September is almost here, and with preseason and training camps looming, the focus is starting to shift from summer workouts to real questions about the Abbotsford Canucks’ young talent.
This week’s Blackfish report takes a prospect-by-prospect look at what needs answering before the 2026-27 season, and the biggest unknown of all sits with Jonathan Lekkerimäki. The question around the young Swede is the same one everyone is asking: is he healthy, and can he finally take that next step?
He was shut down late last season, marking another year shortened by health concerns. The setbacks have piled up, and while there’s no mystery about the need for him to add strength to become an NHL regular, the real issue now is whether his 2026 offseason finally gave him the uninterrupted runway he needed.
After a summer that was compromised a year ago, the key is whether he recovered in time to get a dedicated regimen started early enough to make progress.
Fellow Swede Vilmer Alriksson is carrying a similar burden into September. The rookie’s second half of the 2025-26 season brought some encouraging signs, even if the numbers didn’t jump off the page.
Injuries across the Abbotsford lineup opened the door, and Alriksson eventually worked his way into top-six minutes and some power-play time. Then an upper-body injury stopped everything cold, leaving him in a sling and ending his season.
The first order of business is simple: is he healthy? After that, the next question is whether he can keep building on the progress he made and grow into a real producer at the pro level.
Braeden Cootes is another name worth watching closely this September, but for a different reason. The question here is whether he has done enough to seriously push for a spot in Vancouver.
A recent video circulating on social media showed him working on his own this summer, but summer training only tells part of the story. Game action, especially at the NHL level, is a different animal entirely.
He did get a three-game NHL look last season, and that experience should matter. He’s already felt the pace, the strength and the detail required to survive there.
Now the organization has to judge how much he absorbed from that stint - and what kind of work followed it. The belief remains that Abbotsford is the right place for him right now, but that only holds if September doesn’t change the equation.
Ty Mueller’s situation is a little different. The question isn’t whether he can play a bottom-six role; it’s whether he can force his way into the conversation for Vancouver’s fourth-line center job.
On paper, that’s not the most likely outcome at camp given how the roster is currently built, but Mueller’s value is easy to understand. He’s responsible, versatile and built for a low-maintenance role that can translate to the NHL.
Health also plays into the picture, and this feels like the year his name should start showing up more often on the transaction wire. The ability is already known.
What matters now is opportunity, timing and whether he can seize the chance when it comes.
Kirill Kudryavtsev may be in a similar lane, though the depth chart leaves him on the outside looking in for now. Even so, this looks like the season when his name starts coming up more regularly in recall conversations.
He has spent two straight years proving himself as a dependable workhorse on Abbotsford’s blue line. There’s no flash to his game, but there doesn’t need to be.
His straightforward style and reliability have kept lifting him up the organizational ladder, and an NHL shot feels like a matter of when, not if.
Sawyer Mynio doesn’t quite draw the same certainty yet, even after what was an excellent rookie year. He handled a heavy load in his first pro season, and that kind of responsibility could have easily overwhelmed a young defender.
Instead, he stayed poised and effective all year, laying a strong foundation. The question for September is whether he has added enough strength to move forward from there.
The next step may be less about surviving and more about expanding his offensive impact. With players such as Kudryavtsev and Jack Thompson potentially spending time elsewhere, Mynio could be in line for more offensive responsibility and power-play work.
Riley Patterson may have already given a clue about where things are headed. Based on his offseason appearances on Vancouver’s social media channels, he looks like he attacked the gym and put on some much-needed bulk.
Training camp will tell the real story when it comes to his weight, but the bigger issue is how he uses that added size. He flashed some interesting moments in his brief run at the end of last season.
Now comes the tougher test: adjusting to the faster pace of the pro game, finding consistency and handling a full season’s grind.
And then there’s Gabe Chiarot, who gets included here because the biggest question around him is as straightforward as they come: where does he play this fall? The answer has not been confirmed, even after several conversations and repeated attempts to pin it down.
September should settle it, and training camp will clear up a lot. Right now, the expectation is that he makes the jump and joins the Abbotsford Canucks as a rookie this season.
If that happens, he becomes another intriguing name in what should be a very young and competitive Abbotsford group.
Next week, the focus shifts to the rest of the youngsters outside the American League circuit, and there should also be some actual game action to discuss, with Dmitri Ivchenko and Basile Sansonnens’ teams getting preseason reps.
In Other News...
J.T. Miller Just Reopened One Of The Canucks Messiest Storylines
J.T. Millers exit from Vancouver came after a season that never really stopped swirling, with the reported feud involving Elias Pettersson hanging over the Canucks long before the trade deadline arrived. Miller had already taken a 10-game leave of absence in November 2024 for personal reasons, and even as the organization tried to keep the situation contained, the chatter around his future only intensified until the Canucks sent him to the Rangers on Jan. 31, 2025.
Now the topic is back in view because Miller has been willing to revisit it publicly, including with a touch of humor on a recent podcast appearance. For Canucks fans, it is another reminder of how messy that stretch became and how many questions were left behind when the team finally moved on, even after earlier denials that a trade was coming. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Prospect Now Has A Clearer Development Path After Latest Move
Brock Boesers 2025-26 season was solid by most standards, but it also underscored where the Canucks are headed. He finished with 22 goals and 26 assists in 75 games, a step down from his peak production, while Vancouver continued to lean into a rebuilding phase that has shifted the organizations priorities beyond short-term scoring totals.
Boeser still has six more years on his deal at $7.25 million per season, which gives the Canucks one of their more stable scoring contracts but also a major asset to consider as they map out the future. Analyst Travis Yost has argued that moving Boeser could make sense for Vancouver because of his dependable offensive track record and the teams long-term outlook, although a trade before the upcoming season remains unlikely. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Just Added Goalie Insurance As Demko Questions Keep Lingering
Training camp brought another layer of insurance for the crease, as the Canucks added veteran goaltender Chris Driedger on a professional tryout contract. The move fits the reality of where Vancouver stands right now: Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo are in the mix, but Thatcher Demkos return remains the bigger question hanging over the position.
Driedger arrives with experience that gives the club another steady option to evaluate, including a career NHL save percentage of .917 and more recent stops in the AHL and KHL. For a team that has spent plenty of time managing uncertainty in goal, the tryout is less about headlines than it is about making sure there is enough depth in place before camp decisions start to tighten. [Read more 🡒]