Canucks acquire prospect Josh Bloom from the Buffalo Sabres for D Riley Stillman

The Vancouver Canucks have acquired left wing prospect Josh Bloom from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenceman Riley Stillman, general manager Patrik Allvin announced Monday afternoon.

Bloom was selected in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft at 95th overall by the Sabres, and has 19 goals and 23 assists — 42 points overall — through 40 games with the OHL’s North Bay Battalion. The 6’2 winger is still just 19 years old and scored 30 goals in 67 games with the Saginaw Spirit last season. Bloom began this season as the 22nd captain in Spirit history, after serving last season as an alternate captain.

“We would first like to thank Riley Stillman for his time here in Vancouver and we wish him the best in Buffalo,” said Allvin. “We are excited to add another young prospect in Josh Bloom and we look forward to working with him and helping his development in the years to come.”

The Canucks originally acquired Stillman in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks back in October, which saw forward Jason Dickinson head to the Windy City along with a second round pick as the Canucks made an effort to shed money and free up cap space. Under Rick Tocchet, Stillman’s ice time was much higher than it was under Bruce Boudreau.

Clearly, the Canucks’ efforts to showcase Stillman in the lineup have paid off, as this trade seems to have caught many people off-guard, especially those who are fans of the Buffalo Sabres and have followed Bloom closely. We’ll have a full deep dive into Bloom’s game dropping sometime tomorrow.

Here’s Elite Prospect’s Cam Robinson’s thoughts on Bloom:

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