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Blackfish: Cootes discourse, Canucks’ OHL standouts, and more
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Dave Hall
Sep 30, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 30, 2025, 01:15 EDT
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Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks Prospect Report.
The 2025-26 campaign is officially underway, and this week we’ve got it all — from a first-rounder knocking on the NHL’s door to all four OHL prospects making their presence felt in season debuts.
Let’s dive in.

NHL Preseason

We’ve been training camp/preseason heavy here at the Blackfish Prospect report, so we aren’t going to get into too much this week.
But how can we not talk about Braeden Cootes?
In the most complimentary way possible, this kid just refuses to go away.
It’s an exceedingly rare feat for an 18-year-old to play NHL games, and even rarer for one drafted outside the top 10. Over the past decade, only 16 players taken beyond the top 10 have managed it — and 11 of those topped out at the nine-game trial before being sent back.
In other words, this doesn’t happen often.
With that in mind, the most realistic outcome remains reassignment to Seattle, where Cootes is captain and would return to dominate as the Thunderbirds’ all-situations driver.
If you want to get nitpicky, there are still moments where the physicality looks a shade above him, and no one would fault Vancouver for playing it safe with his development. In fact, we encourage that route.
But sometimes, if you’re ready, you’re ready, and not all players are cut from the same cloth. And if you’re trying to make a case for sending Cootes back, you really need to dig deep. Very deep.
Through three preseason games, he has survived another round of cuts. And with Nils Höglander sidelined until Christmas, the door to an opening-night roster spot has gone from being left ajar to being kicked wide open.
What Cootes has shown isn’t just youthful energy; it’s poise, hockey sense, and the ability to hold his own against NHL-calibre competition, including shifts against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The production is there too: two goals (yes, both fortunate bounces, but earned through positioning and effort), and an above 50% faceoff percentage. Cootes’ underlying numbers are quite impressive for such a young player.
Per Natural Stat Trick:
  • Game 1 vs. Seattle – 70% CF (6th on the team)
  • Game 2 vs. Seattle – 69.23% CF (T-1st on the team)
  • Game 3 vs. Edmonton – 57.69% CF (4th on the team)
Not only has he looked the part by the eye test, but he’s also graded out among the Canucks’ best possession players by the numbers.
Perhaps more importantly, at just 18, he’s outplayed certain names with whom he is in direct competition for the centre spot in Vancouver.
At this point, Cootes hasn’t just earned more preseason minutes; he’s made a legitimate case for an NHL look. Maybe it’s a nine-game trial, perhaps it’s more, but he’s forced the coaching staff into a decision most didn’t think they’d be making this soon.
So what do you think? Should Braeden Cootes get his audition with the Canucks right out of camp, or would you send him back to the WHL to captain Seattle and dominate right away? Let us know in the comments.
While Cootes has forced his way into the conversation, Aatu Räty has gone in the opposite direction, offering little substance through his exhibition slate so far.
Yes, he scored a nice goal against Edmonton — a well-placed tuck over the goalie’s shoulder — but outside of that single highlight, it’s been a quiet few weeks. There haven’t been enough moments where you felt Räty was dictating play, driving his line, or showing the kind of assertiveness that wins you a job outright.
We knew coming in that his late-season injury would set back his offseason training, and the effects are showing. Without real strides in his skating, his game has looked less like that of a rising centre and more like “just another player” in camp.
And yet, he’s still a near-lock to make the team out of camp. That’s the curious thing about Räty right now: the opportunity is his for the taking, but he hasn’t exactly slammed the door shut on challengers.
Finally, we get to Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who has done everything possible to make life difficult for the coaching staff heading into the back half of the preseason.
The numbers game, waiver status, and his lack of physical edge still point toward an AHL assignment come October 9th. But if nothing else, he’s ensured that he won’t be forgotten in this conversation. Compared to other bubble forwards — players like Arshdeep Bains or Linus Karlsson — Lekkerimäki has put together a stronger showing.
His game isn’t always dynamic shift-to-shift, but when the puck finds him, there’s no one else in the system who can shoot it quite like he does. His ability to run the half-wall on the power play remains a standout skill, and he was arguably Vancouver’s best forward against Edmonton. What’s been just as encouraging, though, is his growing commitment on the defensive side of the puck.
He’s also found strong chemistry with Braeden Cootes, both looking to take full advantage of the Höglander injury. The two have been one of the Canucks’ most effective pairings through camp.
Don’t forget about his trademark one-timer, which is incredibly impressive to showcase the ability to generate so much velocity off a little wind-up and space.
The following prospects were sent back to Abbotsford: Sawyer Mynio, Vilmer Alriksson, Danila Klimovich, Ty Mueller (injured), Anri Ravinskis, Chase Stillman, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Aku Koskenvuo and Ty Young, all of whom will compete for spots in Abbotsford’s training camp, set for later this week.

