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Blackfish: Abbotsford season wraps up, Cootes and Chiarot advance to Conference Finals
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Dave Hall
Apr 22, 2026, 18:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 22, 2026, 17:37 EDT
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Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks prospect report.
We’ve officially hit the end of the road for the professional side of the system, as Vancouver, Abbotsford, and Kalamazoo have all wrapped up their 2025–26 seasons. None of them are playoff-bound teams.
Meanwhile, on the junior side, a pair of Canucks prospects are still dancing with both pushing their way into their respective conference finals.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, Blackfish has officially expanded into video form. With the 2026 NHL Draft approaching quickly, we’ve been diving deeper into that class, so be sure to check out the show and leave your questions in the comments for future episodes.
Now, let’s get into the final wrap-up of the pro season.

Abbotsford Canucks

The Abbotsford Canucks’ 2025–26 season is officially in the books.
Finishing near the bottom of the Pacific Division with a 28-37-4-3 record, the Canucks closed things out on a positive note, riding a four-game win streak to end the year. With playoff hopes long gone, the final stretch was less about wins and more about development. And in that sense, there were a few encouraging signs.
Riley Patterson got his first taste of professional hockey, appearing in four games to close out what was a strong season for him personally. While he didn’t register a point in his final two outings, he looked comfortable in a top-six role and showed flashes of what made him so effective in junior. Although short and sweet, that stint provides him with a good sense of what needs to be worked on through the offseason.
Assuming Abbotsford doesn’t load up with outside additions this offseason, Patterson should be in line for a meaningful role in 2026–27.
Bennett Schimek also took full advantage of his opportunity late in the year. He scored again over the weekend, finishing his first pro stint with 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 13 games.
He’s on an AHL contract, but showed well in his stint as the team’s top producer. While we do anticipate his role continuing with Abbotsofrd, we won’t be shocked to see him earn a contract at some point.
Danila Klimovich finally hit the milestone he’d been chasing, tying Linus Karlsson for the Abbotsford franchise lead with 70 goals. The big question for him now hinges on whether he’ll have the opportunity to overtake him.
There’s no questioning his ruthless release and scoring ability, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that his runway within this organization is limited. With his contract now up, all signs point toward a change of scenery. Should that be the case, he may not see another chance to etch his name as the official franchise goal leader.
Both Ty Mueller and Kirill Kudryavtsev returned to Abbotsford after their NHL stints. Mueller is coming off his first NHL goal, scored in Vancouver’s final game of the season, while Kudryavtsev added a handful of assists during his call-up before chipping in again back in Abbotsford.
We’ll have a deeper dive on their seasons — along with Sawyer Mynio and the rest of the group — in an upcoming piece.
In net, Ty Young closed the year on a positive note. After a brutal start to the season that made his personal stat sheet a losing battle from the start, he rebounded nicely following his stint in Kalamazoo. He finished his final stretch with a much more encouraging .913 save percentage over his last 10 starts and wrapped things up with 30 saves on 32 shots.
Speaking of Kalamazoo, Aku Koskenvuo wrapped up his season, nearly backstopping the Wings to a playoff berth. He picked up wins in eight of his last 10 starts and was one of the main reasons his team’s season came down to the final game.

CHL

The Saskatoon Blades were one of the better stories of the WHL playoffs early on, pulling off a first-round upset over the Edmonton Oil Kings. Unfortunately for them, that’s where the run ended.
Braeden Cootes and the Prince Albert Raiders handled business, sweeping Saskatoon in four games, and like he was in round one, Cootes was right at the centre of it.
He posted five points (three goals, two assists) in the series, including a standout Game 3 where he scored twice. One came on a breakaway with a slick finish, and the other off a strong cut into the slot before ripping it top corner. He added another in Game 4, banking in a rebound from behind the goal line.
With five goals, he now co-leads the team, while his 11 points sit second, while winning 56.8% of his faceoffs (132 draws). The Raiders now move on to face the Medicine Hat Tigers — a loaded group featuring the Ruck twins and Jonas Woo.
Cootes also picked up hardware this week, being named the WHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player (Brad Hornung Memorial Award).
Series schedule:
Game 1 – Fri, April 24 at Prince Albert, 7:00 pm
Game 2 – Sat, April 25 at Prince Albert, 7:00 pm
Game 3 – Tues, April 28 at Medicine Hat, 7:00 pm
Game 4 – Wed, April 29 at Medicine Hat, 7:00 pm
Game 5 – Fri, May 1 at Prince Albert, 7:00 pm*
Game 6 – Sun., May 3 at Medicine Hat, 6:00 pm*
Game 7 – Tues, May 5 at Prince Albert, 7:00 pm
Out west, Parker Alcos and the Kelowna Rockets were eliminated in five games by the Everett Silvertips. The Rockets made things interesting late, scoring back-to-back goals in Games 4 and 5, but ultimately fell short. Everett’s phenom Landon Dupont sealed the series with an overtime winner. Kelowna will now shift its focus to hosting the Memorial Cup, where it’ll face the champions from each league.
Over in the OHL, Gabriel Chiarot and the Kitchener Rangers are also moving on. After eliminating the Soo Greyhounds, they now head into the Western Conference Final against the Windsor Spitfires. Chiarot continues to play his role effectively, logging third-line minutes, bringing physicality, and chipping in offensively where he can.
Series schedule:
Game 1 – Fri, April 24 at Kitchener, 7:00 pm
Game 2 – Sun, April 26 at Kitchener, 6:00 pm
Game 3 – Mon, April 27 at Windsor, 7:05 pm
Game 4 – Wed, April 29 at Windsor, 7:05 pm
Game 5 – Fri, May 1 at Kitchener, 7:00 pm*
Game 6 – Sun, May 3 at Windsor, 4:05 pm*
Game 7 – Mon, May 4 at Kitchener, 7:00 pm

Rest of the World

Ilya Safonov and Ak Bars Kazan have advanced to the KHL Conference Finals, where they’ll face Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The series is set to begin on Friday.
As mentioned last week, we are winding down our work on our 2025-26 reports and will make some changes for next season. The Canucks are on the verge of injecting at least 10 new names into the system, which means we are going to have a ton to talk about here at Blackfish. Have any questions? Leave them in the comments below for a chance to be featured on Episode 4 of Blackfish next week!
As always, we’ll have it covered right here.
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