Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report, your weekly deep dive into the world of Vancouver Canucks prospects. This week, we’ve got a thrilling mix of high-scoring performances, triumphant returns, and a whole lot of winning across various leagues.
Abbotsford Canucks
While the Vancouver Canucks have faced their share of challenges this season (to say the least?), the Abbotsford Canucks are firing on all cylinders. At least for the last two weeks.
Following a franchise-worst six-game losing skid, the team has responded with a franchise-best six-game home winning streak, outscoring their opponents 27-14 during that span.
In last week’s report, we mentioned that Aatu Räty, while not playing poorly, needed to elevate his game and become a driving force for Abbotsford. Do you think he read the Blackfish Report seeking some motivation?
Well, let’s just assume he did, and he certainly took that message to heart. The 22-year-old Finnish forward exploded for nine points (two goals, seven assists) in four games this week, co-leading the team with a plus-four rating and adding nine shots on goal.
Räty’s playmaking abilities were on full display throughout the week. His vision, puck distribution skills, and hockey IQ consistently created scoring chances for his teammates.
One of his most impressive plays was a quick, instinctive pass to Jonathan Lekkerimäki for the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of a back-and-forth affair against the San Jose Barracuda. Honestly, this play epitomized Räty’s high-end vision and poise, showcasing his ability to create scoring chances in high-pressure situations.
His dominant performance earned him well-deserved recognition as the AHL Player of the Week, the first such honour of his young career. He may not ever blossom into a heavy-hitting point-getter at the NHL level, but his development as a solid middle-six face-off guru is well on track. We wouldn’t be shocked to see him back with the big club at some point by season’s end.
Räty wasn’t the only offensive catalyst for Abbotsford. Linus Karlsson and Nils Åman combined for 12 points on the team’s top line, each extending their point streaks to six games.
Åman’s recent surge has propelled him to the top of the Abbotsford scoring leaderboard, with 24 points in 27 games. He’s playing with confidence and demonstrating a knack for finding the back of the net for the first time in his North American career.
As for Karlsson, he continues to be the backbone of this team’s offence. Much like Räty, we wouldn’t be shocked to see his waterbug style up in Vancouver for a cup of coffee.
While Arshdeep Bains did not fill the stat sheet as prolifically, he made a crucial contribution to Lekkerimäki’s game-winning goal. His relentless forechecking pressure forced the turnover that led to the scoring opportunity. This type of “dirty work” often goes unnoticed, but it’s a vital part of any successful team.
Speaking of Lekkerimäki, he made an immediate impact upon returning to Abbotsford, adding two assists in his lone game. He now shares the team lead in goals (13) and sits second in points (20), just shy of a point-per-game pace.
Ty Mueller also returned to the lineup after missing three games due to injury. He was immediately slotted into a top-line center role and responded with a tremendous assist on a Linus Karlsson goal.
Mueller’s two-way game and ability to contribute in all situations make him a valuable asset for Abbotsford. We’ve talked his game up extensively over the last two years as a strong “Teddy Blueger” type, and he’s making us look like geniuses in his young AHL career.
All this action, and no sights of Danila Klimovich. He went pointless over the four games in the week and saw his ice time cut in half with demotions to the bottom six and even the fourth line.
But Cole McWard joined the offensive fun from the blue line, adding two goals to his season tally. With three goals and 14 points, the 23-year-old defenceman is steadily approaching his rookie season totals (four goals, 17 points, with plenty of hockey left to play.
In our humble opinion, Jett Woo had his best game of the season on Tuesday. He was providing his typical truculence, breaking up plays and using his weight, but also setting players up to find the scoresheet.
The Canucks’ six-game winning streak wouldn’t have been possible without strong goaltending. Arturs Silovs stopped 64 of 70 shots in his two starts, earning his 50th career AHL victory. Nikita Tolopilo was equally impressive, stopping 57 of 62 shots in his two appearances, including a 34-save performance.
Both goaltenders are currently riding three-game winning streaks, providing stability and confidence for the team.
ECHL
Josh Bloom added another goal to his tally, but the young forward’s ECHL season has been up and down. He has eight points in 14 games, with just three points (all goals) in his last 10 outings.
Ty Young split his two starts, bouncing back from a 4-0 loss with a 28-save performance in a 4-3 overtime win.
Despite a 5-5-0-0 record, Young boasts an impressive .921% save percentage. He’s showing promise as a future goaltending option for the organization.
CHL
Anthony Romani made his long-awaited return to the CHL after recovering from a broken clavicle. Funny enough, he made his debut with the Barrie Colts against his former team, the North Bay Battalion, and immediately slotted onto the top line.
His first couple of games showed some obvious signs of rust, as his timing just felt off, and he was a bit slower to the punch. He slowly got more comfortable as the week went on, collecting his first goal into an empty net. Finally, in game three, he showed off his best asset – his shot.
Opening his hips, he caught the opposing netminder off guard, firing a rocket to the top shelf. Legend has it that the netminder is still trying to find out what happened.
Romani’s new teammate and fellow Canucks prospect, Riley Patterson, also had a strong game that day. He scored a late goal to add to his assist. He is on pace to match his rookie season totals and currently sits second on the team in scoring. Patterson’s consistent production and strong two-way play make him a valuable asset for Barrie.
He seems thrilled to have Romani join the ranks:
Sawyer Mynio continues to transition seamlessly into the Calgary Hitmen roster. This week, he scored his first goal with the team in his 200th career WHL game.
Speaking of new teams, Vilmer Alriksson added another assist for the Brampton Battalion and is closing in on his rookie season point totals with just three more to go.
NCAA
Boston University picked up two big wins over the weekend and now sits atop the Hockey East standings.
Tom Willander failed to register a point in either match but picked up a plus-three to put him to a plus-seven on the season and another three blocked shots. He even eclipsed the 26-minute mark for the second time this season.
His overall statistics are slightly down, but as we’ve seen over the last few weeks, his game is developing quite nicely and he should be ready for professional employment by the season’s end. The issue? BU is putting up a good case to make a long push in the Frozen Four Championships, which will only extend the time in which he joins the Canucks’ organization – assuming he goes that route.
Aku Koskenvuo earned a 33-save victory for Harvard, stringing together back-to-back wins for the first time since early November. He’s battling for playing time in the Harvard crease and showing signs of his potential.
SHL
Although they weren’t necessarily “Blackfish worthy,” Melvin Fernström added two assists at the SHL level, bringing his season total to eight points in 31 games. The 18-year-old is holding his own against older competition and currently sits second among 18-year-olds in points.
If you think eight points is disappointing, just remember that he’s only 18 and being handed top-six minutes (from time to time). His development is very encouraging.
Lucas Forsell had an assist in league play and will be competing in a crucial Champions League semi-final match this week. His Farjestad team is in a good position to advance to the final, carrying a four-goal aggregate lead in the semi-finals.
From Räty’s AHL Player of the Week performance to Romani’s return, it was another exciting week in the land of Canucks prospects.
We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Blackfish, so make sure to comment with any questions for the author next week!
Sponsored by bet365
