In their second-to-last pre-season game before the start of the 2025–26 season, the Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks] will take on the Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/]. This comes after Vancouver made 17 roster cuts on Monday, bringing the number of players still with the team down to 33. Here are some players to watch during tonight’s pre-season match against the Flames. Note: as the team has not yet released tonight’s official lineup, players selected for this article were taken from a Canucks social media post. CONOR GARLAND Initially, Garland was slated to play in Sunday’s pre-season game, but ended up not being part of the lineup that night. He’s expected to play tonight against the Flames, as per the Canucks’ social media, making this his first pre-season game of 2025. As one of the team’s most energetic players, fans can expect to see the usual hustle from Garland. ARSHDEEP BAINS One of the frontrunners for a full-time roster spot heading into pre-season and training camp was Bains, who impressed fans with his offensively-dominant performance in the Calder Cup Playoffs. While the injury to Nils Höglander does help Bains’ case, he does still have lots of competition for a spot on that opening-night roster. The fact that he is expected to play tonight, while some of his Abbotsford colleagues remain out of the lineup, may be a positive sign for where the Canucks intend to deploy him. 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With that being said, with the way Cootes has played, many are starting to shy away from Räty’s stock. While it’s clear that Räty has worked hard during the off-season to improve different facets of his game, there are only a couple of games left for him to fully cement himself in the role many believe he can fill. VICTOR MANCINI The longer the pre-season has gone, the more likely it looks that Mancini will nab himself a full-time NHL spot to start the regular season. The fact that Mancini is a right-handed shooter in a deep pool of left-hand shots helps his chances as well. Tonight is Mancini’s first pre-season game since Wednesday night in Abbotsford, with the young defenceman projected to slot in on the third-pairing alongside Derek Forbort based on the lines at practice yesterday. If this pairing finds success tonight, they could be something to keep an eye on moving into the regular season. TOM WILLANDER Willander is one of three fringe defencemen who are still with the Canucks — Mancini and Pierre-Olivier Joseph being the other two. In all honesty, Willander is probably the least likely of these three to make the Canucks at this point, but that doesn’t mean that these pre-season games aren’t good for his development. With Quinn Hughes now expected to be in tonight’s lineup, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of minutes they give Willander now that Vancouver’s first-unit power play specialist is playing. Apr 12, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland (8) skates against the Minnesota Wild in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/879c60c7-b3fd-4b5c-94f4-5d1266b6401c.jpeg] Apr 12, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland (8) skates against the Minnesota Wild in the second period at Rogers Arena. 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