Welcome back to the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/blackfish-mueller-reps-vancouver-canucks-ahl-all-star-weekend-pattersons-hot-streak-more">Blackfish Prospect Report.</a>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

This week was highly bullish and featured several big stories within the prospect realm. Whether it was returns from injury, career firsts, heroic highlight reel goals or a <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-prospect-tom-willander-boston-university-win-2025-beanpot-championship">Championship title</a>, it was a jam-packed week for <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/">Vancouver Canucks</a> prospects.

Before we dive into all of the action, be sure to check out our <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/cas-top-20-vancouver-canucks-mid-season-prospect-rankings-criteria-honourable-mentions">CanucksArmy top 20 Canucks mid-season prospect rankings!</a> We are officially off to the races and will be counting down from 20 all the way to our top-ranked prospect.
<h1>Abbotsford Canucks</h1>
<img class="alignnone wp-image-139227 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/02/Abby-1.png" alt="" width="1202" height="537" />

Just two games for the Canucks as they travelled to Colorado for a quick two-game road trip. Game one was a thriller, with the good guys rallying for an overtime victory.

Game two saw a loss to split the weekend but welcomed back a critical piece to their lineup.

The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/abby-weekend-recap-jonathan-lekkerimaki-scores-return-vancouver-canucks-split-weekend-series-eagles">Abby Canucks</a> players seem to be passing the torch around for who wants to break out the big guns each week. This week, it was the Surrey native who led the charge.

Arshdeep Bains scored four points over the weekend and was a major catalyst in their 5-4 overtime victory on Friday night.

He got things going by linking up with Max Sasson courtesy of a beautiful wraparound assist that set up Sasson with the tap-in tally.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1888055627861344321

Later in that game, he put himself in the right place at the right time to deflect Cole McWard's point shot. We'll call it a deflection, even though it hit him more on the way.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1888069604486037655

And then in overtime, thanks to a patient play in his own end from Aatu Räty, he curled and found Bains with a perfect tape-to-tape stretch pass. With pressure on him, he protected the puck, spun and shot before poking at his own rebound to call the game into overtime.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1888086433598161371

That was his sixth multi-point game of the campaign.

With another assist on Saturday, he's officially on a streak, with seven points over his last four games.

You saw both Aatu Räty’s assists in those clips over the weekend. He's officially taken over second place on the Canucks, firing at a point-per-game clip with 26 points.

After a slower start to the season, he's now on pace to surpass his career highs from last season and do so in significantly fewer games.

He's also been a beast in the face-off circle, with a 56% win rate over his 24 games.

You saw Max Sasson's beautiful tap-in goal. That gives him points in all four games since being reassigned from the big club and points in five straight AHL games dating back to November 19th.

With this trio all back together, it felt like Abbotsford got its “band” back together.

New to that group is Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing four straight games after that <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/video-vancouver-canucks-prospect-lekkerimaki-crashes-head-first-boards-exits-tucson">scary crash in the boards</a> a few weeks back.

He picked up right where he left off, scoring one of his patented snapshots after cutting into the high slot.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1888681292449149183

The goal, his 15th on the season, not only puts him on top as Abbotsford's top scorer but puts him fourth among all AHL rookies.

He trails the rookie leader Jani Nyman by just three goals despite playing 20 fewer games. Now that's production, folks.

Speaking of rookies, Ty Mueller failed to register any points and is now pointless in four games.

The 21-year-old, who recently represented the team at the AHL All-Star game, continues to pull his weight in other respects. He's maintained his effective play in all three zones and continues to be a presence in the face-off circle (50% for the season).

Mueller and Lekkerimäki share fourth place on the team in points, with 22 apiece. Mueller has played in 41 games, and Lekkerimäki has played in 25.

On the backend, an unsuspecting but developing prospect led the offence. Cole McWard scored a goal and assisted in Friday's match.

