The Vancouver Canucks are retaining some of their defensive depth for next season. According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Jack Thompson to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.
Thompson, 24, was originally drafted with the 93rd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. After finishing his three-year tenure in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves and Soo Greyhounds, Thompson made the jump to the professional ranks in 2022-23 with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.
The Courtice, ON native made a good first impression with the Lightning organization, scoring five goals and 23 points in 71 games during the 2022-23 AHL campaign. Still, it wouldn’t hold a candle to the production he had the following season, when he scored five goals and 32 points in 46 games to start the 2023-24 season.
Additionally, Thompson made his NHL debut that year, appearing in one game for the Lightning. His tenure with the club would end there, as Tampa Bay dealt him to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in the Anthony Duclair trade. He finished the year with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, scoring one goal and nine points in 16 games.
In San Jose, Thompson had a much clearer path to NHL ice time than the narrow one he faced in Tampa Bay. It’s the lengthiest run he’s had in the NHL to date, scoring four goals and 10 points in 31 games for the Sharks with a -9 rating, averaging 15:47 of ice time per game.
However, due to the Sharks making several veteran additions to their defensive corps last summer, Thompson lost his spot on the roster. He spent the entire 2025-26 campaign in the AHL, scoring three goals and 12 points in 43 games with the Barracuda, before an in-season trade sent him to Vancouver. Thompson finished off this past season, registering three goals and 13 points in 14 games for the Abbotsford Canucks.