Welcome back to Blackfish: our weekly Vancouver Canucks Prospect Report.

If you are a prospect enthusiast, you were probably living your best life this past weekend, as teams across the league took part in their respective prospect tournaments, and that includes the Vancouver Canucks.

With Penticton’s Young Stars event shut down, the team turned to a new setup, which featured two games against the Seattle Kraken prospects.

The games were held at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett and the Seattle Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle, Washington. Although it couldn’t match Young Stars, the weekend was still successful and accomplished its goals.

From a fan experience, the stream probably could have been better, though.

At least the music was good.

Today, we will put a bow on the weekend and provide an observation on each of the players’ weekends, assuming they are on the Blackfish roster (exception given to four players).

Before we dive into that, however, let’s touch on some regular-season action overseas.

Overseas, regular seasons are off and running, with both Ilya Safonov and Basile Sansonnens suiting up in games.

Safonov picked up his first two points of the season, a primary and secondary assist, in the same game.

For his primary, he showcased his soccer skills by delivering a perfect pass with his foot, which landed directly on the stick of his teammate for the goal.

Through four games, he leads his team and sits among the top-10 in face-off percentage, winning 46 of 72 face-offs for a 63.9%.

For Sansonnens, he isn’t playing a ton on Lausanne HC’s blueline. Although he’s suited up in each of the three of their regular-season games, he has been utilized as the team’s extra defender.

We’ll start in the crease, because if there was one theme from the weekend, it was goaltending. The Canucks’ netminders were the backbone of this year’s showcase, keeping both games competitive despite some shaky defensive play in front of them.

Aleksei Medvedev got the nod in Game 1 and, despite allowing four goals, was arguably Vancouver’s best player. With defensive coverage breaking down in front of him, the Russian rookie was forced into several high-grade saves and looked calm throughout.

Even when he was beaten, it usually came after multiple efforts or a skilled finish from Seattle. Without Medvedev, the scoreline could have been much worse. He finished with roughly 30 saves (official totals were not released) in a very encouraging first outing within the Canucks’ system.

“He was outstanding.” Manny Malhotra said after the game. “Obviously, he kept us in the game for the first two periods. He made a few 10-bell saves, highlighting his athleticism and his compete in the net. But he did a great job of making the saves that we expected him to make, and then obviously coming up with some extra ones for us.”

Aku Koskenvuo started Game 2 and, while less busy, was just as much of a factor with critical saves. He held firm during extended stretches of Seattle pressure and came up clutch late, shutting the door during a frantic 6-on-4 penalty kill in the dying minutes to preserve a 3–2 win.

He was very composed in the net and displayed good positioning throughout.

He may spend most of the year in Kalamazoo, but this was an encouraging performance heading into his first official NHL camp and a good reflection as to where this organization’s goaltending depth currently sits.

“He did a great job, especially down the stretch. He came up with some huge stops,” said Manny Malhotra. “As the course of the game went on, he looked far more comfortable in the net, in terms of his rebound control and just being big and square in the net. He did a fantastic job.”

Braeden Cootes gave fans only a brief glimpse, playing two periods in Game 1 before sitting out the rest of the weekend for precautionary reasons. In his limited shifts, he looked exactly as advertised — a high-motor centre who skates well, competes hard, and even picked up a secondary assist on Vilmer Alriksson’s opening goal.

Speaking of Vilmer Alriksson, the towering Swede impressed again. Just as he did last year, he was one of Vancouver’s most impactful forwards, scoring a highlight-reel goal in Game 1 and setting the tone physically from the opening faceoff.

Consistency and attention to detail are still areas of growth, but the blend of size and skill is undeniable. Heading into his first pro season, Alriksson remains one of the more intriguing names in the system.

With Cootes out, Riley Patterson was bumped to the top line for Game 2, and we were happy to see him seize the opportunity. He scored a goal, added an assist, and looked engaged in all three zones, showcasing his abilities as a versatile forward. When asked after the game, Manny Malhotra shared the same review:

“Looking at some of the details within his game is really what we’re evaluating over the last couple of days,” said Malhotra. “He did a much better job this evening: physical, making sure he was in the right spot at the right time, and he was a little more tenacious on pucks. From there, he was able to make some good plays between Lekky and Rikky.”

At just 19, he’s guaranteed to be heading back to Niagara, where he’s expected to be a go-to forward, but this weekend was a good sign that his game is trending in the right direction.

He showcased his versatility and ability to play any forward position over the weekend, and it would be a significant addition to his game to be able to play up the middle on a full-time basis, especially as a right-handed option.

In simplest terms, Jonathan Lekkerimäki had a fine showing. Which, admittedly, was slightly disappointing. Not concerning, just disappointing.

He notched an admirable goal in Game 2 and a clever assist in Game 1, but never really took over the game the way some top prospects around the league did in their respective showcases.

The encouraging sign? His two-way play stood out — relentlessly hounding puck carriers, while showing attention to detail. We already know what he can do offensively, so it’s nice to see the details.

