from the fanbase, but Canucks fans seem very eager to be patient after years of seeing the results of an impatient owner and executive. Still, Johnson knows that fans will still be looking for results.

“With our fanbase, they need to see that there’s growth,” said Johnson. “I think they’ll be less focused on the wins and losses and trust the process when they see that.”

Seeing that growth on the ice will be key to getting buy-in from Canucks fans, but one of the most important messages coming out of that introductory press conference involved what the team will be doing off the ice to connect with fans.

Making people “proud to be a Canucks fan again”

“Looking back 26 years ago, when we flew into the city, Brian Burke told us that this was the number one organization in the league when it comes to community involvement,” said Daniel. “We need to get to that point. We should be the number one organization in the NHL when it comes to community involvement.

“We’re going to ask our players to do a lot. I think it was so important for us as players when we did those things, I think it puts perspective in life. I think fans will respect that. You might have a bad game here and there, but if you’re out, you do the work in the community, I think they can certainly buy into what we’re trying to be.”

“That’s a big part of the connected piece as well. We’ve got to bring that back,” said Henrik. “Just to have the people in this city and this province to be proud to be a Canucks fan again.”

The Sedins, of course, are well-versed in community involvement, with Henrik the only two-time recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy from the NHL for a “significant humanitarian contribution to his community,” receiving it once in 2016 and then again with Daniel in 2018.

The Canucks’ connectedness to the community has been a key part of the organization since its inception, with players like Orland Kurtenbach and Stan Smyl creating a lifelong connection with the city. Under the leadership of Pat Quinn and Trevor Linden, community involvement became further ingrained as a fundamental part of the team’s DNA.

Linden would regularly drop by B.C. Children’s Hospital to visit with kids, even stopping by after games to ask if any kids were having trouble falling asleep, so he could talk to them or read them a book to help them settle down. When he set up a box seat at games to host kids who otherwise couldn’t afford tickets, the Canucks suggested a partnership with a sponsor to pay for the program. Linden refused, saying he would only do it without a sponsor, as he didn’t want it to be seen as using the kids to gain publicity for a company.

That’s something that continued after Linden with other players, such as Alex Edler’s “Eagle’s Nest” or Brock Boeser’s “Boeser’s Beauties” programs that brought kids to games without any corporate sponsorship.

Linden learned from Smyl, and that was passed on to the likes of Markus Näslund, the Sedins, and Edler, but it seemed like there was a disconnect in that lineage with the present-day team. Perhaps it was because the likes of Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson never played with the Sedins, or the social distancing requirements of COVID-19 severed some of the community connection, and it never started up again.

Whatever the reason, the Sedins’ commitment to making the Canucks a leader in community involvement once again is a positive sign.

Because if the Canucks aren’t going to be good for a while, they should at least be likeable.

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Canucks at Worlds: Aatu Räty picks up another point, Filip Hronek and Czechia suffer massive upset

Dave Hall — Sun, 17 May 2026 16:00:01 GMT

Day 2 of the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland, saw the remainder of the tournament field open its schedule, while two Vancouver Canucks representatives returned to action for their second games.

After all four Canucks skated on opening day, Saturday’s slate featured Aatu Räty with Finland and Filip Hronek with Czechia.

Hungary vs. Finland

After opening the tournament with a win over Germany, Finland returned to the ice Saturday morning to face Hungary. As expected, the matchup proved fairly one-sided.

Finland controlled play from the outset, opening the scoring just 46 seconds into the game before rolling to a 4-1 victory while outshooting Hungary 32-10.

Aatu Räty once again centred Finland’s third line, this time skating between Eemil Erholtz and Janne Kuokkanen.

After scoring in Finland’s opening game, Räty collected his first assist of the tournament midway through the second period. Working the puck from the corner, the Canucks forward cycled it up high to Kuokkanen at the blue line, where the winger stepped in and snapped home his first goal of the event.

Janne Kuokkanen extends Finland's lead in the 2nd period 🇫🇮#MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/EJ3jWS70W6

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 16, 2026

Räty finished the game with an assist, a plus-1 rating, and 11:54 of ice time.

With the victory, Finland now sits atop Group A as one of just two teams with two games completed. The Finns will now enjoy two days off before a highly anticipated matchup against Max Sasson and Team USA on Monday morning.

