It’s true, the American Hockey League is above all else, a developmental league.

But what’s happened to the Abbotsford Canucks’ blue line early this season has been as taxing as it gets.

With long-term injuries hitting veteran defenders Jett Woo and Guillaume Brisebois before the season even began, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate was already leaning on youth to shoulder heavy minutes.

Then came a string of injuries and call-ups in Vancouver, and one by one, those youthful reinforcements were pulled from the lineup to head for greener pastures.

First, it was Victor Mancini, who’s now nursing an injury of his own while listed on Vancouver’s roster. Then Kirill Kudryavtsev. Then Tom Willander.

Each took turns returning for a game in Abbotsford, but the carousel has now left all three up with Vancouver on their current road trip and on the team’s roster for an unpredictable amount of time.

That’s left just one — the youngest of the four — to carry the load.

Sawyer Mynio, eight games into his rookie season, has swiftly become the stabilizing force on Abbotsford’s back end to hold down the fort while reinforcements return.

Unsurprisingly, head coach Manny Malhotra has maintained a calm, steady tone throughout these uncharted times. For him, it’s not about what’s missing, but what can be learned.

“We always look at these not as adversity, but opportunities to learn,” Malhotra told Abbotsford Canucks play-by-play voice Brandon Astle.

And that belief has shown in Mynio’s recent deployment.

Rather than leaning on experience — like 30-year-old Jimmy Schuldt, a 362‑game AHL veteran and former captain of the San Jose Barracuda, or 27‑year‑old Nikolai Knyzhov, who brings both AHL and NHL experience — Malhotra has handed the keys of the blue line to his youngest defenceman as his go-to “all-situations” rearguard.

And judging by the way the Kamloops native has responded to increased responsibility, those minutes are not a token gesture either.

Mynio’s game has improved steadily with each passing game, and today that usage has taken a sharp jump. According to Instat, he has eclipsed the 27-minute mark in each of his last three games, logging minutes on the top power‑play unit, top penalty‑kill unit, and top defensive pair.

Suddenly, what was originally a sub-20-minute third pairing role he was seeing just two weeks ago in Laval, Quebec, has transformed into a dive into the deep end at the professional ranks.

“[Mynio is] A guy that has probably been put in a situation where he normally otherwise wouldn’t be in terms of the minutes that he’s logging. But he’s done a good job of just playing with that confidence and poise that we’ve come to know him to play,” said Malhotra.

Of course, heavy minutes aren’t exactly new for Mynio. Over the past two seasons, he’s been leaned on heavily as a go‑to defenceman in the WHL.

But it’s one thing to play 25 minutes a night against teenagers — it’s another to do it against grown professionals.

“I think just the size and speed,” Mynio said when describing his early transition to post‑game media. “There are a lot of men out here, obviously. Everyone is in their at least 20s, 30s. So, it’s a big jump playing from 16‑year‑olds to grown men out there.”

Listed at 6‑foot‑1 and 185 pounds, Mynio doesn’t boast the biggest frame, but what he lacks in mass, he compensates for in two traits: aggression and mobility.

“The thing that stands out, and thing that he will continue to need to use to his advantage is his ability to skate and get up the ice,” Malhotra said. “He is a beautiful skater.”

There’s one additional tool in his kit that has finally shown up in recent games, which directly correlates to his added minutes and puck touches.

That’s his shot.

Over the previous two seasons, Mynio finished with the fourth-highest goal totals (30) among all WHL defenders, while his 98 points sat ninth. With a heavy release, he’s shown the ability to beat netminders clean with his effective one-timer.

Thanks to his elevated minutes, he’s now finding a way to translate that release in the American League.

In Abbotsford’s first homestand of the season, Mynio found the back of the net twice, with both goals coming courtesy of his heavy, accurate shot from the point. He now joins a small group of four rookie defenders with a pair of goals in their first season. That list includes Ottawa Senators’ 2024 seventh overall pick, Carter Yakemchuk.

It’s the kind of weapon that can separate a young defenceman from the pack and solidify his standing in the depth chart.

For a player fresh out of junior, these are rare opportunities. The AHL can be unforgiving for rookies – especially defencemen – who often spend their first year adjusting to speed, structure, and physical maturity.

But in Mynio’s case, there’s been no safety net. While the hope is that he doesn’t have to shoulder this weight for an extended period of time, his poise during tough times is a tremendous endorsement of where he stands among a growing pipeline of impressive young defenders.

And as the Canucks continue to weather injuries up and down their lineup, it’s been the calm, unflappable presence of their youngest defender that’s kept them afloat.