The Abbotsford Canucks could become the first Canucks affiliate to win the Calder Cup.
Their affiliates have come close to the Calder Cup a couple of times. The Fredericton Express went to the Calder Cup Final in 1988, the final year of their affiliation with the Canucks. In an ironic turn, they were swept by the Hershey Bears led by playoff MVP Wendell Young in net, who had played for the Canucks and the Express the previous year.
In 2009, the Manitoba Moose, led by a young Cory Schneider, came two games away from the Calder Cup. They lost in six games to, once again, the Hershey Bears.
Then, in 2015, Jacob Markstrom backstopped the Utica Comets to the Calder Cup Final, only to lose in five games to the Manchester Monarchs. At least it wasn’t the Hershey Bears.
On June 13, the Canucks will kick off their Calder Cup Final against the Charlotte Checkers, looking to make history. It has already been an impressive run, with strong performances by several Canucks prospects.
Linus Karlsson’s nine goals are tied for the playoff lead. Arshdeep Bains is second in Abbotsford scoring behind Karlsson with 14 points in 18 games. Max Sasson has come up with clutch goals, including the game winner in Game 6 against the Texas Stars.
On defence, Victor Mancini has had an eye-catching run with his free-wheeling game. Kirill Kudryavtsev is tied for the playoff lead in plus/minus at plus-13, as he’s been a force at both ends of the ice. Jett Woo hasn’t put up points, but he has thrown crushing hits that force opponents to keep their head up any time they’re entering the zone.
Then, of course, there’s Arturs Silovs. The Latvian goaltender no longer leads the Calder Cup playoffs in save percentage after a couple of high-scoring games in the series against Texas, but his .929 save percentage is still excellent, and his five shutouts are for the most shutouts in an AHL playoff run.
The performance of these and other Canucks prospects in the playoffs raises some questions about where they and the Canucks go from here once the Calder Cup Final is complete.
The Abbotsford Canucks and waiver eligibility
A lot of attention has been paid to Silovs and , given that the Canucks already have two veteran goaltenders in the NHL and Silovs will be eligible for waivers next season. But Silovs isn’t the only prospect who will have to clear waivers starting next season.
Here are some key players who will be eligible for waivers for the first time next season:
- Arturs Silovs
- Aatu Räty
- Linus Karlsson
- Arshdeep Bains
- Cole McWard
- Akito Hirose
Räty is a particularly interesting case, as his waiver eligibility all-but guarantees that he will make the Canucks’ opening night roster next season.
The 22-year-old centre was excellent in the AHL during the regular season, putting up 40 points in 43 games to finish second on Abbotsford in scoring, while also spending 33 games in the NHL with Vancouver.
Räty’s playoffs, however, have not gone to plan, as he’s played in just six games due to injury. He returned from injury for Game 2 against the Texas Stars, but left in the first period and hasn’t been back in the lineup since.
Karlsson also split time between Vancouver and Abbotsford last season. He was dominant in the AHL in the regular season, scoring 23 goals and 39 points in just 32 games, and he leads Abbotsford in points in the playoffs.
The questions about his speed aren’t likely to go away — his top speed of 20.56 mph, according to NHL Edge data, was in the entire league, that we know of — but Karlsson’s ability to score around the crease could earn him a spot on the roster.
Where does that leave Bains? The 24-year-old winger has steadily plugged away at his game and led Abbotsford in scoring in the regular season with 43 points in 50 games, but the offensive creativity that he’s shown in the AHL hasn’t surfaced in his limited minutes in the NHL. His two-way acumen, however, might push him past Karlsson.
With all three forwards requiring waivers, it could make for a very interesting training camp, especially given the likelihood of the Canucks making significant additions in free agency or via trade. Given their performance in the playoffs, someone like Karlsson or Bains could get claimed off waivers if they are sent down.
That’s potentially bad news for Max Sasson, who will still be exempt from waivers for one more season or 31 NHL games, whichever comes first. That’s because Sasson’s first foray into professional hockey — his seven games with the Abbotsford Canucks in the 2022-23 season — was on an amateur tryout deal, so didn’t count as a season towards becoming waiver eligible.
That will make it all too easy for the Canucks to send Sasson down to Abbotsford at camp next season while other forwards battle for a roster spot.
The defence battle at Canucks camp could be incredibly competitive
There would be more intrigue on defence if Hirose and/or McWard had more seriously staked their claims at the top of the depth chart on defence.
Both Hirose and McWard will be eligible for waivers next season after just two full seasons in professional hockey, because both played games for the Canucks at the end of the 2022-23 season when they signed, which count as seasons played for waiver purposes.
Hirose impressed in that brief audition back in 2023 with and came into the following training camp looking like he had. Instead, he stagnated, then dealt with injuries, resulting in his development hitting a wall.
Meanwhile, McWard had a standout performance at the Canucks’ 2023 training camp, resulting in him getting during the preseason.
Suddenly, McWard looked like he had jumped to the top of the prospect pool on the right side of the Canucks’ defence and had a strong chance of being a go-to call-up in the 2023-24 season, if not make the team out of camp.
But McWard played just one game in the 2023-24 season. Now, he, like Hirose, finds himself bumped down the depth chart by defencemen who are still exempt from waivers.
Victor Mancini, Elias Pettersson, and Kirill Kudryavtsev all have two seasons of waiver-exempt status remaining, though Mancini could potentially breach the games played barrier with 39 more NHL games and be eligible for waivers sooner. Tom Willander hasn’t played a professional game yet, giving him three years of waiver exemption or 160 NHL games, whichever comes first. The same is true for Sawyer Mynio.
That’s a lot of defencemen potentially competing for a spot at training camp next season, leaving little room for Hirose and McWard, barring a spectacular preseason performance.
It ought to be a very competitive camp. There’s a strong argument for each of Pettersson, Mancini, and Willander to make the Canucks out of camp and Kudryavtsev shouldn’t be counted out given his playoff performance.
In fact, there’s likely to be so much competition that one has to wonder if the Canucks will move one of the prospects on defence in a trade to address their need at centre.
What does Abbotsford's playoff run mean for Manny Malhotra?
This Abbotsford Canucks team seems special, particularly since they’re ephemeral. One or more of the players battling to win the Calder Cup could depart the Canucks organization via waivers or a trade in the near future, but that just makes it all the more important to appreciate them now, while they’re still here.
That potentially goes for Abbotsford’s head coach as well.
As pointed out by Thomas Drance in The Athletic, head coaches who make it to the Calder Cup Final , typically heading to the NHL in short order, whether via internal promotion or via another NHL team hiring them away.
Will Manny Malhotra still be coaching the Abbotsford Canucks next season? Maybe. But unless Adam Foote is on an exceptionally short leash in his rookie stint as an NHL head coach, Malhotra doesn’t have a path to the NHL in the Canucks organization.
Malhotra’s work in Abbotsford during the regular season already looked good on his resumé. Now he’s shown he can navigate a team on a long playoff run. You can bet that other NHL teams have taken notice.
