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Vancouver Canucks practice in Tampa Bay; Abbotsford signs defenceman to PTO

Photo credit: © Tav Morisson-CanucksArmy

By David Quadrelli

Oct 16, 2026, 20:29 EDT

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You rarely get slow news days once the NHL season starts, but today was one of them.

Today was one of those days when there wasn’t much to report from Vancouver Canucks practice. The club practiced in Tampa Bay ahead of their Saturday matinee matchup with the Lightning, but there were no updates on anything like line combinations, power play personnel, or projected scratches (the normal stuff we look for at practices).

But we can confirm that it did indeed happen and that afterwards, Liam Öhgren spoke with the Canucks’ team reporter, Olivia McDonald.

“I think it was a huge step forward; I thought we played a good game overall,” Öhgren said of the Canucks’ overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

The young Canucks winger also reflected on his season to this point.

“It’s been a little up and down. I think I started off pretty good, then struggled a little bit, but I felt like I bounced back a little bit these last couple games. It was nice to get a goal last game and get the confidence up a little bit. But yeah, overall, okay, I’m just going to try to build on that.”

That’s all we’ve got for you from today’s practice. The Canucks won’t hold a morning skate tomorrow with the early start time, so things like lines and scratched players won’t be found out until much closer to puck drop.

Abbotsford Canucks sign Andre Anania to PTO

In other news, the Abbotsford Canucks signed 23-year-old right-shot defenceman Andre Anania to a professional tryout contract late Friday afternoon. From the Canucks’ release:

“Anania, 23, enters his third professional season having spent the majority of the 2025-26 campaign with the ECHL’s Allen Americans. Last season he ranked tied for 13th among ECHL defencemen in assists (36) and tied for 14th in points (42) over 66 regular season games with Allen. The 6’1, 190-pound defender also skated in one game last season with the Milwaukee Admirals, making his AHL debut on April 11, 2026. Since turning professional in 2024, Anania has amassed 53 points (10 goals, 43 assists) and 103 penalty minutes over 117 ECHL games played between Savannah and Allen.”

Anania went undrafted after spending the majority of his junior hockey career with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.

The Abbotsford Canucks have their home opener Saturday night, taking on the Coachella Valley Firebirds on both Saturday and Sunday at Rogers Forum in Abbotsford.