Welcome back to the Blackfish Prospect Report!

It’s crunch time in the playoff race all around the globe, and we’ve got updates aplenty — including the latest on the club’s blue-chip defensive gem.
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Down in Abbotsford, the Canucks are scorching, riding a heater that’s not just clinching a postseason berth but eyeing home-ice advantage. Over in the NCAA, we have some gearing for Championship weekends, while others weren't so fortunate. And finally, the Canadian Hockey League kids are set to embark on their final week of regular season action.

Let’s jump into the action.
<h1>Abbotsford Canucks</h1>
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The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/abby-recap-canucks-win-5th-row-move-4th-division-after-weekend-sweep-over-wranglers">Abbotsford Canucks</a> picked the right time to get hot, earning five consecutive victories to shoot up the rankings to a fourth-place spot. They now sit just three points shy of second place to boot.

Their recent success can be attributed to a few factors, but the simple fact is that the team is firing on all cylinders, with everyone pulling their weight.

Up front, the combination duo of Max Sasson and Arshdeep Bains has found chemistry, and both are flying all over the ice. They cycle the puck well and have been finding each other for various goals.

<em>Beaufituul goals.</em>

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1901122688137261564[/embed]

Sasson, who has appeared to have found another gear with his skating, contributed three assists over the week, all of which were tremendous set-ups.

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1901104452821786858[/embed]

Bains also collected three points, with his lone goal coming courtesy of that Max Sasson dish, and added two more assists.

<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/aatu-raty-underrated-part-vancouver-canucks-long-term-solution-centre">Aatu Räty</a> split his big five-point week with three goals and two assists and is well on his way to posting his first point-per-game of his North American career. His all-time AHL high is 52 points in 72 games, which he set last year with the Abbotsford Canucks.

In just 39 games this year, he’s already posted 38 points and is on pace to fall just one point shy of those all-time highs...but in a significantly fewer amount number of games.

With four more points than the next guy, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/why-time-vancouver-canucks-call-up-aatu-raty-send-jonathan-lekkerimaki-down">Räty is your Abbotsford Canuck points</a> leader this season.

Given he's producing, he's a face-off ace, and even the simple fact that he's likely going to push for a permanent spot next season, we won't be shocked to see him finish the season in <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/patrik-allvin-vancouver-canucks-definitely-address-needs-centre-offseason">Vancouver as a bottom-six centre option.</a>

Speaking of leaders, Danila Klimovich continues to put the puck in the net. He’s officially set new career highs in varying statistics with two more goals and four more points.

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1900048165132492818[/embed]

In nearly 20 fewer games, the 22-year-old has shattered both his goals and point record and now co-leads the Abby Canucks with 21 goals (previous high of 17) and sits with the fourth-highest point totals (prior high of 29) with 30.

Admittedly, while we’ve always believed in his shooting ability, the overall package just never quite showed enough to warrant further excitement. But credit where credit is due, and the Belarusian has played a much more complete game in recent weeks.

Whether it’s his defensive play or effort levels, he has shown strong engagement and is doing much more than breaking career highs. Is it enough to warrant a promotion to the big club? Probably not. His “issue” has always been in the consistency department, so we’d like to see him continue his strong season down in Abbotsford before potentially pushing for his cup of coffee.

Considering the lack of centre depth, there is a realm of possibility that has Ty Mueller pushing for a spot out of camp next season, as well. He added another three assists this week and remains an all-stations back-bone for this Abbotsford squad.

On the backend, Kirill Kudryavtsev scored his first goal since January 2nd. Production-wise, his game has slipped quite a bit in the second half, and he has just three points over his last 17 games. He’s still playing tons of minutes, including power play time, but the production isn’t following suit.

Luckily, he continues to play well in other aspects of his game, but it’s a stark reminder that at the ripe age of 21, there’s still some work to be done in the development cycle. We continue to love the little elements of his game – good transporter and solid defensive mind – but we don’t expect to see him in a Vancouver jersey this year, and likely not until mid-season for a cup of coffee (if needed) next season.

Collecting an assist through the week, Jett Woo left Saturday’s game early. It’s unclear where the injury occurred in the game, but he did not return for the third period and took a rest day for the game on Sunday.

However, he was seen practicing with the team on Monday, so there’s a good chance it’s just day-to-day.

He provided an assist over the week, but Cole McWard was up to more than just hockey this week. The 23-year-old officially popped the big question to his (now) <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fiancée</span>.

Congrats to Cole!

[embed]https://twitter.com/abbycanucks/status/1900644925806690568[/embed]

Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young had strong outings over the week, each starting two games.

For Young, he kicked off his week with a fabulous performance, stopping 41 of 42 shots faced in a crucial game against a playoff-hopeful and rival in Bakersfield.

Although it wasn’t the greatest start in his second game, allowing a goal on his first shot and three over his first six, he stood tall to make 26 of 30 saves for his third consecutive AHL win on Saturday night.

Whether in Kalamazoo or Abbotsford, the rookie netminder has established himself as a prominent fixture in this organization's goaltending depth. With Nikita Tolopilo without a contract next season, things could look interesting.

That said, Tolopilo did himself a few favours over the week, snapping a nasty six-game losing skid. He stopped 57 of 59 shots over two games, earning back-to-back wins for the first time since late January.

That included a tremendous 30-save effort to pick up his fourth shutout of his season and AHL career.

Each netminder earned an "AHL 3 stars of the night" selection throughout the week.
<h1>Kalamazoo</h1>
Josh Bloom has been on an absolute tear down in Kalamazoo, and he brought in another point-per-game weekend (three points). He's now contributed nine points in the six games since being sent back from Abbotsford.

