Vancouver Canucks’ Top 10 Prospects: 2025-26 Preseason Edition

Mueller not only impressed his head coach, but the parent club as well. He was called up near the end of the season and made his NHL debut against the Minnesota Wild on April 12, where he played 10:56 and had a shot on goal. He also played against the San Jose Sharks the following game before he was sent back down to Abbotsford. All in all, he had a standout rookie season in the pro leagues, increasing his stock in the Canucks’ prospect pool and further solidifying his potential as a versatile bottom-six centre in the mould of Teddy Blueger and maybe even as high as Malhotra one day.

9. Sawyer Mynio, Left Defence – 2023, 89th Overall

It’s looking more and more like Sawyer Mynio will be flashing more offence in the NHL than initially expected. While he regressed a tad from his career-high 16 goals and 53 points in 2023-24, he still put up 14 goals and 45 points split between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Calgary Hitmen last season. Since his draft year, when I stated in his profile that he could become a defensive defenceman like Jaccob Slavin or Chris Tanev, he has 30 goals and 98 points in 112 games, nearly double what he had in his first two seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Mynio’s potential has flown past those two stalwart defensive defencemen and into the realm of a two-way defenceman like Alex Edler, who was great defensively but could also put up 40-50 points. It will be interesting to see if he can translate his recent production to the AHL this season. He will likely be in Abbotsford most of the time, but could get a call-up or two depending on the injury situation in Vancouver.

8. Danila Klimovich, Right Wing – 2021, 41st Overall

If there were an award for bounce-back player of the year, it would definitely go to Danila Klimovich. He went from only two goals in 2023-24 to a career-high 25 last season and reestablished himself as a top prospect for the Canucks. He wasn’t in my top 15 last offseason, but has jumped into the top 10 this time around. When he was drafted back in 2021, his calling card was his lethal shot, soft hands, and creativity. He showcased that many times in Abbotsford last season, especially his wrist shot, which, as mentioned, got him a team-leading 25 goals. He only had four goals in the playoffs, but when he did score, they were at clutch times, as three of them were game-winners. If he can put together another season like that in 2025-26, his first call from Vancouver will come at some point.

7. Arshdeep Bains, Left Wing – Undrafted

Arshdeep Bains continues to defy the odds and make a name for himself as an undrafted free agent. Now entering his fourth season in the AHL, he has 40 goals and 136 points in 175 games and an impressive 11 goals and 31 points in 36 playoff games. He is also coming off a Calder Cup victory where he was one of Abbotsford’s top performers, hitting point-per-game status with seven goals and 24 points in 24 games. If not for Arturs Silovs’ brilliance throughout the postseason and Linus Karlsson’s goal scoring, he might have been one of the frontrunners for MVP. Not too bad for a guy that no one wanted in the draft and had to wait to be signed as a free agent.

While Bains hasn’t shown that type of production in the NHL yet (he just scored his first NHL goal last season – his only point in 21 career games), he hasn’t looked out of place. He has even lined up alongside Elias Pettersson and JT Miller in the top six, thanks to his work ethic and forechecking, and impressed the Canucks enough to earn himself a two-year extension in the offseason. As general manager Patrik Allvin stated in the press release following the signing, they expect him to make a strong push for a roster spot in training camp and potentially become a regular part of the bottom-six this season.

“Arshdeep had another solid season in Abbotsford as he continues to develop and mature,” said Allvin. “His game found another gear late in the AHL playoffs when he stepped up and helped lead the way offensively with several big goals. Arsh is now familiar with our system and style of play, and we expect him to push hard for a spot in September.”

The Canucks have had a lot of success with undrafted players in the past, and it’s looking more and more like Bains will eventually join the likes of Tanev and Alex Burrows in the success story bracket. He has a long way to go to hit their levels of experience, but I wouldn’t bet against him, given what he’s done since being invited to Red Deer Rebels rookie camp in 2017-18.