Slovenia vs. Czechia

Saturday also delivered the tournament’s first major upset — and it involved a Vancouver Canucks defenceman.

Filip Hronek and Czechia entered the game as heavy favourites against Slovenia after opening the tournament with a convincing win over Denmark. Hronek once again served as an assistant captain while skating on the team’s top defensive pairing. And once again, he led all Czech skaters in ice time.

But despite controlling much of the play, Czechia struggled to put Slovenia away. The Slovenians opened the scoring midway through the first period before Czechia answered with back-to-back goals to carry a 2-1 lead into the third. Slovenia eventually found the equalizer in the final frame to force overtime, where Marcel Mahkovec ended the game just over a minute into the extra session after bursting up the ice on a clean breakaway.

THAT'S THE GAME WINNER 😮‍💨🇸🇮 #MensWorlds #IIHF @lovehokej pic.twitter.com/KGXoQ1SCGA

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 16, 2026

Hronek was held off the scoresheet for a second consecutive game despite firing a game-high five shots on goal while skating 24:38 in the overtime loss.

Czechia will also receive a two-day break before taking on Linus Karlsson and Team Sweden.

Day 3 of the tournament will feature Max Sasson and Team USA taking on Great Britain, while Linus Karlsson and Sweden face Denmark later in the day.

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Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes concludes impressive WHL season

Dave Hall — Sat, 16 May 2026 21:30:59 GMT

After taking Game 1 of the WHL Final, Braeden Cootes and the Prince Albert Raiders were handed four consecutive losses, falling short of a league championship and a spot at this year’s Memorial Cup.

On Friday night, the Raiders hosted the Everett Silvertips in Game 5, looking to stave off elimination and send the series back to Washington for a chance to force Game 7.

But for the fifth straight game, it was Everett striking first.

The Silvertips opened the scoring midway through the first period before adding another late in the frame, immediately putting Prince Albert on its heels. Everett controlled much of the pace from there, eventually skating away with the franchise’s first WHL Championship in team history.

Although the season ended one step short of a title, it capped off what was an incredibly eventful and impressive draft-plus-one campaign for Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes.

The Sherwood Park native wore four different jerseys throughout the 2025–26 season and experienced nearly every level of hockey available to a junior-aged player.

After making the Canucks out of training camp, Cootes appeared in three NHL games to begin the season, gaining firsthand experience around the NHL environment before eventually being returned to the WHL.

Back in junior, he resumed his role as captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds and immediately took over offensively, recording 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in just 17 games.

From there, he represented Team Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship, where he played a limited but trusted role on a bronze medal-winning team and scored two goals during the tournament.

Before returning to WHL action, Cootes was dealt to the powerhouse Prince Albert Raiders, where he quickly became one of the club’s most impactful players during its push to the WHL Final, both on and off the puck. In 28 regular-season games with Prince Albert, Cootes produced 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) while continuing to play in all situations. He followed that up with a strong playoff run, finishing third among all WHL skaters in postseason scoring with 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 20 games.

Braeden Cootes played games for four jerseys this season, spread across three levels of play (NHL, WHL, WJC). He produced 88 points (33 goals, 55 assists) in 75 games, including playoffs.

Here are most of those points. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/GrLf2zgI3M

— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) May 16, 2026

With Prince Albert now eliminated, there is a strong chance Cootes has played his final game at the junior level. If that proves to be the case, he leaves behind an impressive WHL career that saw him produce 162 points (64 goals, 98 assists) across 176 regular-season games, along with 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 26 playoff contests.

Attention now shifts to the professional ranks. Cootes is expected to compete for a full-time role with the Canucks in 2026–27. If he does not crack the NHL roster outright, newly adjusted CHL/NHL transfer rules could allow him to begin his professional career with the Abbotsford Canucks as a 19-year-old.

Canucks notebook: Higgins’ interesting EP40-adjacent comments, Aquilini’s statement, and more

David Quadrelli — Sat, 16 May 2026 16:00:54 GMT

Happy Saturday, folks. Sit down, drink your coffee, and dive into some Vancouver Canucks news and notes.

