Kevin Lankinen isn’t approaching the 2026-27 season like a goalie worried about the workload. He sounds like a veteran who has already taken the hits, logged the miles and come out the other side sharper for it.
The 31-year-old is expected to be Vancouver’s starter on opening night, and after a heavy 2025-26 season, he’s embracing the chance to take on a bigger role again. Last year, Lankinen went 11-27-5 with the Canucks, appeared in 47 games, made 43 starts and even made a mid-season trip to Italy as part of Finland’s Olympic team.
That kind of schedule can wear on a player. For Lankinen, it became part of the reset.
“I thought it was helpful. Of course, it was a condensed schedule, and then going to the Olympics and bringing home the Bronze Medal and everything that came with that.
It was just a lot of great learning experiences last year. Just having the time to decompress, recap, learn, and then get right back at it.
I mean, I had almost four months time to get my myself ready for this season. I feel better than ever.
I'm just ready to go.”
That confidence has been building during Vancouver’s captain’s skates at Rogers Arena, where almost the entire roster has already been on the ice even though training camp doesn’t begin until September 17. Lankinen said the turnout says plenty about the group’s mindset.
“It tells you a lot about the group," said Lankinen. "We want to get together and make sure we're ready to go when the puck drops. We're committed to the process, and I think that's what it shows."
He also likes what the Canucks have added around him. Lankinen specifically pointed to Luke Schenn, Jamie Oleksiak and Paul Cotter, while also praising the way younger players like Tom Willander, Zeev Buium and Liam Öhgren have come back looking ready.
“I love the dudes that they brought in. I'm familiar with Schenner (Luke Schenn).
Played with him a couple of years in Nashville. I know exactly what he's going to bring into the lineup and off the ice as well.
Jamie (Oleksiak) seems like a great dude, and playing against him in Seattle, you know what he brings. He's mean, strong and a big physical presence.
As a goalie, that's what you love to see in front of you. Obviously, Paul (Cotter) too.
He's showing some great skill. He's got some special talent.
Hopefully, he can showcase that this year and all the other guys as well. So I'm really excited.
And most importantly, just like seeing the guys that we have. Seeing them taking steps.
Seeing Tom (Willander), seeing Zeev (Buium) and Liam (Öhgren) and all these guys coming back and being in great shape and flying out there. It just brings you a lot of confidence going into the season...
Just great people. All in all, great human beings.
Bringing in some good, positive energy. I like what we have cooking in the locker room.
We're having a good time, and everybody's pulling the same rope. So I'm really looking forward to the season."
The biggest uncertainty around Vancouver’s crease remains Thatcher Demko’s health, and with the 30-year-old projected to miss the start of the year, Lankinen may be asked to carry a heavy load early. He says that doesn’t change his approach.
“It doesn't really affect my thing. Obviously, I'm happy to see Thatcher doing well and making his way back again.
But I feel great. I had a great summer.
I'm more confident than ever. I got some good rest, but at the same time, I did the most work in the gym that I've done so far.
I was able to spend some good quality time on the ice and work on a couple of little things. So I'm super confident, excited and ready to go.”
There’s no sugarcoating Vancouver’s place in the preseason conversation. The club is being projected to finish near the bottom of the standings, and that’s tied to a rebuild and a rough 2025-26 campaign. Lankinen, though, isn’t interested in the outside noise.
“I think so. I don't really listen to the people outside.
I know what we have inside here, and obviously we want to build. We want to win in the long term, but we also want to win today.
We're athletes, we're warriors, we're competitors. So we're doing everything we can to win every single game this year.
Whether we're going to win it or not, nobody knows. But I think that's the mindset going in.
We're not going to give a single inch to anybody, and just fight for every single point we can.”
If Vancouver is going to outperform those projections, Lankinen will have to be a major part of it. He’s expected to be in the crease often again, and he enters the year sounding as ready as he’s ever been.
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