CHL

Four players from the OHL, all of whom were sent back to their respective junior teams last week, made their season debuts over the weekend.
Stealing the show amongst them was Riley Patterson, who debuted with his new Niagara IceDogs squad with a four-assist weekend.
Skating in the top-six, he provided four assists, a plus-3, six shots and went 57.6% in the faceoff (10/14 in game two). He also added a shootout goal.
Two of his assists, both primary, stood out.
First, in game one of the weekend, Patterson blocked a shot while killing a penalty. From there, he busted up the ice to outskate his flatfooted opponent before finding his teammate on the 2-on-0 for the shorthanded tally.
In the next game, he spun in his own zone before finding the speedy Kevin He with a tremendous stretch pass to cap off his four-assist weekend.
As we anticipated, it was an encouraging weekend for what’s to come. Patterson saw top-six minutes, top power play and penalty kill minutes. There’s a reason why he was adamant about changing this offseason, and it looks like it could be a good year for the recently signed prospect.
Over in Kingston, Kieren Dervin made his draft-plus-one debut. This debut had our attention, as the third-rounder was somewhat unproven at the OHL level heading into his draft.
He kicked off his year as the second line centre, enjoyed top power play duties and was utilized on the penalty kill.
Our initial thoughts on his game are that he shows soft hands and confidence. We were left wanting a little more in his two-way habits, but it was only one game, and we were happy to see him in action amongst his peers. We expect to gain a better understanding of his game over the next few weeks as he adjusts to the league.
He capped off the weekend with the game-winning goal on Sunday, showing some admirable patience after the opposing netminder was caught with the poke check and went  7/11 in the faceoff dot.
We saw some prospect on prospect crime, as Gabriel Chiarot rained on Aleksei Medvedev’s debut, scoring the game-winning goal in the late stages of the third period.
It was an admirable goal, which all started courtesy of a terrific individual effort to win the battle at his own blueline, only to get it back and snap the puck home for his first goal as a drafted prospect with the Vancouver Canucks and claim the game’s first star.
That was Chiarot’s lone point for the weekend, but we love the way he plays with his aggressiveness and grit. Heck, he even dropped the gloves over the weekend.
Chiarot was announced as part of the Brampton Steelheads leadership group earlier in the week and will wear an “A” as an alternate captain on his sweater.
As for Medvedev, he played a strong game, stopping 23 of 25 shots. Although he did not get much help from the team in front of his net, which scored only one goal. The London Knights, who are still missing some very key players, have shockingly begun their season winless through four games (0-2-2).
He was testing out some new equipment in that match.

NCAA

Don’t forget, the Vancouver Canucks still have prospects in the NCAA. As is always the case, schools kick off their season in October, so we are on the brink of getting those games later this week.
Here is when you can catch them this weekend, along with a link to their full season schedule.
Anthony Romani, Michigan State
Exhibition Game vs. Windsor (Ontario) – October 3, 2025, at 3:00 pm PT
Season schedule (here)
Daimon Gardner, St. Cloud
Exhibition game vs. Augustana – October 3, 4:00 pm PT
Season schedule (here)
Matthew Lansing, Quinnipiac
Regular season game at Boston College – October 3, at 4:00 pm PT
Season schedule (here)
Wilson Björck, Colorado
Regular season game vs. UConn – October 3, at 6:00 pm PT
Season schedule (here)
Aiden Celebrini, Boston University
Regular season game vs. LIU – October 4, at 4:00 pm PT
Season schedule (here)
Matthew Perkins, Northeastern
Regular season game vs. Holy Cross – October 4, at 4:30 pm PT
Season schedule (here)

Around the world

As expected, it hasn’t been a massively potent start to the KHL season for Ilya Safonov. Except for one game where he enjoyed minutes as a top-line centre, he’s gone right back to his typical third-line centre role, which he serves well.
What does pop out to us is his strong faceoff numbers, having won nearly 60% of his 158 draws this season. We remain doubtful that his game ends up crossing over to North America, but hey, at least it’s a player to watch outside of North America.
In Switzerland, Basile Sansonnens continues to trudge along in a minimal role amongst men. But he has played well. Although primarily used as a “fourth pairing” (extra) defender, he has jumped up to the third pairing from time to time.
He does have two assists, both how you’d expect a player of his ilk to provide (secondary). Sansonnens also has seven blocked shots and is a plus-2 on a Lausanne team which sits second in the National League to start the season.
Each week, we have inched closer to a full report. By this time next week, we will have had all leagues officially kick off, with plenty to discuss.
See you next week, prospect enthusiasts.

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