Francesco Aquilini’s statement

Somewhat lost in the shuffle of Thursday’s festivities was the opening statement delivered by Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini. It was the first time he’s spoken publicly since the Canucks signed Jim Rutherford to a contract extension back in January 2024. Here’s part of what Aquilini said on Thursday:

“Today’s about the future. It’s a great day as we turn the page and begin an exciting chapter for the Vancouver Canucks… First, I want to say thank you to Jim Rutherford, who answered the call to come to Vancouver four years ago. Jim had an immediate impact, leading the team to within one game of the Conference Finals. And while that trajectory changed due to unexpected personnel challenges, Jim leaves us with a roster of promising young players and numerous draft picks. The rebuild is underway. I’d also like to thank Patrik Allvin. Patrick is a terrific person, and we appreciate all his efforts here, and we wish him the best on his future moves. Most importantly, I want to say thanks to our loyal fans who supported the Canucks through a very difficult season. I share in your disappointment. We expect to be better, need to be better, and we will be better.

“We are 100% committed to rebuilding the roster into a championship-caliber team. We’re excited about our young players our future picks we will add, including the 3rd pick overall in this year’s draft. Every expert agrees that we will get a terrific player with this selection.”

cont’d

“To our fans, we appreciate this rebuild will require patience, but we will ice a team that competes hard every night. Rebuilding and competing hard are not mutually exclusive.”

There were a couple of key points for me in there. For starters, any lingering questions about whether Jim Rutherford is still going to be meaningfully involved in this team’s decision-making processes should now be answered. The Canucks did it in a bit of a roundabout way, but this is full-blown regime change.

Second, the distinction of rebuilding into a “championship calibre” team is noteworthy. Ownership has absolutely heard the criticisms of their shortcuts over the years leading the Canucks to top out as nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan playoff team, and sound like they want to get it right this time around. Can they actually be patient enough to do that? We’ll find out in about 2-3 years. Fingers crossed.

Aquilini didn’t field questions from the assembled media, but a Canucks spokesperson did say that we would get a chance to talk to him sooner rather than later.

Perhaps that day will be when the Canucks are officially ready to announce their new practice facility at Britannia? We can’t be all that far away from an announcement on that, you’d think.

Higgins doesn’t mince words about “preparation”

Preparation was a big theme once again when Elias Pettersson’s name got brought up on Thursday. Both Sedins and Johnson were careful with their words when answering questions about the Canucks’ 11.6 million dollar man, but they did allude to Pettersson needing to do more to prepare for the rigours of an NHL season. It’s a criticism of Pettersson we’ve heard from Jim Rutherford, Patrik Allvin, Rick Tocchet, and Adam Foote.

And for Chris Higgins — who played with the Sedins and Johnson in Vancouver and also worked with them in hockey ops for a number of years not that long ago — he’s heard just about enough.

Speaking on Sportsnet 650‘s Canucks Talk, Higgins didn’t mince words when asked a question about if top players can develop an obsession to get better even if they’ve been in the league for a number of years. You be the judge for yourself. But to me, the question is mainly about Pettersson, and so is the answer.

Question: “That point about your best players have to be obsessed with getting better, and we, and we heard the Sedins talk about it similarly as well. Like, their preparation was so important, the summers where they had their best summers, lo and behold, those are also their best seasons. If you’re at a certain point in your career as a top player in the NHL, or, you know, looked at as a top player, and you don’t have that drive, you’re not obsessed with getting better, can you develop it? Like, can the team help you get there, or does it have to come from within?”

Answer from Higgins: “I think if you spend a couple years and it takes you a couple years to figure it out, yeah, of course there’s that, but if we’re into year four, five, six, seven, and we’re still talking about preparation and your practice habits, it’s time to get rid of those guys. Like, straight up. That’s too long, now that’s a character issue.

“I think we’ve let this go on, hoping that next year is going to be the year for a lot of guys, and I don’t know, the guys that have played the game and have looked at some of the players, in the whites of their eyes, like I didn’t see it with a lot of guys. I didn’t see the fierceness. I don’t know, it’s hard to describe when you look in somebody’s eyes as a competitor. You know what those predator eyes look like, those obsession to get better, those gamer eyes look like, and those are hard to get, but those are the guys we need to find. These are the guys we need to find in the draft and through free agency is those predator eyes to get better. I talk like I’m a little despondent right now, but like, I finally believe in some of the guys that are making decisions now that will find those types of guys. You know, it’s going to be a long, long process. It’s going to be a roster that turns over a little bit. But, you know, finding those guys with the predator eyes is of the utmost importance.”

