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Scenes from practice: Canucks address defensive woes before heading out on 4-game road trip
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Nov 24, 2025, 17:32 ESTUpdated: Nov 24, 2025, 23:58 EST
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Following one of their most disappointing losses of the season on Sunday night, the Vancouver Canucks returned to the practice ice on Monday morning at Rogers Arena. 
The session began with head coach Adam Foote conducting an extraordinarily long discussion at the whiteboard as the team tried to address its defensive deficiencies.

What we saw

Despite falling 5-2 to the Calgary Flames and dropping three consecutive games, the Canucks kept their line combinations intact. The new wrinkle on the day was in goal, where Nikita Tolopilo, recalled from Abbotsford earlier in the day, was on the ice with the team. He replaces Jiri Patera as Kevin Lankinen’s backup. 
Tolopilo missed nearly a month in Abbotsford with an injury but returned over the weekend and played a pair of AHL games in San Jose against the Barracuda. Adam Foote says Tolopilo will likely see game action on the team’s upcoming four-game road trip.
After earlier revealing that Teddy Blueger would accompany the team on the road, Foote today said that he wasn’t sure that was the case. Blueger was meeting with team doctors following practice. He took part in a red non-contact jersey yet again. Foote also said that Southern California native Thatcher Demko would be heading out on the road with the team, and he said there was a chance Nils Höglander might join the group at some point along the way.
The Canucks finished practice with a spirited shootout competition followed by a quick hard skate. 
Tuesday will be a travel day only as the team makes its way to Anaheim, where it opens its road trip on Wednesday night. 
This is how the team skated at practice on Monday.

What we heard

Adam Foote was asked about team defence, but took the question in a different direction about publicly-tracked scoring chances: “I’m more happy with wins, but I’m not going to blow up a kid or something being overanalyzed by — no disrespect — people that really don’t know. They’re just looking at numbers from people that could be in Russia, in a basement having cigarettes, cashews telling there’s scoring chances. We’re going to depend on our guys and really recognize what we believe has to be fixed.”
Adam Foote on a defence-first focus at practice: “We were focussed on coming into the D-zone and identifying the low forward in some different situations that happen in games. When you’re thin with injuries and you’ve got young guys, you want to teach when you think there’s things that need to get sorted out.”
Adam Foote on getting a look at Nikita Tolopilo in NHL game action this week: “I think we have to see him on this trip. Demmer is going to join us on the trip, but I don’t know if he’s going to be ready at the end of it. I can’t see Lanks playing the first three, so chances are you’re going to see Tolo.”
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