6 Canucks breakout candidates for 2025-26

So who, exactly, are the Vancouver Canucks breakout candidates in 2025-26?

We’re not talking about players needing bounce-back seasons. That’s a separate category. Certainly Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander – and to a lesser degree Brock Boeser – need to perform at considerably higher levels than they did last season. But all three have already had their breakout seasons in the National Hockey League. We’re looking at players on the current roster who haven’t fully popped at the NHL. The Canucks have a number of candidates that could break through next season.

Filip Chytil

The New York Rangers likely thought the 25-year-old speedster had arrived as an NHL contributor when he appeared in 74 games, scored 22 goals and added 23 assists as a 23-year-old in the 2022-23 season. But in the two seasons since then, Chytil has been limited to just 66 games and 13 goals. All indications are that Chytil has been fully healthy this summer and has been able to train without restrictions. And that’s great news for a guy whose career has been plagued by severe head injuries.

Opportunity is knocking for Chytil to seize the second line centre position in Vancouver and run with it. And if he can, the offensive numbers should follow. The Canucks need Chytil to have a big year. And it feels like Chytil needs that to happen, too. Through injury and a mid-season trade, Chytil recorded 26 points in 56 games last season. That .464 point per game rate is slightly higher than his career .433 mark. But it’s not in the neighbourhood of where the Canucks need him to be.

Can Chytil generate 60 points in his first full season in Vancouver? That may be a big ask for a player who has yet to reach the 50-point mark in a season. But that’s likely what the Canucks need from Chytil if this team is going to be competitive.

Aatu Räty

A path to prosperity has been carved out for Aatu Räty. Is this the season he grasps a full-time NHL job? The Canucks appear to be banking on it. Still just 22, Räty parlayed a strong training camp and preseason a year ago to a spot in the opening night lineup. While he shuttled between Abbotsford and Vancouver during the season, he showed flashes in his 33 NHL games that provide some hope – and belief – that Räty should be ready for more.

A near point per game producer in 43 AHL games last season, the big Finn scored seven times and added four assists in 33 NHL games. The third line centre role is there for the taking. The hope has to be that a pair of injuries that limited his availability for Abbotsford in its run to the Calder Cup in June hasn’t limited Räty in any way this summer as he tries to improve his foot speed. A big body with legitimate faceoff prowess, Räty feels like he’s on the cusp of grasping full-time NHL employment. He’ll definitely be one to watch when the team opens training camp a month from now.

Linus Karlsson

It feels like a make it or break it year for Linus Karlsson at the NHL level. He’ll turn 26 in November, and he should start into the 2025-26 season with the most confidence he’s ever had as a professional. This is a guy who scored 37 goals in 57 games (regular season and playoffs) for Abbotsford last season and was an absolute beast in the playoffs. He has always been a goal scorer wherever he’s played, but that hasn’t translated yet to the NHL, where Karlsson has just three goals and three assists in 27 career games. However, much of that is due to differing roles when he’s in the minors as opposed to during his big league call-ups.

Can Karlsson carve out a role as a responsible fourth-liner who sees second power play unit duties in Vancouver next season? In a perfect world, he’d bring some of that minor league scoring pedigree with him and push for more opportunity higher in the Vancouver lineup. But he needs to make the team first, and so there will be some pressure on Karlsson at training camp and through the preseason. Still, there are plenty of possibilities for Linus Karlsson to make some noise at the NHL level this season. 

Jonathan Lekkerimäki

At every level, Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s separating skill has always been his ability to shoot the puck. The problem is that in the NHL, everyone can fire the puck. And so Lekkerimäki needs to bulk up and round out his game and not rely entirely on one singular aspect of the game to set him apart. Make no mistake, though, when the opportunities present themselves, the 21-year-old Swede needs to blast away.

There was much to like about Lekkerimäki’s first season as a professional in North America. He scored an impressive 19 times in 36 AHL games and earned the opportunity to play 24 NHL games. With Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Kiefer Sherwood occupying three spots on right wing, Lekkerimäki will need to have a big training camp to crack the Vancouver lineup. And, maybe, another season of being a headliner in the AHL is what he needs. Wherever he plays, Lekkerimäki needs to show the hockey world he is an elite finisher. That big shot needs to be on full display almost every night. But he also needs to prove that he is bringing other areas of his game along, too.

Victor Mancini

Rarely a night went by during Abbotsford’s run to the Calder Cup last spring when Victor Mancini didn’t turn heads. He was a constant standout, using his size and skating ability to control so many of his shifts. That stood in stark contrast to his 16 NHL games after the Canucks acquired him from New York in late January. At the big league level, Mancini played a much more conservative style, yet his raw potential was still easy to spot.

The 23-year-old Michigan native has the opportunity to solidify his place as a regular on the Vancouver blueline this season. He needs to lean into the strengths of his game and play with the same confidence he did in the minors. Mancini has never had a big scoring profile at any level, so expect that to continue as he carves out an NHL career. At his size (6’3” and 229 pounds), the Canucks need him to be tough to play against and to use his skating to his advantage, particularly when breaking pucks out of the defensive end of the ice. In time, Mancini should be able to take on penalty killing duties. 

Tom Willander

The wild card coming to his first Canucks training camp, Tom Willander’s arrival will come with plenty of scrutiny. That’s just the nature of the business for a highly-touted first-round draft pick who is ready to embark on his professional career. It’s quite possible Willander shows the hockey world he is NHL-ready after two successful seasons at Boston University. To do that, the 20-year-old Swede will need to be mature beyond his years and will have to show that he can handle the physical demands of the best league on the planet.

A modern-day defender, Willander will rely on his smarts and his mobility to show that he belongs. But because he has not played a professional game yet, Willander will likely need to emerge from training camp with a discernible edge on a player like Victor Mancini as they both battle for a right-side roster spot. It will not be a disappointment, nor would it be the worst thing for his development if Willander starts the season playing big minutes in Abbotsford. But this is an article about breakout candidates at the NHL level, and Willander is definitely in the discussion. If it happens, it’s a great news story for both the player and the hockey club.