🗣️ If we are into year 4,5,6,7, and we're still talking about your preparation and practice habits it's time to move on. That's a character issue.

👉 Chris Higgins joined @jamiedodd & @randipjanda to talk about your best players having to be obsessed with getting better. pic.twitter.com/VH8wmaxYhl

— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) May 15, 2026

Brock Boeser, the last current Canuck to play with the Sedins

Not only was Brock Boeser teammates with his new bosses, but he also made his NHL debut on the Canucks’ top line alongside Daniel and Henrik in a game against his hometown Minnesota Wild on March 25th, 2017.

The Sedins’ appointment as co-Presidents reminded me of this fact and quickly led me to this wonderful video of Brock’s late father, Duke Boeser, reading out the starting lineup for that game, with some help from his wife, Laurie Boeser:

"And starting on right wing, I can't believe it, Brock Boeser!"

Duke and Laurie Boeser read the #Canucks starting line-up Saturday. pic.twitter.com/PwafmMfCHv

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 26, 2017

Canucks already have a different feel with Sedins and Johnson at the helm

David Quadrelli — Sat, 16 May 2026 14:00:17 GMT

In recent years, we here at CanucksArmy have gotten accustomed to writing 4-5 news articles after each Vancouver Canucks press conference. But that wasn’t the case on Thursday when the Canucks unveiled Daniel and Henrik Sedin as co-Presidents of Hockey Operations, and Ryan Johnson as General Manager. Sure, there were some notable items, like the new management trio’s thoughts on Elias Pettersson, their approach to building a strong culture, and more, but there really weren’t a ton of headline-grabbing items.

And honestly? That was a nice change of pace for this fanbase.

Let’s make one thing clear. The feelings of hope and optimism that Thursday brought aren’t coming from the fact that Jim Rutherford is gone. Rutherford did his best to treat people well during his time here and isn’t the villain in this story. Rather, it has a whole lot more to do with what the Sedins and Johnson represent. Johnson has long been known as an honest straight shooter. He’s paid his dues, and just like he wants to see every player he meets succeed, he genuinely came across like he has the organization’s best interests at heart instead of his own. And of course, there’s no question that the same can be said of the Sedins, who have bled blue and have identified themselves as Canucks for the past 26 years.

There was an undeniable sense of “okay, this is a new era, and it’s going to be different” in the media room at Rogers Arena on Thursday, and, based on the reaction we saw online, the fanbase absolutely felt it as well.

Patience, patience, patience

Right off the bat, the biggest question fans had heading into Thursday was how serious the new regime would be about rebuilding. Would they use ambiguous language? Would they say things like “next year will be bad, but we’ll see what happens the year after that!” Would they put a timeline on the rebuild? Would they sound open to trading more veteran players, even those with no-move clauses and even those who Rutherford essentially tabbed as the Canucks’ next captain before he left?

The answer to those questions: No, no, no, and yes.

The three men seemed very aligned with one another. They have a clear vision of how they want to rebuild the Canucks’ culture and standard from the ground up, and let that influence their decisions on player personnel.

For the question of how long a rebuild could take, Henrik Sedin gave a great answer, saying “if we want to do this as fast as possible, we have to be very careful and go slow. I think that’s the fastest way to get to where we want to be.”

Even the owner used the word rebuild and made it clear the Canucks want to build a championship calibre team, not just one that sneaks into the playoffs.

Patience was a common theme on Thursday, and for a fanbase that’s been practically begging for a patient approach and a rebuild over the last decade, that resonates very well.

The Vancouver connection is undeniable

Under the Rutherford-led Canucks, messaging wasn’t always clear. There was a level of “we’ve got this, trust us,” and it never really felt like Rutherford or Patrik Allvin really understood just how much pain Canucks fans had been through before they arrived on the scene.

The Sedins and Johnson, though? They fully understand that. They wanted to win a Stanley Cup here when they were players, but came up just short. Daniel admitted on an interview with Sportsnet 650’s Halford and Brough on Thursday morning that that’s long eaten away at him and his brother. He also added that they have a deep desire to get it done now that they’re at the helm of the organization.

And while he only spent two years as a player in Vancouver, Johnson has been involved with the Canucks’ hockey operations department since Mike Gillis was still around. This is a person who leads people and gains their trust. So often in talking to Abbotsford Canucks players, we’ve heard them say they’d run through a wall for RJ. I mean, how else do you win a Calder Cup?

