May 29th, 2025
JC Clemas
The Abbotsford Canucks have gone on an incredible run in the past month to advance all the way to the Western Conference Finals in the AHL. It’s the first time in their (short) franchise history that they’ve made it to this point. The team is stocked with players who could find themselves as significant pieces to Vancouver within a couple of years, so it’s been really great to see them get some experience in high-intensity situations and succeed while doing so. Let’s talk about this run they’re on.
The Path
Abbotsford’s playoff run started with a first-round series against the Tucson Roadrunners. They were able to take the 3 game series in that third game, winning by a convincing score of 5-0. Pretty crazy that this could have all been over in just 3 games, especially because they went into the playoffs pretty fresh off a 13-game win streak.
Abbotsford’s 2nd round featured them facing off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, who were coming off back-to-back seasons of losing to Hershey in the Calder Cup Finals. They’re a strong playoff team who could not be taken lightly. Luckily, Abbotsford breezed past them in just 4 games, winning the series 3-1. Coachella Valley was held to just 2 goals in the 3 games they lost that series.
hen came Colorado. The Eagles, while a solid team, were not carried by any particular star players. Their leading scorer throughout the playoffs was a familiar face to Canucks fans: Jayson Megna. That being said, they gave Abbotsford a run for their money. With the series tied 1-1, Abbotsford was able to squeak out an overtime victory thanks to Linus Karlsson. Colorado escaped game 4 with a win, sending the series to game 5, which would decide the series. Abbotsford took care of business with relative ease, winning 5-0. It was a great showing from the team, though overshadowed by their commentator getting a chair thrown at him.
The Players
Looking at Abbotsford’s current roster makes it quite obvious why they’ve made it this far. They are an absolute powerhouse in the AHL. Their roster boasts 13 players who played at least a game for the big club this season, and that doesn’t even include all the other players with NHL experience on the team. The team is mainly built through its younger guys, like Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains, and Max Sasson, but has its share of veteran experience in players like Christian Wolanin, Jujhar Khaira, and Phil Di Giuseppe. It’s a balance that has worked well for the team so far.
Sammy Blais has been leading the way for Abbotsford through these playoffs so far, with 11 points in 12 games. Blais also has 65 penalty minutes already, including 57 coming in the past 4 games (thanks in part to 4 misconducts). Linus Karlsson and Phil Di Giuseppe are next on the list, with 10 and 8 points, respectively. Both of those players scored two in the series-clinching game against Colorado. Karlsson particularly looked like Abbotsford’s strongest skater in that series.
Victor Mancini has also been impressive. Many have been singing the defenseman’s praises, and for good reason. He’s been on both Abbotsford’s first power-play unit and first penalty-killing unit. The latter is firing at an almost-unbelievable 97% throughout these playoffs so far. Considering the concern that has existed about his defensive game, Mancini has been showing up in his own end during the postseason. He undoubtedly has a chance to crack Vancouver’s opening day roster next season. Not so bad for someone who once looked like the least significant piece of the JT Miller trade.
To make this run just a little more impressive, the Canucks have not been able to find characteristic production levels from either Arshdeep Bains or Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Bains has still yet to find the back of the net this postseason, but has at least contributed 7 assists. He’s certainly always been more of a playmaker than a scorer, but you have to hope that he’ll get on the board with one at some point. As for Lekkerimäki, the young Swede struggled mightily in the early rounds of the playoffs, but still finds himself with 5 points in 9 games. He found his game a little more in the series against Colorado.
Abbotsford has also been without Aatu Räty since game 2 of the 2nd round. The centre is out with injury and has been listed as day-to-day. In the 5 games he did play, he struggled, only managing 3 assists. Still, if he can get back into the lineup soon, that is a huge addition to an already stacked Canucks team. When you consider that Abbotsford isn’t at full strength and hasn’t been performing to the best of their ability, it makes it just that more terrifying for the teams that have to face them.
The MVP for the Canucks so far in these playoffs is, without a doubt, Artūrs Šilovs. The young goaltender has never been one to shy away from the big stage, helping Latvia to a bronze medal in the 2023 World Championships and the Vancouver Canucks to a round 1 victory in 2024. This stage may not be quite as big as ones he’s played on before, but his performance is even bigger. Šilovs’ .936 save percentage ranks first in the AHL so far these playoffs, and he has a 1.73 goals against average to go along with that. He’s 8-3 so far with 4 shutouts. 3 of those shutouts have come in each of the 3 series-winning games for Abbotsford so far. He’s been the definition of clutch and is the beating heart of this Canucks team.
The Conference Finals
The Western Conference Finals begin tonight at 7 Pacific, where the Canucks will take on the Texas Stars. The Texas Stars are the AHL affiliate of, believe it or not, the Dallas Stars. I’m sure all eyes in the organization are on the Texas game tonight. I can’t think of any other notable game the organization is playing in.
Texas has been led by 24-year-old Justin Hryckowian, who has 15 points in the team’s 8 playoff games so far. Cameron Hughes has added 14 points of his own, and it would be quite poetic if Abbotsford’s season ended at the hands of a guy named Hughes. Matej Blumel is another player to look out for, with 10 points so far. The most intriguing part of the Texas Stars roster though, from a Vancouver Canucks standpoint, is Kole Lind. Lind was of course a Canucks draft pick, taken in the 2nd round in 2017. He remained with the organization for 4 years before being taken by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft. Lind has not quite met the potential he had when the Canucks selected him, but has been a significant AHL contributor for the past 4 seasons. He has 11 points in the playoffs so far, and will be one of the players Abbotsford needs to shut down if they want to advance.
In the Western Conference Finals, the series moves up to being a best-of-7. If the series makes it to game 6, Abbotsford will have home-ice advantage for that one and a potential game 7. The series starts with two games in Abbotsford, and the Canucks will need to put in some solid performances before embarking to Texas for 3.
It’s good to see a team in the organization succeeding.