When Sawyer Mynio was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, he was a depth defenceman and penalty kill specialist on a Seattle Thunderbirds team that won their way into the Memorial Cup.

That Thunderbirds team featured 16 players who were drafted by an NHL team. Mynio was killing penalties as a 17-year-old and saw his game make rapid improvements from the battles in practice on such a skilled WHL team.

Mynio is looking to make similar gains in the coming season, and it starts with battles at Canucks training camp against pro players along with the coaching advice from the Canucks’ staff.

“I think my game has grown a lot more since I was 18,” said Mynio. “It’s not so nerve-wracking skating with the big guys for the first time like I was last year. It feels much more comfortable right now,” said Mynio.

“My goal this year is to impress everyone and play pro next year, whether that is with Vancouver or with Abbotsford. The main goal is to make the NHL with the Canucks one day. So, I think I’m really just trying to showcase myself this week.”

The young left-shot defenceman has earned a lot of respect from the pros at the first few days of training camp – getting stick taps from J.T. Miller after some hard battles in the corner is the ultimate sign of respect for a defenceman like Mynio, who has a heavy focus on the defensive side of the game.

Mynio is heading into his fourth WHL season and has never felt more confident about where his game is at.

“I just want to build off what we did last year,” said Mynio. “I had a really good year last year, but this year I want to build a better team around me, help make all of our guys better. We have a lot of draft-eligible guys, and our overall goal is to make the playoffs and go for a run here.”

Sawyer Mynio (#43) goals for your timeline.

Mynio is 18 years old and 29 games into his WHL season. He's picked up eight goals and added 16 assists to be at 0.83 points per game – nearly doubling his point-per-game rate from last season.

He is still a beast on the PK as well. pic.twitter.com/1N3Ba7Ih1l

— Faber (@ChrisFaber39) January 9, 2024

Mynio scored a career-high 16 goals and added 37 assists in 63 games with the Thunderbird last season. His 16 goals ranked him 7th among defenceman in the WHL and he continues to be a force on both special teams units for the Thunderbirds.

With added confidence in himself and feeling more like he belongs, Mynio is trying his hardest to impress Canucks brass and show them that he can be a pro in the coming years.

He has embraced the challenge of battling against pros at the camp and has not felt out of place through the first few days of drills.

“To compete and skate with all-star players like Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser has been the most fun thing through camp. That has been pretty cool,” said Mynio.

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Mynio, a Kamloops native, was invited to play with Canada at this past World Junior Summer Showcase and is hopeful that his strong 2023-24 season along with a good start this year will give him a strong chance to represent Canada at this winter’s World Junior Championships in Ottawa.

“I’m feeling good about it. I’ll have a strong start to the season and play as many minutes as possible down in Seattle,” said Mynio. “I’ve done all that I can [to make team Canada] and I’m just waiting for the start of December when they tell you who made the team.”

Though he does not want to get ahead of himself, Mynio cannot help but think about what an amazing opportunity it would be to represent his country at a tournament that he and his family watch every year around Christmas time.

“It means a lot; all of my family are obviously hoping I make it. Our whole family is kind of planning Christmas around that,” Mynio said with a chuckle. “But just to even represent the Canadian jersey in the summer, it meant so much to me and my family. If I do it over Christmas time and Boxing Day that will mean a lot more.”