Multiple Young Dark Horse Candidates To Earn Canucks Roster Spot Emerge

It’s been an offseason of change for the Vancouver Canucks, who finished the 2025-26 NHL season with the worst record in the Western Conference but landed only the third overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The Canucks made significant changes to their leadership group, both in the front office and behind the bench. The team dismissed GM Patrik Allvin and hired Ryan Johnson and the Sedin twins, while also firing head coach Adam Foote and replacing him with former Canucks forward Manny Malhotra. Malhotra recently led the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup.

Speaking of Malhotra, the Canucks selected his son, Caleb Malhotra, with the third overall pick in the Draft earlier in the summer.

According to a recent list put forward by Canucks Insider Trevor Beggs of Daily Hive, there are multiple candidates that could be dark horses to make the Canucks roster for next season, starting with Trey Fix-Wolansky, a former 2018 Draft selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Beggs wrote: 

“The 27-year-old has been one of the AHL’s top goal scorers over the past three seasons. His 83 AHL goals since 2023-24 are third best among all AHLers. Fix-Wolansky’s 175 points over that span rank fifth.

He’s a 5-foot-7, 195-pound forward, built like a fire hydrant who can score. He hasn’t sniffed NHL action since 2023-24. You can bet he’s hungry for a roster spot, and probably looks at the Canucks as a roster he can crack.”

Beggs continued by naming another 2018 Draft selection, Akil Thomas, as a candidate to make the club. Thomas was taken 51st overall by the Los Angeles Kings, and signed a two-way deal with the Canucks in early July.

“Considering the Canucks thin roster depth at centre, Akil Thomas could absolutely be in the mix for a roster spot. There’s a lot of uncertainty after Elias Pettersson, Marco Rossi and Aatu Raty. Will Filip Chytil be ready to go? If he is, is he better suited on the wing to lessen his responsibilities?

Could the Canucks move Max Sasson back to centre, even though he was better on the wing? Are either of Ilya Safonov or Cootes ready?”

And a third candidate listed by Beggs is defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev, who was selected by the Canucks in the 2022 NHL Draft and could compete for a spot with fellow defenseman Elias Pettersson, who happens to have the same name as Vancouver’s top forward.

“Pettersson has a huge physical edge, as one of the only guys on the Canucks roster who chucks his body around. But there’s an argument that Kudryavtsev is a more sound, steady defensive player,” Beggs wrote.

“Both players are exempt from waivers, setting up a potentially interesting training camp battle.”

Despite the multiple changes in leadership, the Canucks could very well be in store for another rough year in terms of wins and losses.

However, they have no direction to go but up from this point, as gradual as it may be.

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