THN's AHL 2026-27 Season Rookie Prospects: Abbotsford Canucks
(Source of Images in picture: TheAHL.com) (Picture made by me and not A.I.)With the offseason still well underway and signings and trades occurring throughout the hockey world, rosters have yet to be finalized.
But what is certain is that a lot of new talent will be coming into the league. Fresh faces you can say...
So in this new series on The Hockey News, we'll be looking at the new prospects coming in on each team and even possibly contend for AHL Rookie of the Year or All-Rookie Team designations.
We'll start alphabetically with the Abbotsford Canucks.
F Bennett Schimek (23)
2025-26 season: Arizona State (NCHC)
Draft Status: Undrafted
Contract: One-Year AHL-Only Contract (March 11, 2026)
The Mendota Heights, MN native was designated the captain of the Sun Devils last season and even though Arizona State was the sole NCHC team not to make the 2026 Frozen Faceoff (2026 NCHC Playoffs), Schimek put up a career-high 43 points (13G, 30A) in a very competitive NCHC conference en route to being named to the 2025-26 NCHC Second All-Star Team. That included a season-high five-point game where he scored a hat trick against Frozen Faceoff runner-up Minnesota-Duluth on Dec. 13, 2025. Even after coming on board with Abbotsford at the end of last season, Schimek has proven he belongs by producing 11 points (5G, 6A) in 13 contests with three multi-point games. He can be a key piece for an Abbotsford offense that was ranked last in goals.
F Austin Brimmer (24)
2025-26 season: Rochester Institute of Technology, RIT (AHA)
Draft Status: Undrafted
Contract: One-Year AHL-Only Contract (March 10, 2026)
Unlike Schimek, Brimmer competed in a less competitive AHA division with RIT. Yet with 25 points (10G, 15A) in 36 games, the 24-year-old didn't crack the top 11 last season in the conference in anything: goals, assists, points, power play goals, shots, shooting percentage or game-winning goals. The Markham, ON native was still able to secure an AHL-only contract albeit for one year with Abbotsford. Now it's all on Brimmer to make the most of his opportunity or he'll be on his way out of the league after next season.
F Riley Patterson (20)
2025-26 season: Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
Draft Status: VAN 2024 RD 4, PK 125
Contract: Three-Year Entry-Level Contract (Sept. 22, 2025)
For a late round pick, Patterson has made quite an impression. In his first draft year, the Etobicoke, ON native produced the most goals by a rookie (29) in the 2023-24 OHL season with the Barrie Colts, but fell in the lap of the Vancouver Canucks all the way in the fourth round of the NHL Draft the following summer. After a successful encore season with the Colts and then getting traded to the Niagara IceDogs, Patterson signed his entry-level contract with Vancouver four days before the start of the 2025-26 OHL season. It was with the IceDogs that Patterson would truly shine as he produced career-highs in goals (40), assists (44) and points (84) while adding another eight points in five playoff games. His 40 goals were tied for third in the league. As mentioned before, a team like Abbotsford that ranked dead last in the 2025-26 season in goals will hope and pray Patterson's junior numbers transfer over to the American league. The 20-year-old already had a taste of AHL action when he played four games for Abbotsford at the end of last season, getting both his points so far in an April 11th game against the Calgary Wranglers including scoring his first professional goal.
Rookie Prospects from the ECHL
G Aku Koskenvuo (23)
2024-25 season: Harvard (ECAC)
2025-26 season: Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Draft Status: VAN 2021 RD 5, PK 137
Contract: Two-Year Entry-Level Contract (March 18, 2025)
The 23-year-old Finn came into Abbotsford last year after posting a .902 save percentage with a Goals-Against-Average (GAA) of 2.81 and a record of 8-9-1 in his last season with Harvard. Even though it was in a weak ECAC conference, Koskenvuo was looking to make an impact in the AHL. He didn't get his way as in nine games with Abbotsford, he posted a .895 save percentage with a GAA of 3.20 and a woeful 2-5-0 record and was ultimately reassigned to Vancouver's ECHL affiliates, the Kalamazoo Wings. Despite having a GAA of 3.15, he found his footing and posted a save percentage of .908 and a 12-10-0 record. With professional hockey experience now in his back pocket and still classified as an AHL Rookie, Koskenvuo will hope for a more promising AHL campaign in the 2026-27 season.
The Bakersfield Condors' Fresh Faces article will be posted next on Tuesday, 12 pm EDT/ 9 am PDT
