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3 Canucks who stood out in preseason opener vs. Kraken

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

By Elijah Ford

Sep 20, 2026, 11:30 EDTUpdated: Sep 20, 2026, 11:06 EDT

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The Vancouver Canucks’ first preseason game looked a lot like what you would expect from one.

Passes were rushed. Breakouts were disjointed. Instead of tape-to-tape plays, plenty of pucks were sent hard up the boards. Seattle controlled much of the game, and the Kraken carried a 3-0 lead into the third period before Vancouver finally found some life late in the night. The Canucks ultimately made the score respectable, cutting the deficit to one before Seattle added a late empty-net goal to make it a 4-2 final.

There is, of course, only so much that can be taken from a preseason game — especially the first one under a completely new coaching staff. The Canucks had less than a week of training camp to begin adjusting to Manny Malhotra’s system, including new landmarks, assignments, and reads. Mistakes are going to happen, and there is little reason to overreact to them in September.

Still, preseason games matter for the players fighting for NHL jobs. With that in mind, there were a few Canucks who helped their organizational stock on opening night. Here are three players who stood out, plus a bonus blueliner who quietly impressed.

Matthew Stienburg

My notes were littered with Matthew Stienburg making plays at both ends of the ice.

Stienburg entered the game with something to prove after a pair of season-ending injuries limited him to just 21 games over the past two seasons. He did exactly that on Thursday. Despite being listed on Vancouver’s fourth line, Stienburg saw time on both the power play and penalty kill and made an impact on each unit. One sequence on the power play was especially impressive.

Stienburg cleanly won a faceoff, helping create a shot through traffic. He was one of the first players to the rebound and immediately tried to jam the puck home. When it eventually kicked loose to the boards, Stienburg patiently worked his way up the half wall before threading a cross-crease pass to Max Sasson, who narrowly missed the finish.

Just a few seconds later, Stienburg found open ice on the left side of the net and created another high-danger chance. Three quality scoring opportunities in roughly 20 seconds were a strong demonstration of his offensive instincts. He was just as effective on the penalty kill.

Early in the game, a Kraken forward attempted a short neutral-zone pass on the power play that Stienburg read and intercepted. The Seattle player had built up so much momentum anticipating the pass that he ran into Stienburg, drawing a tripping penalty and ending the Kraken power play before it could really get started.

At five-on-five, Stienburg consistently handled passes cleanly on the wing and turned them into controlled entries. He also used subtle head fakes while stationary with the puck to open passing lanes for streaking teammates. There was a lot to like in his game.

For Stienburg, the biggest takeaway may simply be the confidence that comes from putting together an effective game after two injury-plagued seasons. His path to an NHL roster spot is far from certain, but if he can build on a performance like this, he can make himself much harder for the Canucks to overlook.

Check out our story from camp on Stienberg’s unique path to joining the Canucks by clicking here!

Max Sasson

Preseason Max Sasson has quickly become one of the most entertaining Canucks to watch over the past few September camps.

Against regular NHLers, Sasson’s speed creates opportunities. Against fringe players, it can become a weapon that almost guarantees clean entries. Sasson was one of Vancouver’s most consistent play-drivers throughout the night. He created space for himself off the rush, attacked defenders from the outside, and found ways to get pucks toward the net even when his shooting lanes were limited. His skating stood out on the breakout.

On the wing, Sasson defended higher in Vancouver’s zone before exploding up the ice once possession was recovered. On several occasions, high flips out of the defensive zone turned into Canucks possession because Sasson simply beat Seattle defenders to the bouncing puck. For long stretches, his line looked like one of the few Vancouver combinations consistently capable of generating sustained offensive-zone possession. Sasson’s chemistry with Aatu Räty was another positive.

Late in the first period, the two appeared to understand the offensive-zone structure Vancouver is trying to install. They exchanged a few slick no-look passes while cycling the puck along the boards, leading to give-and-go sequences in which one player cut into the middle for a shot. Still, there were some rough edges.

Sasson was inconsistent in his board battles, and there were a few moments where his confidence became a little too aggressive. He had several turnovers at the blue line that coaches will want cleaned up quickly. But those mistakes came within a game where Sasson consistently wanted the puck and tried to make things happen. That is valuable.

Sasson has work to do if he wants to lock down a full-time NHL role, but games like this highlight the skating ability that gives him a legitimate path to doing so. His speed can change the way a line enters the offensive zone, and that is one of the toughest traits for a player to teach.

Braeden Cootes

Braeden Cootes needed some time to find his game.

The Canucks’ first-round pick from last year looked tentative early, particularly with the puck. There were several plays in which the usually instinctive forward held onto the puck for an extra second, allowing Seattle to close in and turn the play back the other way. That seemed to snowball early in the game. Cootes looked rushed through much of the first period and into the opening part of the second. Then he settled in.

By the end of the night, Cootes had recorded a point on both of Vancouver’s goals and looked much more like the player the organization drafted in the first round. His first goal came on a two-on-one with Arshdeep Bains. Cootes carried the puck down his off-wing as a Seattle defender sprawled across the ice to take away the cross-crease option. Rather than force a saucer pass through the defender, Cootes took the shot himself and ripped it home on the short side. It was a simple play, but an impressive read.

Five minutes later, Cootes was back on the ice for a five-on-three power play. This time, he received the puck on his off side near the top of the circle and made the pass Seattle was expecting on the previous two-on-one, sliding the puck across to Bains for a clean one-timer. Bains made no mistake.

The two have spent significant time together throughout training camp, and Thursday offered another glimpse of what makes the combination interesting. Bains brings an aggressive forecheck and a relentless motor, while Cootes provides the playmaking and processing ability to take advantage of the space his linemate creates. With both players likely headed for Abbotsford this season, the Canucks could be looking at one of their more intriguing young forward combinations in the AHL.

For Cootes, though, the bigger story was his ability to recover from a shaky start and finish the game as one of Vancouver’s most impactful forwards. That ability to reset is going to be important as he continues adapting to the pace and structure of professional hockey.

Bonus: Sawyer Mynio

The Canucks’ defence had a difficult night overall.

Seattle consistently limited Vancouver’s options in its own zone, leading to turnovers, rushed decisions, and some ugly breakout sequences. Sawyer Mynio was one of the defencemen who handled that pressure best.

Paired with journeyman Jimmy Schuldt, Mynio did not produce many highlight-reel moments, but he looked noticeably more comfortable reading the ice within Malhotra’s system than some of his peers. That familiarity may not be a coincidence.

Mynio has spent extended time in the AHL with Malhotra, and that experience showed in his composure with the puck. Even when Seattle’s forecheck bore down on him, Mynio generally looked comfortable making outlet passes rather than panicking and simply throwing the puck away. He was also willing to activate from the weak side.

On multiple occasions, a Canucks forward received the puck low in the offensive zone and found Mynio available for an east-west pass because the defenceman had recognized the play developing and jumped into the attack.

A big question surrounding Mynio has been his size. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, he is undersized compared with many NHL two-way defencemen. He compensated against Seattle by getting underneath sticks in the corners, winning positionally, and using his agility to move the puck quickly to an open winger.

Mynio still faces a crowded path to an NHL roster spot, but his performance was encouraging. If he can put together a few more games like this, he could position himself as one of the first options Vancouver turns to when injuries open up the blue line.

And that may ultimately be the biggest takeaway from the Canucks’ first preseason game. The team itself looked exactly like a team playing its first preseason game under a new coaching staff. Some individual players, however, overcame that and made the most of their opportunity.

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