Now more than a month into the new league year, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Vancouver.
With the Canucks operating as both buyers and sellers last season despite not being a playoff team, it signaled which way they planned to approach the offseason. After failing to reach an agreement with Rick Tocchet on a contract extension, the team decided to make a coaching change, appointing assistant Adam Foote as the new head coach. A significant portion of their offseason focus has been on retaining as much of their core group as possible. GM Patrik Allvin feels that Vancouver’s underachieving in 2024-25 is not a sign of things to come.
Draft
1-15: F Braeden Cootes, Seattle (WHL)
2-47: G Alexei Medvedev, London (OHL)
3-65: F Kieren Dervin, St. Andrew’s College (Ontario High School)
5-143: F Wilson Bjorck, Djurgardens (Sweden U20)
6-175: F Gabriel Chiarot, Brampton (OHL)
7-207: F Matthew Lansing, Fargo/Waterloo (USHL)
Vancouver seemed to get all they could have wanted out of the 2025 NHL Draft. In a decisive move, the team addressed clear system weaknesses and shallow depth charts while balancing risky upside with projectable foundations. Cootes won’t have to travel far after spending the season dominating play in the middle lane of the ice for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He brings a mix of high-pace playmaking, two-way reliability, and physical strength that Vancouver seems to be sorely missing. Those attributes led Cootes to a team-leading 71 points in 66 total games this season. He is expected to return to the Thunderbirds next season. That should provide the perfect setting for Cootes to become quicker, stronger, and more independent on the puck – all traits that should smoothly ramp him into Vancouver’s lineup in just a few years.
The Canucks backed a smart first pick with a line of upside bets. Medvedev proved to be one of the most consistent goalies in the OHL on a game-by-game and period-by-period basis in his rookie season. He recorded a fantastic 22-8-2 record and .912 save percentage in 34 games of backing a star-studded London Knights roster. He started the majority of London’s regular-season games, but was ultimately usurped in the postseason…
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