Ryan Papaioannou’s new assignment in Abbotsford looks a lot like the kind of work he’s been doing for years - only now the pipeline runs toward the Vancouver Canucks.
The 41-year-old was hired last week as head coach of the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, stepping into the job vacated by Manny Malhotra, who was promoted last month to take over the parent club’s bench. Papaioannou comes in with a long track record of building teams and moving players up the ladder, first in junior hockey and then, last season, in the pro ranks with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers, a Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate.
Before that, he spent 16 seasons running the Brooks Bandits as both coach and general manager, turning the club into a Junior A juggernaut. Brooks went 714-152-51 in the regular season during his time there, won eight league titles and four Canadian championships, and at one point ripped off 55 straight regular-season wins across two seasons.
The Bandits also became a major launch pad for NCAA hockey, sending 150 players to college programs. Among them was Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.
Papaioannou sees a clear line between that job and the one he’s taking on now.
“I think it’s very similar to what we did in Brooks trying to get guys to college and last year trying to get guys to the AHL,” Papaioannou said of this job in Abbotsford. “Now we’re trying to get as many guys prepared so that when the opportunity in Vancouver comes they aren’t just going there to fill space. We want them to be successful.
“We want them to contribute organizationally, and we want the guys to make it hard on the players above them, and everybody’s pushing each other to be better. And I think that’s the recipe for long-term development and success on the ice.”
That philosophy showed up again in Wheeling, where he guided the Nailers to a North Division title with a 46-20-3-3 record. They won two playoff rounds before falling in five games to the Florida Everblades in the Eastern Conference final.
Papaioannou said Malhotra’s success in Abbotsford - including the AHL Calder Cup championship two seasons ago - was part of what drew him to the job. It fit the way he thinks about winning.
“I think winning is the byproduct of a lot of different things,” Papaioannou continued. “Obviously, individual development is huge. I think if you’re not developing individuals, you’re not going to be able to win.
“I think buy-in is probably the biggest thing. The game’s hard, and you have to do a lot of hard things to win.
You have to be able to get guys excited to block shots and to backcheck and to do the little things for each other. I think that’s probably what’s contributed to most of the success of my teams, and it’s hard.
It’s building that environment where guys see themselves as part of something bigger.”
In Other News...
Four Canucks Are Changing Numbers Ahead Of A Fresh Start
A fresh start is coming with a few familiar digits for the Canucks. Vancouver announced that four players will change jersey numbers for the 2026-27 season, a small detail on the surface but one that often signals a little bit of settling in after trades and other roster movement. Zeev Buium is moving from 24 to 8, Marco Rossi from 93 to 23, Jonathan Lekkerimki from 23 to 88 and Filip Chytil from 72 to 77.
For Buium, Rossi and Lekkerimki, the switches also reconnect them with numbers they have worn before, while Chytil is making his own adjustment after previously carrying 72 throughout his NHL career. It is the kind of housekeeping that does not change a lineup or a depth chart, but it does tell you the room is still getting sorted out as new pieces find their place and old assignments get reshuffled. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks No 16 Prospect Could Be More Than Just Pipeline Filler
Connor Davis has started to look like more than the sort of late-round name that just fills out a prospect list. The 19-year-old right winger, taken by Vancouver in the fifth round of the 2026 NHL Draft, is coming off a productive season in the USHL and now heads to the University of North Dakota, where the Canucks will get a better read on how his game translates against older competition.
What has evaluators interested is the blend he already brings: a strong motor, a shot that can matter, and enough offensive touch to hint at a real NHL path if the rest comes along. The question now is how much more he can add in college, because the ceiling looks higher than simple organizational depth and the next stage will go a long way toward showing whether he can grow into a middle-six option down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Zeev Buium Sounds Ready To Be Part Of Vancouvers Future
Zeev Buiums first NHL season gave the Canucks plenty to evaluate, and the 20-year-old defenseman sounded like someone who understands both the pace of the league and the patience required to stick in it. He got into 76 games, produced 26 points and spent much of the year learning on the fly as Vancouver dealt with injuries and the realities of a rebuilding stretch under a new hockey operations department.
Buium talked about growing more comfortable as the season went on, which matters for a team trying to sort out its next core as much as for a young blueliner trying to establish himself. He also kept coming back to the bigger picture, stressing that improvement in Vancouver will depend on the right culture and a group willing to build together, even if the results do not arrive all at once. [Read more 🡒]