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Blackfish: Lekkerimäki scores incredible goal, Cootes point-per-game in Prince Albert, and more
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Dave Hall
Jan 13, 2026, 16:00 EST
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Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks prospect report.
The holiday season is behind us, and hockey is back in full force. In the AHL, Abbotsford worked through a four-game homestand with mixed results, while injuries and call-ups continued to shape availability. Meanwhile, the junior ranks saw major movement as the trade deadline officially arrived. One prospect even found out they are bound for Italy.
Here’s how the week unfolded.

Abbotsford Canucks

It was a tale of two series for the Abbotsford Canucks, who returned home to the Rogers Forum for a four-game homestand.
After dropping the first two games to the Bakersfield Condors, the Canucks rebounded by sweeping the Calgary Wranglers over the weekend. The results were enough to drag them out of the league basement and into 30th place (of 32).
Most importantly, Jonathan Lekkerimäki returned to the lineup after nursing a nagging injury. It took him just 18 seconds to remind everyone why he matters to this team’s offensive success. Off the opening faceoff, he kicked the play into the offensive zone, snagged the puck out of mid-air, and slid a backhand past the Calgary netminder.
He later added the game-tying primary assist with one of his trademark snap shots and capped the night with one of the dirtiest shootout goals you’ll see all season.
All told, it was a strong return: one goal, one assist, four shots, a highlight-reel shootout winner, and first-star honours.
Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t last. Lekkerimäki was out of the lineup the very next day, with the team labelling it an illness. At this point, durability is becoming a legitimate concern for the Swede. He has now managed just one game of action over the past month, continuing a frustrating trend of stop-start availability throughout his tenure here in North America.
The eventual shootout winner in that game came from fellow Swede Vilmer Alriksson. Over the four-game stretch, Alriksson recorded just one secondary assist, giving him seven points through a 34-game rookie campaign.
While gaudy offensive numbers were never expected, it’s fair that we hoped to see a little bit more on the finishing side, particularly given his consistent top-six usage and power play looks. The work at the net front and along the boards has been strong, but the next step is converting a bit more of that effort into results.
Anri Ravinskis also found the scoresheet, notching his second goal of the season. But the bigger news for him came after the games. The Latvian winger was named to Latvia’s Olympic team, receiving a late invitation after an originally selected player was sidelined.
It’s been a decent stretch for Abbotsford with regard to player availability. But that’s slowly getting tossed out the window again. Both Nikita Tolopilo and Victor Mancini, along with Arshdeep Bains earlier in the week, were recalled to Vancouver over the weekend, thinning things out quickly once again.
That left the Canucks in need of a goaltending recall from Kalamazoo.
Given recent form, Ty Young felt like the obvious candidate. While his AHL numbers earlier this season were (very) rough, he has been excellent since his reassignment, winning five of six starts and stopping 66 of 70 shots over the weekend.
Instead, Abbotsford recalled Aku Koskenvuo, who has struggled in his last two ECHL starts and currently has a 2-4-0-0 record with Kalamazoo. That said, he was without a doubt the better of the two while holding down the fort in Abbotsofrd.

CHL

The writing had been on the wall, and with his junior career likely coming to a close at the end of the year, Braeden Cootes was officially dealt in the WHL. And it was a massive one.
In a 12-piece blockbuster, Cootes was sent to the Prince Albert Raiders, a stacked club positioned for a deep playoff run. The Raiders currently sit second in the league in points percentage, rank third in goals scored (171), and are widely viewed as legitimate title contenders.
After a brief holiday break, Cootes joined his new club and made his two-game debut over the weekend. He began on the third line — a predictable “get your feet wet” assignment — before jumping up to the second line, which is more in line with what we expected for him. He also saw time as the half-wall flank on the top power play unit.
While he went pointless in his first outing, Cootes broke through in Game Two with his first goal and a multi-point performance.
For those keeping track: he’s wearing number 34 for the Raiders.
Cootes wasn’t the only Canucks prospect on the move. Parker Alcos was dealt from the Edmonton Oil Kings to the Kelowna Rockets. While Cootes may get there from winning a championship, this move all but guarantees Alcos a spot at the Memorial Cup this spring as the host team.
Continuing his hot offensive play as of late, Alcos scored in his debut, ripping a shot from the top of the circles to tie his career high with 15 points. As he was in Edmonton, he’s expected to serve as a top-four fixture, giving him a strong runway to close out his season in a high-leverage environment.
Over in the OHL, Riley Patterson continues to scorch the league. With another three points (one goal, two assists) in two games, he briefly climbed to second in league scoring before settling back to fourth. He now has 52 points in 37 games, just five back of the league leader.
Despite rumours swirling, Patterson remains with the Niagara IceDogs, who sit in the mushy middle of the Eastern Conference at 19-17-3-1.
Meanwhile, the Kitchener Rangers have continued to bulk up, and Gabe Chiarot now finds himself on a legitimate playoff contender. He scored an empty-netter for his first goal as a Ranger, but has just two points in five games despite top-six usage.
Between the pipes, it was another uneven outing for Alexei Medvedev. Although he earned the win, stopping 24 of 28 shots, it marked his 10th sub-900 save percentage performance in his last 13 starts. What began as a stellar start to the season has clearly cooled, and consistency has become the primary question mark.
Are we concerned? Not really. He has let in some soft goals, likely due to his understandable lack of confidence. But he’s still showing an extremely athletic build and strong promise for the future. He just needs to get back on track.

NCAA

Wilson Björck returned to Colorado College with a gold medal and stepped right back into his usual spot on the top line. He picked up an assist over the weekend, bringing him to nine points in 17 games.
Surpassing him in total points is Matthew Lansing, Vancouver’s 2025 seventh-round pick, who now has 11 points in 22 games after scoring twice over the weekend. Despite primarily seeing fourth-line usage throughout the year, Lansing’s recent play has earned him elevated minutes, including a season-high 17:11 over the weekend. He currently sits third on Quinnipiac with a plus-12 rating for the 9-3-2-0 Bobcats.
Anthony Romani also found the scoresheet, extending his point streak to four games before it was snapped the following night. Despite dropping back into his pre-World Junior third-line role, he showcased his scoring touch by ripping home a patented wrist shot off a Cayden Lindstrom feed.
After a slow start, Romani is heating up and now sits fourth on Michigan State with 15 points in 20 games, trailing only well-known names like Porter Martone and Charlie Stramel.

Rest of the World

Following a steady showing at the World Juniors, Basile Sansonnens returned to Lausanne and resumed his regular third-pair role. In his return, he logged just under 14 minutes, continuing to handle his responsibilities calmly against men.
That will do it for this week’s Blackfish Report. We’re getting prepped for our mid-season prospect ranks here at CanucksArmy, so make sure to stay tuned for that.
Until next week, folks.

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