Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks prospect report.

As always, we begin by encouraging you to check out this week’s episode of the Blackfish Prospect Show, where Tyson Cole and I break down all the latest from around the Canucks prospect pool.

After spending the opening weeks of the season focused primarily on the CHL, our prospect coverage got considerably busier this week as the NCAA schedule officially got underway.

That meant season debuts for several Canucks prospects, including 2026 third-overall pick Caleb Malhotra, while Vancouver’s junior prospects continued their seasons north of the border. And, of course, the Abbotsford Canucks officially kicked things off down in the American League.

So, with plenty to get into, let’s start with the newest group to hit the ice.

All eyes were naturally on Caleb Malhotra as he made his collegiate debut with Boston University over the weekend. On paper, his deployment came on the third line. But in reality, that wasn’t the case.

Malhotra finished the weekend as the team’s second-most-used player, averaging roughly 19 minutes per game and getting opportunities in virtually every situation. Statistically, it was far from a standout weekend, finishing with one goal — an empty-netter — and wasn’t heavily involved in Boston University’s scoresheet.

But when the points aren’t necessarily there, it’s important to look elsewhere for positives. And for Malhotra, his usage was the big one. Whether it was at even strength, on the man advantage or protecting a lead during the closing minutes of games, the coaching staff continued throwing him over the boards. For a freshman playing his first NCAA games, that’s not nothing.

We’ve said it here plenty of times, and at the end of the day, the jump to NCAA hockey is no cakewalk. Throw in the unusual circumstances of playing games that began around 11 p.m. for their internal clocks, and we’re willing to give him more than one weekend before making any sweeping assessments.

That’s not to say we don’t need to see things from him. After all, he is a third overall prospect, while the two ahead of him are collecting points at the NHL level. Would we have liked to see him dominate the faceoff circle? Absolutely. He won just seven draws across the weekend. Would we have liked to see a little more dynamism offensively? Of course. He needs to be one of BU’s drivers this season.

For now, the fact that the coaching staff already appears comfortable using him heavily is encouraging enough. Hopefully, he can ease his way into a more inspiring offensive game when they take on Brown this weekend.

Malhotra wasn’t the only Canucks prospect making his debut for the Terriers. Niklas Aaram-Olsen also played his first two NCAA games after making the move from Sweden. The 6-foot winger didn’t register a point but collected three shots and finished the weekend with a plus-one rating. Much like Malhotra, his listed line didn’t necessarily reflect his actual deployment. Despite being shown on the team’s top forward line, Aaram-Olsen was among Boston University’s least-utilized forwards at even strength, with much of his ice time coming on the second power play unit.

Even more than Malhotra, we expect a considerable adjustment period here. NOA has spent his entire development path playing within the European system, so he’s not only making the jump to NCAA hockey but simultaneously adjusting to the smaller ice and more physical North American game.

As a smaller set-shooter with some Jonathan Lekkerimäki-like elements to his offensive game, this season should be viewed as a significant learning curve. For him, it’s about finding opportunities to get that shot off, gaining confidence, and learning how to navigate battles as his strength continues to develop.

Patience will be key.

You know who did see a TON of ice? Aiden Celebrini.

Now a senior and wearing an “A” for the Terriers, Celebrini was the team’s most-utilized player throughout the weekend, averaging just over 20 minutes per night. He picked up a secondary assist in Saturday’s 4-0 victory while putting together a strong all-around performance that included three shots and five blocked shots.

As usual, there wasn’t anything overly dynamic about his game. And realistically, we still aren’t convinced there is enough there to warrant an NHL contract following his NCAA career. But increased responsibility is increased responsibility. The fact that he can handle those minutes without standing out negatively is a positive in itself.

With his character through the roof and a reliable defensive game, we’d love to see him earn an AHL contract and continue his development in Abbotsford once his collegiate career concludes.

Boston University wasn’t the only place where Canucks prospects made some noise. Both Parker Alcos and Matthew Lansing opened their seasons with two-point weekends for Quinnipiac.

Starting with Lansing, he continued in a bottom-six role, deployed as the team’s third-line centre. And boy, did he make the most of it. Lansing won 64% of his 22 faceoff attempts and collected a slick goal in the home opener.

As a seventh-round pick, he continues to be one of those players who quietly catches our attention. Quinnipiac should once again be a high-flying offensive team this season, so it’ll be fascinating to see whether Lansing can begin forcing his way into a larger role as the year progresses. Heck, he’s already showing that he can provide value from the bottom six.

Speaking of making an impression, how about a two-point NCAA debut for Parker Alcos? The right-shot defender opened his collegiate career with a goal and a primary assist, starting things off with a pretty dish before later finding the back of the net with a strong finish from the top of the circles.

