Abbotsford Canucks: The comeback kids

ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS/ X

If you would have asked Abbotsford Canucks fans back in December if they thought that they would make the playoffs, let alone go on to win the Calder Cup, most would have said no. However, the Abbotsford Canucks proved that resilience and hard work payoff. 

The year started off with an almost entirely new coaching and training staff. Manny Malhotra was brought on as the head coach, who had previously spent time as the assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Through the first year growing pains, and learning to adapt to new players, and changing rosters, Abbotsford began to find their footing in the second half of the season. Though many still didn’t believe playoffs were in reach, Captain Chase Wouters believed in his team. When asked about when he thought the turn around happened, and saw that their team had a shot at the playoffs, he commented; 

“I mean, I think we kind of had that belief all year. It took us a while to kind of find our game and our rhythm there around January, I don’t think we were, you know, too high in the standings, but there was always that belief and that’s kind of what, I guess, kept us going through that time.”

January marked the turning point for this team as they went on their first win streak of the season with 8 wins. This seemed to be the driving force the team needed. 

As the team began to find their rhythm they were also grappling with the constant movement of players between Abbotsford and their parent club, the Vancouver Canucks. Over the season 16 players moved between the 2 teams regularly creating an interesting dynamic for the players. 

This constant movement and shifting of lines proved that Abbotsford was more than resilient. They were not a team built on a single player, but a multi-part machine that embodied the ‘next man up’ mentality they’ve been touting all year. 

Proving their resilience and incredible work ethic came again during a 13 game win streak right before the start of playoffs. This team did not hold back, and battled hard throughout the regular season to prove to skeptics and fans alike that they were a team to watch. 

This was proven time and time again, throughout the playoffs. In round 1 they faced a potential elimination game against the Tucson Roadrunners, but battled hard to secure their spot in the second round. 

Round 2 was much the same against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, where they would win the series 3-1. Securing a spot in round 3, which was the furthest the team had made it since the franchise moved to Abbotsford in 2021, continued to show this team was something special. 

History continued to be made as Abbotsford won the series against the Colorado Eagles 3-2, pushing them to round 4 against the Texas Stars, which was another franchise first opponent.

Abbotsford won the series 4-1, winning the title of Western Conference Champions, and moving them into the Calder Cup Finals, against the Charlotte Checkers, which again was another franchise first meetup. 

The finals began in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bojangles Coliseum. Game 1 proved that it was going to be a fight to the end, with a double overtime win for Abbotsford. But Charlotte made their comeback in game 2 with an overtime winner for themselves. 

Games 3-5 were played on home ice at the Abbotsford Centre, where Abbotsford secured 2 back to back wins, and had the chance to secure the Calder Cup at home. However it didn’t end there, Charlotte won the battle in another overtime game, forcing the series to a game 6 back to North Carolina. 

When asked about the game 5 loss coach Manny Malhotra commented; “...[it] would have been a storybook ending for us. But we’re not a storybook team. We grind, we work for what we get.”

Game 6 proved that Abbotsford was not a team to be discounted. Through the pressure of the game they remained calm and played their game. Charlotte secured 2 goals in the first, but that didn’t stop Abbotsford from battling hard for the comeback. 

Sammy Blais secured a late goal in the first, which shifted the dynamic of the Abbotsford team at the start of the second. Abbotsford secured 2 more goals in the second. Danila Klimovich scored the equalizer and Linus Karlsson scored the final goal of the game. 

Abbotsford won 3-2 over Charlotte. This secured Abbotsford as the 2024-2025 Calder Cup Champions, the first in franchise history. Proving that they were never a team to discount, despite the slow start to the season. 

The dynamic, passion, drive and resilience created a team that was never going to back down from a challenge. They are the comeback kids.