With the Vancouver Canucks 2024-25 season coming to a close, a number of players are getting sent down to gear up for some playoff action.
On Thursday, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced the team has assigned seven players to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
Of the bunch that’s heading to Abbotsford, Aatu Räty has seen the most action. The Finnish centre has appeared in 33 games with Vancouver this season, scoring a career-high seven goals and 11 points. Even though he’s played just 41 games in Abbotsford, Raty is second on the team in scoring with 39 points.
Victor Mancini also saw a good chunk of time on the Vancouver blue line. The rookie defenceman was acquired by the Canucks in the deal that saw the team acquire Filip Chytil and a first-round pick for J.T. Miller, Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington. Mancini played 16 games with Vancouver, 31 overall this season. The Hancock, Michigan native scored two goals and eight points.
Mancini has registered an assist in five games with Abbotsford.
Max Sasson ended up playing 29 games with Vancouver this season. The former Western Michigan star potted three goals and four assists for seven points. With Abbotsford, the centre has posted 10 goals and 27 points in 39 games.
Linus Karlsson saw the most NHL action of his young career this season, playing in 23 games with Vancouver. He scored three goals and six points with the big club, including a goal on Monday against the San Jose Sharks. The Swedish winger has notched 34 points in 30 appearaces with Abbotsford this year.
Ty Mueller is another scoring threat the Abby Canucks would love to get back. In 62 games in the AHL this season, the centre has posted 12 goals and 38 points, tied for fourth best on the team. The 22-year-old played in two games with Vancouver over the past week, making his NHL debut last Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
Kirill Kudryavtsev also played a couple of games recently, with his NHL debut coming on Monday night against the Sharks. The Russian defenceman has scored five goals and 26 points in 63 games with Abbotsford this season.
Goaltender Nikita Tolopolilo was another one who debuted against San Jose, earning his first NHL win with a 16-save performance on Monday. He was also credited with the loss in the Canucks’ finale against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. In 34 games with Abbotsford, the Russian backstop is 18-14-2 with a 2.68 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage and four shutouts.
The Abby Canucks are fighting it out for the top spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division. With two games remaining, they sit four points back of the first-place Colorado Eagles. If Abbotsford wins both of their games, and the Eagles lose their final two, the Canucks advance will finish atop the division, and get a bye to the division semifinals of the Calder Cup Playoffs. If not, then Abbotsford will be forced to play in the best-of-three first round.
Abbotsford has had to win their way out of the first round in each of the past two postseasons.
