The Vancouver Canucks will face the Seattle Kraken in their final game of the 2026 pre-season.
The Vancouver Canucks will take part in their final game of the 2026 pre-season tonight against the Seattle Kraken. With Thursday’s 2–1 loss being the first pre-season game for the bulk of Vancouver’s roster, tonight’s effort should ideally see more players be able to shake the off-season rust off. Based on Friday’s practice lineup, here are five players to watch in Saturday’s game.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki
With Filip Chytil sustaining an injury and Braeden Cootes being assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks, it looks as though Jonathan Lekkerimäki will begin the 2026–27 season on Vancouver’s opening-night roster. While his performance in the first game of the 2026 pre-season wasn’t anything special, Lekkerimäki did look a little better on Thursday night. Based on Friday’s practice, the winger looks to be getting a prime opportunity in tonight’s game, as he’s expected to skate on Vancouver’s top-line with Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson.
Jake DeBrusk
DeBrusk was one of the Canucks’ most dangerous forwards on Thursday, with the winger leading his team in shots with seven through the 17 minutes he played in. He also conducted some strong work along the boards with linemate Linus Karlsson. Though he didn’t find the scoresheet on Thursday, DeBrusk still made a big impact offensively and will be one of Vancouver’s players to watch tonight.
Paul Cotter
While this will likely not continue into the regular season, tonight, Paul Cotter is expected to slot in as Vancouver’s fourth-line center. The forward can play both at center and at wing, but has primarily skated on the wings throughout his career as well as in his time with Vancouver thus far. That said, if Cotter can put up a fair performance while lining up down the middle tonight, he’ll give the Canucks an extra level of depth at center.
Tom Willander
While Thursday provided a near first-look at what Vancouver’s opening-night lineup could look like, there were still a few players who did not dress but will tonight — Tom Willander, defenceman Elias Pettersson, Arshdeep Bains, and Max Sasson. Willander will be an interesting player to follow today, as this game will provide a first in-game look at the pairing of himself and Jamie Oleksiak. Tonight could also give a better look at what kind of minutes Willander could be playing at the start of the year in terms of special teams and overall volume.
Kevin Lankinen
Kevin Lankinen is projected to play the entire game tonight, with this being his first look at in-game action since stopping all but three of the 32 shots he faced in Vancouver’s second game of the 2026 pre-season on Tuesday. Despite the Canucks’ inexperienced lineup that night, Lankinen was strong in net. With Thatcher Demko unlikely to be available by the start of the regular season, and Vancouver claiming goaltender Leevi Meriläinen off waivers on Friday, the only certain thing about the Canucks’ goaltending cabinet seems to be Lankinen.
Jan 2, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk (74) watches defenseman Tom Willander (5) handle the puck against the Seattle Kraken in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesMake sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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