Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report, your weekly deep dive into the Vancouver Canucks’ sprawling prospect pipeline.
We’ve got much to unpack, from the AHL’s barnstorming Abbotsford squad to the CHL’s playoff warriors and beyond. Buckle up — this week’s edition is bursting with heroics, heartbreak, and a few tantalizing glimpses of what’s to come.

Abbotsford Canucks (AHL)

The Abbotsford Canucks are flirting with a few markers for their mid-week game in Bakersfield on Tuesday.
Another weekend sweep has stretched their winning streak to an impressive nine games, leaving them one victory shy of creating the franchise record — matching the AHL’s season-best run set by the Cleveland Monsters back in November.
What may be most impressive is that they continue to post wins despite having most of their heavy hitters plucked from their parent club in Vancouver.
Battered by a rash of injuries, Vancouver has raided Abbotsford’s cupboard like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet. Artūrs Šilovs? Gone (although sent back as of the weekend). Elias Pettersson? Up top. Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Linus Karlsson, Aatu Räty, Max Sasson, and Nils Åman all plucked away to plug holes in the big club’s lineup.
At this point, this isn’t a streak; it’s a statement about the impressive development and job well done by the staff in Abbotsford.
Instead, the goals are coming from a rotating cast of AHL veterans who’ve seized the spotlight.
This week, it was Nathan Smith’s turn to shine, erupting for his first four-point night of the season. Hot on his heels was Jujhar Khaira, who arrived a few weeks ago, grabbing three points.
It’s not the technical cast that we talk about here in the Blackfish Prospect report, but the prospect talk hasn’t dried up entirely. A few young guns are still holding down the fort.
Arshdeep Bains grabbed two assists over the weekend. One was a quick one-touch pass to Nate Smith in the bumper on the power play.
Bains now sits at 36 points in 42 games, just three back of Räty for the team lead. He’s climbing Abbotsford’s leaderboard with a quiet swagger.
Danila Klimovich, the Belarusian bulldozer, chipped in an assist and unleashed a team-high nine shots on goal.
Ty Mueller has slotted in as the third-line centre, adding another assist to his ledger, putting him up to 34 points in 58 games for his rookie season.
Vancouver’s Building Blue series summed it up perfectly: Mueller’s two-way game and blistering speed are his calling card. We’ve been singing his praises for years (since his Nebraska-Omaha days), and watching this kid blossom feels like a bit of a personal victory.
Kirill Kudryavtsev was also featured in the latest Building Blue installment. The Russian blueliner’s stat sheet has dipped lately, but don’t let that fool you. He’s still logging monster minutes and playing rock-solid hockey as a cornerstone of Abbotsford’s back end.
But the real magic? It’s happening between the pipes.
Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young have turned Abbotsford’s crease into a brick wall.
Tolopilo was a beast on Friday, turning aside 38 of 39 shots for his fourth straight win. Over that stretch, he’s stopped 119 of 124 shots faced, making him one of the league’s hottest netminders.
Then there’s the 20-year-old rookie. Young has faced a lighter workload but still came up with a win, stopping 18 of 19 shots for his fifth consecutive victory.
Alas, his time in the AHL has ended (for now). Arturs Šilovs’ reassignment to Abbotsford late in the weekend sent Young packing back to Kalamazoo in the ECHL. He leaves with his head high and an AHL five-game winning streak.

Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Playoffs

All six Canucks prospects in the CHL punched their playoff tickets, and the postseason is already in full tilt.
Barrie Colts (OHL) – Lead Niagara IceDogs 2-0
Is there a hotter prospect in hockey right now than Anthony Romani? Doubtful. The former sixth-round gem is torching the OHL playoffs already, capping off Monday with his first career postseason hat trick.
That’s three straight multi-goal games, dating back to the regular season finale. His strong play has propelled the Barrie Colts to a 2-0 series lead over Niagara.
Romani’s goals came in various forms: a clever redirection, a patient display of soft hands, and a pair of top-shelf lasers.
This kid’s a one-man wrecking crew lately, dating back a few weeks now, and the Colts — series favorites — are riding his wave.
Oh, and Riley Patterson notched his first playoff point with an assist from the side of the net.
Brampton Steelheads (OHL) – Tied with Oshawa Generals 1-1
Over in Brampton, the Steelheads are knotted at 1-1 with the Oshawa Generals after splitting the opening pair. Unfortunately, they continue to do so without Vilmer Alriksson.
The towering forward remains sidelined with an upper-body injury that’s plagued the back half of his season. No timeline has been sent out, but here’s hoping he’s back soon.
Calgary Hitmen (WHL) – Lead Saskatoon Blades 2-0
Sawyer Mynio and the Calgary Hitmen are off to a roaring start, taking both games to kick off their playoff run against Swift Current.
Mynio dished out two primary assists, setting the table for a 10-3 series goal margin that has left the Broncos reeling. The Kamloops native continues to play heavy minutes in all citations for a stacked Hitmen squad. It should be a fun run to keep tabs on.
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) – Tied with Prince Albert Raiders 1-1
Parker Alcos and the Edmonton Oil Kings are locked in a tighter battle, splitting their first two games with the Prince Albert Raiders.
Alcos didn’t hit the scoresheet, but he wasn’t quiet — firing eight shots on net while finishing minus-1. The series now shifts to Prince Albert for Games 3 and 4.
Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) – Lead Charlottetown Islanders 2-0
Basile Sansonnens and the Rimouski Océanic are making it look easy, steamrolling Charlottetown by a 16-2 margin through two games.
Sansonnens grabbed his first career QMJHL playoff assist over the weekend, and it was a beauty:
Grabbing the puck off a faceoff just outside the zone, driving wide, circling the net, and delivering a pinpoint wraparound feed to a teammate at the netfront.
Add a plus-3 rating and three shots on target, and you’ve got a quietly stellar week for the Canucks’ QMJHL rep. Rimouski is a QMJHL juggernaut, and Sansonnens is along for the ride.

NCAA National Tournament

The beat goes on for Tom Willander’s sophomore season with Boston University.
The NCAA National Tournament kicked off last week, and the Terriers — featuring Willander and Aiden Celebrini — opened their Sweet 16 slate against Ohio State in a game that had everything.
The Buckeyes came out swinging, tilting the ice with a 15-2 shot advantage and a 1-0 lead. Then the second period exploded: three goals in 42 seconds — two from BU, one from Ohio — leaving the game knotted at 3-3.
Early in the third, Canucks’ own Celebrini broke the deadlock, streaking down the wing and ripping a knee-high shot far side to handcuff Ohio’s goalie. Tom Willander picked up the secondary assist here, marking the first Canucks-combo of the season.
That 4-3 lead unleashed the floodgates — BU piled on four more goals to send Ohio State packing 8-3, with Celebrini’s tally standing as the game-winner.
Next up was Cornell, fresh off an upset of Michigan State.
The Terriers and Big Red (Cornell) traded blows in a thrilling overtime clash. However, BU got the last laugh, punching their ticket to the Frozen Four for the 25th time in program history.
Willander, the Canucks’ prized defensive prospect, was his usual steady self — eating minutes, killing plays, and keeping chaos at bay.
While it’s terrific news from a developmental standpoint, as you want your top prospects playing in big-moment games, it does put a damper on those expected to get a good look at his game at the pro level.
This run pushes his season deeper into April, with the semifinals on April 10 and the final on April 12 in St. Louis. Vancouver’s regular season wraps April 16, leaving a razor-thin window for Willander to sign an Entry-Level Contract and suit up for the Canucks’ final few games.
Could it happen? Sure. Will it? That remains to be seen.
The likelier path has him signing post-tournament and joining Abbotsford for their inevitable playoff push.
Win or lose, these high-stakes games are gold for his development — big moments on a big stage, forging a blueliner who’s already turning heads.

Sweden (SHL Playoffs)

Across the pond, Lucas Forsell and Färjestad enjoyed a first-round bye into the SHL quarterfinals, only to see their playoff dreams dashed.
Despite clawing out two wins in their series, they dropped Game 6 in overtime. Forsell, stuck in a fourth-line and 13th-forward role, couldn’t muster a point for a quiet end to a season.
Now, the clock’s ticking. Vancouver has until June 1 (per PuckPedia) to ink him to an ELC, or his rights will slip away.
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