<p>With July 1st now in the rearview, the bell has officially rung on the 2025 offseason. That means that it&#8217;s already time to start thinking about next season and where players will spend their 2025-26 season.</p>
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<p>The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> have a fresh new crop of players to follow, all of whom will be competing in games in North America during the 2025-26 season.</p>
<p>That includes their lone Swedish pick, who will be taking his talents to North America after spending his entire young career playing in the Swedish circuits. Even <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-vancouver-canucks-hit-home-run-aleksei-medvedev-pick">Aleksei Medvedev</a>, born in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been in Canada since the age of 14 and will spend his year in London, Ontario.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s music to our ears from both a development and viewing standpoint.</p>
<h2>Braeden Cootes, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)</h2>
<p>There’s an epidemic of highly rated prospects jetting from Junior to the NCAA ranks. And rightfully so. While they play fewer games, it provides an opportunity to train in world-class facilities while competing against much older and mature competition.</p>
<p>Yet, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-vancouver-canucks-getting-braeden-cootes">Braeden Cootes is staying</a> loyal to his club and will remain in Seattle, where he captains his Thunderbirds squad.</p>
<p>This is terrific news for fans who reside in the Western region, as it allows fans to see one of the organization’s top prospects on a much more consistent basis. Whether you live in Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops or any of the cities that house a Western League team, you’ll get a Braeden Cootes stop.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also terrific from a development standpoint. With a rebuilding Seattle group, Braeden Cootes is set to carry a heavy load for a second straight year. Whether that&#8217;s the powerplay, penalty kill, defensive draws, final minutes or shootouts, the Canucks&#8217; first round pick should be on the ice.</p>
<p>While names have yet to be officially announced, Braeden hinted that he will be attending this year&#8217;s World Junior Summer Showcase. Unsurprisingly, that means that he will push for a spot on Team Canada in this year’s World Junior Championships.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s shaping up to be a big year for the young captain.</p>
<p>Seattle&#8217;s season opener is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 2025, as the team hosts the Tri-City Americans. See the T-Birds&#8217; full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/whl/schedule/214/289/">here</a>.</p>
<h2>Aleksei Medvedev, London Knights (OHL)</h2>
<p>Speaking of players heading to the NCAA, there has been <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-vancouver-canucks-hit-home-run-aleksei-medvedev-pick">significant recruiting activity involving Aleksei Medvedev</a>. While he may eventually go that route at some point, reports indicate that he plans to stick with the London Knights for the 2025-26 season.</p>
<p>And that&#8217;s tremendous news, as he’ll be tasked with the starting job in London following the current starter&#8217;s graduation from the team. The Russian netminder was already a part of their Memorial Cup-winning 2025-26 as backup, soaking in the winning environment from the bench. Now, he’ll get the chance to take them on another deep run—this time, from between the pipes.</p>
<p>By now, we all know the Knights&#8217; reputation as being a perennial powerhouse, so it should be a tremendous season for his development.</p>
<p>London&#8217;s season opener is scheduled for Friday, September 19, 2025, as they host the Owen Sound Attack. See the Knights&#8217; full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/ohl-knights/schedule/14/83/">here</a>.</p>
<h2>Kieren Dervin, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)</h2>
<p>There has been some confusion regarding Kieren Dervin&#8217;s commitment and where he will play, as he has committed to Penn State University. However, that commitment isn’t until the 2026-27 season.</p>
<p>After spending the majority of his draft-eligible season playing High School Prep hockey, he shifted over to the Ontario Hockey League to play for the Kingston Frontenacs, who had drafted his rights 86th overall in 2023.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s where he will spend his draft-plus-one season, and by all accounts, he&#8217;s expected to play a high role within the team&#8217;s lineup. From there, he will take his talents to the collegiate level at Penn State, which has been stockpiling talent over the last year.</p>
<p>His commitment hasn&#8217;t been announced yet, but that recruitment list could include Gavin McKenna.</p>
<p>For now, Dervin&#8217;s focus is on Kingston, who open its 2025-26 schedule on Friday, September 19, 2025, against the Ottawa 67&#8217;s. See the Frontenacs&#8217; full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/ohl-frontenacs/schedule/2/83/">here</a>.</p>
<h2>Wilson <strong>Björck</strong>, Colorado College</h2>
<p>After spending his draft-eligible season alongside his brother, a highly ranked prospect for 2026, in Sweden’s J20 Nationell league, we&#8217;ll soon get the chance to see what <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-select-wilson-bjorck-fifth-round-of-the-2025-nhl-draft">Wilson Björck</a> can do on smaller North American ice.</p>
<p>The move is encouraging, as playing J20 in your re-entry season isn&#8217;t typically a promising indication. Yet, with the knowledge that he&#8217;d be transferring, he elected to stay for the year with his brother while squeezing into a handful of Allsvenskan games.</p>
<p>Now, he joins a somewhat shallow Colorado team, joining Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts. By all accounts, he should get a pretty good run at a significant role on the team.</p>
<p>Björck enjoyed a substantial uptick in offence in 2025-26, and this will be a tremendous indication of whether that was simply a matter of environment or development.</p>
<p>Colorado&#8217;s season opener on Friday, October 3, 2025, will be hosting the UConn Huskies. See their full schedule <a href="https://cctigers.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/schedule">here</a>.</p>
<h2>Gabriel Chiarot, Brampton Steelheads (OHL)</h2>
<p>Already two years into his OHL career, Gabe Chiarot has enjoyed a boost in production in each of his campaigns. Heading back for his third year, he’s expected to return to the Brampton Steelheads, who will see a bit of an exodus of top-six talent. That includes Vancouver Canucks prospect Vilmer Alriksson.</p>
<p>Can he grab an elevated role and up his numbers for a third year running?</p>
<p>The Steelheads&#8217; 2025-26 season opens Thursday, September 18, 2025, as they visit the Peterborough Petes. See their full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/ohl-steelheads/schedule/18/83/">here</a>.</p>
<h2>Matthew Lansing, Quinnipiac University (NCAA)</h2>
<p>The Vancouver Canucks&#8217; seventh-round pick will be heading to school as a 2025-26 commit to Quinnipiac.</p>
<p>Matthew Lansing has been busy over the last few seasons, having played games for seven (7!) teams over the previous two seasons, both club and internationally at the U18 World Juniors.</p>
<p>He&#8217;ll make his collegiate debut on Friday, November 7, 2025, as they visit Yale. See their full schedule <a href="https://gobobcats.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/schedule/2025-26">here</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, we will have you covered all year long here at CanucksArmy and will preview the entire scope of the prospect realm as we approach the regular season.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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With July 1st now in the rearview, the bell has officially rung on the 2025 offseason. That means that it's already time to start thinking about next season and where players will spend their 2025-26 season.
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&nbsp;

