The Vancouver Canucks will take on the Edmonton Oilers for Game 3 of their 2026 pre-season on Thursday night.
The Vancouver Canucks will look to register their first win of the 2026 pre-season tonight when they take on the Edmonton Oilers. This is Vancouver’s first home game of this year’s pre-season, with this being the first time the team is playing in front of Rogers Arena’s crowd since April 14. Here are five players to watch during Thursday’s game.
Filip Chytil
Tonight will be the first time Canucks fans get to watch Filip Chytil in a game-situation since February 2 against the Utah Mammoth. Chytil’s speed impressed many during last year’s pre-season and training camp, though injuries resulted in him only playing in 12 games throughout the regular season. So far, he’s showcased the same level of speed in Vancouver’s training camp and practices, but didn’t quite stand out in the in-team scrimmage. Tonight, the center is projected to slot in on Vancouver’s third-line between Drew O’Connor and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, the latter of which will also be coming into this game as a player to watch.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Speaking of Lekkerimäki, the winger enters tonight’s game with something to prove after Vancouver’s most recent round of roster cuts. Despite ending up on Vancouver’s first-line alongside Arshdeep Bains and Braeden Cootes in Game 1 of the pre-season, Lekkerimäki had himself a pretty rough game. As one of the forwards on the bubble for a full-time roster spot, Lekkerimäki will need to have himself a strong game in order to keep himself in contention.
Forward Elias Pettersson
There will always be some amount of dialogue surrounding Elias Pettersson, and today is no different. As is the case with most of Vancouver’s more-experienced players, tonight will be the first look at Pettersson in-game since the Canucks returned to BC back at the start of September. The center looked engaged during certain parts of training camp, even making a positive impression during the scrimmage, though time will tell whether this translates to NHL competition. Tonight, he is slated to play between Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson, both of whom he has played frequently with in the past.
Jan 17, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) skates against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesBraeden Cootes
Tonight, Braeden Cootes will play in his third pre-season game of 2026, having made strong impressions in both Tuesday’s and Saturday’s games. The forward is currently up to three points on the pre-season and has solidified himself as a strong offensive presence while playing on Vancouver’s top-line. He’ll have a different role tonight, however, as he’s projected to center the Canucks’ fourth-line flanked by speedy Paul Cotter and hard-working Brendan Gallagher. Cootes’ play tonight, specifically how he performs in a different role, will play a big part in whether or not he makes the Canucks’ opening-night roster for the second season in a row.
Victor Mancini
Against all odds, it appears the spot of Vancouver’s seventh-defenceman is Victor Mancini’s to lose. The pre-season hasn’t been kind to the defenceman, who looked a step behind in Games 1 and 2 and didn’t exactly instill confidence with his performance during training camp. That said, he was still given close to top-pairing minutes in both matchups. He’ll be skating in his third game of the 2026 pre-season tonight alongside Guillaume Brisebois, who is also in contention for Vancouver’s seventh-defenceman spot.
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