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Blackfish: Cootes fitting in with Prince Albert, Mueller heating up, and more
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Dave Hall
Jan 28, 2026, 13:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 28, 2026, 12:31 EST
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Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks prospect report.
After the early-season turbulence, things are starting to settle a bit across the system, particularly in Abbotsford. After rattling off a few wins, they now find themselves primed for a second-half push. Or, at least giving them a snowball’s chance. Riley Patterson returned from injury and got right back to his old tricks, while Braeden Cootes continues to find ground in his new environment.
There’s plenty to check in on this week, starting on the farm.

Abbotsford Canucks

It’s fair to say the 2026 portion of the 2025–26 season has been a noticeable improvement over the opening half. That tends to happen when a lineup made up largely of ECHL call-ups is replaced by more competitive NHL/AHL tweeners.
With a weekend sweep of the San Diego Gulls, the Abbotsford Canucks have now rattled off a three-game winning streak, improving to 6-4-0-0 over their last 10 games. After a brutal start, they now sit just seven points back of a Pacific Division playoff spot.
A major driver of that turnaround has been Ty Mueller. After a difficult opening to the season, the 22-year-old centre has looked like a different player. He’s skating with more pace, playing with confidence, and now even contributing offensively. He posted a six-point week (three goals, three assists) across four games and now sits just two points shy of the team lead with 19 points.
Although Mueller is a player whose contributions go beyond his numbers, as a go-to faceoff guy, penalty killer, and situational centre. Of course, Jonathan Lekkerimäki also played a significant role in the stretch. Now healthy, the Swedish sniper recorded three goals, four points, 14 shots, and a plus–4 rating over the four-game span.
What he’s been able to do in a short window remains quite impressive. In just 16 games, Lekkerimäki has 10 goals (leading the team), sits five points back of the team lead in points, and is only 14 shots shy of the team lead with 61 shots.
With Brock Boeser’s injury, Lekkerimäki was recalled to Vancouver, leaving Abbotsford without its most dangerous offensive weapon. Whether that stint is short-lived remains to be seen. With the NHL roster freeze set to take effect on February 4, and Abbotsford is scheduled to play seven games during the Olympic window, there’s a realistic chance he returns to the farm in short order.
If he sticks in Vancouver, the hope is simple: give him a legitimate top-six opportunity and power play usage. He’s shown improved awareness defensively — breaking up plays and reading pressure more intuitively — and deserves a real look if he’s going to be there.
Another forward trending upward is Danila Klimovich. The recently turned 23-year-old delivered one of his best individual efforts of the season, spinning off pressure before slipping a backhand through the pads against San Diego.
While the overall production — 15 points in 34 games — remains incredibly disappointing for a player who shows such strong offensive potential, a week featuring two goals and an assist is encouraging. With Lekkerimäki out of the lineup, Klimovich is one of the players Abbotsford relies on to generate offence, and when he doesn’t, the scoring tends to dry up quickly. Consistency has and always will be the key to his thriving at any level.
Vilmer Alriksson also chipped in with a goal over the weekend, which is a welcome reward for a player who has been trending in the right direction for weeks without seeing results.
Whether it’s board battles, 50/50 pucks, or net-front work, he’s doing many of the little things correctly. The production is still far too light for our money, and the puck does get away from him at times when trying to make plays, but it’s been a solid stretch for the 20-year-old in what has been a difficult environment for a rookie season.
On the back end, Sawyer Mynio returned to the lineup after missing several weeks with an upper-body injury. Wearing a face shield, he immediately stepped back into his role on the top power play unit, picking up right where he left off. He’s averaging just under 20 minutes per game as a 20-year-old defender, and while he’s probably still a year away from seeing any minutes in Vancouver, the progress has been strong.
Between the pipes, Aku Koskenvuo played a key role in the weekend sweep, turning aside 33 shots for his first professional shutout. He was excellent throughout the game, making several athletic saves and looking composed against sustained pressure.

ECHL

Josh Bloom was reassigned to the Kalamazoo Wings this week, rejoining the team he thrived with last season. After going scoreless in Abbotsford, it didn’t take long for the winger to find the net again, as he beat a defender cleanly to score in his ECHL season debut.
At this point, Bloom looks to be trending toward that familiar middle ground of “too good for the ECHL, but unable to find consistency at the AHL level.” At 22, he’s running out of time to bridge that gap.
In goal, Ty Young made one start and stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn his seventh win of the season.

CHL

Braeden Cootes has fit right in and transitioned to his new home in Prince Albert. With another four-point week (two goals, two assists), he now has 10 goals in nine games with the Prince Albert Raiders.
Believe it or not, the only game in which he failed to record a point was the Raiders’ 12–2 demolition of the Victoria Royals, and it certainly wasn’t due to lack of involvement. His line dominated play, and Cootes was creating chances throughout, even if the points didn’t follow.
He did, however, grab this beautiful goal.
And this beautiful primary assist.
Now centring Prince Albert’s third line, Cootes’ ice time has dipped slightly from his Seattle days — down from nearly 22 minutes to roughly 18 per night. Still, the opportunity to make a deep playoff run with a strong team likely outweighs the reduced usage. He remains a fixture on the top-line power play and is currently on pace for 62 points in 49 games.
After missing five games with an upper-body injury, Riley Patterson returned to the Niagara IceDogs lineup and immediately picked up where he left off, posting a goal and two assists. The missed time hurt his place in the league scoring race, but with 55 points (24 goals, 31 assists), he sits tied for seventh in OHL scoring.
Beyond the raw numbers, Patterson’s versatility has stood out. Now playing full-time at centre, he’s winning 51.6% of his faceoffs across more than 700 draws, quarterbacks the top power play from the blue line, and kills penalties. He’s doing everything asked of him — and producing, to boot.
Kieren Dervin and the Kingston Frontenacs had one game cancelled due to weather, but he still found the scoresheet in his lone appearance. Despite missing time, Dervin remains second on the team in scoring with 26 points.
In net, Aleksei Medvedev split his week with a win and a loss, but delivered a standout performance in victory, stopping 38 of 40 shots. While his team provided ample offensive support in that outing, Medvedev still did his part to limit damage and close out the win.

NCAA

Anthony Romani added an assist over the weekend, but the bigger story lies ahead. Michigan State is set to face Gavin McKenna and the Penn State Nittany Lions in a marquee outdoor matchup this weekend, slated to be played at Beaver Stadium in front of 60,000 fans.

Rest of the World

That will do it for this week’s prospect report. Until next week, folks!
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