The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> have a fresh new crop of players to follow, all of whom will be competing in games in North America during the 2025-26 season.

That includes their lone Swedish pick, who will be taking his talents to North America after spending his entire young career playing in the Swedish circuits. Even <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-vancouver-canucks-hit-home-run-aleksei-medvedev-pick">Aleksei Medvedev</a>, born in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been in Canada since the age of 14 and will spend his year in London, Ontario.

That's music to our ears from both a development and viewing standpoint.
<h2>Braeden Cootes, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)</h2>
There’s an epidemic of highly rated prospects jetting from Junior to the NCAA ranks. And rightfully so. While they play fewer games, it provides an opportunity to train in world-class facilities while competing against much older and mature competition.

Yet, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-vancouver-canucks-getting-braeden-cootes">Braeden Cootes is staying</a> loyal to his club and will remain in Seattle, where he captains his Thunderbirds squad.

This is terrific news for fans who reside in the Western region, as it allows fans to see one of the organization’s top prospects on a much more consistent basis. Whether you live in Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops or any of the cities that house a Western League team, you’ll get a Braeden Cootes stop.

It's also terrific from a development standpoint. With a rebuilding Seattle group, Braeden Cootes is set to carry a heavy load for a second straight year. Whether that's the powerplay, penalty kill, defensive draws, final minutes or shootouts, the Canucks' first round pick should be on the ice.

While names have yet to be officially announced, Braeden hinted that he will be attending this year's World Junior Summer Showcase. Unsurprisingly, that means that he will push for a spot on Team Canada in this year’s World Junior Championships.

It's shaping up to be a big year for the young captain.