6. Linus Karlsson, Right Wing – Acquired From the Sharks in 2019

There were a lot of Abbotsford Canucks that stood out during their run to the Calder Cup, but Karlsson took it to another level. By the time they were raising the Cup over their heads, he had 14 goals in 24 games, breaking an AHL Playoff record for goals by a Swedish player. The previous record was held by Andreas Johnsson and Mikael Andersson, who each had 10, so he not only broke it, he blew well past it. During the season, he also became Abbotsford’s all-time leading goalscorer, passing Sheldon Dries on March 11 against the Bakersfield Condors with his 66th career goal.

Karlsson now has 70 goals and 148 points in 164 games, and is poised to fight for a spot in Vancouver this season, armed with a new one-way contract. He has had some success in the NHL so far with three goals and six points in 27 games, with all of his points coming last season when he played 23 games and was the Canucks’ primary call-up when injuries hit the roster.

5. Kirill Kudryavtsev, Left Defence – 2022, 208th Overall

After his rookie season in the AHL, the verdict is clear: the Canucks have a late-round gem in Kirill Kudryavtsev. He made his debut in the pro leagues last season and impressed everyone with his calm, calculated game, along with a dash of offence, putting up five goals and 26 points alongside a solid plus-18 in the plus/minus column. He then followed that up with an even more impressive playoff run with a goal and 10 points, leading the AHL with a plus-18.

Kudryavtsev also made his NHL debut last season, getting into two games against the Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights, where he played 13:33 and 14:43, respectively. He was solid, if unspectacular, the perfect blend for a two-way defenceman. With that rookie season under his belt, he has entered the top five and the second defenceman behind Tom Willander, who paces the list.

4. Alexei Medvedev, Goaltender – 2025, 47th Overall

Selected in the second round (47th overall) of the 2025 Draft, Alexei Medvedev is now the Canucks’ top goaltending prospect. While Nikita Tolopilo and Aku Koskenvuo may be higher on the depth chart right now, Medvedev has the higher ceiling and might end up being Thatcher Demko’s heir apparent as the Canucks’ starting goaltender of the future. With Demko or Kevin Lankinen in the crease for the next five years, he has plenty of time to develop and could be ready to take the reins as soon as 2029-30. Lankinen will still be under contract, so he could conceivably be his veteran backup, that is, if Medvedev is deemed ready for the NHL by then.

As for this season, Medvedev will return to the London Knights after a strong 2024-25 campaign that saw him go 22-8-2 alongside a 2.79 goals-against average (GAA), .912 save percentage (SV%) and three shutouts. He is set to be the Knights’ starter with Austin Elliott graduating, so it will be interesting to see how he does with the full responsibility of the crease. Regardless, he will be one of the Canucks’ top goaltending prospects to watch this season, seeing that he’s the first goaltender drafted in the second round since Demko, who was selected 36th overall in 2014.

3. Braeden Cootes, Centre – 2025, 15th Overall

Braeden Cootes is coming off a career-high 26 goals and 63 points with the Seattle Thunderbirds, a season where he co-captained the team before Mynio was traded to the Hitmen. He then became the full captain for the rest of the season. He also wore the “C” for Team Canada at the 2025 U18 World Championship and led them to a gold medal over Sweden. He had a team-leading six goals and 12 points, finishing as a top-three player for Canada, while posting a tournament-best 71.79 faceoff percentage.

While it might be too early to expect Cootes to hit his ceiling as a top-six center right out of the gate, he could make the Canucks out of training camp and, at the very least, play nine games and then get sent back to the WHL. It was confirmed by insider Rick Dhaliwal shortly after being selected 15th overall that Cootes would not be joining an NCAA team, but returning to the Thunderbirds if he doesn’t make the NHL roster.