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1900724379333570980[/embed]

As he has been all season, he continues to burn past ECHL defenders and provide a little bit of everything in all situations for the Wings.

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1901069591239160201[/embed]

Considering we thought he brought tons of energy and played relatively solid in the tiny sample in his recent Abby stint, we are a little uncertain why he hasn't been given a proper sniff. However, we anticipate him to be a member of Abbotsford come 2025-26.
<h1>CHL</h1>
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We’re in the final week of the CHL schedule, and playoff matches are nearly set. For those who missed it in previous reports, all six of the Canucks' representatives have clinched a postseason berth.

The Barrie Colts continue to hold down the second spot in the Eastern Conference, but with such a tight race, so much could change over these last two games.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Anthony Romani's much-improved play. After a slow return from injury, he’s caught fire with points in eight of his last 10 games. That includes nine goals and 16 points, the sixth most by any OHL skater in that timeframe.

In four games this week, he had six points, split between three goals and three assists.

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1901116860214767712[/embed]

He has seemingly taken over the production for Patterson, who’s encountered a bit of an uncharacteristic slump from the team’s second line.

With just one assist in the four games for Barrie, he’s now contributed just that one assist over his last seven games. That said, he continues to share the lead for team goals (25) and continues to lead the charge with 59 points.

With just a pair of regular season games on the docket, he’s on pace to fall one point short of his rookie totals from last season (62).

Over in Brampton, Vilmer Alriksson continues to nurse an upper-body injury.

Over in the QMJHL, Rimouski has locked down second place in their Division. Basile Sansonnens has seemingly solidified his role as a second-pairing, penalty-killing defender.

The defensive stalwart is on pace for one goal and 12 points in his North American rookie season.

With just a few games remaining in each of their schedules, there is a path for the Calgary Hitmen (Sawyer Mynio) and Edmonton Oils Kings (Parker Alcos) to see each other in the first round of the postseason.

Mynio contributed another three assists in three games this week and now has the ninth-highest points-per-game among WHL defenders, with 42 points in 46 games (.91 PPG).

In nearly every aspect of the game, Mynio is having a tremendous season, putting him on pace to turn in his junior card and head to the pros this spring.
<h1>NCAA</h1>
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The NCAA playoffs are well underway, and teams have officially punched their tickets to their respective conference semifinals and championship weekends. And some, not so much.

Of course, the talk of the town in Vancouver is the timeline for Tom Willander. The NCAA playoff format, including the National tournament qualifications, can be quite confusing, so make sure to check out our <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/tom-willanders-road-vancouver-when-will-vancouver-canucks-prized-prospect-sign?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter">roadmap for Tom Willander’s arrival</a>.

In short, Boston University has not only qualified for the Hockey East semifinals but will also participate in the Eastern Region round of the National tournament.

With that in mind, the earliest date (roughly) that Willander could sign his entry-level deal is around April 1st. Should BU win out, that timeline gets extended to mid-April.

For his week, he contributed a secondary assist with a tremendous rush, bringing in an opposing defender and leading to a BU goal en route to a 3-2 overtime victory over UMass.

[embed]https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1901032387938840659[/embed]

He and Aiden Celebrini will now take on UConn this Thursday for a chance to advance to the Hockey East Championship game, where they’d take on one of Northeastern or Maine on Friday.

BU’s semifinal game will be held on Thursday, March 20th, at 1:00 p.m. (PT) at TD Garden.

Tom Willander was named to the <a href="https://t.co/C5S4iniHpy">Hockey East Second All-Star Team</a> earlier in the week.

"He is one of just seven defensemen in the NCAA and the only Hockey East blue liner to have at least 21 points and be a plus-16 or better this season."

The only other NCAA candidate to advance was Jackson Kunz, who contributed three assists in a two-game first-round sweep over Nebraska-Omaha. For those wondering, the NCHC conference runs best-of-three quarterfinals, unlike most single-game eliminations.

He and his North Dakota Fighting Hawks will face Western Michigan this Friday in a single-game elimination match to advance to the NCHC finals.

Falling short were Aku Koskenvuo, Daimon Gardner and Matthew Perkins.

It was a big blow for Aku, as he played tremendously in all three games of Harvard’s best-of-three series.

He stopped 88 of 95 shots in three games for a .926 save percentage, including a very solid performance in a do-or-die game three. He stopped 39 of 41 shots but wasn’t given much offensive help, as Harvard was eliminated in overtime by a 2-1 score.

With his Junior season over, Aku represents one of the prospects who may sign a deal to join the Canucks’ system.

We’ve checked in with a few sources, and it’s been quiet on that front. After all, it’s a crowded crease at the moment, but there is something to be said about finally getting the hands-on reps from professional coaches, something he has yet to enjoy.

In addition to being a solid goalie prospect, he's also got a good head on his shoulder. Earlier in the week, Aku earned himself an All-Ivy honourable mention as an Academic All-Ivy recipient.

[embed]https://twitter.com/HarvardMHockey/status/1899879368471830566[/embed]

Pretty impressive stuff...

As for the other two eliminated, we expect both to return for their junior years at their respective schools.
<h1>Sweden</h1>
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Lucas Forsell’s Farjastad enjoyed an automatic berth into the SHL quarterfinals. They have been waiting for their opponent and will finally kick off their postseason on Friday versus Linus Karlsson’s old team, Skelleftea.

Hugo Gabrielson was eliminated from his Allsvenskan playoff run. He enjoyed a career year, posting 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 44 games.

Although we aren’t exactly expecting a deal to come through, we are technically on Gabrielson's contract watch. Should the organization choose to retain his rights, he’ll need a contract by this summer.

That's everything for this week, folks. By next week, the CHL playoffs will not only be settled but likely underway. Have a great week!

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