Seattle's season opener is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 2025, as the team hosts the Tri-City Americans. See the T-Birds' full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/whl/schedule/214/289/">here</a>.
<h2>Aleksei Medvedev, London Knights (OHL)</h2>
Speaking of players heading to the NCAA, there has been <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-vancouver-canucks-hit-home-run-aleksei-medvedev-pick">significant recruiting activity involving Aleksei Medvedev</a>. While he may eventually go that route at some point, reports indicate that he plans to stick with the London Knights for the 2025-26 season.

And that's tremendous news, as he’ll be tasked with the starting job in London following the current starter's graduation from the team. The Russian netminder was already a part of their Memorial Cup-winning 2025-26 as backup, soaking in the winning environment from the bench. Now, he’ll get the chance to take them on another deep run—this time, from between the pipes.

By now, we all know the Knights' reputation as being a perennial powerhouse, so it should be a tremendous season for his development.

London's season opener is scheduled for Friday, September 19, 2025, as they host the Owen Sound Attack. See the Knights' full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/ohl-knights/schedule/14/83/">here</a>.
<h2>Kieren Dervin, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)</h2>
There has been some confusion regarding Kieren Dervin's commitment and where he will play, as he has committed to Penn State University. However, that commitment isn’t until the 2026-27 season.

After spending the majority of his draft-eligible season playing High School Prep hockey, he shifted over to the Ontario Hockey League to play for the Kingston Frontenacs, who had drafted his rights 86th overall in 2023.

That's where he will spend his draft-plus-one season, and by all accounts, he's expected to play a high role within the team's lineup. From there, he will take his talents to the collegiate level at Penn State, which has been stockpiling talent over the last year.

His commitment hasn't been announced yet, but that recruitment list could include Gavin McKenna.

For now, Dervin's focus is on Kingston, who open its 2025-26 schedule on Friday, September 19, 2025, against the Ottawa 67's. See the Frontenacs' full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/ohl-frontenacs/schedule/2/83/">here</a>.
<h2>Wilson <strong>Björck</strong>, Colorado College</h2>
After spending his draft-eligible season alongside his brother, a highly ranked prospect for 2026, in Sweden’s J20 Nationell league, we'll soon get the chance to see what <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-select-wilson-bjorck-fifth-round-of-the-2025-nhl-draft">Wilson Björck</a> can do on smaller North American ice.

The move is encouraging, as playing J20 in your re-entry season isn't typically a promising indication. Yet, with the knowledge that he'd be transferring, he elected to stay for the year with his brother while squeezing into a handful of Allsvenskan games.

Now, he joins a somewhat shallow Colorado team, joining Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Roberts. By all accounts, he should get a pretty good run at a significant role on the team.

Björck enjoyed a substantial uptick in offence in 2025-26, and this will be a tremendous indication of whether that was simply a matter of environment or development.

Colorado's season opener on Friday, October 3, 2025, will be hosting the UConn Huskies. See their full schedule <a href="https://cctigers.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/schedule">here</a>.
<h2>Gabriel Chiarot, Brampton Steelheads (OHL)</h2>
Already two years into his OHL career, Gabe Chiarot has enjoyed a boost in production in each of his campaigns. Heading back for his third year, he’s expected to return to the Brampton Steelheads, who will see a bit of an exodus of top-six talent. That includes Vancouver Canucks prospect Vilmer Alriksson.

Can he grab an elevated role and up his numbers for a third year running?

The Steelheads' 2025-26 season opens Thursday, September 18, 2025, as they visit the Peterborough Petes. See their full schedule <a href="https://chl.ca/ohl-steelheads/schedule/18/83/">here</a>.
<h2>Matthew Lansing, Quinnipiac University (NCAA)</h2>
The Vancouver Canucks' seventh-round pick will be heading to school as a 2025-26 commit to Quinnipiac.

Matthew Lansing has been busy over the last few seasons, having played games for seven (7!) teams over the previous two seasons, both club and internationally at the U18 World Juniors.

He'll make his collegiate debut on Friday, November 7, 2025, as they visit Yale. See their full schedule <a href="https://gobobcats.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/schedule/2025-26">here</a>.

Of course, we will have you covered all year long here at CanucksArmy and will preview the entire scope of the prospect realm as we approach the regular season.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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