The Vancouver Canucks are dead last within the National Hockey League and laser-focused on looking towards the longer term — and so they locked up a player they hope to be a part of theirs on Friday.
The Canucks re-signed defenseman Victor Mancini to a two-year, $2 million contract extension, general manager Patrik Allvin announced.
“Victor has slot in nicely with our organization,” Allvin said within the official release. “He was a key a part of our Calder Cup winning team last 12 months in Abbotsford, and this season he has continued to develop his skill set with the assistance of our group. Depth on the backend could be very necessary for our team moving forward and we’re pleased to have Victor be a component of the blue-line mix.”
The 23-year-old has split his time between AHL Abbotsford and the Canucks in 2025-26. He’s appeared in 18 games in the massive leagues, failing to record a degree while seeing slightly below 14 minutes of average time on ice.
He was a key piece of Abbotsford’s run to the league championship last season, registering eight points in 24 playoff contests.
Over 33 games within the American Hockey League, he’s chipped in 4 goals and 12 points together with 16 penalty minutes and a +1 rating. The 6-foot-3 blueliner has suited up for 49 profession National Hockey League contests for the Canucks and Latest York Rangers, managing two goals and eight points in that span.
Originally chosen within the fifth-round, 159th overall, by the Blueshirts within the 2022 NHL Draft, he split time between Latest York and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack to begin his profession. He was shipped to British Columbia in January of 2025, together with Filip Chytil, within the trade that sent JT Miller to Broadway.
With Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers each being traded away this season — to the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars, respectively — there’s a path to 3rd pairing minutes for the teen going forward.
It’ll be interesting to see if he can crack the Canucks’ roster full-time for the 2026-27 campaign. Vancouver is currently 21-39-8 with 14 games left of their regular-season, and return to motion against the visiting St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.