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Blackfish: New faces stand out in Abbotsford, a Canucks NCAA outlook, and will Cootes hit new highs?
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Photo credit: © Abbotsford Canucks
Dave Hall
Mar 18, 2026, 13:20 EDTUpdated: Mar 18, 2026, 14:26 EDT
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Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks prospect report.
With the calendar winding down, the focus across the system is starting to shift. Abbotsford is grinding through the final stretch of a tough season, dealing with a constantly changing lineup, while still finding a few small wins along the way. At the same time, the CHL is gearing up for playoff hockey, NCAA teams are beginning to fall off the board, and opportunities are opening for players looking to take their next step.
This week brought new faces in Abbotsford, continued production from some of the system’s top forwards, and a clearer picture of where things stand heading into the postseason across multiple leagues.
Let’s dive in.

Abbotsford Canucks

The Abbotsford Canucks dropped both games to the Henderson Silver Knights over the weekend, wrapping up their six-game homestand with a 2-4-0 record.
Sitting well out of a playoff position, the season has now shifted toward small victories. And despite the losses, they may have found a few of those over the weekend.
Bennett Schimek, signed out of the NCAA on an AHL deal, made his debut and looked right at home. Manny Malhotra didn’t ease him in, either, immediately slotting him into a top-six role and giving him time on the top power play unit.
He finished with just a primary assist in the pair of games, but was one of the team’s most noticeable — and most utilized — players. On his helper, he found Ty Mueller in the slot with a quick one-touch play, showcasing his vision and touch. His stick detail stood out throughout the game, and while his footspeed will need some work, this is the perfect environment for him to get comfortable heading into next season. We see him as a legitimate piece of this team’s (Abbotsford Canucks) offensive core moving forward.
Austin Brimmer, the other NCAA addition, made his presence felt as well. He picked up his first AHL point and dropped the gloves for the first time, coming just a goal shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick. His physical, in-your-face style has been noticeable right away and adds a needed edge to the lineup. The skating and offensive ceiling may be limited, but he looks like a natural fit in a bottom-six role.
Danila Klimovich continues to push offensively, adding three goals to cap off a seven-point homestand (six games). After a difficult first half, he has seemingly found his footing and is trending toward what could be his second-best AHL season. Still, with his contract situation, we remain unconvinced he’ll be back next season — but he’s doing everything he can to market himself as a shooting threat.
On the backend, both Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio contributed two assists apiece. Mynio’s highlight was a strong primary assist, stepping up at the centre line, jumping into the rush, and finding Nick Poisson as the late trailer for his 18th point of the season.
Last season, Ty Mueller took home Abbotsford’s unsung hero award. This year, there’s a strong case to be made for Mynio. Not only is he trending toward a 20-plus point season on a difficult roster, but he’s handled heavy minutes through some of the team’s toughest stretches — including multiple 25–plus minute nights in December.
We still believe Kudryavtsev should be the one to receive an NHL look this season based on the current depth chart. Mynio’s composure and decision-making at just 20 years old, however, have been incredibly encouraging.
In goal, Ty Young had been excellent since his return to Abbotsford, stopping 81 of 84 shots during a three-game winning streak. This weekend, he came back down to earth, allowing seven goals on 42 shots. To his credit, several of those goals stemmed from defensive breakdowns, though a couple of long-range looks got by him as well.
We still believe he should remain in Abbotsford through the end of the season and project as an important piece for the club in 2026-27.
Aku Koskenvuo picked up another loss in Kalamazoo, stopping 26 of 29 shots.
The Canucks also made a minor league move, dealing Josh Bloom in exchange for 23-year-old Jayden Grubbe. Grubbe made his Abbotsford debut over the weekend and wasted no time making an impact, scoring his first goal off a rebound crash. Like Brimmer, he looks to be a player who could round out the bottom-six with a rugged game.
Bloom, meanwhile, had been a high-end offensive producer in Kalamazoo but never found the same consistency at the AHL level. The writing was on the wall for his time within the organization, as we had a good inclination that he would not return in 2026-27.