More importantly, the deployment was exactly where we expected it to be. Alcos saw top-four minutes and was one of Quinnipiac’s most heavily utilized penalty-killing defencemen throughout the weekend.

With good size, solid skating, and a calm demeanour, we’ve often maintained that there is an intriguing player here if he can continue adding some muscle to his 6-foot-4 frame. And that’s exactly what makes the NCAA route such an ideal landing spot for him.

For two prospects who aren’t going to command the same attention as Vancouver’s higher draft selections, two points apiece isn’t a bad way to introduce themselves to Blackfish readers this season.

Wilson Björck picked up an assist during Colorado College’s opening weekend against UMass.

Meanwhile, over in exhibition land, a pair of prospects made their presence felt. Anthony Romani posted two goals and an assist in his preseason debut. He was deployed on the team’s second line alongside 2025-26 linemate Eric Nilsson, with whom he developed strong chemistry last season. Joining them was 2026 Utah Mammoth draft pick Ethan Belchetz. If that trio sticks, it could become a very formidable unit.

Following a tremendous finish to his freshman season, Romani may be one of the most interesting prospects to follow this year — especially considering a potential jump to professional hockey could be waiting on the other side. He has the shot. He has the vision. Now it’s about building off a strong freshman campaign and adding a more dynamic, consistent element to his overall game.

Over in North Dakota, Connor Davis collected two assists while skating on the team’s third line.

Vancouver’s hottest prospect had a relatively quiet weekend with just one game on the schedule. But don’t worry, Adam Novotný still found a way to take the hockey world by storm during the week.

And boy, was it pretty. Jockeying for possession along the wall, Novotný collected the puck, slipped it through his legs to evade the defender and immediately fired a patented shot toward the top corner.

As you could imagine, the play was eventually selected as the OHL’s Play of the Night.

At this point, we’re starting to run out of new ways to praise his opening few months as a Vancouver Canucks prospect.

The other major story – the only other story, really – coming out of the CHL this week was Aleksei Medvedev and his long-awaited season debut for the London Knights.

After a tumultuous 2025-26 season that saw him lose his starting job, followed by a less-than-inspiring preseason, the Russian netminder came out firing. Medvedev turned aside 38 of 39 shots in a 4-1 victory over the North Bay Battalion. The lone goal to beat him came on a two-on-zero opportunity that left him with little chance.

Naturally, he earned First Star honours.

It was about as strong a season debut as the Canucks could have hoped for from the 6-foot-3 netminder. More importantly than the raw save total, he looked composed in the crease and confident in his game — two things we haven’t always been able to say over the last year.

Unfortunately, that momentum lasted exactly one game. Medvedev was pulled midway through the third period of his next appearance after surrendering five goals on 32 shots. So, yes, the consistency question remains. But after everything that went wrong last season, simply seeing him open the year with a 38-save performance was encouraging.

Now we need to see which version shows up more often.

The baby Canucks opened their season in Calgary over the weekend, marking the much-anticipated full-time AHL debut of Braeden Cootes.

For our money, he was Abbotsford’s best player across the two games and was heavily utilized, buzzed around the ice, battled for 50/50 pucks and generally played standard Braeden Cootes hockey.

In other words, the moment didn’t look too big for him. Not that it should come as much of a surprise after he already got a taste of NHL action last season.

Cootes trailed only Ty Mueller among Abbotsford forwards in total usage and was deployed in virtually every situation. He even found himself on a shorthanded breakaway.

Of course, the moment that will get the most attention was his first AHL goal. It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest shot of his career, coming from a relatively routine attempt off the half-wall. But thanks to a strong screen from Ilya Safonov, the puck found eyes and worked its way into the back of the net.

The first of what Vancouver hopes will be many.

Cootes finished the weekend 10-for-21 in the faceoff circle and led the team with 12 shot attempts, putting nine on target. He wanted the puck, got involved physically, and didn’t need to be sheltered.

On the backend, Sawyer Mynio was another player whose usage immediately jumped off the page. He averaged just under 25 minutes per game while serving as Abbotsford’s go-to power play quarterback, a penalty killer, and a heavily used even-strength defender.

Last season was about proving that Mynio could handle professional hockey, and if opening weekend is any indication, Year 2 may be about finding out just how much responsibility he can handle.

Hang on tight, the Blackfish tracker is about to get a whole lot busier, and we are here for every second of it.

With the season now officially underway across nearly every level, we’ll reintroduce our full prospect stat tracker next week, when the entire list should finally be back in action.

Welcome back to prospect season.