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Canucks announce 2026-27 opening night roster

Photo credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

By Tyson Cole

Sep 28, 2026, 17:48 EDTUpdated: Sep 28, 2026, 17:49 EDT

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced their opening night roster for the 2026-27 season.

Here is the club’s opening night roster, which consists of 13 forwards, eight defencemen, and two goaltenders:

Forwards: Arshdeep Bains, Brock Boeser, Paul Cotter, Jake DeBrusk, Brendan Gallagher, Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Drew O’Connor, Liam Öhgren, Elias Pettersson, Aatu Räty, Marco Rossi, and Max Sasson
Defencemen: Guillaume Brisebois, Zeev Buium, Filip Hronek, Victor Mancini, Jamie Oleksiak, Elias Pettersson, Luke Schenn, and Tom Willander
Goaltenders: Kevin Lankinen and Leevi Meriläinen

Forward Filip Chytil and goaltender Thatcher Demko will begin the season on injured reserve. Chytil suffered a shoulder injury in the first period of his first preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers, while Demko is still rehabbing from hip surgery he had in January. Forwards Mackenzie MacEachern and Akil Thomas and defenceman Jack Thompson will start the season on the injured, non-roster.

All four of the Canucks’ offseason acquisitions, Paul Cotter, Brendan Gallagher, Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn, have made the opening-night roster.

Two players who were expected to begin the year in AHL Abbotsford, Arshdeep Bains and Guillaume Brisebois, have both made the team after strong training camps and preseasons.

Bains played in three of the Canucks’ four preseason games. In the opener on the road against the Seattle Kraken, Bains played with Braeden Cootes, scored a power play goal, grabbed one assist, and finished with three shots on goal in 18:59 of ice time. The Surrey, BC native picked up another goal late in the third period against the Calgary Flames in the next game, once he and Cootes were reunited. In the preseason finale, Bains played lower down the lineup and did not register a point for the first time in the preseason.

Brisebois also appeared in three of the Canucks’ four preseason games. Despite losing all three of those games, Brisebois finished with an even rating and two shots on goal in 16:20 minutes of average ice time. Brisebois making the team is a nice nod from the organization for the longest-tenured player in the Canucks organization.

According to Monday morning’s practice at UBC, here is how the Canucks lined up the day before the season starts:

Bains – Pettersson – Lekkerimäki
Öhgren – Rossi – Boeser
O’Connor – Sasson – Karlsson
Cotter – Räty – Gallagher
Buium – Hronek
Oleksiak – Willander
Pettersson – Schenn
Lankinen
Meriläinen
Extras: Brisebois and Mancini

With Jake DeBrusk missing practice due to a lower-body injury, he is questionable for his season debut. Bains skated on the top line with Pettersson and Lekkerimäki, likely as a placeholder for DeBrusk. Brisebois and Mancini skated as extras, serving as the club’s fourth defensive pair.

The wait is over; Canucks hockey returns tomorrow on the road against the Edmonton Oilers at 7 PM PST.