CHL

Braeden Cootes went off this week, collecting two goals and eight points across three games. With just two games remaining in the regular season, the first-rounder is now just two points shy of matching his career-high 63 points. The difference this time around is that he’s played in 16 fewer games.
He also scored a beautiful shootout winner. The Prince Albert Raiders are now in a tight race for first in the Eastern Conference, tied with the high-powered Medicine Hat Tigers at 104 points, with the Raiders holding a game in hand.
In Kingston, Kieren Dervin reached the 40-point mark, adding two goals and three points on the week. He now sits third on his team in scoring, with just 13 of his 40 points coming on the power play. With three games remaining, Kingston is battling to hold onto sixth in the Eastern Conference, with pressure coming from Riley Patterson and the Niagara IceDogs.
Patterson, meanwhile, continues to establish himself as one of the OHL’s most dangerous shooters. It has become a nightly occurrence to see him find the back of the net with his quick, heavy release. Despite playing fewer games than in previous seasons, he has already surpassed the 80-point mark for the first time in his career.
With a March 22 birthday, he’ll turn 20 before our next report.
Both Patterson and Gabriel Chiarot received recognition this year from OHL coaches. The OHL dropped their annual “Coaches Poll“, where each took home some votes.
  • Hardest Worker — Gabriel Chiarot (9 votes)
  • Best Playmaker — Riley Patterson (18 votes)
  • Best Shootout Shooter — Riley Patterson (24 votes)
Parker Alcos and the Kelowna Rockets have surged recently, going 7-1-1-1 in their last 10 games. They now find themselves battling Prince George for third in the Western Division.
Alcos added a power play assist this week, bringing him to 30 points on the season, officially doubling his previous career high.
It continues to be a difficult stretch for Aleksei Medvedev, who came in for relief and allowed four goals on 15 shots in an 8-2 loss. If you’ve been following our reports here lately, his second half has been a struggle.
For those on Vancouver Island, there will be an opportunity to see him live this fall. London is scheduled to travel to Victoria for a two-game exhibition set — the “Clash of the Kingdoms” — on September 4 and 5 at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
We’ll have a full breakdown of each player’s playoff outlook next week once the standings are finalized.

NCAA

The NCAA playoffs are now set to enter their conference championship stage, but despite several strong regular seasons, none of the Canucks’ prospects will be participating in those finals.
Anthony Romani and Michigan State earned a bye into the semifinals after a dominant regular season and were widely expected to reach the Big Ten Final. Instead, Ohio State (No. 5) pulled off the upset with a 3-2 overtime win, ending their conference run. Romani logged one of his heaviest workloads of the season, skating 18:02 and registering three shots.
The good news is that Michigan State’s season will continue. Thanks to their regular-season performance, they are expected to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and will remain in the hunt for a national title.
The same applies to Matthew Lansing and Quinnipiac. After being upset by Clarkson in their best-of-three ECAC series, the Bobcats will still move on to the national tournament. Lansing logged 22:35 of ice time across the two games.
Matthew Perkins recorded his first multi-point game of the season (one assist, one empty-net goal) to help Northeastern advance, but their run ended in the quarterfinals against UMass. It was a tough season overall for the 2024 fourth-round pick, who finished with seven points (four goals, three assists) in 29 games. We expect him to return for his senior year.
Aiden Celebrini and Boston University saw a similar fate, winning their opening game before falling in the quarterfinals. Of the eliminated group, he remains a candidate to land a professional deal if he chooses to turn pro. Abbotsford could certainly use additional depth on the right side, which may open the door for an AHL contract.
Wilson Björck and Daimon Gardner had already been eliminated prior to this week.

Rest of the World

Ilya Safonov and his KHL club have just two games remaining in the regular season before heading into the playoffs, where they have already locked in third place in their conference.
Meanwhile, Basile Sansonnens and Lausanne HC have already secured their postseason spot and are awaiting the start of their series.
Between players pushing for NHL looks, others fighting to make noise in the playoffs, and perhaps some new faces coming to the system, there’s plenty left to track over the coming weeks.
As always, we’ll have it covered in Blackfish.
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