Vancouver Canucks announce Ilya Mikheyev underwent successful knee surgery

Vancouver Canucks forward Ilya Mikheyev has undergone a successful operation to repair his injured ACL, the club announced Thursday. He’ll begin his rehab process soon and is expected to remain on the club’s injured reserve list for the rest of the season.

Mikheyev suffered the injury during a pre-season game on Sept. 25 and played with it until being shut down by the team earlier this week. The 28-year-old forward recorded 13 goals and 28 points in 46 games with the Canucks this season.

As an unrestricted free agent in July 2022, Mikheyev signed a four-year contract with the Canucks carrying a $4.75 million annual NHL cap hit. His deal also includes a modified no-trade clause.

Mikheyev originally entered the National Hockey League in 2019 as an undrafted free agent, signing an entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs and spending the first three seasons of his career with the team.

In 2021–22, Mikheyev scored a career-high 21 goals and 32 points in 53 games during the regular season before adding two goals and four points in seven playoff contests.

Before arriving in North America, Mikheyev emerged as a star with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. Under head coach Bob Hartley, Mikheyev led Omsk with 23 goals and 45 points in 2018–19 and helped the club reach the Gagarin Cup Final.

Through 192 games with the Maple Leafs and Canucks over parts of four seasons, Mikheyev has recorded 49 goals and 100 points.