Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report.
We are now in full-on regular season mode and have returned to our regular scheduled Blackfish programming. With the European and Canadian leagues already well into their seasons, this week saw the college circuit crack open its 2024-25 campaign. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks have announced their final opening day roster, which means we are inches away from having all the answers we are looking for within the system.
Let’s hop right in.

Abbotsford Canucks

As they awaited Vancouver’s final roster cuts, the Abbotsford Canucks held their training camp last week. Following an inter-squad scrimmage on Saturday, the team announced its first wave of cuts.
With that, here is how things are shaping up in the system (AHL contracts in red). We anticipate a few more bodies being sent to the ECHL. No, these are not ordered to reflect predicted line combinations.
One of the week’s biggest stories was Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who we learned will officially begin his North American professional career in the AHL. Although most won’t find it ideal, it’s probably the best landing spot for him to acclimate his young pro game.
That said, it wasn’t as if he did not fit right in during NHL preseason. Whether it was the Young Stars tournament, training camp, or the four NHL preseason games, Lekkerimäki showed the pedigree that has made him a standout prospect. His offensive toolkit was on point, and his two-way game also appeared stronger than many expected, finishing with a solid 52.24% Corsi For (CF%) and a 51.73% Expected Goals For (xGF%) during his preseason stint. With just one goal and two assists, the only thing lacking was his actual production. Although, he co-led the team in that department.
While he won’t be starting the season in Vancouver, this isn’t a setback; it’s about development. Lekkerimäki will get plenty of puck touches while playing top-line minutes and be the focal point of the powerplay. Given his contract status, all it takes is a hot streak to show this management group, who now have a deserved track record, that he is ready for big-boy deployment and a swift call-up.
According to Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, it’s any day, really. “He might be back in 30 days, or he might be back at the end of the year, I don’t know, but we’ve gotta make sure that he gets the proper development and proper coaching, and he’s gonna get that down there.”
There were some concerns on Saturday when Lekkerimäki fell awkwardly during their inter-squad scrimmage. The team has yet to announce anything, so for now, it seems like his absence is precautionary.
Joining Lekkerimäki in Abbotsford is Max Sasson, who played five games in seven nights during the preseason. While he wasn’t a huge difference-maker, he demonstrated the qualities that we love and what makes him a bottom-six NHL hopeful — skating well, playing a solid two-way game, and showing good habits. Rick Tocchet even praised Sasson for his effort under tough circumstances. Sasson is slated to be a first-option call-up should the Canucks need help in the bottom-six center positions.
Despite a solid preseason, Arshdeep Bains was reassigned to Abbotsford to marinate in the minors. He played relatively strong in all matches but was arguably the team’s best player on Friday, finishing with a goal and an assist.
In all honesty, we felt that he outplayed names such as Nils Åman. Unfortunately, he became the victim of roster flexibility due to his waiver-exempt status. Nevertheless, the coaching staff spoke highly of Bains, and he’s likely to be one of the first names called up if needed on the wing.
“[Bains] is a guy that we’ve really got our eye on,” said Tocchet. “He’s got to work on game management, that’s his next level. He’s got to understand certain times when to stick handle and when to get the puck in deep. That’s the only thing.”
You know what this means; Aatu Räty officially made the Canucks roster. It’s a true testament to his incredible off-season regiment. He worked extensively on his skating stride and added weight, addressing the gaps needed to be closed to be NHL-ready. His improvement in skating, effort on both ends of the ice, and consistency during preseason earned him his spot. Oh, his team-high 53.85% in the face-off circle helped, too.
On the backend, it was no surprise to see Elias Pettersson and Kirill Kudryavtsev reassigned to Abbotsford. Both had strong showings during training camp and the preseason, but they’re both just 20 with a long road ahead of them.
The challenge now lies in where they fit on a crowded blue line. The left side in Abbotsford is packed with Christian Wolanin, Akito Hirose, Guillaume Brisebois, Layton Ahac (AHL deal), and the newly added Erik Brännström. While we believe Elias Pettersson is a lock for Abbotsford, things could get interesting for Kudryavtsev.
With Jiri Patera back in the fold, Ty Young may start the season in Kalamazoo. After a challenging year in Prince George – where he lost his starting job – starting in the ECHL might be the right move to help Young rebuild his confidence and establish himself in the pro game.

NCAA

Do you think we forgot about college hockey? The NCAA is always the last of the crop to kick off its season, and some of the Canucks’ prospects won’t even begin until November 1st. We covered all of that in our NCAA preview.
However, over this past weekend, a few prospects made their season debuts, but the big focus was on Tom Willander. The 19-year-old opened the season alongside Aiden Celeberini in their respective sophomore seasons.
With Lane Hutson gone, the expectation – or at least the hope – was that the keys would be handed to Willander, and he’d be gifted top-line everything and enjoy his time as the primary option for BU.
Unfortunately, we quickly learned that it wasn’t necessarily the case.
You see, Lane has a younger brother, Cole, who made his NCAA debut after a fairly impressive USHL/NTDP career. As a freshman, he not only grabbed the top pairing and top powerplay units out of the gate but also looked incredibly strong and a near-carbon copy of his older brother – not great for the Willander fan club.
At the same rate, it’s perfectly fine. For one, it’s just one game. Yes, if Hutson plays like he did on Saturday, then PP1 is likely his. But with their units not nearly as high-powered as last year, it should be more of a split.
Two, Willander was still given top penalty-killing minutes and played ample time at even strength. While it’s not a full-on “here are the keys” situation, he’ll still be given all the time in the world to develop his game as a shutdown, two-way defender this year.
As for his on-ice play, it was a strong performance. In the middle frame, he snuck his way into the slot before snapping a quick shot on to pick up his first point of the campaign with an assist on the rebound.
In addition to the assist, he was relatively mistake-free and played sound defence. Of course, his skating is still very much on point, too.
BU will be back next weekend as they take on the Union Dutchmen.