The goal, a relatively flukey point shot, matched his season high of four. McWard also set a new career-high with 18 points when he added an assist.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1888050307407757652

With his steady, eddy style, the 23-year-old stalwart continues to impress us. Now, he's starting to put up an offensive resume.

Speaking of points, Kirill Kudryavtsev picked up a secondary assist over the weekend. This assist brought him to 21 points on the year, tying Christian Wolanin for tops among Abbotsford defencemen.

Lately, Nikita Tolopilo has been on the winning side of things. However, after a 5-3 loss (24 saves), Arturs Silovs was the sole winner.

The Latvian netminder stopped 25 of 29 shots en route to his fifth victory in his last six outings.

While both netminders have been quite strong lately, both sport sub-900 save percentages. Luckily, some offence is helping them out along the way as they continue to find their footing.
<h1>Kalamazoo Wings</h1>
Speaking of goaltending, no prospect in the system has been better between the pipes than Ty Young. His ledger improved significantly over the weekend.

With 30 saves, the 20-year-old picked up his first career shutout.

https://twitter.com/KalamazooWings/status/1888407127888126188

https://twitter.com/KalamazooWings/status/1888401597127868446

Despite a middling 7-6-1 record, Young has been exceptional in his rookie pro season. His .924% save percentage through 15 games leads all U24 netminders.

He's now allowed two or fewer goals in seven of his 15 starts.

A fellow first-year player, Josh Bloom, added two more assists for 14 points in 22 games.

You'll be able to find a deeper dive into Bloom in our top 20 prospect rankings, dropping later this afternoon.
<h1>CHL</h1>
<img class="alignnone wp-image-139228 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/02/CHL-1-1.png" alt="" width="1207" height="235" />

Sawyer Mynio, we are not worthy.

After picking up an assist earlier in the game, the 19-year-old DEFENDER gave us the highlight of the night, week, month and perhaps the year with this incredible backhand move.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1888087402679517330

As the announcer mentions in the clip, you’d be hard-pressed to find a goal that mimics this. A backward cut-in turned backhand shelf over the glove.

It’s a special goal and just another notch on an already impressive Western League career. With the two points and 29 on the season, he’s on pace for 46 points, just shy of his 53 set last season.

Goals aren’t new for Riley Patterson, who continues to put up consistent numbers in the calendar year. With another goal, the 18-year-old finds himself on a seven-game point streak and now has 48 points in as many games. He leads the Barrie Colts in goals (21), points (48) and plus/minus rating (plus-28)

It’s been a slow return for Anthony Romani, who continues to see top-line minutes on that same Barrie Colts team. Since his return from injury, he has just four goals in 11 games and is minus-4.

Considering he’s missed several months with a significant clavicle injury and returns to a new team and system, we are certainly cutting him some major slack. However, with all things considered, it’s been a rather dissipating draft-plus-one campaign for him.

Although it’s been a solid season, the same can be said for Vilmer Alriksson lately, who continues to struggle to find offence with his new team. Believe it or not, his Brampton Steelhead scored a whopping 16 goals over the weekend through two games. Despite seeing top-line minutes, the Canuck product failed to register a single point and provided just two shots, a plus-1.

He’s now on a major slump, with just one assist over his last seven games. Again, that's despite him seeing top-line minutes and powerplay.

Back in the Western League, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/cas-top-20-canucks-mid-season-prospect-rankings-18-parker-alcos">Parker Alcos</a> continues to miss time with a lower-body injury. He’s still considered day-to-day.
<h1>NCAA</h1>
<img class="alignnone wp-image-139229 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/02/NCAA-1.png" alt="" width="1210" height="236" />

Over in the NCAA circuit, the Canucks’ top defensive prospect had himself a big week.

One day after celebrating his 20th birthday, Tom Willander and Boston University mounted a huge victory over the top-ranked team in the Nation, defeating Boston College for their 32nd Beanpot title.

https://twitter.com/TerrierHockey/status/1889179040419832236

For Willander, he played a significant role in the victory. Down by a goal, the Terriers rattled off two quick goals to take their first lead for the game.

