Canucks Prospects Show Promise and Areas for Improvement in Preseason Opener
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Canucks Prospects Show Promise and Areas for Improvement in Preseason Opener
- In their first preseason game on September 19, 2026, the Vancouver Canucks lost 4-2 to the Seattle Kraken, with a lineup primarily composed of younger players.
- Braeden Cootes, the Canucks' 2025 first-round draft pick, led the team's forwards in five-on-five ice time during the game.
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The Vancouver Canucks began their 2026 preseason on Saturday, September 19, with a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. The Canucks’ roster for the game was notably young, featuring many prospects and limiting veteran players due to new NHL collective bargaining agreement rules that restrict veterans to two preseason appearances.
Braeden Cootes, selected 15th overall by the Canucks in the 2025 NHL Draft, saw significant ice time, leading all Canucks forwards in five-on-five play. Cootes, a center from Sherwood Park, Alberta, previously captained the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, where he recorded 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games during the 2024-25 season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks on July 10, 2025, and made the team’s opening night roster on October 6, 2025, becoming the first 18-year-old to do so since Petr Nedvěd in 1990.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki, a right-winger drafted 15th overall by the Canucks in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, also played in the preseason opener. Lekkerimäki, born July 24, 2004, has played professionally in Sweden and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Vancouver on May 6, 2023. Both Cootes and Lekkerimäki were part of a line centered by Cootes, alongside Arshdeep Bains, which could potentially form the top line for the Abbotsford Canucks this season. The Kraken’s goals in the game were scored by Jani Nyman, Logan Morrison, Ty Nelson, and Jake O’Brien. The Canucks managed to make the score more respectable in the final period.