logo
CanucksArmy has no direct affiliation to the Vancouver Canucks, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
JPat’s Monday Canucks Mailbag: How many jobs are really up for grabs at training camp?
Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.
Jeff Paterson
Sep 15, 2025, 11:03 EDT
Comments
Who else is exhausted? There were two – TWO – Vancouver Canucks games to watch this weekend. Sure, they were prospects. And, yes, there were a few streaming issues. But through it all, it was hockey. And as we discuss and heartily debate who stood out in a pair of mid-September prospects showcase games, I think we can all agree it’s simply great to have hockey back again.
As everyone’s attention now turns to training camp, which gets underway in Penticton later this week, we offer up a pre-game edition of the Monday mailbag. We asked you for questions about camp and some of the battles you’re anticipating, and we’ll do our best to offer up a primer as the Canucks head for the south Okanagan.
For all the off-season discourse in the market, there are really only a couple of spots truly up for grabs in the opening night line-up assuming everyone is fully healthy. With Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Evander Kane, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Chytil, Conor Garland, Drew O’Connor, Nils Höglander, Kiefer Sherwood and Teddy Blueger there are 10 returning veterans. The Canucks seem to be holding a centre spot for Aatu Räty, so that leaves a fourth line winger role and an additional forward slot open. It’s possible due to contracts and waivers, the Canucks will start the season with 14 forwards and only one extra defenceman. The candidates for the jobs have been well documented: Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Vitali Kravtsov and perhaps Jonathan Lekkerimäki up front. And then the battle for the five, six, seven spots on defence will boil down to Derek Forbort, P-O Joseph, D-Petey, Victor Mancini and Tom Willander. 
I watched Räty closely in a couple of sessions at UBC last week. First things first, these are summer skates and it’s hard to draw any great conclusions. Everyone looks fired up and ready for the new season. Räty looked fully healthy and unencumbered as he ripped around the rink. But I haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet about his off-season and the work he’s put in to increase his footspeed. So let’s hold off on evaluations until later this week in Penticton. That’s when we’ll get a much better sense of how Räty stacks up against NHL competition. He had a terrific training camp a year ago, so I would expect that he would do everything in his power to replicate that performance. He has to know a job is sitting there with his name on it, but he has to go out there and earn that opportunity. I have a sense Räty’s skating will be under heavy scrutiny with the Canucks hit the ice at SOEC starting on Thursday.
I have to imagine it’s Elias Pettersson. The young Swede showed so well in his 28 NHL games last season and I’m sure he wants to show the new coaching staff that he is ready to be a full-time big leaguer. Has he done enough to push his way past veteran Derek Forbort? Does he slide in ahead of P-O Joseph on the depth chart? Those questions need to be answered in camp and the pre-season, but I think Pettersson has already put some separation between himself and Victor Mancini and Tom Willander.

What do we expect to see from Sherwood this year?

— Optimistic Canuck (@optimisticcanuck.bsky.social) 2025-09-14T01:03:54.181Z

Hits. Lots of hits. But perhaps not as many goals. Kiefer Sherwood was absolutely terrific in his first season with the Canucks. It’s still hard to believe he registered 156 more hits than his nearest rival last season. And it was awesome to see him break out with 19 goals primarily in a depth role. It’s a platform year so Sherwood will surely be motivated to replicate last season. It remains to be seen where and with whom he’ll line-up. I think you’re looking at another season of ferocious forechecking, hopefully 15-20 goals and I won’t be surprised to see him used as one of the team’s top penalty killers. But remember he scored his 19 goals last year with a career-high 13.5% shooting percentage. That may be in for some regression. He’s due for a raise without a doubt, but the Canucks have to be careful about locking up a 30-year-old to a long-term deal. They shouldn’t rush into anything. Let the season play out a little and see if Sherwood is able to bring the same heat he did almost every night last season.
I know I’m not alone in questioning the team’s centre depth. It’s not only concerns about the top end of the four guys pencilled in to play the position, but also what happens if/when any of those four are out with injury. And it goes beyond the impact up the middle of the ice. The Canucks collection of wingers need someone to get them the puck. So if their scoring centres struggle, there’s a very real possibility that will limit the production of the wingers. This was not a high scoring team last season. The Canucks didn’t do much to inject offence over the summer. The team is banking on full health and good vibes to get back where it was in 2023-24 when so many players hit career highs. Of course, any discussion about the centres starts with a bounce back for Elias Pettersson. If that doesn’t happen, then the other concerns probably don’t really matter all that much.
I’ve seen this notion floated on social over the off-season. I don’t put much stock in it. In a season that will have a huge impact on Quinn Hughes’ future here, I just don’t see the club dealing his preferred defence partner. I understand the Canucks will have to give up something of significance to upgrade the centre ice position, but I don’t see them moving Hronek. They have sought a top pair right-side guy for so long that it’s hard to see the logic in peddling a player that has fit so well with the captain and given the Canucks one of the top defensive pairs in the NHL. I know the hope is that D-Petey and Willander rise to the challenge and give the Canucks options. I think in time they will, but I am not anticipating that happening in the early going this season.

Will the battle to keep Quinn Hughes in Vancouver impact the season in a negative way?

— (@superdave2687.bsky.social) 2025-09-14T05:22:32.278Z

I don’t think so. Quinn has made it clear he’s doing all he can to live in the present and not let his future affect his on-ice performance. And if anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt to back up his words with actions, it’s Quinn Hughes. The Canucks know they’ll get the best their captain has to offer almost every night out. What the team really needs is elevated performances from a bunch of others around Hughes. He can not sign an extension on July 1st so it really is all just talk this season. And Hughes can’t control the discussion in the market. He has to accept that people will talk about the issue, but that comes with the territory of being a superstar in a Canadian market. Hughes just has to focus on being the best version of himself and we all know that version is virtually unstoppable. I think he’s going to be driven to do everything in his power to make this team better. He wants to win. And he wants to win here for the team that drafted him. His teammates should be hell bent on doing everything in their power to support Hughes and convince him that this is where he should want to spend the bulk of his career. If the season goes sideways, the noise will surely grow louder the closer we get to July 1st. But that’s a long way off and there is a lot of hockey to be played. I’m excited to see what Quinn Hughes has in store this season.

PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB

This article is a presentation of the Arnold Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club.  Spring preparations are underway with opening day on May 9th.  Whistler Golf Club is now accepting online bookings for the entire 2025 season, so no need to wait to get those times locked in.  If you have a group of 12 or more, get those times on hold now as prime times are filling up fast.  For more information, head to https://www.whistlergolf.com/

Editorials

Breaking News