CHL

The CHL is well underway, and we’ve now seen all six representatives skate in several games.
We mentioned last week that Riley Patterson was ejected just minutes into his second game of the season due to a slew foot incident. Well, he was actually given a two-game suspension from this and played only one game last week.
Luckily, he made up for lost time and delivered three assists on Sunday, one of which was off this tremendous quick-witted cross-ice feed.
In our small sample size, we’ve been impressed with Patterson this year. As we know, his skating is very much a work in progress, but he is clearly a toolsy and workable forward and is primed for a big sophomore campaign.
Speaking of sophomore seasons, the big Swede Vilmer Alriksson returned to make his Guelph debut this week. He picked up his first of the season on Sunday, and what’s best is that he did so sporting some of the elements that we were hoping to see more of from him this season.
For a 6-foot-6 power forward, we hoped to see more of a power game, asserting his presence in a way that would lead to more space and time for both him and his linemates. Well, here, he finishes his check, which directly leads to him all alone in the slot. With that time and space, he utilizes one of his best qualities – his quick snapshot. Just look at the flex on that one. We call that goal the crunch, snap, and pop.
These are some of the habits that the Canucks’ coaching staff have been drilling into his game and add to his toolkit, and right there, it showed. He was all over the ice for the rest of this game, utilizing his long reach and powerful frame. It’s just one goal in one game, but there’s a good chance he will take a big step this season.
Sawyer Mynio is back in Seattle and back to his usual tricks. After three games, he co-leads his Thunderbirds squad in points (4) and is second in shots (13). In typical Mynio fashion, he delivered his first goal of the season on Saturday, unleashing a patented bomb from the half-wall.
Through six games, the T-Birds have a 1-4-1 record and are poised to be sitting in the basement of the Western Conference this season. With that in mind, we are predicting a future where Mynio gets dealt at some point this season. As the Thunderbirds continue to stock the shelves, we could see Mynio heading to a Memorial Cup hopeful before eventually making his pro transition later in the spring.
Anthony Romani is off to a good start in his official draft-plus-one season. He’ll be our “prospect spotlight” this week, so continue reading for a deeper look.

Sweden

Lucas Forsell remains week-to-week as a result of an emergency appendix procedure.
No points for Melvin Fernström this week, but he’s found a comfortable home on the SHL version of Örebro’s third line and has seen over 13 minutes in three of his last four games (13:03, 14:51, 15:38).
What’s even more encouraging is that he led all “full-timers’ in Corsi For as the only skater above the 50% threshold, sporting a 51% CF at one point. Two games later, he carries a 52% CF, which now sits third on the team and is one of just three skaters to sit over that 50-percent threshold.
While the points haven’t shown for his efforts, we’ve really enjoyed his willingness to go to the net. Last year, we got to enjoy Jonathan Lekkerimäki show off his incredible release and skill in the SHL, but we rarely saw him causing havoc at the netfront. This year, the roles are quite reversed. The front of the net seems to be the first place Fernström goes when the team begins to work the offensive zone. While he’s not mucking things up and taking a beating, per se, he’s still providing good screens and trying to be a nuisance to deflect shots, etc. Case in point by his lone goal in the SHL.
He’s been working the secondary powerplay unit’s half-wall and showing quite well so far. Remember, he’s just 18, so he’s doing just fine.

Prospect Spotlight

We will bring a prospect spotlight into our Blackfish write-ups throughout the year. Here, we will focus on one, sometimes more, elements of a player’s game that have caught our eye. This week, Anthony Romani.
Name: Anthony Romani
Birthplace: Pickering, Ontario
Position: C/RW
Height/Weight: 6’0″/183 lbs
Team: North Bay Battalion (OHL)
Romani, taken in the sixth round of the 2024 draft, is an intriguing late-round prospect. While he was technically a “double draft” candidate due to his late birthday, he was still producing at an incredible rate at just an 18-year-old. Scoring 111 points, including a league-leading 58 goals, Romani commanded a draft pick, and the Canucks are probably lucky to have him fall to them in the sixth round. While his skating and overall depth as a player are areas for improvement, his hockey IQ is clearly out of this world.
This week’s spotlight focuses on Romani’s pre-reading of plays — his vision and ability to make quick one-touch passes. As shown in the clips below, Romani has easily found teammates, making smart and timely plays that keep the puck moving and his team on the attack. We could not find all of them, but several plays have nearly led to scoring chances for his linemates.
Yes, he can shoot and has already shown why he scored 58 goals last season with some heavy released snaps. At the time of this writing, he does have two goals for the year. However, both are empty nets, and we have yet to see a patented Romani snipe find the back of the net.
As you’ll see from the clips below, he can find linemates from various areas and fashions. Whether it’s a quick one-touch pass to kickstart a breakout the other way, finding an activated linemate from below the goal line, or setting up an incredible give-and-go, he’s clearly thinking one or two steps ahead at all times.
Romani is a crucial piece to his team’s offence, and when setting up on the powerplay, you can sense that the play filters through him as the trigger man at the blue line. There have been moments where we questioned his work ethic on backchecks (for example), but so far, we’ve been incredibly impressed with his ability to think the game.
Next week, we’ll have the Abbotsford Canucks’ opening matches to chat about, as well as far more prospect coverage from around the system. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian readers.

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