Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report.

We find ourselves in that awkward mid-September phase where training camp has us all on the edge of our seats, begging for in-game hockey action. And yet, we feel so far away.

Alas, we push forward.

With the Vancouver Canucks’ Young Stars and training camp now wrapped up, we turn our attention to the pre-season, where we’ll see several names fight to earn the trust of this team’s coaching staff. Roster spots in Vancouver may already be spoken for, but there will be several names in various positions looking to impress and be the first to enjoy a cup of coffee and earn a quick NHL salary.

After four on-ice sessions and a Blue vs. White scrimmage, the club announced its first wave of cuts. As expected, this list consisted primarily of the invitee list and several AHL/ECHL-bound names.

Riley Patterson (Barrie Colts), Anthony Romani (North Bay Battalion), Parker Alcos (Edmonton Oil Kings), and Basile Sansonnens (Rimouski Oceanic) were also among those sent back to their respective Junior clubs.

While there was an outside chance we might have seen one or two of these recent draft picks, it’s unsurprising that they were ultimately returned to junior hockey without pre-season action. After all, with some of these players just turning 18 and none considered high-level talents, there’s no need to rush them into the professional ranks against seasoned players fighting for NHL contracts.

Interestingly, a few junior-bound prospects have stuck around a bit longer, though. While Kirill Kudryavtsev and Ty Young are pushing for professional spots, it’s a good sign that both Vilmer Alriksson and Sawyer Mynio survived the first wave of cuts. Although neither is expected to make the pro teams this year, their extended stay at camp is a testament to their strong performances over the past week in Penticton and their impression on the coaching staff. Both could push for professional spots by spring, so this offers a few more days of soaking in that game-day environment before heading back to the U20 ranks.

All four of these prospects were specifically mentioned by Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet at various times throughout the week.

Mynio, recovering from the flu, had a quiet Young Stars showing but turned heads during training camp. Tocchet praised his aggressive play and noted that he held his own against tough competition, even mentioning a specific drill where Mynio went one-on-one with the team’s top offensive player, J.T. Miller.

“He’s a good player,” Tocchet remarked. “He’s got a lot of potential. I’m watching him go against JT Miller one-on-one — that’s tough — but I’ve liked his game, you know? And he’s got a lot of things you’re looking for.”

We’ve been high on the Kamloops natives game here at CanucksArmy, so compliments like that are music to our ears.

Prospect-wise, one of the key questions heading into this season is where Kirill Kudryavtsev will ultimately land. We ran a summer prediction Blackfish Report, in which we predicted Kirill could return to the junior ranks. While we are confident in most of our predictions, we may be eating crow on this one. Happily, of course.

After a strong week and a glowing review from the coaching staff, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Kudryavtsev will push for a spot on Abbotsford’s defence rather than return to the junior ranks.

Just ask Rick Tocchet: “I think he’s going to push that Abbotsford defence,” Tocchet told the media in Penticton.

Ty Young, who had a challenging 2023-24 season in Prince George, also made an impression this week. From a strong Young Stars performance to a solid showing at camp and the Blue vs White scrimmage, he’s demonstrated strong growth in his third NHL camp. Tocchet mentioned that newly appointed goalie coach Marco Torenius is a big fan of Young and has worked closely with him from afar throughout the year. Heck, he even went to Prince George a few times last season to get some hands-on work done. With that relationship in mind, we believe that there is a strong chance Young could see time in Kalamazoo this season. It will be a battle between him and Jonathan Lemiuex (AHL signed), and because they believe in Young’s ability, we could see him get the lion’s share of starts. If not, there are rumblings of a possible WHL trade that could guarantee him a starting role.

Finally, there’s Vilmer Alriksson, who has been turning heads all week. Considering the glowing reviews from the coaching staff and his strong performance in Group A at training camp, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a few looks in pre-season action. While a return to Guelph is inevitable for the 19-year-old, he has undoubtedly raised his stock this fall.

