2023 Abbotsford Canucks Offseason Player Tracker

SEASON SYNOPSIS

In the second season of existence for the Abbotsford Canucks, maintaining the status quo was the order of 2022-23.

Whether it was the team’s intention or not, the AHL Canucks finished with almost identical stats across the board (see table below). Abbotsford even faced the Bakersfield Condors in the first round of the postseason yet again, this time to a 2-0 series win instead of a 2-0 sweep. A new Pacific Division rival in the Calgary Wranglers then defeated the Canucks three games to one in the divisional semis.

Defenseman Christian Wolanin had an outstanding season, playing in just 49 games for Abbotsford while posting six goals. His 49 assists and 55 total points ranked first amongst AHL defensemen. He also finished tied for fifth in assists league-wide. Leading the team in scoring, Wolinan represented Abbotsford at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic in Laval, elected to the 2022-23 AHL First All-Star Team, and was honored with the Eddie Shore Award for Best AHL Defenseman.

Latvian netminder Artūrs Šilovs stood firm in net for the Canucks last year, ranking top ten across multiple goaltending categories. Šilovs tied for third in wins (26), seventh in goals against average (2.44), fifth in minutes played (2554:16), tied for third in shutouts (4), and fifth in games played (44). He also helped Latvia win its first ever medal (bronze) at the 2023 Men’s Hockey Championship in May.

(List updated as of Aug. 8th, 2:15pm PT)

UNDER CONTRACT AND RE-SIGNINGS

Forwards

• Arshdeep Bains – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract
• Linus Karlsson – Last year of entry-level contract
• Danila Klimovich – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract
• Vasily Podkolzin – Last year of entry-level contract
• Karel Plasek – Last year of entry-level contract
• Aatu Räty – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract
• Chase Wouters – Last year of AHL contract
• Phillip Di Giuseppe – Signed a two-year, two-way NHL contract extension on March 12
• Aidan McDonough – Signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on March 13 (played for Abbotsford and Northeastern Univ. [NCAA] in 2022-23)
• Max Sasson – Signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on March 26 (played with Abbotsford on an ATO and Western Michigan Univ. [NCAA] in 2022-23)
• Marc Gatcomb – Signed one-year AHL contract extension on May 18
• Tristen Nielsen – Signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on July 1
• John Stevens – Signed a two-year AHL contract on July 1

Defensemen

• Filip Johansson – Last year of entry-level contract (played three games in the postseason for Abbotsford and Frölunda HC of the SHL in 2022-23)
• Jack Rathbone – Last year of one-way NHL contract
• Quinn Schmiemann – Last year of AHL contract
• Guillaume Brisebois – Signed a two-year NHL contract extension (2023-24 is two-way; 2024-25 is one-way) on March 7
• Christian Wolanin – Signed a two-year, two-way NHL contract extension on March 23
• Alex Kannok Leipert – Signed a one-year AHL contract extension on May 16
• Jett Woo – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract extension on May 31
• Chad Nychuk – Signed a one-year AHL contract extension on June 30
• Noah Juulsen – Signed a two-year, two-way NHL contract on July 1

Goaltenders

• Spencer Martin – Last year of one-way NHL contract
• Artūrs Šilovs – Last year of entry-level contract

NEW ADDITIONS

Forwards

• Josh Bloom – First year of entry-level contract (entry-level slide; played for the Saginaw Spirit and North Bay Battalion in 2022-23)
• Jonathan Lekkerimäki – Signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract on May 6 (played for Djurgårdens IF of HockeyAllsvenskan in 2022-23)
• Cooper Walker – Signed a one-year AHL contract on May 18 (played for the OHL’s Guelph Storm in 2022-23)
• Jermaine Loewen – Signed a two-year AHL contract on July 5 (played for Henderson in 2022-23)
• Josh Passolt – Signed a one-year AHL contract on August 8 (played one game for Rochester and 69 games for ECHL Cincinnati in 2022-23)

Defensemen

• Cole McWard – Signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on April 4 (played with Vancouver and Ohio State Univ. [NCAA] in 2022-23)
• Elias Pettersson – Signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract on April 19 (played for Örebro HK in the SHL in 2022-23)
• Matt Irwin – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on July 1 (played for Washington in 2022-23)
• Akito Hirose – Signed a two-year NHL contract (two-way for 2023-24 and one-way for 2024-25) on July 2  (played with Vancouver and Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato) [NCAA] in 2022-23)
• Derek Daschke – Signed a one-year AHL contract on August 8 (played for ECHL Toledo and Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth [NCAA] in 2022-23)
• Michael Joyaux – Signed a one-year AHL contract on August 8 (played for ECHL Newfoundland in 2022-23)

Goaltenders

• Nikita Tolopilo – Signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on March 31 (played for Södertälje SK in HockeyAllsvenskan in 2022-23)
• Zach Sawchenko – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract on July 1 (played for the Chicago Wolves in 2022-23)
• Jonathan Lemieux – Signed a one-year AHL contract on August 8 (played for Concordia Univ. [USports] in 2022-23)

DEPARTURES

Forwards

• Vincent Arseneau – Traded to Providence for future considerations on June 2
• Yushiroh Hirano – Signed a one-year, two-way AHL contract with Utica on July 10
• Justin Dowling – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract with New Jersey on July 1
• Matt Alfaro – Signed a one-year contract with the Ravensburg Towerstars of DEL2 on July 16

Defensemen

• Dylan MacPherson – Signed a one-year contract with Villacher SV of the ICEHL on June 1 (played majority of 2022-23 with ECHL Wichita)
• Brady Keeper – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract with Montreal on July 1
• Zach Giuttari – Signed a one-year contract with Växjö Lakers HC of the SHL on July 25

Goaltenders

• Colin Delia – Signed a one-year, one-way NHL contract with Winnipeg on July 1

FREE AGENTS

Forwards

• Carson Focht – UFA (did not receive qualifying offer on June 30)
• Kyle Rau – UFA (AHL)
• Michael Regush – UFA (AHL)

(Special thanks to CapFriendly and Elite Prospects for all the contract terms and definitions for this offseason player tracker!)

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Other 2023 AHL Off Season Trackers :

Links will be updated as articles are released.

Central

• Chicago Wolves
• Grand Rapids Griffins
• Iowa Wild
• Manitoba Moose
• Milwaukee Admirals
• Rockford IceHogs
• Texas Stars

Pacific

• Abbotsford Canucks
• Bakersfield Condors
• Calgary Wranglers
• Coachella Valley Firebirds
• Colorado Eagles
• Henderson Silver Knights
• Ontario Reign
• San Diego Gulls
• San Jose Barracuda
• Tucson Roadrunners

Atlantic

• Bridgeport Islanders
• Charlotte Checkers
• Hartford Wolf Pack
• Hershey Bears
• Lehigh Valley Phantoms
• Providence Bruins
• Springfield Thunderbirds 
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

North

• Belleville Senators
• Cleveland Monsters
• Laval Rocket
• Rochester Americans
• Syracuse Crunch
• Toronto Marlies
• Utica Comets