The oldest prospect on our list, Ty Mueller is one of just two players featured in this series to have played NHL games. As a former fourth-round pick, that’s a success story in and of itself.

Mueller joined the Abbotsford Canucks in 2024-25 and made an immediate impact for then-head coach Manny Malhotra. He started in a bottom-six centre role and quickly moved up the ranks based on his strong two-way play. In that first year, Mueller scored 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points in 62 games and was noticed by the big club, earning himself a two-game stint in Vancouver.

Throughout Abbotsford’s postseason run, Mueller was a relied-upon centre for Malhotra. He centred the second line while Aatu Räty was out with injury, playing in pivotal defensive situations, in the dying minutes to protect the lead and on the penalty kill. With Malhotra – a faceoff ace during his playing days – running the bench, it says something that Mueller was his go-to faceoff man during that run.

With Max Sasson and Räty graduating to the NHL last season, Mueller was thrust into Abbotsford’s top centre role. He continued to play in all three facets of the game. And despite all the losing, what was most impactful for Mueller last year was his increased number of puck touches as one of the team’s top offensive players. That was a role he was shadowed in previously.

Mueller became more of a shooter and found success on the power play, doubling his previous goal total with the man advantage from the year prior. He’s got a sneaky release that can catch opposing netminders off guard, and with the puck on his stick more, further developed his playmaking ability.

In his first two-game stint with Vancouver in 2024-25, Mueller played a more sheltered role. However, when the Cochrane, Alberta native got that two-game stint in 2025-26, he brought that offensive momentum with him in Vancouver, picking up his first NHL assist on Curtis Douglas’ first NHL goal, and lit the lamp himself in Edmonton with friends and family in attendance.

Dating back to his rookie year in Abbotsford, this author has been especially impressed with Mueller’s play. He doesn’t do anything flashy on offence, but he gets it done defensively, which has us believing he has the potential to be a full-time bottom-six NHLer.

Ceiling: His absolute ceiling is a third-line defensive centre who can kill penalties. Do we think he’ll get there? Time will tell, but carving out a role as a fourth-line centre in Vancouver seems feasible.

Floor: There is no such thing as a lock for prospects, but we feel fairly optimistic that somewhere out there is a fourth-line centre role for him in the NHL. However, we are certain Mueller can at least remain at his current level as a top-six forward in the American League.

ETA: As a 23-year-old, he still has some runway to become a full-time bottom-six centre option in Vancouver. However, he will have to overcome some other budding centres developing around him. Braeden Cootes will likely play ahead of him in Abbotsford if he doesn’t make the NHL club out of training camp. Riley Patterson took massive steps in his offensive development this season. Now throw in Caleb Malhotra and Brooks Rogowski, who are ahead of him in the prospect system, and Mueller might have an uphill battle. What is on his side to potentially earn more than a pair of NHL games this season is that his only professional head coach, Manny Malhotra, who depended on him in crucial situations, is now in charge of Vancouver’s bench. He’ll need to get some serious run in Vancouver this season if he hopes to become a mainstay in the Canucks’ rebuild.

Keep up to speed with our rankings so far with our honourable mentions and criteria, and our rankings thus far:

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