Tom Willander doesn’t sound like a player looking for easy answers, and that may be exactly why the Canucks believe he fits where they’re headed.
At 21, the Vancouver defenceman comes across as direct, self-aware and fully tuned in to what last season looked like for the team. He isn’t trying to dress up the mess. He’s looking at it head-on, and he’s already thinking about what real progress should look like during a rebuild that figures to demand plenty from him.
“I’ve always been analytical of myself and the game as a whole, and I don’t think you gain anything from just trying make it seem better than it is,” Willander told Postmedia on Tuesday following preparation for a pre-season test that night in Calgary.
That mindset carries into the bigger question: what counts as a good season when the standings may still be ugly?
“Honestly, that’s a good question, and I’ve thought a lot about it,” said Willander. “I don’t have a clear answer with specific statistics. You have to look at your game as a whole.
For Willander, the point is less about chasing a neat statistical target and more about building a game he can trust. He talked about reviewing stretches where he either struggled or simply didn’t feel comfortable, using those moments to sharpen his confidence and keep his development moving in the right direction. That matters for the 11th overall selection in the 2023 NHL draft, who is trying to turn promise into something more durable.
He also understands the difference between losing the right way and drifting through a game without much fight. Vancouver’s franchise-worst 9-27-5 record on home ice last season is the kind of stretch he wants no part of repeating.
“I don’t think you should ever be losing like that,” stressed Willander, who had 21 points (5-16) in 70 games last season. “For me, that’s why I play hockey.
Those tight games in the third period and you’re in that zone and just playing. There’s nothing like it.
I can only imagine what the playoffs would be like here, because they’re going to be so much fun.”
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Stockholm native took another step forward at Boston University, where he played a top-pairing role and helped the Terriers reach the 2025 national Frozen Four final before falling 6-2 to Western Michigan.
He also got a short look at pro hockey last season with five AHL games in Abbotsford, where Manny Malhotra was behind the bench. That connection now carries extra meaning, with Malhotra having been named the Canucks’ head coach on June 1.
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