Abbotsford Canucks (Photo Credit: @abbycanucks/"X"After a historic regular season, the Abbotsford Canucks start their quest to capture the 2025 Calder Cup. Abbotsford enters the AHL post-season as the second seed in the Pacific Division, and will host the Tucson Roadrunners in the first round. The first round will be a best-of-three series, with the AHL Canucks hosting all three games.
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Despite the 18-point gap in the standings, Tucson has proven to be a tough opponent for Abbotsford this season. The Utah Hockey Club's farm team won the series by a 5-3 count, outscoring the Vancouver Canucks farm team 24-23. It should also be noted that these two teams haven't matched up against each other since late February, with their last meeting being a 4-3 Roadrunners win in overtime.
One of the keys to success for the AHL Canucks will be special teams. During the season series, Abbotsford had a penalty kill rate of 82.8% while also posting a power play percentage of 15%. Both Tucson and the AHL Canucks finished top ten in times shorthanded this season, so winning the special teams battle will be cruical.
The Roadrunners roster features an experienced group of players with NHL experience. Some names to keep an eye on are Kailer Yamamoto, Kevin Connauton, and Cameron Hebig. In the end, Tucson has assembled a deep roster that will be a challenge for Abbotsford.
As for the AHL Canucks, there are a number of young players looking to use this playoff run as an addition for next season. Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty will be ones to watch up front, while Victor Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev are expected to play significant roles during the post-season. As for goaltending, Manny Malhotra may rotate Nikita Tolopilo and Artūrs Šilovs, but that information will become available closer to the start of Game 1.
In the end, Abbotsford has built a roster that should have no major issues in their first-round series versus the Roadrunners. They are deep at every position, and have plenty of momentum as the team enters the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs on a 16-1-1 record. Ultimatley, the AHL Canucks enter as big favourites, and should be able to pick up a series win in front of their home fans.
First Round Schedule:
All Games Will Be Played At The Abbotsford Centre
Game 1: Wednesday, April 23
Game 2: Thursday, April 24
*Game 3: Saturday, April 26
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