Let\u2019s dive right in.<\/p>\n
Abbotsford Canucks If you\u2019re hunting for silver linings, we might be diving into draft-eligible chatter far earlier than expected this season. And that\u2019s music to the ears of prospect enthusiasts.<\/p>\n On a more serious note, the one genuine bright spot in Abbotsford remains the play of rookie defender Sawyer Mynio. He began the year as a sheltered third-pairing option, but injuries and call-ups vaulted him into low-to-mid-20s usage just weeks into his inaugural year. Even with recent reinforcements in Kirill Kudryavtsev and Victor Mancini returning to the farm, Mynio is still holding down the fort as the team\u2019s go-to option on both the top power play unit and the penalty kill.<\/p>\n Mynio picked up three assists over the weekend and now sits second on the team with nine points (two goals, seven assists). That total also puts him in a tie for second among all AHL rookie defencemen. He\u2019s being trusted in every situation and continues to shine as a small glimmer of light in an otherwise dark season.<\/p>\n As mentioned, Kudryavtsev is back down, and while Mynio has taken the reins as the top dog, the Russian defender has quietly continued to do his thing. He scored his first of the season over the weekend \u2014 part of a two-point outing in San Jose \u2014 and looked poised throughout.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not easy to walk away looking positive in Abbotsford games these days, but the two young blue-liners<\/a> are nowhere near the source of the team\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n Up front, there were encouraging signs as well.<\/p>\n Jonathan Lekkerim\u00e4ki, still working through what is very likely a conditioning stint, collected his second goal of the season and finished with a two-point effort.<\/p>\n He fired five shots on target and once again stood out as one of the most dangerous Canucks on the ice. The club spent too much time in the penalty box over the two-game set, cutting into his minutes slightly, but he remains one of the few pieces of genuine excitement in an otherwise stale offensive corps.<\/p>\n With Nils Aman out nursing an injury, Ty Mueller stepped up to centre the Swedish sharpshooter \u2014 and he\u2019s heating up. Mueller added another goal and assist over the weekend, giving him five points in his last five games. Unsurprisingly, those points are likely the direct link to a boost in play lately. His board work, puck patience, and overall presence all seem to have taken a step forward.<\/p>\n Vilmer Alriksson chipped in offensively too, scoring a goal while also collecting two separate 10-minute misconducts. As noted in the last few instalments, he\u2019s been used heavily as a net-front presence and has earned top-six minutes for a decent stretch of time now.<\/p>\n With his big frame, he\u2019s generated a steady diet of chances from the bumper spot and finally buried one. Now sitting second on the team with 33 penalty minutes, he\u2019s showing real snarl \u2014 and honestly, we love it.<\/p>\n In goal, Nikita Tolopilo<\/a> returned to the crease and started both games of the back-to-back. He played well \u2014 making 31 and 28 saves respectively \u2014 but didn\u2019t get the offensive support needed to push either game over the line. Given how this season is trending, it might be time to judge Abbotsford\u2019s goalies more on their difficult saves than their stat lines, because those numbers are destined to look rough behind a team carrying a league-worst minus-45 goal differential.<\/p>\n He\u2019s back up in Vancouver and will join the team on their upcoming California road trip.<\/p>\n CHL The Vancouver Canucks\u2019 2025 first-rounder, Braeden Cootes, may need to be rebranded as the Teddy Bear Whisperer. Seattle held its annual Teddy Bear Toss night over the weekend. To the delight of Canucks fans, it was Cootes who pulled the trigger to unleash the wave of Teddys. Driving confidently into the middle of the ice, he spun and snapped a shot on goal \u2014 one the netminder would certainly want back \u2014 and the bears rained down.<\/p>\n Braeden Cootes (#Canucks<\/a>) makes the teddy bears rain \ud83e\uddf8 <\/p>\n Just look at this mess\u2026<\/p>\n That was one of two goals he scored on the weekend. The night prior, he won an offensive-zone faceoff cleanly back to the point, then quietly faded into space into the slot as the puck worked its way down the wall. When the pass came, he was loaded up and ready, hammering a one-timer home: textbook centre support, perfect timing, and another tick on the scoresheet.<\/p>\n COOTES!<\/p>\n Braeden Cootes wins the face-off before blasting the one timer home. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Cootes wrapped the weekend with two goals, nine shots, and a plus-3 across two games. He\u2019s now tied for fourth in Thunderbirds scoring with seven goals and 17 points in 12 games.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll have a full breakdown of his overall game soon, so we\u2019ll leave it there for now. But it\u2019s hard not to like what he\u2019s bringing as a centreman who seems to be everywhere, all the time.<\/p>\n Alexei Medvedev cooled off slightly this past week \u2014 if we can even call it that. He split his two starts, stopping 32 of 36 in a 5\u20132 loss (with an empty-netter against) before bouncing back with a tidy 21-save win.<\/p>\n If you prefer the glass-half-empty view, Medvedev hasn\u2019t strung together back-to-back wins since early November. But with the glass-half-full lens, he hasn\u2019t suffered back-to-back losses all season, either. Every time he drops a game, he\u2019s answered with a win.<\/p>\n Over in Brampton, Gabriel Chiarot is charging up the Steelheads\u2019 leaderboard thanks to a few more points that included a shorthanded goal. He now leads the club with 10 goals, sits second with 18 points, and is second with a plus-8, one of the few forwards on the roster with a plus rating.<\/p>\n Gabe Chiarot shorthanded \ud83c\udfaf <\/p>\n And in Edmonton, Parker Alcos is fully back. After easing in on the third line following his return, he jumped right back onto the Oil Kings\u2019 top unit and didn\u2019t miss a beat. He added another plus-3 to his ledger and now sits at plus-16 on the season, putting him near the top of the WHL\u2019s defensive leaderboard.<\/p>\n NCAA Player highlight \u2013 Wilson Bj\u00f6rck<\/p>\n There wasn\u2019t much happening for Canucks prospects at the NCAA level this past week \u2014 except for Wilson Bj\u00f6rck, who delivered one of the nicer overtime winners you\u2019ll see this season.<\/p>\n After collecting the puck in his own end, he built speed through the neutral zone, got it back on the return pass, slipped around the defender with a quick inside move, and snapped a shot under the bar to end it. There\u2019s nothing quite like the ping of a perfectly placed shot like that, right?<\/p>\n Wilson Bj\u00f6rck called game last night with the OT winner. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\nOh boy. The Abbotsford Canucks hit the quarter mark of their season on Saturday night, playing their 18th game and adding another loss to extend their latest skid to four straight. Through those 18 games, they\u2019ve managed just three wins, two of which came during opening weekend back in mid-October. To say times are tough may be an understatement, and that sentiment is stretching clean across both tiers of Canucks hockey<\/a> right now.<\/p>\n
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