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Scenes from practice: Maintenance days for 6 Canucks veterans after ending record-setting losing streak
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Jan 22, 2026, 17:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 22, 2026, 16:40 EST
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The day after their first win of the new year, the Vancouver Canucks practiced with a little bit of a hybrid form at Rogers Arena on Thursday morning.
What was initially listed as a full-team skate turned out to be less than that. However, it wasn’t an optional practice. Six veterans were given the day off while the rest of the team took to the ice for about 40 minutes.  

What we saw

Kevin Lankinen, Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers, Marcus Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk and Evander Kane were all absent from the on-ice session. Jiri Patera and practice netminder Alex Kotai tended the nets. Minus the missing players, the Canucks did not conduct line rushes; instead, they worked on pace and tempo drills. Adam Foote said a practice like this gives many of the younger players additional puck touches, especially those who either did not play in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals or saw limited minutes. 
One night after returning to the lineup after missing 43 games, Teddy Blueger was right back on the ice. And Filip Chytil, on the verge of making his return to game action for the first time in three months, was also an active participant.
At one point, as the team worked on some in-zone drills, centre Elias Pettersson worked on his one-timers at the other end of the ice, with an assistant coach feeding pucks into his wheelhouse.
Following practice, the organization was hosting a private Championship ring celebration for players and staff of the Calder Cup-winning Abbotsford Canucks. 

What we heard

Adam Foote on what he was looking for from Thursday’s skate: “It’s good. With a condensed schedule, we might see more of that. You can split it up with young guys and it’s not very taxing. I like that. You might see two lines go out for 15 minutes and then bring the team out. We’ll change it up. But you might see more of those break ups.”
Adam Foote on where Aatu Räty fits in with centres Teddy Blueger and Filip Chytil coming back: “He’s such a good pro. He might be playing some wing. He might be going back to centre. Who knows? You don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward (ahead of the trade deadline). He’ll be ready. He’s a good pro, and he’s come a long way. We’ve talked to him. He’s always in a good mindset, and we’re not going to let him go too long either. He’s a good kid. He gets it.”
Teddy Blueger on shaking off the rust and getting back in the lineup in a 4-3 win over Washington: “It was great. Obviously, I was energized to get back. It had been a while. I should have been well-rested, but once you get the first couple of shifts out of the way, then you let the instincts take over and kind of go from there. It felt a lot better than I expected. I think that was probably the biggest thing I was worried about. Not so much my injury, but more so, I hadn’t seen a lot of 5-on-5 in the last three months. I think I went through one practice at 5-on-5 so the timing, the details, positioning, puck battles – overall I think it went pretty well and I felt better than I even hoped for.”

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