Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report.
First of all, Happy New Year to all our dedicated readers.
With school (NCAA) out for winter break and various leagues with softer schedules, it was a quick hiatus for us here at Blackfish. But we are back and ready to go with another jam-packed edition of our weekly report.
From World Juniors, several trades and a few new hot streaks to report, we are excited to be back!
Let’s dive right in.

Abbotsford Canucks

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the merriest of Christmases for the Abbotsford Canucks. After a red-hot December, the team wrapped up 2024 and began the new year sporting a six-game losing skid. In other words, they’ve lost each game since we took our holiday Blackfish hiatus.
Much of that can be attributed to a lack of scoring from the top brass. Over the last four games, the line of Jonathan Lekkerimäki (one goal, one assist), Aatu Räty (one goal, one assist), and Arshdeep Bains (two assists) have combined for just two goals and six points.
For Lekkerimäki, his goal, the 12th of his AHL campaign, came on the power play after being left alone at the side of the net. Yes, it was on the power play, but you have to appreciate the patience shown to wait out Devin Cooley and beat him far side.
Despite the lack of recent production, the 20-year-old (just three points in his last seven AHL games) got his second kick at the NHL following an emergency call-up due to Dakota Joshua falling on IR.
Slow stretch or not, he still leads all U21 skaters with 12 goals on the season, so things are trending just fine. In fact, things seem to be tending great, as he collected two points on Monday evening, including this vintage Lekkerimäki release.
For Räty, he found his goal courtesy of a Cole McWard rebound. Although he only has one goal to show for his efforts, he has led the charge over the last four games with 12 shots.
At 22, coming off a career year last year (56 points) and a handful of NHL experience earlier this season, we expected a little more production from him. While the team as a whole is struggling, it’s up to a higher-pedigree and now veteran-like player such as him to pick up the slack. It’s not that he’s looked out of place; it’s just been a struggle for most skaters to maintain any consistency over the last few weeks.
Most of the top dogs are slumping, and that stretches down to Ty Mueller, who has just one goal over his last four games.
With constant lineup changes, Mueller has bounced back and forth between a second and third-line centre role. He’s still contributing 16 points across 31 games and doing all the little things right.
As you could expect from a six-game losing skid, the defence has not contributed much either.
Kirill Kudryavtsev, who grabbed two assists and a plus-2 over the four games, has been one of the bright spots for this team.
He continues to enjoy time all over the map this year and has recently seen time on the top-four, penalty kill, and has established himself as a permanent fixture to the team’s power play. With 16 points, he’s firing at a 40-point pace to sit third among all U21 defenders.
Elias Pettersson has found a new home on the team’s top unit, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. He’s been a key factor in their games and has seen his ice-time average jump up over 18 minutes (he sees over 20 minutes occasionally).
The majority of that can be directly attributed to the fact that he eats up minutes on the penalty kill – the more penalties, the higher the playing time. Offensively, he’s right behind Kudryavtsev with 12 points but also carries a higher plus/minus (plus-5) and sits just behind Jett Woo for most hits on this Abbotsford team.
Between the pipes, both starting netminders – Arturs Silovs and Nikita Tolopilo – sport three-game losing streaks, conceding nine goals and seven goals, respectively, during that span. Silovs has been recalled on an emergency basis, so it’s Tolopilo’s crease for now.
Although, Ty Young is back in Abbotsford after being sent back down in mid-December. He posted a 2-2-0-0 record during a four-game stint down in Kalamazoo, allowing 10 goals on 109 shots.

CHL

Things have been happening at the Junior level, whether it be the World Juniors, hot streaks, or big trades.
Let’s start with the trades.
If you remember from our last Blackfish installment in December, Vilmer Alriksson was dealt from the struggling Guelph Storm to the Brampton Steelheads.
That started the domino effect, and Sawyer Mynio and Anthony Romani were next up on the move.
Mynio, fresh off his stint with Team Canada, was sent to the Calgary Hitmen, who sit third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. He’ll join offensive defenceman dynamo Carter Yakemchuk, which could mean a slightly lighter role in terms of power play deployment and such.
He did not dress for Sunday’s game, so his next opportunity to make his Hitmen debut will be on Wednesday, January 8th, in Moose Jaw.
Over in the OHL, the injured Anthony Romani was also on the move. Still nursing his broken clavicle bone, Romani heads to the Barrie Colts to join his fellow draft mate, Riley Patterson.
Barrie is primed for a long playoff push, so this sets up for an exciting spring in terms of Canucks ties. Romani has only played in six games this season after sustaining his injury on October 11th but has already been seen in full gear practicing with the Colts. His return to the lineup should be soon.
Speaking of Patterson, he’s been red-hot as of late following a slower start to his draft-plus-one year. With nine points (six goals, three assists) over his last six games, the Ontario native is pressing toward reclaiming his spot as a point-per-game player. With 17 goals, he co-leads the Colts, while his 31 points sit third – just three back of the leader.
We love his drive to go to the hard spots on the ice, as he has been scoring many of his goals near the blue paint. It should be a fun spring with him and Romani skating next to each other.
Alriksson has now suited up in three matches with his new OHL club and has contributed five points (one goal, four assists), five shots, and a plus-4, including a very nice assist.
He’s been playing on the team’s second line and now joins Canada’s Porter Martone (draft-eligible) and Carson Rehkopf (Seattle Kraken) as potent offensive juggernauts.
But it wasn’t just the forwards who were red-hot. Parker Alcos, who has had a very slow start to his draft-plus-one season, thrived during the break, scoring his first goal and six assists to give him 13 points on the year – just two shy of his draft-eligible season.
More importantly, he went plus-11 in the six games over the holiday, jumping up to the second pairing, making him a positive skater for the new year. His ice time has jumped 10-fold, hovering from around 16 minutes and now has begun to hit the 20s, going as high as 24 minutes in mid-December.
Here’s a specific clip that showcased some of his game. He cuts off the angle, takes his man, and shuts down any sort of push. He sticks with his man, although he gets slightly beaten in front of the net. He collects the puck and sends a heads-up stretch pass to kickstart the play the other way.

