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3 Canucks Stars of the Week: Tom Willander makes his NHL case
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Photo credit: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Arielle Lalande
Nov 30, 2025, 18:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 30, 2025, 16:27 EST
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Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, yes, even in California.
If hearing literally anything else from Michael Bublé after this week will be upsetting for you, the next month might be rough. It’s also probably going to be rough for the Canucks, but I digress.
The Canucks set off on their California road trip this week, and, in true Canucks fashion, only won the game they were least likely to win. When it comes to this team, up is down, and down is up, and 2+2 = wait, Evander Kane is still on the first line? They are leaving the Golden State with a 5-4 win against the surging Anaheim Ducks, a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, and a 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings. They have picked up half of the available six points from these games, officially putting the “mid” in middle. This is a noted improvement, I’ll take it.

Elias Pettersson

Cue the “I am sure this is an acceptable player to select, and surely there will be no controversy or strong opinions surrounding Elias Pettersson” tape. Got it? Good. Be kind, rewind, and play the tape again until the end of the Vancouver Canucks, or the inevitable heat death of the universe, whichever one comes first.
Elias Pettersson had a good week. Yes, I am even considering his lapses, literally, on the ice in overtime against the L.A. Kings. Pettersson falling actually helped the team more than it harmed them this week, or did we not both watch him score against the Sharks?
He has certainly been proving he still has vintage Pettersson in him as of late – he’s still your 1C, still practically taking more draws than everyone combined, but he has remembered he is the Canucks 1C and is taking his chances around the net again, and his actions are reflecting the hockey IQ we all know he possesses. Perhaps he heard thousands of fans yelling “shoot the puck” at their television screens, or perhaps he has been needing to find his confidence again. But, for the love of all things good and pure in this world, I hope he keeps finding it. 

Drew O’Connor

Sure, Drew O’Connor. I wasn’t sure about you when you landed in Vancouver via Pittsburgh last winter. I definitely wasn’t sure about you earlier this season, but I am glad to have been proven wrong.
O’Connor is your serviceable, relentless bottom-six forward who is at his best when he’s playing fast, physical, and smart hockey without taking unnecessary penalties or making careless mistakes. Well, obviously, every player is at their best when they’re doing this, but O’Connor has actually fit the bill lately. He has a respectable two points this week, but it is about much more than the scoresheet.
I don’t throw around the term “glue guy” very much, but after seeing the kind of energy DOC seems to bring to a team that has the general vibes of Eeyore right now – no, not just Quinn Hughes – you just have to wonder whether he’s a piece you hold onto.

Tom Willander

Now with 16 NHL games under his belt, Tom Willander is starting to look more at home, and that’s something we can all be thankful for. At just 20 years old, I definitely didn’t expect this former first-round draft pick to immediately have the unhinged confidence of, say, a rookie Trevor Zegras – nor do I want this, ever, to be clear – but Willander’s game recently has been especially fantastic.
He’s making some smart plays, ones that make him look like he has far more professional league experience than just two months, and his skating is everything we were promised it would be following his two seasons at Boston University. He’s been solid in Vancouver’s own end, and you have even been able to spot him doing some great play driving elsewhere. He recorded his first multi-point game this week against the Ducks, and overall, has truly been coming into his own. If this is Willander at the very start of his NHL days, I cannot wait to see him in five years. 
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