It’s been over three years since the Vancouver Canucks selected seven players at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. With defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz, their third-round pick, being packaged up in a trade for Elias Lindholm with the Calgary Flames, only six of the prospects picked by the Canucks in 2023 remain with the organization. Here’s how the 2025–26 season went for the four remaining Canucks prospects drafted in 2023.

2023 R1, 11 OVR

Vancouver Canucks, NHL 

Despite being a rookie, Willander quickly made an impact at both the AHL and NHL level, proving himself to be an important piece of Vancouver’s rebuild puzzle heading into the off-season. 

Heading into the 2025–26 season, the expectation for Willander was that he’d play out most of the season with the Abbotsford Canucks and potentially make his NHL debut sometime in the spring. However, with an influx of injuries hitting Vancouver in mid-October into November, Willander ended up skating in his first NHL game on October 28 against the New York Rangers. He ended spending the remainder of the season with the Canucks, putting up five goals and 16 assists in 70 games. 

Despite many changes hitting the Canucks’ D-core and team as a whole, Willander took the increased minutes and role-changes in strides, putting up strong overall efforts regardless of whether he was paired with a fellow rookie in Zeev Buium or a more experienced defenceman like Marcus Pettersson. 

2026–27 will be an important year for Willander from a developmental perspective. With more minutes to tackle and different roles to experiment with, the defenceman’s game will only grow from here on. 

2023 R3, 89 OVR

Abbotsford Canucks, AHL

Mynio was one of 22 AHL rookies to skate in at least one game for Abbotsford this season, but the defenceman was by far the one to make the biggest impact. Joining the AHL after four seasons in the WHL, Mynio looked primed to take on some third-pairing minutes as a member of the AHL Canucks in 2025–26. 

Pre-season injuries to Jett Woo and Guillaume Brisebois, as well as call-ups for Victor Mancini, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Jimmy Schuldt, and more resulted in Mynio being forced into top-pairing minutes during the first couple of months of his AHL career. During this span, the defenceman even scored his first career AHL goal, doingso on October 26 against the Ontario Reign. 

When the injury issues finally subsided (did they ever, though?), Mynio remained a key fixture on Abbotsford’s blueline, cementing himself as a key piece of his team’s offence from the back-end. He led his team in points scored by a defenceman as a member of the AHL Canucks with 21 in 58 games. For his efforts, he was named Abbotsford’s Rookie of the Year for 2025–26. 

Expect Mynio to take on an even bigger role in 2026–27, potentially even making his NHL debut. 

2023 R4, 105 OVR

Abbotsford Canucks, AHL 

Mueller entered the 2025–26 season as one of the players to watch on Abbotsford. The year prior, he’d put together a strong 12 goals and 27 assists in 64 games during his rookie season. The forward even put together a noticeable effort during the Calder Cup playoffs, proving himself as a solid two-way center en route to Abbotsford’s first Calder Cup in franchise history. 

Things went differently in Abbotsford during the 2025–26 season. The defending champions suffered both off-season and in-season blows to their lineup, forcing their roster to change almost nightly. Mueller was one of only eight players to skate in 60+ games for Abbotsford in 2025–26, with the forward even missing a few himself. He still tied Ben Berard for second on Abbotsford in points with 37, also coming second on his team in assists with 21 and third in goals with 16.  

The forward was named Abbotsford’s MVP for his efforts in 2025–26. 

At the NHL-level, Mueller built on the solid two-game NHL stint that he’d had in 2024–25 by skating in six games. He ended up scoring his first NHL goal in the Canucks’ final game of the year against the Edmonton Oilers, with this being the team’s lone goal during the matchup. 

Mueller has already spent a fair bit of time in the role of Abbotsford’s top-line center. While the Canucks currently look like they’ll have all four spots down the middle occupied, a strong pre-season campaign could result in Mueller getting a little more NHL ice-time compared to what he’s had the past two years. 

2023 R4, 107 OVR

Abbotsford Canucks, AHL

After two seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm and Brampton Steelheads, Alriksson made the jump to the AHL level and skated in his first pro hockey season with Abbotsford. 

Alriksson made a splash at the beginning stages of the 2025–26 season, putting up strong performances during the Canucks’ 2025 Prospects Showcase against the Seattle Kraken. He ultimately didn’t make Vancouver’s opening night roster, which was expected, but made his AHL debut in Abbotsford’s first game of the year on October 10 against the Henderson Silver Knights. 

Offence came sparingly for Alriksson in 2025–26, though this wasn’t a bad thing. The forward scored his first AHL goal on October 26 against the Reign and wrapped the season up with a total of six goals and three assists in 43 games. 

While it’s likely he would have been able to produce more, Alriksson’s season was cut short at the end of January after he sustained an upper-body injury. He played his final game of the year on January 30 against the Bakersfield Condors. 

If all goes well from a health perspective, Alriksson will likely take on a bigger role with Abbotsford in 2026–27. The forward will benefit greatly from a full season of AHL development under his belt. 

2023 R4, 119 OVR

Northeastern University, NCAA

The 2025–26 season was Perkins’ third NCAA season of his playing career, though it was his first with Northeastern Unversity. Prior to the past season, Perkins spent two years with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, during which he collected a grand total of seven goals and 13 assists in 64 games. 

With Northeastern, Perkins managed to put together four goals and three assists in 29 games through 2025–26, tying himself with forward Jack Pechar for the 13th-most points on his team. This is the second-highest point total he has recorded during a single NCAA season, coming after a 15-point effort in 2023–24. 

Perkins and Northeastern took on fellow 2023 Canucks draftee Aiden Celebrini and Boston University at the 2026 Beanpot, with BU taking the win over Northeastern by a score of 3–2 in the shootout. Northeastern finished their 2025–26 season with a record of 17–18–1. 

Perkins must be signed by the Canucks by June 1, 2027, for Vancouver to retain his rights. The Canucks can also retain his rights if the forward remains in school. 

2023 R7, 208 OVR

Boston University, NCAA

Vancouver’s final selection in the 2023 NHL Draft was Celebrini, who skated in his third NCAA season in 2025–26. The defenceman previously played with Willander as part of Boston University’s team, and will skate with a couple more when Caleb Malhotra and Niklas Aaram-Olsen join BU in 2026–27. 

Celebrini’s third NCAA season saw the defenceman put together a new career-high in assists, registering seven in 35 games at the NCAA level this past year. He also led his team in blocks, recording a total of 64 throughout the season. 

Celebrini and BU managed to defeat Perkins and Northeastern University en route to the 2026 Beanpot Championship game, but ultimately lost to Boston College by a score of 6–2. BU finished the 2025–26 season with a record of 17–17–2, including a 12–12–0 in-conference record. 

Celebrini will return to Boston University for the 2026–27 season, with this being his final year in the NCAA. 

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