That’s another big part of all of this, is that criticisms about the Canucks’ lack of community involvement in recent years and a vow from management to get better and once again reconnect with this city? That’s the kind of stuff that makes a fanbase feel seen and heard.

As Henrik Sedin said, they’re going to do their absolute best to make people proud to be Canucks fans again.

A different feel is great, but actions matter now

It’s great that everyone feels a lot better about the direction of this franchise than they did a week ago. And I mean that.

It’s also great that the Sedins and Johnson said all the right things and have left an undeniable sense of hope in the fanbase that hasn’t been there after a press conference. I mean that, too.

But I’ll gently remind everyone that most of us were all very excited when Jim Rutherford first arrived on the scene. He similarly brought up many of the concerns fans had felt about the Canucks under the previous regime, and he similarly said all the right things at the time. It wasn’t until his group’s moves — particularly the ones that caused the Canucks to fall flat after a magical 2023-24 season — that it became clear this wasn’t going to work out.

At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. And even though words certainly matter too in this business — and the Sedins and RJ of course nailed the words part — what matters most is what moves they execute to help the Canucks through this rebuild. That work begins now, and the first things this group will be judged on are how they handle the NHL Draft and free agency in about a month and a half.

But make no mistake about it. Thursday’s press conference instilled a feeling of optimism and hope in this fanbase that hasn’t been felt in years, and that matters.

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2026 World Championship recap: All four Canucks players in action as Aatu Räty scores for Finland

Dave Hall — Sat, 16 May 2026 13:00:38 GMT

It was Day 1 of the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zurich, Switzerland, and the Vancouver Canucks had four representatives in action to open the tournament.

With hockey seasons now wrapped up around the world, each country arrived with intriguing mixes of veteran NHL talent, young players, and a few high-end draft eligibles already earning meaningful roles within their respective lineups.

Here’s how the Canucks’ representatives fared in their opening games.

Canada vs. Sweden

Canada opened its tournament with a 5-3 victory over Sweden, getting goals from five different skaters in a fast-paced matchup.

The Canadians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Sweden clawed its way back into the game. The Swedes evened things up in the middle frame with a three-goal push to even the score heading into the third period.

Vancouver Canucks forward Linus Karlsson played a role in Sweden’s momentum swing. Skating alongside Jacob De La Rose and Simon Holmstrom on Sweden’s second line, Karlsson collected a primary assist on the game-tying goal. After collecting the puck down low, he slowed the play down with a button-hook move before feeding Mattias Ekholm at the point, who blasted a shot through traffic and past the Canadian netminder.

…. and just like that it's a tied again between Canada and Sweden.

Mattias Ekholm makes it 3-3. #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/f4pPnU0jWj

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 15, 2026

Canada regained control early in the third period and never looked back.

As for Karlsson, he finished the game with an assist, one penalty, and a plus-1 rating through 14:38 of ice time.

Czechia vs. Denmark

Filip Hronek opened the tournament in a major role for Czechia, serving as an assistant captain and leading the team in ice time.

The Czechs controlled the game from the opening puck drop, scoring the first three goals en route to a relatively comfortable 4-1 win over Denmark.

Hronek did not hit the scoresheet, but he logged a team-high 21:47 of ice time and finished plus-2 while operating as the club’s go-to defender in all situations.

Finland vs. Germany

Aatu Räty opened the tournament centring Finland’s third line between Jesse Puljujarvi and Janne Kuokkanen — and quickly made his presence felt offensively.

Holding a 2-1 lead, Finland found insurance thanks to Räty’s quick release from the slot. The play began with Puljujarvi forcing a turnover before the puck fluttered toward Kuokkanen, who spotted Räty alone in the middle of the ice. The Canucks forward wasted little time, snapping home his first goal of the tournament.

How about an Aatu goal for the timeline? 🇫🇮

Räty scores on day 1 of #MensWorlds! pic.twitter.com/UCa5GJySoz

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) May 15, 2026

Räty finished with a goal, two shots, and 14:07 of ice time in Finland’s opening victory.

USA vs. Switzerland

Wrapping up the late slate was Team USA against tournament host Switzerland.

