Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report, your weekly update on the Vancouver Canucks‘ prospects.

With roughly 20 games remaining in the AHL regular season, we thought we’d shift our focus to the exciting playoff races unfolding across various leagues outside Abbotsford this week.

The good news? Each one of the organization’s prospects will see playoff action this year.

Let’s dive into how the Canucks’ prospects are contributing to their respective teams’ playoff pushes.

Riley Patterson has blossomed into a catalyst within his Barrie Colts squad. He’s proven to be an all-situations player and is one of their go-to options throughout the game.

While his numbers may not hit elite levels, he continues to lead his team in goals (25) and points (58), sits second in plus/minutes (20), and is third in shots (157).

Despite a slower start to his draft-plus-one season, he’s caught absolute fire with points in 14 of his last 15, which includes 22 points and seven multipoint games.

He’ll be accompanied by fellow Canucks’ prospect, Anthony Romani, who has caught fire of his own in his last stretch of games. After missing a significant portion of the season due to a broken clavicle, Romani has quickly found his rhythm, racking up 12 points in his last nine games.

Now healthy and finding his groove with his new team, he’s ready to pick up where he left off last season and continues to play top-six, top power play minutes for the Colts.

Romani, who turns 20 in July, is the only prospect of the two who could jump to the pro ranks by next year. However, with all the setbacks he has faced in his season, we anticipate that he will return for his overaged 20-year-old season. It’s just a hunch.

With nine regular-season games remaining, the Barrie Colts are currently ranked second in the Eastern Conference. They are expected to make a deep push for a chance to represent the OHL at this year’s Memorial Cup in Rimouski.

Over in Brampton, Vilmer Alriksson is on track to make his second straight OHL playoff appearance — assuming he is healthy. The 19-year-old has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury.

But with nine games remaining in their schedule, he still has ample time to return before his team’s run. Eight teams make it to the OHL Eastern Conference. His Steelhead currently sit as the fifth-place team and carries an 18-point gap to be eliminated — they should be just fine.

Injury or not, Vilmer has already created new career highs, jumping from 33 to 36 points in just over half of the games. When healthy, he’s getting a solid amount of ice time as a top-six regular and has carved himself a role on the power play. If he returns, he’ll play a solid role.

The interesting element of his season is what will come afterward. Now 20, we expect Vilmer to make the jump to the pro ranks officially and could join Abbotsford for their playoff run — if Manny Malhotra does inject a rookie into the lineup at that time.

In the Western Hockey League (WHL), Sawyer Mynio and Parker Alcos are preparing for playoff runs with their respective teams, potentially against one another.

Mynio, who was traded to the Calgary Hitmen during the holiday break, has been a key addition to the team’s blue line. He’s logging heavy minutes in all situations and has been leading the Hitmen’s defencemen in scoring since joining.

With injuries playing a factor, it’s been a slight down year in terms of this year-to-year production. But injuries have really played into that. Mynio’s still up to 13 goals and 36 points in the year and has been the team’s top defender since his move to Calgary. He’s eating minutes and leads the defensive corps in points and penalty minutes.

The Hitmen are battling for first place in the Eastern Conference, and Mynio’s strong two-way play will be crucial to their success.

Like Vilmer Ailrksson, Mynio could be a late season addition to the Abbotsford roster. Does a rookie defender squeeze into a playoff rotation? That remains to be seen, but he could battle out for that third pairing left side spot with Akito Hirose.

Meanwhile, Achos returned to the Edmonton Oil Kings lineup after missing time due to an injury. He’s a solid two-way defender who plays an important role for the Oil Kings.

The Oil Kings are a middling team and currently sit in the sixth spot with nine games to go within the same division as Mynio’s Hitmen. That said, with little time to make up ground, the ninth team on the outside is nearly out of reach. While the Oil Kings face an uphill battle in the playoffs, Alcos’ steady presence on the blue line will be an important factor in their quest for an upset.

As of today, the two Canucks prospect are slated to face each other in round one.

Finally, we have the QMJHL, where Basile Sansonnens carries the highest chances of a long run. In fact, with the Memorial Cup being held in Rimouski, he’s guaranteed a spot in the coveted tournament.

Even so, the Oceanic are an extremely strong team and sit third among the entire CHL power rankings. Although not considered a top defender and certainly not an offensive contributor, Sansonnens plays a modest role, cycling through all three of the team’s pairings. He plays heavy penalty-killing roles and shuts down the opponents’ top brass.

When all else fails, you’ll get to see the Canucks most recent seventh rounder in late Spring action.

The big piece of interest comes with Tom Willander and when he’ll be available to sign his pro papers.

As of today, Boston University has two games remaining on their schedule and sits third in Hockey East. If that sticks, they will see an automatic berth into the quarterfinals, a single-game elimination game on Saturday, March 15th.

Should they advance, they will play the following week, when the semifinals and finals are slated for March 20th and 21st.

The big snag for Canucks fans hoping to get their hands on Willander as soon as possible, is that BU may qualify for the Frozen Four tournament, which takes place immediately following the Conference Championships.

BU may still be invited to the tournament whether they win or lose. Here is how the selection process appears on the NCAA.com website:

Of course, Willander plays a major role in this team’s success. With 20 points, he’s just five back from his totals of last year, and with games in hand, there’s still time to surpass them. He plays big minutes in all situations and is expected to be a catalyst to the team’s success.

The same schedule will go for Aiden Celebrini, who’s now back from injury and reestablishing his spot as a third line, right shot defender for BU. Unlike Willander, he’s expected to return for his Junior year next year.

Aku Koskenvuo’s Harvard currently sits seventh in the ECAC. If they finish there, they will grab home-ice advantage but will have to win a single elimination game to advance to the quarterfinals.

Should they be successful, they will have their work cut out for them in the quarters. The playoff dates match those of Hockey East.

Considering how the back half of the season has gone, there is a good chance that Aku Koskenvuo will not get the start in any of the matches. There is a chance that Aku will sign a pro contract once eliminated, but with how things have gone this season, combined with the traffic jam of netminders within the system, a return for his fourth season may be in order.

Finally, we have the NCHC Conference, which houses the remainder of our Blackfish NCAA prospects, none of whom carry a strong chance of making any significant noise.

North Dakota currently sits as the fifth seed in the NCHC, with Jackson Kunz bouncing around the team’s top nine. He’s having a down year with 12 points and is a likely candidate to have his rights expire over the summer.

St. Cloud is the second-to-last seed, but Daimon Gardner has enjoyed a bit of an uptick in point production. He’s now grabbed four points over his last four games and has officially doubled his rookie totals from last year with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) through 28 games this season. St. Cloud isn’t considered a major factor in this year’s playoffs.

Finally, we have Matthew Perkins and Minnesota Duluth, who sit as the seventh seed. Unfortunately, Perkins has slipped and now plays extra forward in some cases. He’s had just four assists through 26 games.

In Sweden, Lucas Forsell and his Farjestad team currently sit third and are poised for a deep playoff run in the SHL. They also made the Champions League finals this season and have a good chance of doubling that success with a berth in the SHL finals.

The playoffs begin in mid-March.

Finally, we have Hugo Gabrielson, who will be looking to help his Allsvenskan team, Nybro, get promoted to the SHL. They will finish within the 7-10 ranked zone, meaning they must battle in a best-of-three match to advance to the quarterfinals. From there, they take on a best-of-seven bracket all the way until the finals, where the top team will receive a promotion to the SHL.

It’s been a banner year for Gabrielson, who has hit career highs in assists (19) and points (24) while playing a valuable top-pairing, top power play role for Nybro.

Enjoy the playoff push, folks!