The last year has been a whirlwind of excitement for Victor Mancini.
After being traded to the Canucks from the New York Rangers in January of last year, he has since made his debut with the Vancouver Canucks, playing 16 games with the club, and later helping the Abbotsford Canucks win their first Calder Cup. Being a part of the growing group of young players with the Canucks, Mancini has had the opportunity to work on his game as he continues to develop into an effective NHL player.
“Seeing what I want my game to be at that level, and the things I need and when I’m in the American League, making sure that I’m playing the way I want to play at the NHL level. Play to what is expected of me,” Mancini said.
Mancini has been a prevalent offensive force on the blue line at the American League level, but as he makes the transition to the NHL level, he has made small tweaks to his game to make him more well-rounded and reliable in the defensive zone as well.
“This year, I’ve started to calm my game down a little bit more on the offensive side and not force opportunities,” Mancini said. “It’s a lot of playing the game in front of you and [when you’re] playing with good players, you’re going to make good plays and if you put yourself in the right spots those opportunities will come.”
A key part of being young in the NHL is looking at the veteran players on the team, and not only see how they go about their process in improving their own game, but also how they approach all other aspects of being a professional, whether that is on or off the ice. Mancini has used his time in Vancouver as an incredible learning opportunity to have a close look at veterans such as Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson and see what he could apply in his own game through watching them.
“I always want to reflect and learn after every game I play. I’m usually a pretty tough grader on myself after games, so it allows me to improve and guys like Mysey [with] how many games they’ve played and the knowledge they have. It’s good to learn from them,” Mancini said.
Mancini’s most consistent defensive partner with the Canucks has been Marcus Pettersson, and he highlighted the importance he has had for Mancini by being a steady presence for him on the blueline. Mancini really appreciates that Pettersson ensures young players like himself feel comfortable to grow, including when mistakes are made, and that has made playing with him that much easier.
“You want someone like that to be in your corner, to be here and help you out,” Mancini said. “We want to be able to learn and grow and help this team, and guys like Marcus allow us to just build game after game, and also his communication on the ice makes it really easy to play with out there. He’s always helping you out.”
Mancini hopes to continue progressing in an upwards trajectory as he gains more experience in the NHL and help this club in any way he can moving forward.
The Canucks will play their final home game before the Olympic break against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada with puck drop at 4:00 p.m. P.T.
Listen to this and much more as Hagelin joins Chris Faber on the latest episode of the Canucks Insider Podcast.
