Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
The final time the Abbotsford Canucks performed at residence, it was June 21 and the Charlotte Checkers have been on the town for Sport 5 of the Calder Cup Finals. And with the Canucks up three video games to at least one within the collection, the championship trophy was within the constructing prepared for a celebration inside a sold-out Abbotsford Centre.
However the Checkers had different plans. Jesse Puljujärvi’s pinball purpose at 15:22 of time beyond regulation extended the collection and despatched each groups again to North Carolina for Sport 6, which Abbotsford gained to provide the Vancouver group its first Calder Cup championship.
So this weekend brings the Canucks’ return to Abbotsford for the primary time this season. It’s also one final probability to rejoice final season’s championship run. Friday’s residence opener towards the Ontario Reign meant elevating a championship banner and yet one more alternative to savor final season’s reminiscences.
Quite a lot of final season’s faces are elsewhere; solely 5 gamers within the Cup-clinching lineup 4 months in the past skated within the residence opener Friday. Largely it’s a brand new group that might want to study a few of the similar classes that final season’s crew mastered. Head coach Manny Malhotra’s crew break up their first 4 video games on the highway earlier than final night time’s 5-2 loss to Ontario.
Because the championship banner went to the Abbotsford Centre rafters, it introduced reminiscences flooding again.
“You get shivers excited about it,” defenseman Jett Woo said in a video feature the team released this week.
Now it’s full-steam into this season. The Canucks have one other match-up with the Reign on Sunday afternoon as this weekend’s set opens a six-game homestand. Two visits from the Calgary Wranglers, an Abbotsford nemesis, await subsequent week. After a lightweight schedule to start this season, video games like these upcoming residence dates will totally carry the Canucks into this marketing campaign and proceed the method of constructing one other crew.
However classes from final yr will be carried into this season by these gamers who went via the ardors of the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
“Each man in there was pulling their weight,” captain Chase Wouters recounted, “and when everybody’s doing that it equals success.”
On the American Hockey League beat for 20 years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally presently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a daily contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