As we transition into the pre-season, Rick Tocchet has already confirmed that several prospects will get a solid look over the next six games.

Of course, all eyes will be on Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who has been skating alongside Elias Pettersson and Jake Debrusk since the opening day of training camp. While there are still questions about his physical readiness, one thing is clear: the kid can shoot. Even with that shot, he’ll have to put up one incredible performance to cement a role with those two for game one of the NHL season. If not, there’s just no need or rush to have him further down the lineup in the NHL.

The same goes for Aatu Räty, who has been lined up next to Conor Garland and Nils Höglander. Räty has shown significant improvement this fall, including his skating stride. He was instrumental in Garland’s goal during Sunday’s scrimmage and should get plenty of looks over the next few weeks.

Like Lekkerimäki, we are still set on Abbotsford being the best landing spot for Räty out of camp. However, we’d be remiss not to give credit where credit is due — he looks good.

Tocchet mentioned that Lekkerimäki and Räty should each get “three to four games” during the pre-season. You can expect the same for players like Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, and Jett Woo as they vie for spots, either out of camp or as call-up options this season.

Pettersson, who has been paired alongside Filip Hronek all week, is also expected to get a solid look. While we still predict a year in Abbotsford for him, you know Tocchet appreciates the gritty aspect of his game and will likely give him some good opportunities.

One somewhat surprising name throughout the week has been Josh Bloom, and not in a positive light. Expected to battle for a spot in Abbotsford, Bloom hasn’t been given much opportunity to showcase his abilities. He only played on the fourth line in two of the three Young Stars games and spent camp in Group C, primarily skating with AHL hopefuls and junior players. Surprisingly, he was sent home early without getting a single pre-season game. At the same time, other prospects like Ty Mueller, Vilmer Alriksson, Nate Smith, and Tristen Nielsen have earned more opportunities.

While expectations were never that of an NHL spot, the lack of opportunity was slightly puzzling.

Cole McWard, who underwent summer surgery, was on the ice before training camp and participated daily throughout the week. He was pressing hard in his drills, which is a good sign, but the team still considers him week-to-week.

Over in Sweden, the SHL kicked off its 2024-25 campaign over the weekend. Despite starting the year with the J20 team, Melvin Fernström earned a spot on Örebro’s SHL roster for opening day, albeit in a fourth-line role. While his 9:27 of ice time didn’t provide much to report on, one thing was clear: he’s trying to improve his engagement in all three zones. Despite the narrative that he lacks that extra gear, it’s quite clear that he is consciously trying to finish his forecheck and be a little more aggressive and nasty toward puck carriers.

As the first man in on a chip-and-chase, that forechecking led to his first SHL point, a secondary assist, in his seventh regular-season game.

Warming the bench while seeing less than 10 minutes of ice time in the SHL isn’t ideal, but it’s not the best be-all or end-all. We anticipate that he’ll jump between the U20 and SHL levels, which will maximize playing time in his draft-plus-one season. At least, that’s the hope, anyway.

Speaking of warming the bench, Lucas Forsell also made his season debut after skating in six Champions League matches. Unfortunately, he was right back to the sub-10 minutes of ice time we saw last season. Färjestad is expected to be an SHL powerhouse, so it is disappointing that we may not see Forsell enjoy increased minutes as we had hoped.

By now, you may be thinking to yourself, why do we like Forsell so much?

It’s because Forsell’s game has elements that beg for attention, whether it’s his work without the puck or the crafty offensive knack with it on his stick. Last week, we saw that he could deposit the puck when left all alone, and last year, he showed off one or two highlight-reel-worthy goals.

Without the puck and whether on the forecheck or along the boards, Forsell never quits, and his strong board work is something coaches love to see. As you’ll see from the few examples below, he is incredibly hard to get off the puck from the boards.

Long shot or not, there’s plenty to appreciate about Forsell’s game, and we’ll continue to track his progress from overseas.

That does it for another week. Be sure to check back next week, as we will have Canucks pre-season action, along with Junior games to chat about.