As AHL call-ups near double digits for the Canucks, attention turns to the 2-6-1 record currently sported by the reigning Calder Cup Champions.
If you thought the Vancouver Canucks had too many holes in their lineup due to injuries, may I introduce you to the 2025-26 Abbotsford Canucks.
Not only is Abbotsford dealing with its own injuries carried over from its June Calder Cup run and the ensuing offseason, but multiple players have also been called up to fill spots on the NHL roster up the highway. At the time of writing, there are five players who have been called up from Abbotsford who are still with Vancouver due to their limited roster capabilities. Centre Max Sasson was called up on October 15th, defenseman Victor Mancini was called up (and then injured) on October 25th, defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev on October 26th, defenseman Tom Willander on October 28th, and left winger Mackenzie MacEachern on October 29th. Nils Åman, Joseph LaBate, and Jimmy Schuldt each had brief stints on the Vancouver roster as well.
Along with the frequent call-ups needed by Vancouver, multiple key players from last year’s Calder Cup-winning roster made the NHL team out of training camp. Abbotsford now is missing forwards Arshdeep Bains, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Aatu Räty, and Linus Karlsson. Jett Woo and Guillame Brisebois also began the season injured, limiting the Canucks’ back end at the AHL level.
“It’s kind of the nature of the league,” Abbotsford captain Chase Wouters commented post-game after the October 28th 3-0 loss to the Calgary Wranglers, “guys go up and down, and whenever guys have stepped in they’ve played great.”
“They’re obviously getting their chance with Vancouver, and it’s great to see. Everyone in that room is happy for the guys when they get called up. I think that’s something we’ve always talked about, is be happy for your teammate when they get the chance, and we’re rooting for them here.”
While the Abbotsford locker room may be happy that more of their teammates are added to the Highway 1 Wall, the same cannot be said for their record this season. After winning their first two games on the road against the Henderson Silver Knights, they have gone winless in seven, including five straight home losses at the time of writing. The team sit last in the AHL Pacific Division, a far cry from the champion status they held in June. They are second-last in the Western Conference, only above the Texas Stars, who have played three fewer games, and are 29th out of 32 AHL teams in overall league standings.
Abbotsford have been outscored 32 to 14, including 29 to 8 in the seven-game losing streak, and 21 to 6 on home ice. For a team that had a dominant 24-11-1 home record the previous season, starting the championship defence with a 0-6-1 record at the Abbotsford Centre is less than ideal. The team is fourth in the Pacific Division on the power play with a 24.1% conversion rate, good enough for fifth in the conference and seventh in the league overall. Their penalty kill sits in the bottom half of the AHL, though, with a 73.3% kill rate, having allowed eight power play goals against in 30 times shorthanded.
There is a need for more effective play from the Canucks, especially at home, but with many of the familiar faces gone from the locker room, it could be an uphill battle for Abbotsford to break out of this early slump. Still, there are 63 games remaining in the AHL season for the Canucks. Time will tell if they are able to get out of this rough patch unscathed, or if their downfall comes early from an exhausted lineup tired of the commute up and down the Trans-Canada Highway.
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