The shortened off-season was evident in that he wasn’t able to add much to his growing toolkit. But with 19 goals in the AHL, we know what he can do offensively. For now, it only reinforces the view that he’ll benefit from more time in Abbotsford rather than being rushed into Vancouver’s top-six at 21 years old.

The weekend did not boost Josh Bloom’s stock, if at all. Lining up alongside 2025 draftees Gabe Chiarot and Kieren Dervin, he worked hard but never truly drove play. Considering he’s looking to push himself into a permanent role in Abbotsford and fight for a new contract, we had hoped to see him take over a little more than he did throughout the weekend.

This is the time we feel it’s necessary to reiterate that it’s just two prospect games, but at 22, it was a golden opportunity to take things into his own hands. The real test now comes at main camp.

Kieren Dervin left us with questions. Not that anything was bad, but we left the weekend still wondering what his game truly brings.

One play that genuinely stood out was his effort on the boards to create the play that eventually led to a Nick Poisson goal. He dug his way through, won the battle and found a teammate right before the goal. It was a beautiful play.

His defensive play was steady, and he had moments of composure, but he didn’t assert himself enough to leave a lasting impression. His OHL season with Kingston will be a much better gauge.

Meanwhile, fellow 2025 draftee Gabe Chiarot made himself noticeable in nearly every shift. Are we insinuating that he’s a future NHL player? Absolutely not. But you do hope to see prospects stand out in this type of environment, and that’s precisely what he did.

He scored once, which is a nice touch, but it was his energy, determination, and work rate that really stood out. He’s still a long-shot project, but for a late-round pick, it was exactly the type of performance you want to see.

Among the invites, the “Invite Line” of Nick Poisson, Aaron Obobaifo, and Jakob Oreskovic turned heads, especially in Game 2, where they combined for two goals.

Obobaifo’s tally was particularly sharp, outwaiting the goalie after a strong cycle from the entire trio. He showed off his swift skating and was impressive for an undrafted youngster.

Meanwhile, with three points and a strong showing, Poisson left us wondering if it was enough to garner another look, either with an AHL contract or at least a look as an invitation to training camp.

Former Canuck prospect Jackson Kunz had his moment, particularly in a play in Game 2 where he stripped a Kraken defender from behind the goal line in the offensive zone and set up Ben Berard with a glorious opportunity alone in front.

Aside from his big frame, he seems like a player destined to be an AHL energy player. Ty Glover-esque, just not as fast.

With NHL games already on his résumé, it wasn’t surprising that Elias Pettersson was Vancouver’s best skater from the weekend.

He played like a man among boys, dominating physically at the netfront and in the corners, while controlling transitions with poise. There were a couple of puckhandling slips, but overall, he looked every bit NHL-ready.

He also made a trendous and quickly-read play to find Nick Poisson backdoor.

No notes, the kid is a gamer.

Unfortunately, Tom Willander’s weekend sang a bit of a different tune. His debut in Game 1 was rough, thanks to some sloppy defensive reads and turnovers in transition. He just seemed out of sorts and was scattered all over the ice.

To his credit, he cleaned things up in Game 2, keeping it simple and letting his skating and aggression carry him. He was instrumental in the game’s opening Lekkerimäki, providing a necessary pinch in the zone to keep the puck alive.

That said, it felt like a weekend where he was trying too much. He went on several skates with the puck on Sunday, only to gain the zone and run out of ideas, which led to turnovers and quick odd-man transitions the other way.

Decision-making was an area we wanted to see him clean up at BU last year, and to his credit, we thought he did as the season pushed forward. With that in mind, there is no reason to hit the panic button (nor should you, considering it’s a prospect tournament). But like Lekkerimäki, his showing only reiterated our thoughts that he could use some time in Abbotsford to learn the systems and adjust to the game at the professional level.

It wasn’t a flashy weekend for Sawyer Mynio, but he was steady and reliable. As usual, his skating looked strong, and he unleashed his heavy shot several times in Game 2, creating chaos at the crease.

Physically, he looked bigger, which was an area of need and a necessary step as he transitions into pro hockey.

Kirill Kudryavtsev had a quiet weekend, which is actually fine for us. Unlike Willander and Mynio, we already know what Kudryavtsev can bring to the game, and like Pettersson, he didn’t really have anything to prove. His primary focus will start on Thursday, as he attempts to impress in Penticton and take over top-line duties in Abbotsford.

Parker Alcos left after five periods but looked smooth before his exit. He showed poise with the puck and made some crisp stretch passes, playing exactly to his form as a steady fifth-round defender.

The Canucks split the weekend series, but the real win was in net.  Medvedev and Koskenvuo both really impressed, setting the tone for their first NHL camps and giving us excitement for what’s in store between the pipes.

It’s only a pair of September tune-ups, but with NHL camp around the corner, it served as a nice gauge to start the season and check in on where the majority of our Blackfish roster stands.

Stay tuned next week, as we will have NHL preseason action to cover!