We are still entrenched in the dog days of summer with little to no news in the NHL world. However, in just a few short weeks, the Vancouver Canucks will open training camp in Penticton, and we will finally have some action to discuss. Until then, we will continue previewing the season ahead, which we hope will be full of positivity – unlike last season, where negativity and drama were a common theme. So, with that, let’s get into a piece I always love doing at this time of year: three bold predictions.
Hopefully, this won’t have to be a bold prediction next season, but after what we saw from Elias Pettersson in 2024-25, it definitely is this season. There was a time when 100 points wasn’t a pipe dream, especially after his 2022-23 season when he had a career-high 102, and it felt like the sky was the limit for the Swedish star. That season wasn’t that long ago, and I refuse to believe he’s now just a shell of the dynamic, two-way forward that was once discussed in the same breath as Pavel Datsyuk.
If his offseason training and early press clippings are any indication of Pettersson’s drive to become that forward again, fans should be in for a treat. He’s bigger, stronger and highly motivated to be the Canucks’ best player and justify the money that’s being pumped into his bank account right now. I predict he will hit the century mark again this season and prove to everyone that he is not a footnote in the NHL’s elite.
2. Filip Chytil Will Play a Full Season & Score 30 Goals
Filip Chytil has never suited up for a full 82-game season in his career. The closest he’s gotten was 74 and 75 games in the 2022-23 and 2018-19 seasons, respectively, and in the former, he had a career-high 22 goals and 45 points. In the seasons since that career-high, he’s only played 66 games and has been riddled with concussions and multiple stints on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) list. After suffering a concussion and missing 72 games in 2023-24, he had another one last season after joining the Canucks from the New York Rangers and missed the rest of the season.
Related: Jake DeBrusk and the Canucks Are a Perfect Match in the Making
The Canucks are banking on him staying healthy this season and filling that gaping hole on the second line. As of this writing, they haven’t been…
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