NCAA

It was winter break at school, so it was a quiet time in the NCAA. However, Jackson Dorrington picked up a couple of assists, including a pretty bank stretch pass.
He’s averaging 22:39 minutes as an important top-four piece to the Northeastern backend. He is one of the team’s primary penalty killers and shutdown guys. He sits fourth in Hockey East with 30 blocked shots.

Sweden

It was a relatively quiet stretch for the Swedish skaters.

World Juniors

As a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, all eyes were on Tom Willander, and he did not disappoint. Sweden entered the tournament as a favourite, and Willander played a pivotal role in the team’s journey, taking on heavy minutes and showcasing why he’s viewed as a key piece of the Canucks’ future.
Sweden was the only team to go undefeated in the preliminary round, finishing 4-0 in a somewhat easier pool. Willander stood out in nearly every game, leading the team in ice time in all but one match. He quarterbacked the top power play unit, a new role for him at the international level, and demonstrated an ability to generate offence from the blue line.
His two goals, both on the man advantage, highlighted his quick-release wrist shot and progressive and smart puck movement.
By the end of the preliminaries, Willander had logged five points (two goals and three assists) and fired a tournament-leading 15 shots among defenders. His poised two-way game and ability to shut down top competition stood out as he carried Sweden’s defensive corps on his back.
Unfortunately, Sweden’s perfect record didn’t translate into a medal. In the semifinals, Willander took an untimely and debatable holding penalty in overtime, which led to Finland’s game-winning goal and sent Sweden to the bronze medal game. Against Czechia, Sweden battled hard but ultimately lost in a marathon 14-round shootout, falling short of the podium.
Despite the disappointing finish, Willander was one of the tournament’s top defenders, ranking fourth in points among blueliners and second in shots. He was also the second most utilized player in the entire tournament, logging 170:31.
His strong showing cemented his status as one of the most polished prospects in Vancouver’s system and further proved that his pro-ready status isn’t far off.
For Sawyer Mynio, the World Juniors was a bittersweet experience. As a third-round pick in 2023, Mynio entered the tournament with a chance to make his Hockey Canada debut on the international stage. However, his opportunities were limited, as he found himself in a depth role and scratched for the first two games.
Mynio finally got into the lineup midway through the tournament after injuries struck Canada’s blue line. In his debut against Germany, he made an immediate impact with a primary assist on a crucial goal and showcased his crisp passing and steady decision-making.
Canada’s tournament ended in heartbreak, losing a dramatic quarterfinal matchup to Czechia. Mynio’s role in the tournament was minimal, but the experience gained playing in such high-stakes games is just another notch on his already impressive resume (back-to-back WHL finals) and should benefit his development moving forward.
It was clear that Mynio was there to perform his duties in a certain role. While he played relatively mistake-free hockey, we were left wanting more, as he expectedly played a safe and calculated tournament.
Now back in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen following a midseason trade, Mynio will look to take on a new role as his new team gears up for a playoff run.
At just 18 years old, Basile Sansonnens entered the World Juniors as one of the youngest players on Team Switzerland. Drafted in the seventh round in 2024, Sansonnens wasn’t expected to take on a major role, and his limited ice time reflected that.
Skating exclusively on Switzerland’s third pairing, Sansonnens played a steady defensive game but didn’t contribute much offensively. His focus was on shutting down opponents and protecting his net, and while he had some bright moments breaking up plays and moving the puck up-ice, there were also signs of his inexperience against top competition.
Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals but ran into a juggernaut in Team USA, who dominated in a 7-2 victory. Sansonnens played sparingly, logging just over 11 minutes, and finished the tournament with a minus-2 rating and two shots on goal. While his tournament performance didn’t stand out, it was a valuable learning experience for the young defender as he continues his development in the QMJHL with the Rimouski Océanic.
Thanks for checking in as we drift back into our regular programming here at Blackfish.
Sponsored by bet365