The Swedish defender provided the primary assist for the second and eventual game-winner, thanks to a tremendous keep in the offensive zone. Reacting swiftly, he wasted no time finding Cole Hutson with a cross-ice feed.

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1889130070830182581

In addition to his offensive contribution, Willander was a force defensively, making several key plays to shut down Boston College’s high-powered offence. His consistent and effective defensive efforts warranted several instances of praise from the commentators, as he was a force in his own end. He finished as a plus-1 in the evening.

Of course, the big question on everyone’s minds is when the defensive stalwart can turn pro. Well, as expected, the answer is quite circumstantial. With the Beanpot over, Boston University has seven games remaining in the regular season before embarking on the Hockey East playoffs. Their final regular season match is slated for March. 8th.

Should they advance to the Frozen Four National Championship, Willander’s college season could extend into mid-April (April 10 &amp; 12).

So, depending on how his team — currently third in Hockey East and ninth in the Nation — does in the playoffs and Nation tournament (assuming they advance), his timeline will fall somewhere between the middle of March and April 12th.

Aiden Celebrini also won but was out of the lineup due to a day-to-day injury.

Another somewhat lacklustre performance from Aku Koskenvuo, who allowed three goals on just 21 shots.

He's now sub-900 on the year, sporting a .899% save percentage through 13 games.
<h1>Comment section</h1>
<blockquote><strong>Defenceman factory:</strong>

<strong>Are there some longer-term AHL players you expect to move on for next season?</strong>
<strong>The AHL rules on the number of veterans a team can ice, along with a player's desire to earn real money, often lead to guys leaving as UFAs in their mid-twenties, often to Europe.</strong></blockquote>
This is a great question and certainly worth exploring since the Canucks have finally gotten to the point of having a deeper prospect pool on the verge of joining the roster.

While nothing is guaranteed, and all of these are purely speculative, it feels like Christian Wolanin (UFA) and Akito Hirose (UFA-group six) will likely be out of the blue line. Although he's dealt with injury woes, Hirose just hasn't shown much that any of the fresh new faces cannot deliver. He showed up to training out of shape once, and ever since, it feels like he's been the forgotten one down on the farm.

We spoke to Wolanin after his elimination last season, and he expressed his subtle frustration about the lack of opportunity. It's been almost a calendar year, and despite Vancouver needing puck movers, he has yet to see a wink of opportunity. A fresh start feels inevitable.

Guillaume Brisebois, also UFA, feels like a 50/50 chance. I believe they like his veteran presence as long as he can still provide defensive efforts.

Both Cole McWard and Jett Woo are RFAs, and the former is an obvious choice to keep around. But with the additions of Victor Mancini and the likely addition of Tom Willander, it feels like the clock may be ticking for the soon-to-be 25-year-old Jett Woo. He enjoyed a solid bounce-back season last year, and although he's been the team's leading minute muncher, his upside feels like it's dwindling away.

Linus Karlsson (RFA-Group six) is a name of interest as someone we could see bolting back to the SHL. He's been given his opportunity, but feels like the perfect candidate to get a major ticket in the SHL should he decide that NHL opportunities aren't coming as he'd hoped. Or, perhaps he inks a one-year deal for one last kick at the NHL can?
<blockquote><strong>Are there spots on next year's roster the Canucks should aim to fill with undrafted UFAs? Canucks signed a bunch but last offseason I think just one. Maybe early but an article on the top end of those available in a month or two would be awesome.</strong></blockquote>
The quick and easy answer is yes. Once our CanucksArmy top 20 prospect rankings are wrapped up, we will dive into the free-agent market and some potential draft targets.

For those interested, we will soon be running a prospect-targeted mailbag. So, have your questions ready when we decide to proceed!

Thanks for tuning in again, folks.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

Blackfish: The return of Lekkerimäki, highlight heroics from Mynio, and Willander’s new Championship hardware

Recent articles from Dave Hall

Breaking News