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Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver Canucks (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

Canucks News & Rumours: DeBrusk, Kämpf & Blueger

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By The Old Prof | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Some weeks, watching the Vancouver Canucks feels quiet on the surface but also full of little tremors underneath. If you’ve watched this team long enough, you can think that bigger things might be coming. This is one of those stretches.

With the Canucks, everywhere you look, there’s a story unfolding. There’s a new addition (veteran or prospect) who’s seeking to find chemistry with the team. This week, one of the big “deals” is the inclusion of a depth centre, possibly stumbling into an opportunity. There’s also a core player trying to get healthy without rushing the process.

We Don’t Know Yet How Good This Canucks’ Team Really Is

None of these items alone defines a season. But together they can tell you how a team holds itself together while figuring out what it might become. I think this could be a far better team than its current 9-10-2 record indicates.

And maybe that’s the fun part about this particular Canucks group. They’re not the flashiest roster in the league, but they’ve got pieces moving in interesting ways. A hot scorer finding a new gear, a castoff seeking a role, another core grinder working to return. All these stories matter and shape what this team could look like when the calendar flips and the games start to bite a little harder.

With that, here are three key bits of news happening around the team this week.

Item 1: Jake DeBrusk Is Tied for Second in the NHL in Power-Play Goals

Jake DeBrusk is becoming one of the Canucks’ best forwards, the kind of player who doesn’t make a lot of noise but keeps showing up on the scoresheet. He’s scored in six of his last eight games and sits second on the team in shots, right behind Evander Kane. What stands out is how naturally it’s happening. He’s not forcing plays or trying to be something he isn’t.

The Canucks’ structure seems to fit him perfectly. He gets to skate, get to the middle of the ice, and get his chances. And once he’s there, he’s finishing.

The power play tells much of his story. DeBrusk is tied for second in the entire NHL in power-play goals, fed steady looks from Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes on the team’s first unit with the man advantage. The tracking numbers back up what the eye test already suggests: he’s skating as well as anyone, creating high-danger shots, and driving play in ways he never did consistently in Boston.

It’s early for DeBrusk, but it feels like Vancouver has unlocked something in him. It isn’t exactly a new style, just a more straightforward path to the kind of player his play has always hinted he could be.

Item 2: Could David Kämpf Have Landed in a Good Spot with the Canucks?

There’s a funny thing about players like David Kämpf: you think you know exactly what they are, and then a new team hands them a different set of keys. When he couldn’t crack the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup and eventually worked out a buyout, it felt like one of those quiet exits that barely ripple the surface. But in Vancouver, general manager Patrick Allvin didn’t see a spare part—he saw a fit.

And in his first game, Kämpf didn’t waste a second proving he could handle more than a defensive shift here and there. He played just around 14 minutes, with heavy defensive responsibility. Even better, he won 11 of 15 faceoffs. Coaches love that stuff. Penalty kills love that stuff. It’s the kind of first impression that sticks.

Now injuries have blown a hole in the Canucks’ forward lines, and suddenly Kämpf is practicing between Boeser and Conor Garland. That’s not a “keep-the-seat-warm” spot. That’s a legitimate scoring line.

And here’s the thing that many fans in a new city don’t know about Kämpf. He can score. In international tournaments with his Czech club, he put up real numbers. Even in the NHL, he’s had moments—anyone who watched him in Toronto remembers the shorthanded playoff goals, the unexpected bursts of offense when he actually pushed forward. In Toronto, he had never been asked to be that guy. That’s different from being unable to be that guy.

So now I’m left wondering: did the Canucks stumble onto something here? A Tyler Motte type with a bit more strength down the middle and maybe a little more offense tucked away? If Kämpf holds his own on that line—even for a stretch—the Canucks might have found low-cost, high-value depth down the middle that every contender dreams about.

for Kämpf himself, could leaving Toronto end up being the best move he’s ever made? There’s opportunity here, and opportunity has a funny way of turning role players into fixtures. If he grabs it, this won’t be a stopover—it’ll be a landing spot.

Item 3: Teddy Blueger Hits a Speed Bump — But Not a Dead End

Teddy Blueger’s season hasn’t even really started yet, and already it feels like we’re talking about another twist in the road. The Canucks were encouraged when he got back on the ice earlier in the week, only to have him pull up with a lower-body setback that forced everything to slow down again. It’s the kind of news that’s not catastrophic, but it reminds you how delicate these recoveries can be. One good morning, one bad turn, and suddenly the schedule shifts.

Teddy Blueger, Vancouver Canucks (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

The team reports that Blueger needs a few days off skates before trying again, and that’s a setback. It suggests he’s still trending toward a late-November or early-December return, which lines up with the original hope. If all goes well, he’ll be part of the mix again before the season really tightens.

For a player whose value comes in putting up steady, responsible minutes, this is more of a pause than a problem. And if the Canucks can put themselves in a playoff spot, they don’t need Blueger back tomorrow. They need him healthy when it counts, and this detour doesn’t change that bigger picture.

What’s Next for the Canucks?

The Canucks are at that early-season crossroads where depth becomes more than a luxury — it becomes the story. DeBrusk is rolling. Kämpf might be on the verge of a career reset. Blueger is inching back. Even if two of the three break the right way, Vancouver suddenly looks deeper, steadier, and a whole lot more able to make the postseason.

The question now is simple: can this team keep squeezing value out of every corner of the roster while they wait for full health? If they can, the next few weeks won’t feel like survival mode at all — they’ll feel like momentum.