Canucks Prospects Report: Novotny, Mueller, Cootes & 2026 Draft Class

The Vancouver Canucks may have come down to earth recently with two straight lopsided losses, but their prospects have not. Early on, not only have their blue-chippers impressed, but late-round picks as well. Here are the latest standouts from the prospect circuit as we continue through the first full month of the 2026-27 season.

Adam Novotny

Adam Novotny has slowed down a bit since his four-point performance against the Sarnia Sting, but he’s still off to a hot start with four goals and nine points in seven games. He hasn’t scored since his highlight-reel goal on Oct. 1 against the Erie Otters, but notched his second multipoint game on Friday (Oct. 9), with two assists in a 7-3 defeat to the Sudbury Wolves.

Even though Novotny hasn’t scored in a while, it’s not for lack of trying; he has 14 shots over his last three games, matching his season-high of seven against the Kingston Frontenacs on Oct. 2, which he’s done twice already.

Ty Mueller

Up the freeway in Abbotsford, Ty Mueller has started his third professional season with a bang. He has scored in every game the Canucks have played so far, notching four goals and five points in his first four games.

Unfortunately, Mueller’s hot start has only translated to one win in the standings, as the Canucks just notched their first victory of the young season, a 4-3 nailbiter on Saturday (Oct. 10) over the Colorado Eagles. They are now 1-2-1 after back-to-back defeats to the Calgary Wranglers on Oct. 2 and 3, and a 4-3 shootout loss to the Eagles on Friday (Oct. 9).

Braeden Cootes

As the Canucks’ 19-year-old representative in the AHL this season, Braeden Cootes is having a solid start to his professional career. After scoring his first AHL goal last weekend against the Wranglers, he has now ticked off three other firsts in the AHL: a multipoint game, power-play goal and game-winner.

They all came in Saturday’s win over the Eagles; his goal on the power play late in the third ended up being the winner. He is a point-per-game player so far, adding even more ammo that he will be ready for the NHL sooner rather than later, especially if he keeps this up in his rookie season at 19 years old.

2026 Draft Class Tracker

Now that the Canucks are firmly in a rebuild, the 2026 draft class is poised to be the first of many building blocks for the new core. As such, we will keep a close eye on the nine picks new general manager Ryan Johnson and co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin made in their first year at the helm. We will update this section every week throughout the season.

• Caleb Malhotra, Boston University: It didn’t take long for Malhotra to score his first in the NCAA. He ticked that box in his second game on Oct. 3 in the Terriers’ 4-0 win over Alaska. It was an empty-netter, but a goal is a goal. The Terriers are 2-0-0 to start the season, but won’t play their third official game until Oct. 16 after a 3-1 exhibition win over Brown on the weekend. He almost scored in that one, too, but was denied by goaltender Fred Halyk on a breakaway.
• Adam Novotny, Peterborough Petes: As mentioned off the top, Novotny has nine points in his first seven games with the Petes this season.
• Brooks Rogowski, Oshawa Generals: Rogowski hasn’t scored yet this season, but his playmaking chops have been on full display. The 6-foot-7 former first-baseman has six assists in seven games and has only been held off the scoresheet three times.
• Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Boston University: Malhotra’s teammate in Boston was held off the scoresheet in his first two games in the NCAA, but did record an assist in the exhibition game.
• Dmitri Ivchenko, Omskie Yastreby: After a solid 1.91 goals-against average (GAA), .922 save percentage (SV%) and four shutouts in 2025-26, Ivchenko’s draft-plus-one season has gotten off to a rocky start. In his first six games, he has stumbled to a 2-3-0 record alongside a 3.64 GAA and .862 SV%.
• Yaroslav Bryzgalov, Medicine Hat Tigers: Poised to enter the NCAA with Merrimack College next season, Bryzgalov’s swan song in the Western Hockey League (WHL) has started strong. He has two goals and three points in five games, but hasn’t scored since his two-goal performance on Sept. 27 against the Edmonton Oil Kings. He had an assist on Saturday, halting his brief two-game point drought.
• Connor Davis, Univ. of North Dakota: Davis hasn’t recorded a point in his first two games in the NCAA, but was noted on social media as growing from 6-foot-0, 187 pounds to 6-foot-2, 197 pounds, pointing to his player profile page on the University of North Dakota website. It appears he put in a lot of work in the offseason and had a substantial growth spurt as well.
• Lucian Bernat, Owen Sound Attack: Coming over from Europe this season, Bernat has two assists in his first four games in the OHL. Both helpers came on the power play in back-to-back games to start the season. Unfortunately, after being held pointless on Oct. 3 and 4, he has been a healthy scratch in two straight games.
• Samuel Eriksson, Färjestad BK: The Canucks’ final pick of 2026 has a goal and two points in 12 games.

That’s all we got for the latest Canucks Prospect Report. Stay tuned as we continue to follow the prospect pool throughout the 2026-27 season.