Max Sasson, representing the United States internationally for the first time, centred the Americans’ third line alongside Mathieu Olivier and Alex Steeves.

The Swiss jumped out to an early lead thanks in part to former Vancouver Canuck Pius Suter, who opened the scoring and later added a secondary assist in the opening period.

Although Steeves pulled the Americans within one midway through the second period, Switzerland held on for a 3-1 victory to open the tournament.

Sasson recorded one shot on goal in 13:03 of ice time.

Day 2 of the tournament continues Saturday, with both Filip Hronek and Aatu Räty returning to action.

Finland will take on Hungary, while Czechia faces Slovenia.

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Tortorella fined $100,000 and Vegas forfeits a second round pick as NHL comes down hard on Golden Knights for breaking media regulations

David Quadrelli — Sat, 16 May 2026 00:30:40 GMT

Well, that’s a pretty steep penalty.

Following their game six win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, the Vegas Golden Knights did not make John Tortorella available to media, and according to The Athletic’s Jesse Grenger, also declined to open their dressing room after the game. Instead, Vegas brought out Shea Theodore to a side room to speak, along with Mitch Marner and Brett Howden, who spoke at a podium.

On Friday afternoon, the NHL brought the hammer down, fining head coach John Tortorella $100,000 and forcing the Golden Knights to cough a second round pick. The NHL sent out the following statement on Friday:

“The National Hockey League announced today that, as a result of flagrant violations of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Media Regulations following Game 6 of their Second Round series against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, May 14, the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

In addition, Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella has been fined $100,000.

The imposition of these penalties comes after previous warnings were issued to the Club regarding their compliance with the Media Regulations and other associated policies.

Vegas has been offered the opportunity to appeal these penalties to the Commissioner’s Office. That appeal would be held in person next week in New York.”

The NHL CBA and league media regulations impose (supposedly) strict contractual obligations on players to remain available to the media. For post game media in particular, players must be available for interviews following the game’s conclusion. No player is (supposed to be) allowed to be excused from their designated media access duties without explicit approval from both the League and the NHL Players’ Association.

And “in extreme cases of structural non-compliance,” the NHL can impose massive organizational penalties, including the forfeiture of NHL draft picks. As far as we can tell, Vegas is the first NHL team to actually have to forfeit draft capital as a result of breaking the NHL’s media regulations.

A second-round pick is certainly a high price to pay for a team that only has a third, fifth, sixth, and seventh-round selection in this year’s draft. Like most contending teams, Vegas doesn’t have a ton of future assets as it is, so losing out on a second-round pick will certainly hurt them.

Vegas has appealed the league’s decision. Shortly after the news release , the Golden Knights put out a statement saying that they were aware of the league’s decision but, somewhat fittingly, wouldn’t have any further comment.

Vegas will take on the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after beating the Anaheim Ducks in six games.

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Ryan Johnson says the Canucks don’t have any untouchable veteran players

Jeffrey Kennett — Fri, 15 May 2026 23:55:35 GMT

The Vancouver Canucks are still in the early stages of plotting a long-term direction under new general manager Ryan Johnson, but one thing is clear: no one is off the table.

Johnson joined Sportsnet 650’s Canucks Central on May 14 and addressed the organization’s willingness to make difficult personnel decisions as the Canucks attempt to get younger and replenish their prospect pool through additional draft capital and assets.

When asked whether the club still has “untouchable” veterans within its leadership group, Johnson suggested the organization is prepared to evaluate every option moving forward.

“There’s nothing off the table, if it fits into the vision, and we all align that this is something we should consider, there’s nothing that we wouldn’t do,” Johnson said. “If it fits into the right steps that we’re trying to take here to inch along and do this the right way, it’s going to be something we’ll consider.”

Johnson’s comments come after months of debate surrounding the availability of Vancouver’s veteran core following another season outside the playoffs. Since the departure of Quinn Hughes, defenceman Filip Hronek had frequently been identified by former president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and coach Adam Foote as a key piece of the Canucks’ long-term plans. Hronek’s presence within the leadership group and influence inside the dressing room also led to speculation that he could eventually become Vancouver’s next captain.

Shah specifically referenced Hronek during the interview as an example of a player many previously perceived to be untouchable within the organization. Johnson, however, stopped short of committing to any player being exempt from evaluation as Vancouver continues mapping out its future trajectory.

