Abbotsford Canucks win AHL’s Calder Cup for first time

A new champion has been crowned north of the border.

Thanks to 3-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Final, the Abbotsford Canucks won the American Hockey League championship for the first time in franchise history.

It was a thrilling conclusion to a monumental season for the primary affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. With their second chance to win the Calder Cup, Abbotsford found themselves trailing 2-0 in the first period on Monday night. Yet, they rallied with three unanswered goals, with Linus Karlsson scoring his playoff-leading 14th goal late in the second period to put his team ahead.

The Abby Canucks have been in operation since the organization moved its affiliate from Utica to British Columbia in 2021. Prior to this year, Abbotsford hadn’t made it past the Pacific Division Semifinal. This season, the Canucks defeated the Tucson Roadrunners, two-time defending Western Conference champion Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Colorado Eagles, and the Texas Stars to reach the final series.

There, they met a very talented Checkers team that was trying to replicate the success of its parent club, the Florida Panthers. The two teams split the first two games in Charlotte before Abbotsford won Games 3 and 4 on home ice. However, the Canucks failed to clinch the title at home, losing in overtime in Game 5.

The Canucks possessed the three top scorers in the playoffs. Karlsson led all skaters with 14 goals and 26 points. Arshdeep Bains and Stanley Cup champion Sammy Blais each scored 24 and 19 points, respectively.

Last year, Arturs Silovs played the hero in helping Vancouver get to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This season, the Latvian goaltender won all 16 games needed to secure the championship and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

The 24-year-old posted a 2.01 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage in 24 games. His five postseason shutouts were one shy of the league record set by Rochester Americans netminder Mika Noronen 25 years ago.

Abbotsford is the first Canucks affiliate to win a championship since the Dallas Black Hawks won the old Central Hockey League’s Adams Cup in 1979. Abbotsford was the first Vancouver minor-league affiliate to simply make it to a championship series since the Utica Comets lost in the 2015 Calder Cup Final to the Manchester Monarchs. Also, Abbotsford became the eighth Canadian franchise to win the Calder Cup, and the first since the Toronto Marlies won it all in 2018.