Just before the Vancouver Canucks were to hit the ice for pre-game skate ahead of their game against the Utah Mammoth, General Manager Patrik Allvin announced the club recalled goaltender Jiri Patera from AHL Abbotsford under emergency conditions.

An hour before pre-game skate, head coach Adam Foote confirmed with the media that Nikita Tolopilo would get his second consecutive start tonight against the Mammoth. He led the Canucks out for warmups, but has been the only goaltender on the ice sheet for the entire skate. Patera was not on the ice for warmups, but is with the team in time for game-time.

Other lineup notes for tonight’s game see Evander Kane and Victor Mancini draw back into the Canucks’ lineup for Curtis Douglas and Elias Pettersson (D). Nils Höglander will sit for the second consecutive game.

Patera, 27, has spent most of the 2025-26 campaign in Abbotsford. He has started 29 games, resulting in an 11-14-2 record, with a 2.72 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. The Praha, Czech netminder is coming off one of his best starts of the season on Friday night at Rogers Forum in Abbotsford, where he stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced for a 2.06 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Despite his efforts, the skaters in front of Patera were not able to give him any goal support, as the team lost 2-0 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Patera has just one start in the NHL this season, in what was a wild 8-5 loss to the Florida Panthers back on November 17. The 2017 sixth-round pick (161st overall) faced a lot of rubber that night, stopping 33 of the 40 shots he faced, logging a .825 save percentage. Throughout his three seasons in the NHL, split between the Vegas Golden Knights and Canucks, Patera has nine career starts, carrying a 3-4-1 record, a 4.01 goals against average and a .892 save percentage.