Four of the Canucks' six current defencemen are under 24. That's not a bad thing.
It’s been a long time since the Vancouver Canucks’ defence has been as young as it currently is. Having traded Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars and placing Pierre-Olivier Joseph on IR, Vancouver is currently icing a D-core made up of Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tom Willander, Elias Pettersson, Zeev Buium, and Victor Mancini. The latter four are all under 24 years old.
It’s not an ideal situation, but if you ask Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote, their play thus far has been an overall positive. Willander, in particular, garnered a high bit of praise from his coach after today’s low-attendance practice.
“Willander just continues to impress me. He’s just not afraid to go, get back and get pucks in the heat, and he does it really well, but there’s times he’s going to have his mistakes,” Foote said. “It’s a hard area he’s going back to, a lot of pressure, and it seems like he’s pretty comfortable doing it, so that’s pretty good to have at such a young age.”
Foote also had some comments for Buium, who played a great game against the Ottawa Senators despite last night’s 2–0 loss. This included a strong — and somewhat surprising — dash from his own zone up into Ottawa’s.
“[He] came around and did his thing, but then when he had a lot of success, he tried to do it a couple more times, and then you’re like, you don’t have to do that all the time, so it’s just a learning curve.”
Not to say that Buium experimenting offensively is a bad thing. In fact, it’s refreshing seeing that level of creativity from Vancouver’s blueline, especially from a young player like him. Given the circumstances that the Canucks currently find themselves in, facing towards the future rather than looking back at the past, keeping some of that creativity alive will be a massive step in ensuring its presence in the long-run.
With that being said, of course Vancouver is going to want to make sure their players stick to the systems defensively. With all the positives, the young core has still dealt with its share of growing pains as the Canucks work towards their future. But with growing pains comes experience, and experience is what this Canucks team needs now that they’re seemingly committing to a rebuild.
“They need the reps. You can talk about it, you can walk through and practice, but you need to go out there,” Foote explained. “A lot of the plays, you have to learn the hard way, more than once, and till you really learn about [...] up and down and when it’s the right time to press or not press. But the communication on the PK, even last PK, as we were good, we could have pressed way more. But the weak side players have to call it, because the guys in the fight on the strong side can’t see it all.”
Jan 2, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium (24) watches defenseman Tom Willander (5) handle the puck against the Seattle Kraken in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesPart of what comes with reps is an increase in roles. Since Hughes was traded, Vancouver’s top-unit power play has experimented with the likes of Buium, Hronek, and Willander on the blueline. Willander also saw some time on the Canucks’ penalty-kill last night.
In looking at the total minutes played, there’s been a massive uptick for certain members of the Canucks since Quinn Hughes was traded back on December 12. While Hronek (815:42) and the elder Pettersson (736:19) are still far-and-away the team’s leaders in TOI since then, Vancouver’s youthful D-core has also been tasked with stepping things up. Willander currently ranks third in TOI of all Canucks players since the Hughes trade with 540:37, while Buium places slightly behind him at fourth with 534:13 minutes. Defenceman Elias Pettersson ranks 11th of all players with 430:07 minutes since December 12.
At this point in the season, getting their young players playing time is what the Canucks need. Even if the situations may not be ideal, such as having a young pairing out there on the penalty kill or against a top-line, they’re things that the players will learn from and have a better idea of approaching when it happens next.
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