Former Vancouver Canucks Around The World: SHL & Liiga

Former members of the Vancouver Canucks will take the spotlight in this off-season article series. From those skating with new NHL teams heading into the 2026–27 season to those who are now playing for international clubs, these featured players have skated in at least one game at the NHL level as a member of the Canucks. 

Today’s segment will take a look at the former Canucks that are expected to play in the SHL and Liiga in Sweden and Finland respectively during the 2026–27 season. 

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SHL 

Mark Friedman, Rögle BK: Traded to Vancouver from the Pittsburgh Penguins in October of 2023. Played in 28 games for Vancouver through 2023–24 and 2024–25. Traded to the Nashville Predators in 2025 and signed with Rögle BK the following year. 

*Collin Delia, Brynäs IF: Signed with Vancouver in free-agency in 2022 and played in one season for the Canucks, posting a record of 10–6–2. Played for the Manitoba Moose and Bakersfield Condors in the AHL before heading to Sweden in 2025–26. Spent the year with Brynäs IF and Kalmar HC of HockeyAllsvenskan. Has yet to sign a contract for the 2026–27 season.

Brogan Rafferty, Växjö Lakers HC: Played in three games with the Canucks after three seasons with Quinnipiac University in the NCAA. Skated with the San Diego Gulls, Coachella Valley Firebirds, and Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL before heading to Sweden in 2025–26. 

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Oscar Fantenberg, Linköping HC: Joined Vancouver for the 2019–20 season via free-agency, skating in 36 games and scoring a goal and five assists. Followed his Canucks stint up with two seasons in the KHL before joining Linköping HC in 2022–23. 

Philip Holm, Djurgårdens IF: Played in one game for the Canucks during the 2017–18 season after spending most of his career in Sweden. Traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in February of 2018 but did not play a game for them. Played in the KHL, AHL, and NL before returning to the SHL in 2022–23. Joined Djurgårdens IF in 2025–26 after a season in the NL. 

Nils Åman, Djurgårdens IF: Signed in free-agency in 2022 and made his NHL debut for Vancouver on October 12, 2022. Played in a total of 132 games for Vancouver, including 68 in 2022–23, before parting ways with the team in 2026 and signing with Djurgårdens IF. 

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Liiga

Olli Juolevi, Jokerit: Selected fifth-overall in the 2016 NHL Draft by Vancouver but never ended up panning out. Made his NHL debut on August 7 during the 2020 Bubble Playoffs. Skated in 23 games for Vancouver in 2020–21 before being dealt to the Florida Panthers for Juho Lammikko and Noah Juulsen. Returned to Finland in 2023–24. 

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