Canucks Reveal First Real Look At Their 2026 Prospect Group

The Vancouver Canucks unveil an exciting mix of new talent and familiar faces for their upcoming 2026 development camp.

The Vancouver Canucks have set the board for their 2026 development camp, and the group heading to Abbotsford is a heavy one.

The club announced Monday that 25 prospects will take part in camp at the Rogers Forum from Tuesday, June 30 through Thursday, July 2. The roster breaks down into 17 forwards, five defencemen and three goaltenders, with a mix of recent draft picks, invited players and a few names that should stand out to anyone tracking the organization’s pipeline.

Among the forwards are Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Lucian Bernát, Wilson Björck, Austin Brimmer, Gabriel Chiarot, Braeden Cootes, Connor Dale, Connor Davis, Kieren Dervin, Daimon Gardner, Caleb Malhotra, Adam Novotný, Riley Patterson, Matthew Perkins, Brooks Rogowski, Anthony Romani and Bennett Schimek.

The blue line group includes Parker Alcos, Aiden Celebrini, Samuel Eriksson, Basile Sansonnens and Nate Tivey, while the goaltenders listed are Nils Robert Maurins, Aleksei Medvedev and Anders Miller.

Seven of the Canucks’ nine 2026 NHL Draft picks will be on the ice this week. That list includes all four of their Round 1 and Round 2 selections: Caleb Malhotra, Adam Novotný, Brooks Rogowski and Niklas Aaram-Olsen. Late-round picks Connor Davis, Lucian Bernát and Samuel Eriksson are also in, while third- and fourth-round picks Dmitri Ivchenko and Yaroslav Bryzgalov will not attend.

Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwa reported on X that Bryzgalov’s absence is tied to travel visa issues. CanucksArmy is working to learn why Ivchenko will not be there.

A few other names will draw attention for different reasons. Braeden Cootes, the Canucks’ 2025 first-round pick, is set to attend, along with 2025 second-round pick Aleksei Medvedev and 2024 fourth-round pick Riley Patterson.

There are also four players in camp who are not currently in the Canucks prospect pool but earned invites: Connor Dale, Nate Tivey, Nils Robert Maurins and Anders Miller. Austin Brimmer and Beckett Schimek are listed as invitees as well, though both signed AHL contracts with the Abbotsford Canucks last season.

Brimmer recorded one assist in 13 games with Abbotsford, while Schimek finished his 13-game run there with five goals and 11 points. Dale spent last season with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, Tivey with NCAA’s Quinnipiac University, Maurins with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers and Miller with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.

In Other News...

Canucks Eyeing Familiar Blue-Line Reunion Fans Will Definitely Debate

The Canucks are keeping an eye on the veteran side of their blue line again, and Ian Cole is a familiar name in that search. According to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK, Vancouver is interested in the pending unrestricted free agent defenseman after his one-season run with the club in 2023-24, a stretch that left the Canucks with a clear sense of what he can and cannot bring. Cole has continued to be a useful contributor in recent seasons, which only adds to the appeal for a team looking to steady its back end.

There is also a roster wrinkle building around Pierre-Olivier Joseph, with Vancouver expected not to issue him a qualifying offer, which would push him toward free agency. Put together, the two moves hint at a blue-line reset that favors experience and familiarity, even if the debate in Vancouver will come down to whether that is the right mix for a team trying to stay competitive while reshaping its defense. [Read more 🡒]

Canucks May Be Near Their Biggest Pettersson Decision Yet

The Elias Pettersson trade chatter around Vancouver has a very real business side to it, and that is what makes this one different from the usual offseason noise. Pettersson is tied to the Canucks through the 2031-32 season, and his cap hit is large enough to make any move complicated before it even gets to the hockey fit. For a team trying to keep its options open heading into free agency, that kind of contract can quickly become the central issue.

What makes the situation even trickier is the timing. July 1 is creeping closer, and the longer the offseason goes, the fewer paths there may be to create real salary cap flexibility. Vancouver could always try to make the numbers work in a variety of ways, including retaining some salary, but as of now there is still no confirmed deal and plenty of uncertainty about whether this is a true market or just a difficult one to solve. [Read more 🡒]

Predators Just Made Another Forward Move Fans Will Want To See

The Predators have continued to reshape their forward group this offseason, and the latest move gives them another cost-controlled option with some runway left on his contract. Nashville brought in Nils Hoglander from Vancouver for a third-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft, adding a winger who still has two years left at a $3 million cap hit per season before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2028.

For a Predators front office that has already added Ross Colton, Jack Drury and Adam Edstrom, the deal fits the broader pattern of stacking depth while keeping plenty of flexibility. Nashville still has nearly $17 million in cap space heading toward free agency, so the move raises the question of whether this is another incremental piece or just the latest step in a much bigger offensive shuffle. [Read more 🡒]