As the calendar flips to September, we will begin the "draft and prospects" week at The Canuck Way and FanSided NHL. Over the course of the offseason, we've talked about three players 25 years old or younger to watch on the Vancouver Canucks this upcoming 2026-27 season.
We've also discussed upcoming seasons for players like Liam Ohgren, Braeden Cootes, and others within the Canucks organization. That said, what does it mean for the Canucks to inject a significant number of players 24 years old or younger to begin the rebuild on the right foot?
Youth movement in Vancouver
Heading into the upcoming 2026-27 season, the Canucks could have up to nine players 24 years old or younger play at some point with the team. That is a significant number of younger players to throw into a rebuild. However, it is something that is necessary to understand where the organization stands with its prospects/players who are younger than 25 years old.
For a team to understand where they are at in the present and in the future, especially for an organization in a rebuild, this is the way to do things. When it comes to the forward core, they have Marco Rossi (24 years old), Cootes (19), Jonathan Lekkerimaki (22), Ohgren (22), and Aatu Raty (23).
Regarding the defense, the Canucks have Victor Mancini (24), Tom Willander (21), Zeev Buium (20), and Elias Pettersson (22). With the acquisitions of Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn, it'll be interesting to see how Mancini will be deployed this season.
The same thing can be said for Cootes, who could start the season with the Abbotsford Canucks. While he is one of the 14 forwards on PuckPedia, there is a chance that the organization wants him to see more ice time in the American Hockey League (AHL) instead of limited minutes in the NHL.
When it comes down to it, the Canucks are in an interesting spot with their mix of veterans and a plethora of younger players on the roster for the upcoming season. While we don't know for sure how the lines will be structured under head coach Manny Malhotra, there is a sense he could find ways to get the younger guys in the roles needed to develop.
It helps that Malhotra was successful in the AHL with the Canucks, now he has the opportunity to keep developing those players with the NHL Canucks. While the upcoming season might not see the playoffs in the middle of a rebuild, at least the younger players could bring some excitement for the fans to see what the future looks like in Vancouver.
Add us as a preferred source on Google