On Saturday morning, the Calary Hitmen of the WHL announced that they had traded forward Sawyer Mayes, defenseman Linden Burrett, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 first-round pick, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for Vancouver Canucks defense prospect Sawyer Mynio.
The Mynio trade had apparently been in the works for a while but was not completed until now since Mynio and Team Canada were still competing at the 2025 World Junior Championships.
After having not been initially registered, Mynio, 19, cracked the lineup for Canada as an injury replacement for 2025 draft-eligible Matthew Schaefer, appearing in three games and recording an assist in a 3-0 win over Germany. Mynio played 11:56, 13:50, and 13:28 in those three games, respectively.
Mynio, previously the captain of the Thunderbirds, now joins a Hitmen team that features plenty of NHL talent, including Carter Yakemchuk, Carson Wetsch, and Team Canada teammate Tanner Howe. Before the trade, the Canucks prospect had racked up five goals, 14 assists, and 19 points in 18 games with Seattle.
The Kamloops, B.C., native was drafted 89th overall by the Canucks in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft and is expected to turn pro at the end of the 2024-25 season. Mynio signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks on Sept. 24, 2023 and carries a cap hit of $838,333, which excludes $80k in performance bonuses. The left-shot defenseman will be an RFA in 2027 when he is 22 years old.