After a season that defied many expectations, the Vancouver Canucks are hoping to build on the momentum that the 2023-24 season brought about. A flurry of activity in July leaves a decent picture of where this roster will sit going into training camp.

As it stands, a preliminary lineup for the Canucks probably will look like this:

Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Daniel Sprong

Nils Höglander – JT Miller – Brock Boeser

Dakota Joshua – Teddy Blueger – Conor Garland

Danton Heinen – Pius Suter – Kiefer Sherwood

Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy – Tyler Myers

Derek Forbort – Vincent Desharnais

That’s a rough projection and things are up in flux – which makes the question of how this lineup will change all the more interesting. There are quite a few players who we don’t know where they would play, or if they crack the opening night roster. As we’re well familiar with, the regular season is long and knocks tend to accumulate, and anyone could step into roles that make a big impact.

Here are a couple of players that could crack Vancouver’s lineup in 2024-25 and possibly cement a role for themselves.

Vasily Podkolzin: There’s been plenty of discussion around the former 10th overall pick in 2019 already. After a decent rookie season, it’s been a series of regressions to the point where Podkolzin didn’t feature regularly in Vancouver at all in 2023-24. The 23-year-old winger will be trying to crack the Canucks roster full-time, but with the signing of Daniel Sprong, it adds yet another wrinkle and player that he will have to beat out.

In theory, Podkolzin is the prototypical Tocchet player. His motor and tenacity on the forecheck have produced good looks in the big leagues, and there’s enough hockey IQ for his game to be effective. The problem is that the Russian has been a classic case of “doing all the right things without production.”

It remains to be seen if he can make this roster out of training camp, and if he can produce in the NHL. It’s approaching make-or-break for Podkolzin, and if he makes it, he offers a valuable depth option for the Canucks this season.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki: For the Swede, playing in the AHL is the most likely outcome here (and is probably best for his development). But that shouldn’t discourage Jonathan Lekkerimäki from making a strong push for an NHL roster spot, if not out of training camp then later in the season.

Vancouver has been trying to address their lack of true top 6 wingers with some decent bets – but none of them have high-end skill that would cement their roles. Lekkerimäki does, and it’s why he was the Canucks’ first-round selection back in 2022. His shot and offensive upside would be a tremendous boon to the team, and while he shouldn’t be expected to play top-6 minutes, Lekkerimäki might be able to make an impact even deeper in the lineup.

He’ll likely see a couple of call-ups here and there throughout the season, but there’s always a chance that Lekkerimäki could surprise and make his audition last longer. Hopefully, either way, he’ll get the development that he needs to succeed long-term.

Cole McWard: Year two of Cole McWard’s tenure in the pro ranks was spent in the AHL as the former Buckeye adapted to being a professional hockey player. While he didn’t light up Abbotsford, it was as expected – the right-handed defenceman was as solid as a first-year pro could be when it came to being a responsible two-way defenceman.

At 5v5, McWard led the Abbotsford Canucks in goal differential while posting 17 points in 57 contests in 2023-24. With another tool when it comes to his shot, there’s reason to believe that McWard could make a challenge for that bottom-pairing RHD slot, especially if Desharnais struggles at any point. While Canucks management is probably looking for some more development time for McWard at the AHL level, there is a possibility that he takes a step up in the offseason and makes this decision harder.