Blackfish: Medvedev trade and debut, Novotný plays overtime hero, and more

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

As we do every week, we encourage you to watch our video version of this report, the Blackfish Prospect Show, as we go into a little more detail on each prospect.

We’ve been speculating about a potential Aleksei Medvedev trade for several weeks now. This week, that speculation became reality, as the Canucks’ 2025 second-round pick was sent to a new home within the Ontario Hockey League.

The good news for Canucks fans? He’s heading to a familiar destination, joining a fellow organizational prospect who has already spent much of the season dominating the highlight reels.

In a deal that sent three draft picks the other way, the Peterborough Petes acquired Medvedev, where he’ll join fellow Canucks prospect Adam Novotný.

And it didn’t take the pair long to make their presence felt together. Still sporting his London Knights pads, Medvedev made his Petes debut over the weekend, turning aside 25 of 27 shots to help Peterborough secure an overtime victory.

And who else would deliver the winner but Novotný? The Czech winger took matters into his own hands in overtime, showcasing the same puck-possession skills and individual creativity that have made him such an exciting player to follow this season.

Both prospects earned postgame recognition, with Medvedev taking home First Star honours and Novotný being named the game’s Third Star.

As for the winning goal, it was another excellent example of Novotný’s ability to take over a shift and dictate the pace of play. Granted, it came during three-on-three overtime, where the additional space naturally favours players with his skill set. But the confidence, patience and ability to create something out of seemingly nothing have become recurring themes in his game. There are stretches where it genuinely feels like he could make something happen every time his blades touch the ice.

At first glance, the trade itself comes as a slight surprise. Peterborough currently sits fourth of five teams in its division with a 9-10-0-0 record, and the season hasn’t exactly gone according to plan.

That said, the Petes have won six of their last 10 games and have made it clear they want to clean things up and start pushing toward becoming a competitive team. And with Medvedev now in the fold, they’ll be hoping that improved goaltending can help accelerate that process.

Speaking of Novotný, he continues to find ways to produce. With 11 goals on the season, the Canucks’ first-round pick sits just five behind the league lead.

Meanwhile, thanks to his latest overtime heroics, he’s now tied for the OHL lead with four game-winning goals.

Not a bad way to establish yourself as a go-to player.

Sliding over to Oshawa, Brooks Rogowski has been catching some serious fire lately. With another goal and two assists this week, the towering centre has now collected points in four consecutive games, producing eight during that stretch.

After a relatively slow statistical start to his season, Rogowski is now operating at a point-per-game pace over 17 contests, tying for the team lead in scoring.

Rogowski has won approximately 55 percent of his 221 draws this season, continuing to establish himself as a reliable option down the middle for the Generals. For a player whose size and two-way potential were always going to be major parts of his projection, seeing the offensive numbers begin to catch up is a welcome development.

And Canucks fans will have an opportunity to watch three organizational youngsters in one game this week, as Rogowski and the Generals travel to Peterborough to take on Novotný, Medvedev and the Petes.

Wrapping up our CHL coverage, we’ve officially added another name back into the junior ranks.

Fresh off an OHL and Memorial Cup championship last season, Gabe Chiarot has been loaned back to the Kitchener Rangers after appearing in just two games with the Abbotsford Canucks.

He managed an assist during his brief professional stint, but the decision will allow him to return to Kitchener as an experienced overager and take on a much larger role. And frankly, there are worse situations for a developing prospect.

While we were initially intrigued by the possibility of Chiarot beginning his professional career this season, there is certainly value in returning to a familiar environment where he can play heavy minutes and take on additional responsibility.

For a player whose game revolves around physicality, defensive responsibility and winning battles, the opportunity to become a veteran leader on a competitive junior team could prove beneficial.

And who knows? Back-to-back champion, anyone?

Moving over to the NCAA, we were treated to an intriguing Michigan State–Boston University matchup that featured four Canucks prospects in one weekend.