Instead, the incoming executive emphasized flexibility and patience as the Canucks try to accumulate younger talent and long-term assets.

With Vancouver facing a shallow prospect pool compared to several Pacific Division rivals and limited draft capital after 2026, Johnson’s comments represent a notable philosophical shift. As an organization often criticized for clinging too tightly to its veteran players, even the willingness to consider a previously unlikely move is what many Canucks fans have spent years calling for.

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Canucks’ 2026 Draft: A recent history of the 24th overall pick

2010: Kevin Hayes (RW) at 24th overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

2011: Matt Puempel (LW) at 24th overall to the Ottawa Senators

2012: Malcolm Subban (G) at 24th overall to the Boston Bruins

2013: Hunter Shinkaruk (LW) at 24th overall to the Vancouver Canucks

2014: Jared McCann (C) at 24th overall to the Vancouver Canucks

2015: Travis Konecny (RW) at 24th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers

2016: Max Jones (LW) at 24th overall to the Anaheim Ducks

2017: Kristian Vesalainen (LW) at 24th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

2018: Filip Johansson (RD) at 24th overall to the Minnesota Wild

2019: Philip Tomasino (RW) at 24th overall to the Nashville Predators

2020: Connor Zary (C/W) at 24th overall to the Calgary Flames

2021: Mackie Samoskevich (RW) at 24th overall to the Florida Panthers

2022: Danila Yurov (C) at 24th overall to the Minnesota Wild

2023: Tanner Molendyk (LD) at 24th overall to the Nashville Predators

2024: Cole Beaudoin (C) at 24th overall to the Utah Mammoth

2025: Will Horcoff (C/W) at 24th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Canucks at Worlds: Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson hit the score sheet on Day 3

Great Britain vs. USA

Denmark vs. Sweden

Canucks won’t cut corners under Johnson and Sedins, and that’s a big deal: Wagner’s Weekly

“We’re not going to race through it”

Canucks want sustainable success

Making people “proud to be a Canucks fan again”

Canucks at Worlds: Aatu Räty picks up another point, Filip Hronek and Czechia suffer massive upset

Hungary vs. Finland

Slovenia vs. Czechia

Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes concludes impressive WHL season

Canucks notebook: Higgins’ interesting EP40-adjacent comments, Aquilini’s statement, and more

Francesco Aquilini’s statement

Higgins doesn’t mince words about “preparation”

Brock Boeser, the last current Canuck to play with the Sedins

READ NEXT: Canucks already have a different feel with Sedins and Johnson at the helm

Canucks already have a different feel with Sedins and Johnson at the helm

Patience, patience, patience

The Vancouver connection is undeniable

A different feel is great, but actions matter now

2026 World Championship recap: All four Canucks players in action as Aatu Räty scores for Finland

Canada vs. Sweden

Czechia vs. Denmark

Finland vs. Germany

USA vs. Switzerland

Tortorella fined $100,000 and Vegas forfeits a second round pick as NHL comes down hard on Golden Knights for breaking media regulations

Ryan Johnson says the Canucks don’t have any untouchable veteran players

2010: Kevin Hayes (RW) at 24^th overall to the Chicago Blackhawks

2011: Matt Puempel (LW) at 24^th overall to the Ottawa Senators

2012: Malcolm Subban (G) at 24^th overall to the Boston Bruins

2013: Hunter Shinkaruk (LW) at 24^th overall to the Vancouver Canucks

2014: Jared McCann (C) at 24^th overall to the Vancouver Canucks

2015: Travis Konecny (RW) at 24^th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers

2016: Max Jones (LW) at 24^th overall to the Anaheim Ducks

2017: Kristian Vesalainen (LW) at 24^th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

2018: Filip Johansson (RD) at 24^th overall to the Minnesota Wild

2019: Philip Tomasino (RW) at 24^th overall to the Nashville Predators

2020: Connor Zary (C/W) at 24^th overall to the Calgary Flames

2021: Mackie Samoskevich (RW) at 24^th overall to the Florida Panthers

2022: Danila Yurov (C) at 24^th overall to the Minnesota Wild

2023: Tanner Molendyk (LD) at 24^th overall to the Nashville Predators

2024: Cole Beaudoin (C) at 24^th overall to the Utah Mammoth

2025: Will Horcoff (C/W) at 24^th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins