Canucks Recall Mueller From Abbotsford to Cover Kane Absence

With Evander Kane sidelined by an undisclosed injury and the Vancouver Canucks managing one of the more battered rosters in the Western Conference, the organization turned to Abbotsford on April 1, recalling 23-year-old forward Ty Mueller to bolster its depleted forward group ahead of a road game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Kane isn't the only Canuck sitting out. Filip Chytil remains unavailable with a facial fracture, Thatcher Demko continues to recover from hip surgery, and defenceman Derek Forbort is listed out with an undisclosed injury. Head Coach Adam Foote indicated the plan is to manage Kane through the remainder of Vancouver's road trip, leaving the door open for Mueller to contribute over multiple games rather than a single-game stint.

The recall is Mueller's second of the 2025-26 season. The first came in March amid trade deadline activity that saw the Canucks ship Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars and Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets, with Mueller viewed as a potential replacement for veteran bottom-six pivot Teddy Blueger. This time the circumstances are more straightforward: an injured veteran and a road trip that demands a reliable forward option.

At 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Mueller is a left-shooting two-way centre who doubles as a regular penalty killer in Abbotsford, a role that could earn him time on Vancouver's penalty kill unit as well. Selected 105th overall by the Canucks in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, he carries a cap hit of $870,000 through 2026-27 as a restricted free agent. His EliteProspects draft profile called him "a real jack-of-all-trades-type of player" with sound instincts in all three zones.

The 2025-26 season did not open smoothly for Mueller; he managed just one goal in his first 12 games before reversing course entirely. He finished with 35 points on 16 goals and 19 assists in 59 games, sitting second on Abbotsford in team scoring behind Nils Åman. That resurgence is what made this recall more than routine maintenance.

It follows an impressive professional foundation. In his 2024-25 AHL rookie season, Mueller posted 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 64 regular-season games and led all Abbotsford forwards with a plus-15 rating, then added 12 points in 24 playoff games as Abbotsford captured the 2025 Calder Cup championship. That season also included a distinction off the ice: Mueller was selected as Abbotsford's representative at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic in Coachella Valley, stepping in for Elias Pettersson and becoming the youngest player in franchise history to hold that honour at 21 years, 11 months, and 8 days old.

"Ty has had a great first year of pro so far," Abbotsford GM Ryan Johnson said at the time. "He has adapted well and has played in all situations for our group. This is a well-deserved honour for him."

Mueller's NHL experience to date consists of two appearances, both in April 2025: a debut against the Minnesota Wild on April 12 and a follow-up against the San Jose Sharks on April 14, where he logged 10:56 and 9:39 minutes of ice time respectively without recording a point. Any games with Vancouver against the Avalanche and beyond will mark his first NHL action of the current season.

The path to this point was never linear. Mueller posted just 41 points in 65 AJHL games, going undrafted in his first two eligible years before his skating, stickhandling, and vision caught scouts' attention in year three. At the University of Nebraska-Omaha he earned NCHC Rookie of the Month honours in February of his freshman year, then drew a Hobey Baker Award nomination after his sophomore campaign, when he scored 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 34 games. The Canucks took the bet in 2023, and with Vancouver currently thin up front, that bet is cashing in at a useful time.