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“An honour and a privilege”: Buium, Karlsson and O’Connor react to being named to the Canucks leadership group

Photo credit: © @Canucks on X/Twitter

By Tyson Cole

Oct 3, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 3, 2026, 00:30 EDT

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Ahead of the 2026-27 season, the Vancouver Canucks announced their six-player leadership group.

Three of those six were assistant captains last season: Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek, and Elias Pettersson. But there were also three brand-new players sporting an ‘A’ on their sweater this season – none of them being veteran leaders the club added this offseason.

Instead, this new Canucks regime elected to name 20-year-old defenceman Zeev Buium, second-year NHL regular Linus Karlsson, and Drew O’Connor, in only his second full season with the organization.

Hronek, Karlsson, and O’Connor will wear ‘A’s for home games, while Boeser, Pettersson and Buium will be the road assistant captains.

Daily Faceoff Vancouver spoke with the Canucks’ three newest assistant captains following Friday’s practice about the honour. Here is what they said in a question-and-answer form:

Q: What does it mean to you to be named to the leadership group?

Buium: “It means a lot, obviously. It’s an honour and a privilege, and I’m just really grateful for it. I mean, I think the message to our entire group from our coaching staff, from all of us, is that everyone needs to be a leader at the end of the day, whether you’re having an ‘A’ or not. But yeah, just honoured, and hopefully do these guys right.”

Karlsson: “Oh it’s a big honour. With that said, I mean, I’m not going to change. Just going to be the same player, same guy. That’s why I got that ‘A’. So I mean, nothing has to change. I’m just like really, really happy and honoured to get that ‘A’ for sure.”

O’Connor: “Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s definitely an honour. It’s not something I take lightly. I think it means a lot. I think the messaging is not to try to change anything, not to be any different, just to kind of provide any type of leadership I can, but just to be myself.”

Q: What was your reaction when you found out?

Buium: “I was a little shocked, to be honest. I wasn’t fully expecting it, obviously, but like I said, just honoured, proud of the privilege, and as I said, just making sure that you know I carry myself the right way and leading any way I can.”

Karlsson: “I was surprised. But I mean, they believe in me, and that’s a good sign. Like I did something right too, you know? Of course, I’m really happy about it.”

O’Connor: “Definitely surprised. I didn’t really know what kind of the plan was with the leadership group this year, but when they sat us down and told us, I was definitely pretty excited and honoured to get that chance.”

Q: All offseason, management has said that just because a player has worn a letter here before, doesn’t necessarily mean that they will now, and that the leaders will emerge from the group. So what does it mean to you that they view you as a leader of the group?

Buium: “I mean, I don’t think I thought too much about it. I think for me, it’s just continuing to be myself and stay true to who I am and what I believe in. I think this group in general, we kind of all have that same belief, that same thought process through everything, and I think we all see things eye to eye. For me to be one of those guys where, you know, they want me to step up into that role, like I said, feel honoured and just happy to be a part of it and have a voice I guess for the younger guys on the team and, you know, be able to kind of touch all parts of the room.”

Karlsson: “That’s something I’m really happy and honoured about. But I mean, I did something right, you know? Like that’s sort of how I see it. I try to be a guy that talks to everyone with a smile and competes every day. I come here every day, try to compete every practice, do my best, and they see that, and that’s probably why I got the ‘A’ too. So I mean, that’s I’m really, really happy about it.”

O’Connor: “It feels good that they think of me in that way and think I can be a leader here, and I feel like I can as well. But we have a lot of capable leaders in our group. There’s guys who aren’t wearing letters that are definitely leaders and voices in our room as well. I think it’s just about giving more guys in the room a voice, and making some of those younger guys feel a little more comfortable. I think that can be the role of some of us, whether we’re in the ‘A’s, you know, Zeev and Karly as well, so I think it’s a positive step.”

Q: How do you envision your role on the team changing now knowing that you’re not just another guy in the locker room, but a leader?

Buium: “I think for me, it’s just continue to be myself and take it day by day. Obviously it’s only my second year in the league, so just learning things every day. I think there’s little things off the ice that come with, you know, having the contract I have, and I guess being a leader now, too. Just little things I can learn from Boes, Fil, Petey, Schenner, guys who have gone through all that. I think on the ice for me, it’s just playing a hard game, playing a game that Manny wants us to play, trying to create. But I think, most importantly for me personally, is just trying to find that solidness and consistency in my game, where it’s like not forcing plays, not trying to do too much, but you know stepping up when the team needs it, or shutting down when the team needs it. I think when you’re in a leadership role, you’ve got to lead by example, and I want to make sure that if I’m saying something in the room, I’m backing it up.”

Karlsson: “I mean, nothing really has to change. I’m just gonna play the game the right way. I mean, like I said, I don’t need to change anything. Like, I got an ‘A’ for a reason, and I don’t need to change anything. I’m just gonna be the same guy, same player, play exactly the right way; get the puck deep, be strong on pucks, those kinds of things, and compete every night. And show the team this is the right way to do it.”

O’Connor: “I don’t think I want to change too much. I mean, I think being a little more vocal in the room and things like that. But, you know, they didn’t give me or any of us a letter and expect us to be different people than we already are. I think, you know, just try to use the qualities that I have, be a positive person to be around, and things like that. And that’s kind of what I’m going to do.”

With the new regime in charge and the new vision in place, the Canucks now have new voices to mix in with the old voices of the leadership group to support the rest of the guys in the locker room as they navigate this rebuild.