From new family members to time on the ice, Max Sasson and Nikita Tolopilo made the most of their summers before returning to Vancouver. The two Vancouver Canucks shared stories of their offseason, and the work they put in to continue developing their games.
On the family front, Tolopilo introduced his family in Belarus and his daughter for the first time, while Sasson’s family made the trip to Switzerland to watch him play at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Sasson shared the experience with his family and also got to share the occasion with his Canucks teammates.
“Warming up playing Finland, and me and Rats [Aatu Räty] are pretty much warming up together because it was just one gym. So, it was awesome to see those guys; it was a great experience,” Sasson said.
Sasson also added a four-legged family member over the summer, after meeting his new dog, Maple, at a puppy yoga class.
Their summer training consisted of gym workouts and on-ice sessions, Sasson skated with AHL and NHL players, including Paul Cotter, in Michigan and came back to Vancouver midsummer to train with Zeev Buium and Arshdeep Bains.
"I thought it was a great summer. Krogger [Jason Krog] gave me a lot of things to work on, trying to get my shooting mechanics better and my touches.”
Tolo trained with KHL and NHL players in Minsk, and different goalie coaches to get different perspectives, which he feels is big in his development. He came back to Vancouver early to train with Canucks goalie coach Marko Torenius and a few other Canucks netminders.
“The whole summer, [I did] workout on-ice three times a week and then I got here a couple weeks ago, so I started practicing with Marko, which is good, and is what we’ve done the past three years. Come here early, skate with Marko, have a good workload, and get ready for camp,” Tolopilo said.
Sasson and Tolopilo also have plenty of familiarity with the Canucks’ new coaching staff and management group, after spending three seasons with the club. Both played for Manny Malhotra, and the news that Malhotra, along with other Abbotsford coaching staff and management would be making the move to Vancouver added another layer of excitement heading into the season.
“Anyone you win a championship with, you're going to be stuck to for life, which is great, and then when RJ got hired, and he brought Manny aboard and Smitty, the assistant coach. The excitement level is super high; we know exactly what to expect,” Sasson said.
“He's [Malhotra] super intense, but in the best way possible. He's always talking, he always brings a lot of energy, and I think you're going to see a really organized Canucks group. That's kind of what they bring, and then RJ and the Sedins are first class guys. They're guys that are not too big for anyone, they give anyone the time of day, they really care how you feel and they really want to help you.”
With their history together, they want to give the coaching staff and management their best.
“I'm really happy for them that RJ gets his opportunity here too because I think everyone deserves it. [We] just want to help them too as they helped us, so we want to play our best and show every day that we want to be here and that we want to play for them too,” Tolopilo said.
Sasson, Tolopilo, and Faber also draft their top-four best countries to visit on a 10-day vacation. Listen to this and much more as Sasson and Tolopilo join Chris Faber on the latest episode of the Canucks Insider Podcast.
