Vancouver Canucks hockey is back! Sort of.
On Friday, a team that looks an awful lot like the Canucks will play a team that bears a striking resemblance to the Edmonton Oilers in a pseudo-rematch of their second-round series in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sure, you won’t be seeing J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, or Elias Pettersson — at least not that Elias Pettersson — but you will be seeing a team in a Canucks jersey take the ice at the Young Stars Classic in Penticton.
The Canucks’ prospects will take on prospects from the Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and Calgary Flames this weekend. The team has typically streamed these games on their website and/or social media channels.
- Friday, September 13 - 7:30pm - Canucks vs Oilers
- Sunday, September 15 - 2:00pm - Canucks vs Jets
- Monday, September 16 - 2:30pm - Canucks vs Flames
The Canucks will be bringing a 25-man roster to Penticton composed primarily of prospects within their system, as well as five undrafted and unsigned invitees. That roster doesn't include a few of their top prospects. Melvin Fernström, their first pick from the 2024 draft, is already back in Sweden playing for Örebro in the J20 Nationell, while several of their prospects, including top defenceman prospect Tom Willander, can’t participate in these types of events without losing their NCAA eligibility.
So, which prospects should Canucks fans be keeping an eye out for when they watch the Young Stars Classic this weekend? Let’s run down a few names, some perhaps more obvious than others.
1 | Jonathan Lekkerimäki
The Canucks’ best player at the Young Stars Classic ought to be Jonathan Lekkerimäki, which makes sense: he’s the only first-round pick on the roster. That’s what happens when a team trades three first-round picks in a five-year span.
Lekkerimäki is coming off an outstanding season where he piled up 19 goals and 31 points in 46 SHL games as a 19-year-old, which easily led all junior-aged players in both categories and is the third-best junior-aged season in the SHL in the last 15 years. He also scored 7 goals in 7 games at the World Junior Championship and was named tournament MVP.
The question for Lekkerimäki is how his game will translate to the smaller ice surface and faster pace of the NHL. Will he be able to find the space he needs to get off his fantastic shot? Can he handle the defensive side of the puck and further develop the pest element that has begun to sneak into his game so he can contribute even when he’s not scoring goals?
The Young Stars tournament will be the first chance Lekkerimäki gets to start answering those questions.
2 | Elias Pettersson
The second coming of Elias Pettersson might not rack up points at the Young Stars Classic, but the burly defenceman will likely rack up some big hits as he looks to establish himself ahead of his rookie season in North America.
Pettersson 2.0 is 6’4” and over 200 lbs and loves to play the body, which should quickly endear him to fans in Abbotsford. Whether he can work his way up to the NHL this season will likely depend more on how he handles moving the puck against the faster forecheck in the AHL than he faced in the HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden.
Apart from Willander, Pettersson is the Canucks’ top prospect on defence, so fans will be looking for a good showing ahead of his rookie AHL season.
3 | Aatu Räty
A major piece of the trade return for Bo Horvat, the 21-year-old Aatu Räty ought to make a push to play in the NHL this season. He’s arguably the team’s top prospect at centre and could get an opportunity if injuries strike down the middle in Vancouver.
Räty underwent a bit of a reset last season after arguably being rushed into the NHL in 2022-23 by the New York Islanders before he was traded. He played all of the 2023-24 season in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, putting up 52 points in 72 games, including 15 points in his final 13 games. At the same time, he made adjustments to his skating and improved his two-way game, making an argument for a bottom-six role in the NHL in the near future.
There are some who argue, however, that Räty was at his best in Abbotsford when he was on the wing, which is less than ideal for a Canucks prospect pool that is lacking top end talent down the middle. With more experience under his belt, Räty could be a star for the Canucks at the Young Stars Classic and prove he belongs at centre.
4 | Riley Patterson
The Canucks’ fourth-round pick at this year’s draft, Riley Patterson blazing speed, a great shot, and silky hands, as demonstrated by the between-the-legs goal he pulled off at the Canucks’ summer development camp. That’s the kind of skillset that has the potential to shine in the semi-organized chaos of a prospect tournament.
Patterson is looking to build off the 62 points in 68 games he scored in his rookie OHL season and prove that even though the Canucks lacked top-end picks at the draft, they still got a top-end prospect in Patterson.
5 | Anthony Romani
Anthony Romani led the OHL in goalscoring last season with 58 goals in 68 games, so he should, in theory, be able to put up a few points in a prospect tournament.
Romani is a great passer and is adept at finding space in the offensive zone but he lacks a bit of pace in his skating. It’s something he’s aware of, so the Young Stars will be the first chance for fans to see how he’s addressed that area of his game.
6 | Max Sasson
The Canucks are high on Sasson and the 24-year-old forward will be on the older end of the prospects at the tournament. That should give him the leg up on standing out as he ramps up his game for main training camp, where he’ll be looking to establish himself as a go-to call-up during the regular season.
Sasson transitioned well to the AHL from college hockey last season, putting up 42 points in 56 games while playing a solid two-way game. Now he’ll be looking to make the transition from the AHL to the NHL.
7 | Sawyer Mynio
After the Canucks picked him in the third round in 2023, Sawyer Mynio broke out in a big way, putting up 16 goals and 53 points in 63 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Now he’ll be looking to prove that it wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan, especially because he’s on Team Canada’s radar for the 2025 World Junior Championship.
Mynio’s calling card is his defence, as he’s considered one of the top penalty killers in the WHL, but his offensive outburst last season suggests there’s a little more to his game. Will he be able to flash a little offence in Penticton with his activation game and his booming point shot? We’ll have to wait and see.
8 | Arshdeep Bains
By Young Stars standards, Arshdeep Bains is practically a veteran. The 23-year-old winger played eight games in the NHL last season as his game continued to progress in the AHL.
There were some growing pains in his NHL stint — he has no points in his 8 games and was a minus-5 — but the Canucks love his coachability, not to mention his 55 points in 59 AHL games. He’s been held up as an example by the team’s development staff, so he could take a leadership role at Young Stars.
He’ll also be looking to out-battle someone like Sasson to be a go-to call-up option this season.
9 | Kirill Kudryavtsev
There’s so much to like about Kirill Kudryavtsev’s game, which is far more multi-dimensional than you would expect from a seventh-round pick.
The 20-year-old, left-shot defenceman focused last season on developing the defensive side of his game, which cost him a few points — he still put up 47 points in 67 games — but gave him a better chance of making the jump to the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks this season. Instead of challenging for the most points by an OHL defenceman, he instead became one of the league’s top shutdown defencemen.
Kudryavtsev is looking to avoid going back to the OHL for his over-age year and the first step towards sticking in the AHL is the Young Stars Classic, which definitely makes him one to watch.
