Training camp ‘fun’ for new Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote

Vancouver Canucks players, including Marcus Pettersson (29), Aatu Raty (54), Brock Boeser (6) and Derek Forbort (27) listen to instructions for a drill during the opening day of the NHL hockey team's training camp, in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, September 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

PENTICTON — Adam Foote may have a different title this year, but the newly minted Vancouver Canucks head coach hasn’t changed much.

“Adam’s Adam, you know?” winger Jake DeBrusk said as the Canucks hit the ice Thursday in Penticton, B.C., for the first day of training camp.

“I think he’s pretty true to himself, and I think that comes off really well with a guy like me. You know what to expect. And he’s pretty clear on what he wants in terms of direction and video and different things.”

Foote has ample experience at Canucks training camps. He first joined the team in January 2023 as an assistant coach to Rick Tocchet.

Tocchet parted ways with the Canucks in April and was later hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Foote later took over the position in Vancouver.

Asked whether Foote is different as a head coach, Elias Pettersson grinned.

“Yeah, he talks more,” said Vancouver’s star centre. ”No, but it’s good. I’m excited, he’s excited. And I can’t wait.”

Getting Pettersson back to his peak will be key for the Canucks this season. The 26-year-old Swede struggled with injuries last year, and put up 15 goals and 30 assists across 64 games.

The total was well off the career-high 102 points he had in 2022-23.

Having a new coach who’s a familiar face may be a boon for the star forward.

“Obviously, (Foote) wants the best for me,” Pettersson said. “We’ve had talks, I mean, previous years as well, just one on ones. And he always wants the best out of you. And, looking forward to the relationship.”

Foote has talked about how he wants to use training camp as a place to get his players back up to an NHL pace and start implementing the team’s systems and structure.

This year’s Canucks team will be one that adapts to their opponents, the coach said, and doesn’t play one static style.

“I thought we had a really good skate,” Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes said of the first day of camp. “The coaches ran a great practice. We got up and down the ice, worked on some systems, and it’s just fun being out there.”

The first day was a mix of drills, sweat and smiles, with many jersey-clad Canucks fans sitting in the stands. But it wasn’t without kinks.

The second group of players had to deal with some bad ice after a timing snafu that saw them cross paths with the goalie contingent.

There will always be details that need to be perfected, Foote said.

“It was fun,” he said. “I mean, you never know how that first practice is going to go.”

Foote and the Canucks are looking to rebound after a difficult 2024-25 season where they finished with a 38-30-14 record and missed the playoffs by six points.

The campaign was marred by personnel issues that eventually saw centre J.T. Miller dealt to the New York Rangers, and injuries to several stars, including Hughes and all-star goalie Thatcher Demko.

When Foote took over as head coach, he quickly called his leadership group together in a bid to get a jump on the 2025-26 campaign.

He met with Demko, Hughes and Pettersson in Michigan where they played golf and talked about the best ways to approach the season.

“Footy kind of got in our ear right away, and was involved in some of our, not necessarily our training things, but different ways that we could kind of cultivate a better leadership group,” Demko said.

“And I think that’s one of the things that he’s really good at is just his relationships with the guys and riding that line of being our boss, but also being able to kind of be approachable with us. He was very involved right away, and I think the guys have responded to that.”

Foote won two Stanley Cups as a defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche and his approach to coaching comes from experience, Hughes said.

“I think that he’s a guy that’s been in our shoes, was a captain,” he said. “He’s trying to push us, make us better as well. And he’s got a lot of leadership as well. We’ll be following his lead.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published Sept. 18, 2025.