Welcome to Blackfish: our Vancouver Canucks weekly prospect report.

The NHL and AHL seasons are winding down, while the junior ranks are right in the thick of the fight. As the 2025–26 season begins to wrap, our attention is slowly shifting toward the 2026 NHL Draft.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our draft profiles, where we will be covering names over the next few months leading up to the big day.

On this week’s Blackfish Prospect Show, Tyson Cole and Dave Hall broke down two of the top names in that class: Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg. Who should the Canucks target, and who projects better long-term?

Be sure to catch the full episode.

But for now, let’s get back to this week’s report.

After months of tough results, the Vancouver/Abbotsford market is finally enjoying a small stretch of success.

With back-to-back wins, Abbotsford swept the Calgary Wranglers last weekend, climbing out of the Pacific Division basement. The biggest storyline was the debut of Riley Patterson.

As expected, he was given a real opportunity right away, centring a line between Arshdeep Bains and Bennett Schimek, while also seeing time on the top power play unit.

He logged roughly 15 minutes in each game and went 50% in the faceoff circle, going 4-for-13 in Game 1 and an impressive 9-for-13 in Game 2.

Game 1 looked about how you’d expect. There were some early nerves — a few rushed plays and giveaways — but as the game settled, so did Patterson. By the second period, he began generating looks and finding chemistry with Bains and Schimek.

He made a subtle impact on Schimek’s goal as well, battling in front and providing a screen (cue our subtle way of including AHL-signed Schimek in our reports).

Game 2, however, looked much more like the player we saw in the OHL. Patterson showcased his elite release, scoring his first professional goal with a quick strike from the slot.

Minutes later on the power play, he showed patience — baiting the defence before sliding the puck over to Schimek, with Bains cleaning up the rebound. That gave Patterson his second career point.

Overall, there was plenty to like in his first pro showing. There’s still work to be done — strength and skating remain areas to improve — but it was an encouraging start, especially building early chemistry with Bains.

We love these late-season auditions, as they leave youngsters with a solid foundation for what is needed to excel in a league like this. The junior ranks build poor habits, with most players reaching for the puck rather than playing the body. It’s a giant learning curve, and this provides that little leg up before a big offseason.

Danila Klimovich continued his push offensively, firing 11 shots across the two games while scoring twice and finishing as a plus-3. With just two games remaining, he now sits one goal shy of Linus Karlsson for the franchise lead (70).

With his future with the organization unclear, could he leave as the Abbotsford Canucks’ leading goal scorer? Check back next week!

In net, Ty Young got both starts and came away with both wins. After allowing four goals in Game 1, he bounced back with a shutout in Game 2 — the second of his career — finishing the weekend stopping 48 of 52 shots.

Meanwhile, Kirill Kudryavtsev got his opportunity with the Vancouver Canucks to close out the season — and looked exactly as advertised.

He’s not flashy, but he’s efficient. He makes a strong first pass, uses his stick effectively, and consistently gets his shots through. We saw all of that in his early NHL looks, including his first and second career assists.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see him enter next season with a real opportunity to push for a roster spot.

Down in Kalamazoo, Aku Koskenvuo came back down to earth after an excellent stretch, making three starts in three nights. He allowed 10 goals across two games before bouncing back with a 26-save win.

With one weekend left, the Wings are still battling for a Kelly Cup playoff spot.

The Saskatoon Blades pulled off a first-round upset, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings in seven games. That set up a second-round matchup with Braeden Cootes and the Prince Albert Raiders.

So far, the series has gone as expected. Prince Albert holds a 3-0 series lead, with Cootes playing a major role. After picking up two assists in Game 1, he broke out with two goals in Game 3.

The first came on a cheeky finish after being sprung on a breakaway. The second was a high-end play that saw him cut inside before ripping a shot into the top corner.

He now sits second on the team with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in eight playoff games, continuing to drive play as one of the team’s most impactful players.

If results hold, we could be headed toward a heavyweight matchup with Medicine Hat featuring a Cootes vs. Jonas Woo (Jett’s younger brother) and the Ruck twins.

The Kitchener Rangers are also in control, holding a 3-0 series lead over the Soo Greyhounds. Gabriel Chiarot hasn’t filled the net, but he’s been effective in his role, contributing two assists while playing his usual physical, third-line game.

It’s a different story for Parker Alcos and the Kelowna Rockets, who find themselves down 3-0 to the powerhouse Everett Silvertips. Alcos has been steady despite the results, sitting even in plus/minus, with nine shots and an assist. Considering the team has allowed four goals in each game, it’s been a respectable showing individually.

Should they lose, the Rockets enjoy the unique opportunity to continue their season as this year’s Memorial Cup hosts. Think of it as an extended spring training.

By the time this report is published, Ilya Safonov and Ak Bars Kazan may have already punched their ticket to the KHL semifinals. They currently hold a 3-0 series lead over Dinamo Minsk (featuring Vitaly Pinchuk), with Game 4 set for Wednesday morning. Safonov has contributed two assists in the series, bringing his playoff total to five, while Ak Bars has dropped just one game so far in the postseason.

That will do it for this week’s report. Make sure to drop any questions you may have for Tyson and Dave for next week’s Blackfish Prospect Show, where we will be covering what the Canucks should do at third overall if they fall and discussing the top defencemen of the 2026 NHL Draft class.