Canucks prospects: What's on defenceman Sawyer Mynio's to-do list this season

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Vancouver Canucks defence prospect Sawyer Mynio will be one of the few veteran voices with the Seattle Thunderbirds team when he returns to junior.

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Mynio was a 2023 third-round draft pick by the Canucks, and he’s been with the team this past week at training camp in Penticton. At 19, he’s a year away from being able to play in the minors full time if he doesn’t stick with the big club.

Mynio is looking at a fourth season with the Thunderbirds, and they promise to be one of the younger squads in the WHL.

Teams in the league are permitted three 20 year olds. Seattle is currently carrying just two. They have six 19 year olds when you include Mynio. There are 11 players in their 17-year-old season on their roster.

By contrast, Seattle had the full allotment of 20 years old and 11 players in their 19-year-old season two years ago when they won the WHL title and went to the Memorial Cup national championship tournament in Kamloops. Mynio was one of just two 17 year olds who saw regular ice time in that playoff run for the Thunderbirds.

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Seattle opened this latest WHL regular season on Friday, dropping a 4-3 overtime to the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre. Both teams were missing players to NHL camps. Seattle was without starting goalie and Buffalo Sabres 2023 fifth rounder Scott Ratzlaff, 19, as well as Mynio, a 6-foot-1, 181-pound left-handed shot from Kamloops.

Seattle didn’t have a captain listed, going with three alternates instead. Mynio was an alternate captain last season.

“He’s going to take another step in his game. He’s going to continue to be well rounded. That’s what Vancouver is looking for from him and to take on more of a leadership role,” Seattle coach Matt O’Dette said of Mynio after the game at the LEC. “That will be a big thing for him. We’re a young team, so we’re looking for leaders. He’ll be looking to evolve his game that way.”

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Also on Mynio’s to-do list for this season is landing a spot with Team Canada for the world juniors, which get going on Boxing Day in Ottawa. Mynio was one of 13 defencemen invited to the summer camp in Windsor. That group included five NHL first-round draft picks and two second rounders.

His signature tool is his skating, and he’s added layers beyond on that.

“Getting invited to the (summer) camp signifies his progress,” O’Dette said. “He’s on the right path. He just has to continue to work.

“You need to be a well-round D-man, a reliable 200-foot guy that can play in all situations. Not everyone can play on the power play in that tournament. You’re going to have lots of offensive D. You’re going to need to be a guy who can provide all different things — penalty kill, 5-on-5, playing well at both ends. You just want to be a steady player.”

There wasn’t substantial buzz around Mynio going into the draft two summers ago. That Seattle team was stacked — 17 players off of it have been drafted by NHL clubs — and Mynio was playing third-pairing minutes mostly. He saw limited power play time, but did kill penalties.

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He didn’t get much attention from mock drafts and ratings ahead of time. McKeen’s Hockey had him at No. 176. The Canucks wound up picking him at No. 89.

O’Dette, though, talked last year about how other NHL teams were excited about Mynio as well and how they felt they “got their pocket picked,” by the Canucks with the selection of the Yale Academy product and Under-15 Thompson Blazers alum.

Mynio’s became a go-to guy with the Seattle last year. He had a massive bump in stats, going from five goals and 31 points in 2022-23 to 16 goals and 53 points. He was seventh in goals by defencemen in the WHL last season.

Elite Prospects had this for a scouting report on Mynio before his draft: “Mynio’s a capable rush defender, steadily smothering the opposition by forcing attackers to the outside and matching their footwork. He quickly switches from one puck carrier to the next, keeping the pressure on. By locking onto opponents, he eliminates them from the play entirely.”

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O’Dette’s scouting report on Mynio today is such: “He had a breakthrough season last year as far as producing points. He brought an all-around game to our team. He’s always been a solid defender. He’s just getting more opportunity offensively and you can see what he can do. I think his skating is his calling card. It helps him provide offence. It helps him on defence to stay with elite players.”

Seattle moved out out several draft picks in trades to load up for the 2023 playoff run. They got a 2024 first rounder back from the Kelowna Rockets two summers ago in the deal for forward Tij Iginla, and then landed seven picks in the trade last December with the Edmonton Oil Kings that sent forward Gracyn Sawchyn and the rights to his younger brother Lukas Sawchyn — also a forward — to the Edmonton. 

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U.S. Division teams make two trips to B.C. Division rinks for games this season. For Seattle, that includes travelling to the Kamloops Blazers next Friday. They’re also at the Rockets on Nov. 13. Seattle has an all-B.C. weekend starting Nov. 29, with back-to-back games at the Victoria Royals before a visit to the Giants on Sunday, Dec. 1.

SEwen@postmedia.com

@SteveEwen

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