The Vancouver Canucks might not have made the playoffs (again!), but luckily the baby Canucks, formerly known as the Abbotsford Canucks, are in the running for the Calder Cup!
It’s official, we’ll be facing off with the @Condors in Round 1️⃣
Game 1️⃣ – Wednesday April 19th
Game 2️⃣ – Friday April 21st
Game 3️⃣ – Sunday April 23rdBest of 3 series. Home Ice Advantage.
Secure your seats 👉 https://t.co/kiBkuR6kva pic.twitter.com/YgQyTQOvpT
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 16, 2023
There’s actually a lot of excitement around the Abbotsford Canucks this playoffs, and for good reason. The roster going into the playoffs features a solid mix of AHL veterans, promising rookies, and players with NHL experience who came back for the playoffs.
The Abbotsford Canucks kick off their playoffs this week in a best-of-three series vs. the Bakersfield Condors, the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. Rather than go into detail about what this series may offer, I thought it’d be a good idea to highlight a few of the players who hope to lead the Abbotsford Canucks to victory.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkD5nJ4ukpt/
The first of two players that you should know about is defenseman Christian Wolanin. The 28-year-old from Quebec had a great season not only in the AHL but also in the NHL! I must say, he was better than half the defense the Vancouver Canucks had used before he made his debut.
Wolanin was rewarded by the AHL this week with the “Eddie Shore Award” for the AHL’s most outstanding defenseman for this season. Let’s hope he can make the big club at the start of next season, because he seems to be trending in the right direction!
The other player on Abbotsford that everyone should know about is Swedish forward Nils Hoglander. Nils is a fan-favourite who was on the Vancouver Canucks last season, but was moved down to the AHL early in the season as he just wasn’t fitting with how the team wanted to play as a unit.
But don’t get me wrong, Hoglander deserves to be in the NHL next season! He’s a two-way forward that plays the game the right way and should fit better with the team once next season begins.
So how will the Abbotsford Canucks do these playoffs? It’s anyone’s guess, but it’s nice to have some playoff hockey nearby. The stadium is a bit of a drive away if you live in Vancouver, but the atmosphere and playoff hockey (and affordable tickets) make it worth the journey.
The Abbotsford Canucks currently have a 1-0 lead in the series and will play once again at the Abbotsford Event Centre for game number two tonight, April 21st. If the Abbotsford Canucks can play like they did in the first game, they can get the victory and move on to round number two!
Go Abbotsford Canucks Go!