Canucks recall Nikita Tolopilo on emergency basis, assign Koskenvuo to Abbotsford

General Manager Patrik Allvin announced Monday that goaltender Nikita Tolopilo has been recalled from AHL Abbotsford under emergency conditions and that goaltender Aku Koskenvuo has been assigned to Abbotsford (AHL). The team’s social-media post reproduced the announcement verbatim: "General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that G Aku Koskenvuo has been assigned to Abbotsford (AHL) and G Nikita Tolopilo has been recalled from Abbotsford under emergency conditions." The move comes with the NHL schedule resuming and the Canucks slated to face the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Arena on Wednesday.

Tolopilo, a 25-year-old Minsk, Belarus native, has split time between the NHL and AHL this season and practiced with the Canucks at UBC on the day of the move. In the NHL this season he has appeared in nine games with a 3-3-1 record, a 3.04 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. During a recent two-week AHL stint he made six starts and posted three wins; Abbotsford numbers are reported as either 3-3-0 with a 3.35 GAA and .871 SV% or simply six games and three wins, depending on the listing. Those mixed AHL totals coexist with the clearer NHL line that emphasizes Tolopilo’s relative success in spot starts at the top level.

Aku Koskenvuo, 22, was reassigned in the same transaction and had been practicing with Vancouver over the past week. The Harvard product and 2021 fifth-round pick signed an entry-level contract with Vancouver last March and has split the 2025-26 season between Abbotsford and ECHL Kalamazoo. Abbotsford box scores list him with nine appearances, a 2-5-0 record, a 3.20 GAA, a .895 SV% and one shutout; his Kalamazoo line shows six games, a 2-4-0 record and a .898 SV%. Some outlets report Koskenvuo was moved on to the Kalamazoo Wings soon after the Abbotsford assignment, reflecting the club’s rapid roster adjustments.

This roster shuffle stems from Thatcher Demko’s season-ending hip surgery and the return of Kevin Lankinen from the 2026 Winter Olympics, where Lankinen won a bronze medal with Finland and was returning to Vancouver from Milan. With Demko sidelined, the third NHL goaltender role behind Demko and Lankinen has become a live contest between Tolopilo and Jiří Patera. Patera practiced with the Canucks at UBC alongside Tolopilo and is expected to join Abbotsford soon to clear roster space once Lankinen is back in the mix; Ty Young remains with Abbotsford.

Practically, the emergency recall positions Tolopilo for immediate NHL duty as the Canucks prepare for Wednesday’s matchup against Mark Scheifele and the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Arena. The organizational paperwork and any final ECHL or AHL administrative assignments for Koskenvuo were reported differently across outlets, so the team’s official transaction record will be the final arbiter of the timing and destination for Koskenvuo.