Starting with Michigan State, Anthony Romani enjoyed a relatively quiet series by his recent standards, collecting two assists and three shots on goal. His ice time also dipped to 15:54 and 12:08, respectively, marking two of his quieter games in terms of overall deployment.

And yet, we still thought he put together a solid weekend. At this point, we know what Romani can do offensively. We expect the shot. We expect the goals. And we know that when he finds open ice, he can make opposing goaltenders pay.

But it’s the big picture stuff that we’re focused on. Is he adding enough to his game to become a legitimate threat at the professional level?

And so far, we’re starting to see some encouraging signs. Romani has been more engaged along the boards, showing an increased willingness to battle for pucks and create opportunities in tighter areas. He’s also shown a greater ability to create off the rush, a notable development for a player who has traditionally generated much of his offence from more stationary positions.

Rather than simply waiting for opportunities to come to him, we’ve noticed him become much more engaged in finding plays from all walks of the game.

There is still plenty of work to be done, but we’re certainly enjoying the direction his game is heading.

At the other end of the ice, the main attraction was naturally Caleb Malhotra. And once again, Vancouver’s third-overall pick gave us plenty to talk about. Malhotra collected a goal and an assist during the weekend series while adding six shots on goal.

His goal was particularly impressive, showcasing some crafty skill and offensive instincts that have been more and more evident with each passing game. Taking a pass into his skates, Malhotra quickly collected the puck and wasted no time firing a perfectly placed shot into the top corner. For a player who has been deemed a “mid” shooter by some, that’s quite the release and finish.

Perhaps more importantly, it was another example of his growing confidence with the puck. With seven points on the season, the production is finally beginning to catch up to the consistent overall performances we’ve been highlighting throughout these reports.

He’s working hard, driving play effectively and supporting his teammates in all three zones. And now, he’s beginning to show some finishing confidence to go along with it. We’ve spent much of the opening month encouraging patience with Malhotra, and that hasn’t changed. All in all, if you’ve been concerned about Vancouver’s top-three selection based solely on his early point totals, we’d strongly recommend taking a closer look at the actual performances. Because there has been a lot to like, and the points are beginning to follow.

While there’s still plenty of work ahead, we also thought Niklas Aaram-Olsen put together one of his more encouraging weekends of the season. The Norwegian winger appeared more engaged away from the puck and was noticeably more involved on the forecheck.

And while he’s never going to be a particularly heavy physical presence, his effort and comfort level within the North American game appear to be improving as the weeks go by.

It’s a gradual process, but one we’re beginning to notice.

His minutes continue to fall within Boston University’s bottom six, although increased power-play opportunities are providing him with additional chances to showcase his offensive tools. We’ve maintained from the beginning that this season was going to test patience. After all, Aaram-Olsen is adjusting to a new country, a new style of hockey and a significantly different level of competition.

But as long as the confidence continues growing and he begins finding more opportunities to utilize his shot, we’ll consider that progress. It’s going to be a slow build.

Unfortunately, Aiden Celebrini played just 12 minutes in the opening game against Michigan State before missing Boston University’s following two contests. He’s now out with an undisclosed injury.

Finally, we’ll wrap things up with Wilson Björck, who put together one of the more impressive weekends of any Canucks prospect.

The Colorado College forward exploded for five points across two games, including a four-assist performance in one contest and seven shots on goal in the other.

Not too shabby.

Björck may never command the same attention as some of Vancouver’s higher-profile prospects, but he’s established himself as an important piece of Colorado College’s lineup. After finishing last season with five goals and 15 points through 31 games, Björck is already just six points away from matching that total through only 10 games this year.

For a prospect who has often flown under the radar, an increased offensive role and a strong statistical start could go a long way toward changing that.

Don’t look now, but Dmitri Ivchenkohass rattled off four straight wins in the MHL. After a tough start to the year, he’s now up to seven wins and has been playing much better, with a .922 save percentage over that four-game stretch.