The Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks] will begin their 2025–26 season on October 9 against the Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/], exactly a year after they began the 2024–25 season against the exact same opponent. 12 out of the 23 players on this year’s opening night roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/latest-news/vancouver-canucks-announce-2025-26-opening-night-roster] took part in this game last year, with the other 11 having either been promoted from the Abbotsford Canucks or acquired via trade or free agency. Here’s how this year’s opening night roster stacks up against last year’s. 2024–25 OPENING NIGHT ROSTER Forwards Nils Åman Teddy Blueger Brock Boeser Jake DeBrusk Conor Garland Danton Heinen Nils Höglander J.T. Miller Elias Pettersson Aatu Räty Kiefer Sherwood Daniel Sprong Pius Suter Defencemen Vincent Desharnais Derek Forbort Mark Friedman Filip Hronek Quinn Hughes Noah Juulsen Tyler Myers Carson Soucy Goaltenders Kevin Lankinen Artūrs Šilovs Only seven of the 13 forwards who were named to last year’s opening night roster remain in their positions, though this number would have been eight had the injury bug not bitten Höglander during the pre-season. Vancouver opted to go with an extra defenceman rather than an extra forward this time around, carrying eight on their roster including depth defenders like Friedman and Juulsen. With Thatcher Demko unavailable, Lankinen and Šilovs were called upon to man the crease, beating out players like Jiří Patera and Nikita Tolopilo for starting jobs. 2025–26 OPENING NIGHT ROSTER Forwards Arshdeep Bains Teddy Blueger Brock Boeser Filip Chytil Braeden Cootes Jake DeBrusk Conor Garland Evander Kane Linus Karlsson Jonathan Lekkerimäki Drew O’Connor Elias Pettersson Aatu Räty Kiefer Sherwood Defencemen Elias Pettersson Derek Forbort Filip Hronek Quinn Hughes Pierre-Oliver Joseph Tyler Myers Marcus Pettersson Goaltenders Thatcher Demko Kevin Lankinen This time around, Vancouver opted to go with an extra forward on the roster rather than a defenceman. The 2025–26 roster is noticeably faster than the season prior, with this attribute being specifically more prominent in players such as Chytil and O’Connor. The defence is much more mobile than last season’s, though the centerpiece of this unit is — and will hopefully always be — Hughes. In terms of age, the 2025–26 roster only slightly beats out the 2024–25 squad, as the average age of this year’s players comes out to 27.04. For last year’s players, the average age was 27.4. The 2024–25 forward group averaged out to around 26.8 years old, while 2025–26 is slightly younger at an average of only 26.2 years. Vancouver’s defence, on the other hand, got over half a year younger on average, as 2025–26’s D-core averages out to around 28 years, while the year prior sat at 28.6. Canucks veteran Myers was the oldest player on the roster for both seasons at age 34 and 35 respectively. Feb 4, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson (25) and goalie Thatcher Demko (35) and the team celebrates their victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/5a019bf1-b2e9-45f7-8df0-09f893244559.jpeg] Feb 4, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson (25) and goalie Thatcher Demko (35) and the team celebrates their victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images Vancouver officially embarks on their 2025–26 season with their home-opener against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, October 9. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwr-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] 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 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks]. Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/]: Every Goal That Canucks Forward Brock Boeser Has Scored In The Month Of October [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/players/every-goal-that-canucks-forward-brock-boeser-has-scored-in-the-month-of-october] Vancouver Canucks Announce 2025-26 Opening Night Roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/latest-news/vancouver-canucks-announce-2025-26-opening-night-roster] Report: Braeden Cootes Will Make NHL Debut During Vancouver Canucks 2025-26 Season Opener [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/latest-news/report-braeden-cootes-will-make-nhl-debut-during-vancouver-canucks-2025-26-season-opener] The Hockey News [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/954afd65-7a87-410f-b034-ce0514bc2123.jpeg] The Hockey News
