‘Make every rep count’: Mancini taking Canucks brass’ words as fuel to become everyday NHLer

The Vancouver Canucks had a difficult decision on their hands when evaluating their blueline.

The organization had already identified its top four: Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, and Tyler Myers. However, the bottom pairing was mostly up for grabs. After re-signing Derek Forbort this offseason for his work on the penalty kill, it seemed as though he would operate as the Canucks’ fifth defenceman.

That leaves two spots open for four defencemen: Elias Pettersson, PO Joseph, Tom Willander and Victor Mancini.

Unfortunately for the latter two, they were the final cuts before the Canucks announced their opening night roster. It was expected that Willander, a 20-year-old defenceman with zero NHL experience, would begin the year in Abbotsford. However, Mancini was one of the few players who stood out in training camp and preseason.

“I felt it went good,” Mancini noted about his preseason performance. “I was happy both in the games and the practices. I think it was great to have those two goals, but even if you take those goals away, I was still very happy with how things went. And, you know, me personally, I didn’t want to look back on the preseason and training camp and feel like, ‘Oh, I could have done this better; I could have done that better.’ So just with my play during those few weeks, I was very happy with how it went.”

While it was disappointing for Mancini to learn the news of him not making the opening night roster, he was quickly summoned back up after PO Joseph was placed on injured reserve. The 6’3″ defenceman shared that he’s just trying to be of use and help the team in any way he can, because he’s in a position where he needs to always stay prepared, as you never know when your next opportunity will come.

Instead of using his demotion as a negative, Mancini said it was a confidence booster to be the first call-up option for the Vancouver blueline. However, the 23-year-old wants to prove he can make the team and become an everyday NHL player. So what does Mancini think he needs to do to become an NHL regular, and how will he demonstrate that to his coaches if he does get an opportunity during this call-up stint?

“I think for me, it’s all about the process,” Mancini stated. “Making sure I come to the rink with a smile on my face every day, and I’m doing all the things in order to get better; watching video, listening to the coaches, figuring out how to go about every day, analyze each day and find what I need to improve on.

“Really, just play to my strengths. First of all, I want to gain the trust of the coaching staff, especially in the defensive zone with the puck in my hands. Then next just playing to my strengths; use my speed, my size, I think my hockey sense is a big part of my game. So being able to rely on those and make plays, make breakouts, I think, is really big.”

While he may not have made the opening night roster, both Adam Foote and Patrik Allvin left Mancini with some encouraging words after his strong preseason, outlining what they want to see from him to earn playing time in the NHL.

“Yeah, coach and I had some good talks. I had a good talk with Allvin, too. Just making every rep count. Every rep I get in a game in the NHL, in practice, in breakouts and puck retrievals, right? You know, keep on getting used to those NHL forechecks and how fast things happen, and making sure that my decision making is fast and my head’s up and I’m making good reads.”

Mancini will likely serve as the seventh defenceman in Thursday’s season opener against the Calgary Flames. But the right-shot defenceman is using his strong preseason and Canucks brass’ words as fuel to one day soon become an NHL regular.