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Cootes scores first career AHL goal and Mueller scores a pair in Abbotsford Canucks’ opening weekend

Photo credit: Abbotsford Canucks

By Jacob Fraser

Oct 4, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 4, 2026, 17:21 EDT

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It wasn’t the start to the season the Abbotsford Canucks had hoped for as Vancouver’s AHL affiliate kicked off its season on the road with back-to-back losses to the Calgary Wranglers.

Both games ended in 4-2 losses, meaning rookie Head Coach Ryan Papaioannou will have to wait a bit longer for his first AHL win after taking over the team in place of Manny Malhotra.

Neither game was particularly strong for the Canucks, as the team struggled at times to make tape-to-tape passes and capitalize on their chances. Not to say it was a poor performance from Abbotsford, but they just weren’t in mid-season form where everything’s clicking.

That said, Canucks top prospect Braeden Cootes scored his first career goal. Ty Mueller scored in each game, and both Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young had solid nights as they split the two games.

Even if the overall team performance wasn’t quite outstanding, there were plenty of moments throughout the weekend where you could see flashes from the group and some individuals that will get you excited for what’s to come this season.

Game one

The Canucks had a very slow start to their first game of the season. Early in the game, Trey Fix-Wolansky had a good chance off the rush, set up by a risky cross-ice pass from Ilya Safonov in the defensive zone.

Outside of that, the only other good scoring opportunities the Canucks had came late in the first. On the team’s second power play of the night, a Fix-Wolansky dump-in took a strange bounce off the end boards and landed right out front on Cootes’ stick, but he backhanded a shot attempt wide. Cootes also made a nice play to set up Bennett Schimek in the slot, who blasted a one-timer just wide of the net.

The team gave up two goals in the first, and only managed to muster up three shots on goal despite two different power play opportunities.

In the second and third, however, Abbotsford seemed to find their footing, controlling most of the play. Riley Patterson and Cootes both had great scoring chances in the second, but Mueller finally found the back of the net, banging home a rebound off a Fix-Wolansky shot.

The other Canucks goal was scored by Jimmy Schuldt, following a great setup from Kirill Kudryavtsev. Kudryavtsev stepped out of the box after taking a penalty and carried the puck up ice, stopped at the top of the circle, and fed Schuldt, who was the trailer, and he made no mistake.

Tolopilo made some very good saves, finishing the night with 17 saves on 20 shots faced. The first and third goals against came from a couple of unfortunate bounces, and the Wranglers capped it off with an empty-netter to seal the 4-2 win.

Game two

The second of the back-to-back was a much better start for Abbotsford. Mueller got the party started halfway through the first, tipping home a Kudryavtsev shot after winning the draw.

Just a few minutes after that, the line of Cootes, Schimek, and Ben Berard had an extended shift in the offensive zone. The trio created multiple chances, mostly through Cootes, with Kudryavtsev once again chipping in to help maintain possession in the offensive zone.

The Wranglers scored the lone goal in the second period. The group of five Canucks, Safonov, Fix-Wolansky, Mueller, Schuldt, and Isaac Belliveau, were trapped on the ice for close to two minutes. The group had multiple chances to move the puck out of the zone and relieve pressure but were unsuccessful, and the puck ended up in the back of their net.

Vilmer Alriksson had a great battle up the ice with a Wranglers defenceman later on in the period and managed to break free for a breakaway, but was stopped by Wranglers goaltender Kirill Zarubin, who was excellent all night.

Tied at one heading into the third, Abbotsford gave up an early goal off a two-on-one shortly after a Canucks power play had expired.

The Canucks gave up three goals in the third, and outside of a few opportunities, the ice was tilted in Calgary’s favour for most of the period.

Late in the third, however, Cootes brought the Canucks back within one with a wrist shot from the half wall near the top of the circle that found its way through traffic and beat Zarubin above his blocker.

They applied a ton of pressure with the goalie pulled late in the third; Cootes had multiple chances but couldn’t beat Zarubin again. Possibly the best chances of the night came from a Fix-Wolansky set up by Cootes, but Fix-Wolansky ripped the one-timer wide with plenty of room to tie the game.

After an empty-netter, the Wranglers once again capped off their second 4-2 win over Abbotsford.

Standouts

The biggest standout this weekend was Cootes. In his first two AHL games, he was a major part of the Canucks offence and also had some strong defensive moments. His line with Berard and Schimek was the team’s best all weekend. Despite only combining for a single goal, Cootes and his linemates could have had at least a few more with the number of Grade A chances they created.

Cootes’s ability to manoeuvre through the neutral zone and set his teammates up in the offensive zone is what really stood out. There were multiple times he would find passing lanes through traffic to set up scoring chances; though they didn’t end up leading to goals, the production seems inevitable at some point given how often he was able to create for those around him.

In the defensive zone, Cootes showed why he’s considered such a strong two-way player. He was a puck hound, winning battles and pressuring opposing players. He did a great job of forcing turnovers in the defensive zone.

Fix-Wolansky and Mueller also had very strong performances. Mueller, of course, finished with a pair of goals, both of which came from him getting to the net front and either tipping or banging home a rebound. Fix-Wolansky, on the other hand, only came away with one assist this weekend but used his speed to enter the offensive zone with possession and had some great scoring chances that he unfortunately just couldn’t finish. Though there was a lot to like in his game as far as his offensive abilities go.

Patterson was quiet for the most part this weekend, but now and then he would show flashes of his two-way ability. He had a couple of very good scoring chances, while also winning battles in the defensive zone and was very strong on the Canucks penalty kill. There is definitely more to desire from him as the season goes on, but the potential is certainly there for an impactful rookie year from the former Canucks fourth-round pick.

On the defensive side, the two biggest standouts were Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio. Paired together on the first pairing, both Kudryavtsev and Mynio were excellent when it came to moving and carrying the puck up ice.

Kudryavtsev finished the weekend with a pair of assists, and although Mynio was held pointless, he looked very good quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit.

The other defenceman who stood out was Cole Clayton. Clayton didn’t necessarily stand out because he was a great puck mover or because he created a bunch of chances offensively; rather, he stood out because of the simplicity with which he played.

There were multiple moments when Clayton made the right play; he was very good at alleviating pressure and getting the puck out of the defensive zone. Plus-minus isn’t everything; in fact, it can be a useless stat at times, but it is worth mentioning that, in his case, he finished the weekend with an even plus-minus.

What’s next?

Next up on the schedule for Abbotsford is a back-to-back on October 9th and 10th in Colorado to take on the Eagles.

The Canucks will look to build off of some of the promise they showed in their first two games of the season, and hope to get their Head Coach his first career win in the AHL next weekend.

The October 9th game starts at 6:05 PM, while the October 10th puck drop is at 5:05 PM in Colorado.

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