Scenes from morning skate: Demko starts for Cootes’ NHL debut in Canucks season opener vs. Flames

The Canucks held an optional skate this morning after two days of full practices to prepare for the first game of their season. There were 11 skaters and two goaltenders on the ice. Filip Hronek, Filip Chytil, Kiefer Sherwood and Derek Forbort were the veterans in attendance, while the others going for a game day twirl included Braeden Cootes, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Aatu Räty, Arshdeep Bains, defenceman Elias Pettersson, along with presumptive healthy scratches Linus Karlsson and Victor Mancini.

Thatcher Demko gets the nod in goal. It will be the veteran netminder’s first regular season start since April 8th against Dallas. Demko went 10-8-3 and posted a 2.90 GAA and a .889% save percentage in an injury-plagued 2024-25 season. The San Diego, CA native made three preseason starts, winning two of them.

Rookie Braeden Cootes makes his NHL debut tonight. The Canucks 2025 first-rounder impressed through camp and the exhibition schedule. The 18-year-old from Sherwood Park, AB, joins Arshdeep Bains as the only other player to wear number 80 for the Canucks. Cootes was born in 2007, just one year before teammate Tyler Myers was drafted. 

Captain Quinn Hughes begins his seventh full NHL season, and his first point will make him the highest-scoring defenceman in franchise history. He begins the season tied with Alex Edler with 409 points. Hughes has played 493 fewer games in a Canucks uniform than Edler did.

The Opponent

The Flames are here following a wild 4-3 shootout victory in Edmonton last night. Calgary trailed 3-0 in the second period before clawing back to force overtime. Rookie Matvei Gridin scored his first NHL goal in his big league debut, while Connor Zary and Blake Coleman also found the back of the net. Nazem Kadri then won the game in the eighth round of the shootout.

Dustin Wolf was strong in goal, stopping 32 shots in the run of play and then holding the Oilers to just one goal on eight shootout attempts. With back-to-backs and a late-night flight from Edmonton, backup Devin Cooley is expected to get the start tonight.

The win over the Oilers marked the second straight year Calgary erased a three-goal deficit to win on opening night. Last year, they trailed the Canucks 3-0 and 4-1 before rallying to win 6-5 in overtime.

Veteran defender Rasmus Andersson led all Flames in ice time last night, logging 26:20. He was one of four Calgary skaters to play more than 24 minutes (Mackenzie Weegar 26:01, Kevin Bahl 24:42 and Nazem Kadri 24:02).

News and notes

The Canucks and Flames split their four-game regular season series last year, with each team winning once at home and once in the other team’s building. Officially, each team went 2-1-1 in the four meetings.

John Shorthouse and Dave Tomlinson will have the call on Sportsnet. Francis Charron and Tom Chmielewski will be the referees.

What we heard

Adam Foote on the excitement of his first game as an NHL head coach: “I’m in the zone. I’m trying to bring myself back to when you played and how you get ready for big moments. Our group is ready. They’re in the zone and we’re ready to go.”

Brock Boeser on good feeling around the group to start the season: “I feel the vibes are high. I feel like all the guys came to camp and worked really hard. Our preparation has been really good. I feel like the guys have bought in. Things have been going well and we’re all excited to get rolling here.”

Tyler Myers on starting his 17th season in the league and seventh with the Canucks: “It’s always fun getting the year going. I thought we had a good last couple of weeks. The vibes in the room are really good right now. Guys know exactly what is expected of them and we want to come out with a strong start.”

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