Two nights ahead of their opening night in Rogers Arena, the Vancouver Canucks made their final waves of roster cuts. General Manager Patrik Allvin announced that the club had assigned Arshdeep Bains, Erik Brannstrom and Jiri Patera to Abbotsford. The organization placed Dakota Joshua and Thatcher Demko on season-opening injured non-roster.
Despite his efforts in the preseason — where he scored two goals and one assist in the final two games against the Edmonton Oilers — Bains will start the year in Abbotsford. Last season in the American Hockey League, the Surrey, BC native exploded offensively.
He scored 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points in 59 games and represented the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL All-Star game. After finishing the tournament with two goals and three assists, including scoring the game-winning goal with 12.9 seconds left in the All-Star game finals against the Atlantic division, he won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
Bains followed that impressive weekend by earning a call-up to the NHL. The undrafted forward suited up in eight games in Vancouver. He failed to register a point during his stint, finishing with four shots on goal, six penalty minutes and a minus-nine rating in 11:48 minutes of ice time.
In a corresponding move, recently acquired Erik Brannstrom and recently re-claimed goaltender Jiri Patera were also assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks.
However, on a positive note, Allvin announced the opening night roster, which included Aatu Räty.
Räty, 21, was highly regarded as a top pick in the 2021 draft. Although after a disappointing draft season with Karpat in the SM-liiga – registering three goals and three assists in 35 games – he fell to the second round (52nd overall) for the New York Islanders. He was sent to Vancouver along with a 2023 first-round pick and Anthony Beauvillier in exchange for Bo Horvat.
The Finn has turned heads this preseason with his defensive play and poise while impressing with his unique faceoff technique, in which he flips his stick around to gain an advantage on the right side. He developed strong chemistry with Nils Höglander and Conor Garland. Räty finished the preseason with one goal and one assist.
The highly anticipated season opener kicks off on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames.
