Canucks Prospects Report: Willander, Alriksson, Mynio & More

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Welcome to the first Vancouver Canucks Prospects Report of 2025. The biggest event that wraps up for prospects at the beginning of every year is the World Junior Championship and the Canucks had three participating in the festivities. Unfortunately, none of them walked away with a medal as Tom Willander (Sweden) lost in the bronze medal game, and Sawyer Mynio (Canada) and Basile Sansonnens (Switzerland) were eliminated in the quarterfinal. But Willander did have a solid tournament, despite taking a penalty in overtime that ultimately lost his team the chance of competing for gold.

Vancouver Canucks Prospects Report

In other prospect news, Vilmer Alriksson has been productive since being traded to the Brampton Steelheads, Mynio returned to the Western Hockey League (WHL) only to see his locale change from Seattle to Calgary, and Anthony Romani will be playing for a different team when he returns from the injury he suffered in October. Let’s dive in!

No Medals For Willander, Mynio & Sansonnens at World Juniors

As mentioned off the top, the Canucks had three prospects competing at the World Juniors, but only one really stood out in terms of production. Even though Sweden ultimately bowed out in the bronze medal game, Willander was one of their top blueliners, possibly on par with Axel Sandin Pellikka, who was named the tournament’s best defenseman for the second year in a row. He was his usual rock-solid two-way self, skating and moving the puck with ease and putting up points playing in the top four. He averaged over 20 minutes a night, topping out at 29:00 in Sweden’s 4-3 overtime loss in the semifinal and 28:06 in the bronze medal game, and finished with two goals and five points in seven games. His best outing came on Dec. 29 when he had two goals and three points in a 7-5 win over Switzerland.

While Willander did have the low point of sitting in the penalty box when Finland punched their ticket to the gold medal game, he acquitted himself well in his second World Juniors. He displayed a lot of maturity and poise on the blue line and appears close to being NHL-ready. He will now return to Boston University and resume his sophomore campaign where he has two goals and nine points in 16 games. We will keep a close eye on him to see if he follows in Hughes’ footsteps and signs his entry-level contract only two years into his college stint.

As for Mynio and Sansonnens, their teams couldn’t make it out of the quarterfinal round as Canada and Switzerland were eliminated by Czechia and the United States respectively. Mynio initially wasn’t registered on the Canadian roster until Matthew Schaefer suffered his long-term injury and only played three games registering a single assist against the Germans on Dec. 29. He also saw limited minutes on the bottom pairing, never eclipsing the 14-minute mark. Sansonnens, on the other hand, played all five games for Switzerland and went pointless. He also was a lower-pairing defender, seeing his most ice time against Sweden on Dec. 29 when he logged 16:44.

Mynio Traded to Hitmen After Canada Is Eliminated in Quarterfinal

Speaking of Mynio, the disappointment of getting eliminated in the quarterfinal likely turned into excitement when he found out that he was going from the basement-dwelling Seattle Thunderbirds to a Calgary Hitmen team currently tied for first in the East. Instead of missing the playoffs, he will have a chance at returning to the Memorial Cup after a one-season absence.

Yes, only a day after Mynio was sent packing from Ottawa, he was traded to the Hitmen for Linden Burrett, Sawyer Mayes, a first-round and fourth-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, and a first-round and fourth-round pick in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. He could join Ottawa Senators prospect Carter Yakemchuk on the top pairing and form a formidable duo to go up against.

Mynio has developed into a top-tier two-way defenceman in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and will now have a chance to showcase his skills in Canada for an elite team again. He was part of the powerhouse Thunderbirds in 2022-23 that won the WHL championship and has unfortunately been part of a squad that has seen multiple high picks move on to either the American Hockey League (AHL) or NHL in recent seasons. He was named captain of the Thunderbirds ahead of 2024-25 and after a career-high 16 goals and 53 points last season, he already has five goals and 19 points in 18 games this season. He has yet to suit up for his new team but should see action soon, possibly tonight, as the Hitmen are set to play the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Alriksson Fitting In Nicely With the Steelheads

Alriksson also saw a change of address recently, getting dealt from the Guelph Storm to the Steelheads on Dec. 16 for three draft picks. While he didn’t join a team fighting for first in the conference (the Steelheads are only one game above .500), they have a much better chance of making the playoffs than the Storm who are 18th in the Ontario Hockey League as of this writing.

Related: Evaluating 2 Canucks Mock Trades Involving Pettersson & Miller

Before departing the Storm, Alriksson was having a pretty solid season with 11 goals and 23 points in 26 games. He has been on a tear since joining the Steelheads, recording a point in every game since his debut on Dec. 28 against the Ottawa 67’s. In fact, he has two multipoint efforts in his last two games, recently scoring his first goal in his new colours on Jan. 4 against the Flint Firebirds. He now has 12 goals and 28 points in 29 games and is on pace to shatter the 17 goals and 33 points he had in his rookie season. Suffice it to say, the big Swede has continued to amaze since being drafted 107th overall in 2023, and, while early, is well on his way to becoming a potential steal from that draft class.

Other News & Notes

  • After a monster 2023-24 season that saw him score 58 goals and 111 points for the North Bay Battalion, Romani was hit with a roadblock when he suffered a broken clavicle only six games into the 2024-25 season. He has yet to return, but unfortunately for Battalion fans, when he does, he will be playing for another team. Like Mynio, he was also dealt on Jan. 4, but to the Barrie Colts in a package alongside Owen Van Steensel for Parker Vaughan, Zach Wigle and four conditional draft picks.
  • The Colts will be a team to watch for the rest of the season once Romani returns, as Riley Patterson could have a new triggerman on his line. Patterson is having a monster sophomore campaign with 17 goals and 31 points in 34 games so far and has been on a heater lately with seven goals and 12 points in his last 10 games. He was selected 125th overall by the Canucks in 2024 and is also looking like a bit of a steal in the fourth round.
  • Moving back to the WHL, while Parker Alcos hasn’t had a monster season offensively, he’s on quite the run right now with eight points in his last 10 games and is only two points from matching his total from all of last season. The right-handed defender had 15 points in 67 games in his draft year with the Edmonton Oil Kings and was selected by the Canucks in the sixth round, 189th overall.

That’s a wrap on this edition of the Canucks Prospect Report! Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks as we continue marching through the 2024-25 season.

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