With Cootes signing his entry-level contract (ELC), it adds a little more intrigue to training camp, especially if the Canucks haven’t addressed their need for a second-line centre by then. He has the play style to make it early in his career, similar to Bo Horvat when he played his first full season in the NHL at 19 years old. Cootes would be doing it a year earlier, but given his work ethic and two-way game, I wouldn’t put it past him to surprise everyone and play past the nine-game trial period.

2. Jonathan Lekkerimaki – Right Wing – 2022, 15th Overall

Jonathan Lekkerimaki is very close to graduating from this ranking, but as of this writing, he’s still eligible. After getting a taste of pro hockey in 2023-24 when he got into only six games and recorded his first AHL goal and assist, he split his time between Abbotsford and Vancouver last season, recording 19 goals and 28 points in the former and three goals and six points in the latter. His first NHL goal came on Nov. 14 against the New York Islanders, where he showcased his one-timer, blasting it by Semyon Varlamov to open the scoring. While his snipe-show of a wrist shot wasn’t seen often in the NHL – except for the shootout when he expertly hit the top corner on former Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom on March 25 – the Abbotsford faithful became very familiar with it throughout his rookie season.

Lekkerimaki is not ready to be a full-time NHLer…yet. He is close, though. Thankfully, the Canucks don’t have to rush him into his expected ceiling of a perennial 25-30-goal scorer. After signing Brock Boeser and extending Conor Garland, they have two capable top-six wingers for the foreseeable future. There was a time when it looked like Lekkerimaki would have to fill Boeser’s shoes on the top line this season, but that is no longer the case. He can marinate in the AHL for another year, play top-line minutes and run the power play, and then come in next season with a ton of confidence. I have no doubt that he will be a fixture on Elias Pettersson’s wing soon enough; it just may not be this season.

1. Tom Willander – Right Defence – 2023, 11th Overall

After being third on this list last offseason behind Lekkerimaki and Silovs, Tom Willander takes over the top spot this time around. The smooth-skating defenceman will be making his NHL debut at some point this season now that he’s signed to his ELC. It took a bit of time before he put pen to paper , but he is set to turn pro after playing two solid seasons for Boston University, where he scored six goals and 49 points in 77 games. He has the ceiling of a top-four defender and could partner with Quinn Hughes and complement his game like Devon Toews does for Cale Makar in Colorado. That might not happen right away, but he has all the tools to be a pillar on this Canucks defence for many years to come – hopefully alongside Hughes for more than just the next two seasons.

Willander will be in tough to make the roster out of training camp, given the Canucks’ deep defence corps this season. He will have to beat out the recently graduated Elias Pettersson for the spot next to Derek Forbort on the bottom pairing or impress the brass enough to force a veteran out of the top four. That’s obviously the best-case scenario, but it’s also not a bad thing for him to start in the AHL, either. Instead of averaging 10-15 minutes a night, he could potentially hit 20-25 in Abbotsford for Malhotra and play in all situations. Unless he looks miles ahead of everyone in training camp, I think it would be better for him to go to the minors and play there for a while before coming up. Whatever the case, he should be a key part of this Canucks defence very soon – unless Allvin decides to trade him in a package for a second-line centre, that is.

Just Missed…

• Nikita Tolopilo – Goaltender
• Vilmer Alriksson – Left Wing/Centre
• Wilson Bjorck – Left Wing/Centre
• Anthony Romani – Right Wing
• Aku Koskenvuo – Goaltender

The Canucks still have a strong prospect pool, but they will have to start replenishing the top half soon. Lekkerimaki is only one game away from graduating this list, and Willander could follow him if he makes the roster and becomes a full-time NHLer right off the bat. Cootes probably won’t be too far behind, either, which could leave Medvedev as the top prospect in just a couple of years. We’ll see what happens this season, but by this time next year, we could have a whole new top five.

As always, it should be exciting to follow the entire Canucks pipeline this season as the Prospects Reports will begin in only a few weeks. After such a long and boring offseason, I am itching to get those going. Let’s get the 2025-26 season started already!