The Vancouver Canucks are back on the ice and ready to put last season behind them.
There were a number of changes made to their coaching staff, but not a lot in terms of players on the ice.
With that said, we did get a look at a number of new line combinations and defence pairs Thursday at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, giving us a hint at what Adam Foote could roll out for the first game of the regular season next month.
Elias Pettersson lined up with Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser on his wings, matching our projection from back in July. While we shouldn’t read too deeply into line rushes at this time of the year, that one certainly has the appearance of a line we could see in game action.
Welcome to #Canucks training camp 🏒 pic.twitter.com/aoGZXVDmIC
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) September 18, 2025
Canucks forward lines
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Kane-Chytil-Lekkerimäki
Höglander-Blueger-Garland
Kravtsov-Räty-Karlsson
Bains Cootes Sherwood
O’Connor-Sasson-Klimovich
LaBate-Åman-Stillman
Alriksson-Pattersson-MacEachern
It was also notable that newcomer Evander Kane skated with Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, while Teddy Blueger centred a line with Conor Garland and Nils Höglander.
Aatu Räty, who many had pencilled into a third-line centre role, did not have a sure-fire NHL winger on his line. Instead, he skated alongside a pair of players fighting for a spot: Vitali Kravtsov and Linus Karlsson.
Canucks defence pairs
There weren’t many surprises on defence, particularly within the top two pairings. Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek skated together, as did Marcus Pettersson and Tyler Myers.
The most notable defence pairing was Derek Forbort skating alongside 2023 first-round pick Tom Willander. That has the look of a third pairing, if the 20-year-old Swede can win a spot in the opening-night lineup.
The other young defencemen on the bubble, Elias Pettersson and Victor Mancini, skated with AHL-bound players.
Hughes-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
Forbort-Willander
Joseph-Kudryatsev
E. Pettersson-Alcos
Knyzov-Mancini
Mynio-Schuldt
Arntsen-Lee
Canucks goalies
The Canucks brought seven goalies to camp: Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo, Jiri Patera, Ty Young, Aleksei Medvedev, and Aku Koskenvuo.
The best news of all is that Demko, unlike last year at this time, was a full participant.
The Canucks will spend four days in Penticton before the puck drops for the first time in preseason Sunday in Seattle.