Building Blue: Sawyer Mynio is Building Confidence and New Skills Through Canucks Camp

Sawyer Mynio is treating his third Vancouver Canucks training camp and preseason as another chance to grow, learn, and show how his game continues to evolve.

The 20-year-old defenceman has been focused on playing with pace, adding bite to his defensive play, and soaking up lessons from coaches and veterans around him.

In Tuesday’s practice skate, Mynio’s group had nine defencemen, so he shifted to the wing alongside Henrik Sedin and Danila Klimovich. It was the first time playing forward since his WHL rookie season as a 16-year-old, but he got a couple of stick taps for it at practice from Head Coach Adam Foote and Assistant Coach Scott Young.

“Learning forward stuff is important as a D-man, just so you know where forwards are at all times,” Mynio said. “There’s a lot of stuff we worked on like that, but also for breakouts.”

Mynio learned so much from the coaching staff through training camp and the first preseason game, and it continues to improve his game.

“Even just the structure of the new coach here, Footey, he's been awesome, he's been doing lots of video with us. Whether I'm in Abbotsford or Vancouver, up and down, it’s just good to know for different scenarios throughout the year,” Mynio said.

Mynio practiced with the Abbotsford Canucks after his WHL seasons ended the past two years and last season he traveled with Abbotsford during their playoff run. He happened to be the last player to touch the Calder Cup before head coach Manny Malhotra got his hands on the hardware.

“Even though I wasn't playing, it was still good just to be there. It was a great experience, just for pro hockey – the travel, the lifestyle, everything,” Mynio said.

The Kamloops native is working on adding some bite and toughness to his game to be harder to play against. He’s able to put things into practice during the preseason and he’s seeing the difference it makes on the ice.

“Lots of stick-on puck stuff. When I go in the corner, I feel like sometimes I have two hands on my stick, and I'm pushing them on their backs, rather than getting one hand on the puck and one hand on them. It's about making sure you just poke the puck away and make it tough on them,” Mynio said.

For the preseason game against the Seattle Kraken, Mynio learned a lot from his defensive partner P.O. Joseph. Joseph helped him realize he had more time with the puck than he thought, helped calm his nerves, and showed him different options to scenarios on shifts they played.

“Every time on the bench, he always gave me a little heads up on what to do, how to fix things, he’s been really helpful. So, Joseph’s been great to me, and he’s been great overall so far,” Mynio said.

He appreciates the video that Foote’s video sessions and that has also been a great resource for Mynio for improving his game with timing.

“Video really helps me a lot. Sometimes I think I’m under pressure in a game, but then I watch it on video, and I realize I'm really not that pressured. Watching yourself play a lot of hockey is super helpful,” Mynio shared.

He’s also leaned on veterans like Tyler Myers and Derek Forbort, who have helped set the example for the defensive group. Mynio has picked up a lot about being a professional just from watching them too, learning how to play a clean, steady game and limit mistakes.

Mynio enjoyed getting to spend time with the group after the game and getting to know them more helps when it comes to running drills or playing on the ice.

With each camp and preseason game, Mynio is stacking experience and confidence. He’s learning the finer details from coaches and learning what it takes to be a reliable NHL defender.

Mynio knows he’s still developing, but each camp has brought him closer to the ultimate goal of playing at the pro level.