Welcome to the first Canucks Prospects report, as we take a close look at the Abbotsford Canucks, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, here on Vancouver Hockey Now. We will cover a variety of topics, including games in review, top performers, NHL call-ups, and how it could affect the NHL team in Vancouver.

In this special introductory edition of Farm Report, we will look at the last month of Abbotsford hockey, top performers of the week, and injury updates. In addition, we will also get to know the Head Coach of the Abbotsford Canucks, as Manny Malhotra has moved up the ranks to the NHL club in Vancouver.

Month in Review: A Hot Start to the Season

Today, we will focus on the first month of action from Abbotsford. Going forward, we will provide more regular reports on the farm team. The team has a record of 7-2-1, which puts them in second place in the Pacific Division. Abbotsford is currently riding a seven-game winning streak, after starting the season with a 0-2-1 record. The wins include one against the Colorado Eagles, two against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, two against the Calgary Wranglers, one against the San Jose Barracuda, and finally, one against the Bakersfield Condors.

Top Performers: Jacob Quillan Among Others Have Potential

Jacob Quillan earned himself an NHL call-up with five goals and two assists in five games with Abbotsford so far. That includes a hat trick against the Calgary Wranglers on October 25th. Acquired in the Aatu Räty trade, Quillan has the tools that Vancouver Head Coach Manny Malhotra greatly values, which are a strong work ethic and speed. In Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quillan had the most ice time amongst centers at five-on-five in the first period, and 11:58 on the night.

“He did a good job with the minutes given,” said Malhotra following the game Saturday. “Made some poised plays on breakouts and had few good forechecks where he got in on people to apply pressure.”

Ty Mueller is expected to be one of the top contributors for Abbotsford and another potential call-up down the road. Vancouver could cycle through their farm team options throughout the season. He leads Abbotsford with 10 points in 10 games. He has played eight career NHL games and was a big part of the Abbotsford 2025 Calder Cup Championship team.

AHL Rookie Riley Patterson has turned some heads, as he is second on the team with nine points. He was listed as the fourth-line center at season’s start, but has been promoted to the second-line wing, alongside Ty Mueller and Ben Berard.

Lineup and Injury Updates

Kirill Kudryavtsev returned after missing five games on October 28th against the Barracuda and did not miss a beat. Braeden Cootes is recovering from a lower-body injury and has missed four games. Vancouver Canucks co-president Daniel Sedin said that Abbotsford is hopeful for Cootes to return this weekend. Both of these players will be ones to watch, as they could be key pieces to the future of the NHL team.

A Hot Start Under a New Head Coach

As Manny Malhotra was promoted to the Vancouver team, Abbotsford hired Ryan Papaioannou as their new head coach. Papaioannou’s resume is impressive, as he is going into his 20th season of coaching. He started his coaching career in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) with the Brooks Bandits when he was just 23 years old, and became the GM and Head Coach at 24. He spent 14 seasons with the team as Head Coach and won the AJHL championship in his third full season, winning seven championships in total. The Bandits had not won an AJHL championship before Pappioannou became the coach. In his full 16-year tenure with the team, he put up a 907-217-48 record in 1172 games coached.

Pappioannou then moved on to the Wheeling Nailers of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) for one season, where he took the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Upcoming Action

Abbotsford will resume their season on Friday against the Ontario Reign at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. All Abbotsford games can be streamed live on FloHockey.