Vancouver has reduced its preseason group by 11 players, sending several skaters and goalies to Abbotsford and moving one forward to juniors before hosting the Oilers after Calgary.
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The Vancouver Canucks have announced a major shakeup to their preseason roster ahead of a matchup with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Saddledome.
According to the team, the roster changes come after a rapid period of evaluation that has started to narrow the group. In total, the Canucks have reduced their preseason roster by 11 players, bringing the number of players at this stage down to 46, as of the time of the announcement.
Five players have been assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks, the team’s AHL affiliate. Those players are forwards Vilmer Alriksson, Gabriel Chiarot and Anri Ravinskis, along with goaltenders Aku Koskenvuo and Ty Young.
Another set of five players has been released from professional tryout contracts and also sent to the Abbotsford Canucks. The released PTO players include forwards Austin Brimmer and Bennett Schimek, along with defensemen Joe Arntsen, Tim Rego and Gavin White.
In addition to those AHL assignments, forward Lucian Bernat has been assigned to his junior team, completing a set of moves that affects both the organization’s immediate preseason plans and the broader player development pipeline.
The timing of the cuts places this round of roster decisions directly in the lead-up to Vancouver’s next slate of exhibition games, when head coach Manny Malhotra’s group will get another look against a key opponent. The roster adjustments also signal the organizational need to turn training-camp evaluation into a more stable lineup for the remaining preseason dates.
General Manager Ryan Johnson addressed the broader approach during this phase, describing an expectation that players become more adaptable as the group narrows. Johnson said he has asked players “to be vulnerable, be willing to get uncomfortable” and to handle it in a way that allows them to “handle it however you feel to the person that you are.”
Johnson’s remarks also pointed to how the Canucks are framing individual accountability and locker-room habits during the late camp stage. He said the organization is not trying to alter players’ personalities, but instead aims to adjust day-to-day behaviours, including how players approach teammates and trainers and how they treat one another in the dressing room.
As the preseason schedule continues, Vancouver’s next game is set for Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. ET against the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. That matchup will serve as the next checkpoint immediately after the club’s roster reduction and AHL/Juniors assignments.
The Canucks’ exhibition timeline then calls for a return to Rogers Arena for a game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET, following the Calgary meeting. The sequence matters for Vancouver fans because it limits the window for players on the bubble to make their case before the group’s on-ice roles become more defined.
Vancouver’s preseason picture also includes a recent result against the Seattle Kraken. On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Kraken handed the Canucks a 4-2 loss after surging ahead early, leaving Vancouver trailing for much of the game.
With the roster now down to 46 and multiple players moved out of the preseason group, the most practical impact for Vancouver viewers is that roster battles will likely shift from broad auditions to narrower comparisons among a smaller pool. Players who remain available for the Calgary and Edmonton games will have fewer opportunities to prove their readiness, while those sent to Abbotsford or junior programs will take the next steps through that affiliate pathway.
For Canadian hockey fans, the moves also underline how quickly NHL clubs translate training-camp evaluations into organization-wide assignments. The Abbotsford Canucks receive multiple transfers tied to tryout releases and performance decisions, while the junior assignment for Bernat reflects the club’s ongoing coordination between the NHL roster pipeline and development leagues.
As the Canucks prepare to face Calgary on Sept. 22, the roster shakeup sets the immediate context for what the team expects to look like during its remaining exhibition contests—smaller groups, more defined roles, and an emphasis on players adapting to the coaching message in time for games rather than later into camp.
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