Abbotsford Canucks Talk

[Vector]

The season is over. The offseason has begun. Ryan Johnson has brought back a fan favourite.

Click to read more...

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Nice to see them keeping a fan favourite - and one tough mawfaw - around. Good for AKL.

Now do Nielsen! Get some!

 

[VanJack]

On paper, this Abby team looks to be stacked for next season. In addition to all the returnees like Karlsson, Bains, Klimovich and possibly Silovs and Rathbone, you can add in the newcomers.

Hirose, Sasson, McWard and McDonough will be guys to watch. Really hope they can find a way to bring Juulsen back into the fold. He's a hard-hitting d-man and nice depth in the system.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Gatcomb coming back for another season. It sounded like he settled into a good grinding/bottom six role with Abby down the stretch.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I believe this is the updated depth chart for Abbotsford at the moment -

Goalie:
Arturs Silovs
Spencer Martin
Mikita Talapila

Defense:
Jett Woo
Jack Rathbone
Filip Johansson
Cole McWard
Alex Kannok-Leipert (AHL Deal)
Quinn Schmiemann (AHL Deal)

Forward:
Arshdeep Bains
Max Sasson
Aatu Raty
Danila Klimovich
Josh Bloom
Linus Karlsson
Aidan McDonough
Chase Wouters (AHL Deal)
Vincent Arseneau (AHL Deal)
Marc Gatcomb (AHL Deal)

A few of Hirose, Wolanin, Brisebois, Dries, Di Giuseppe and Studnicka may end up there as well.

 

[MS]

Gatcomb coming back for another season. It sounded like he settled into a good grinding/bottom six role with Abby down the stretch.

Deserves it. He was excellent down the stretch.

AKL I’m a bit more surprised given the incoming RHD.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Deserves it. He was excellent down the stretch.

AKL I’m a bit more surprised given the incoming RHD.

AHL clubs go through so many D over the course of a season that I think retaining a guy like AKL is an easy decision. He wants to be here, he’s got history in the valley, can play minutes in a pinch, but also sits his fair share. He’s a big fan favourite too.

 

[VanJack]

I believe this is the updated depth chart for Abbotsford at the moment -

Goalie:
Arturs Silovs
Spencer Martin
Mikita Talapila

Defense:
Jett Woo
Jack Rathbone
Filip Johansson
Cole McWard
Alex Kannok-Leipert (AHL Deal)
Quinn Schmiemann (AHL Deal)

Forward:
Arshdeep Bains
Max Sasson
Aatu Raty
Danila Klimovich
Josh Bloom
Linus Karlsson
Aidan McDonough
Chase Wouters (AHL Deal)
Vincent Arseneau (AHL Deal)
Marc Gatcomb (AHL Deal)

A few of Hirose, Wolanin, Brisebois, Dries, Di Giuseppe and Studnicka may end up there as well.

Just a small note of correction. Cap Friendly has completely butchered his name. It's 'Nikita Tolopilo' not 'Mikita Talpila'.

Hopefully they get the name right on the back of his Abbotsford Canucks uniform next season.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Just a small note of correction. Cap Friendly has completely butchered his name. It's 'Nikita Tolopilo' not 'Mikita Talpila'.

Hopefully they get the name right on the back of his Abbotsford Canucks uniform next season.

LMAO. I don’t even have words.

 

[yrmj3]

Just a small note of correction. Cap Friendly has completely butchered his name. It's 'Nikita Tolopilo' not 'Mikita Talpila'.

Mikita Talapila it's transliteration from Belarusian(probably as in his passport) and Nikita Tolopilo - from Russian, which is more used in everyday life

 

[VanJack]

Mikita Talapila it's transliteration from Belarusian(probably as in his passport) and Nikita Tolopilo - from Russian, which is more used in everyday life

My apologies to Cap Friendly.....should have known they'd never get the spelling of any player wrong. They're religious about keeping the player movements and their site up-to-date and correct at all times.

 

[Play]

My apologies to Cap Friendly.....should have known they'd never get the spelling of any player wrong. They're religious about keeping the player movements and their site up-to-date and correct at all times.

Upon further awareness, it was determined Cap friendly will remain a credible source

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Ryan Johnson's busy off-season continues.



He was the Captain of the Guelph Storm this year, where he played as an overager.

	Regular Season	Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2019-20	Guelph Storm	OHL	45	2	6	8	8	-8
2021-22	Guelph Storm	OHL	68	15	20	35	18	-1	5	0	1	1	9
2022-23	Guelph Storm	OHL	66	21	30	51	21	-2	6	2	3	5	0

 

[MS]

Ryan Johnson's busy off-season continues.



He was the Captain of the Guelph Storm this year, where he played as an overager.

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
	Regular Season	Playoffs
2019-20	Guelph Storm	OHL	45	2	6	8	8	-8
2021-22	Guelph Storm	OHL	68	15	20	35	18	-1	5	0	1	1	9
2022-23	Guelph Storm	OHL	66	21	30	51	21	-2	6	2	3	5	0

Interesting.

Led the entire OHL in faceoff attempts (1534 at 53%) and 41 of his 51 points were ES/SH. Seems to get rave marks for his work ethic and leadership.

Seems like another Chase Wouters on paper.

Really hard to find video on him to evaluate whether his skating gives him more upside than his production would indicate.

 

[VanJack]

I'm really beginning to believe that Abbotsford might soon be the preferred destination for undrafted UFA's, if it isn't already.

It's one thing for guys occupying one of the Canucks 50-contract slots to show improvement. But seems to me the guys signed to AHL contracts by the Abby Canucks are making major strides on their own.

One thing is for sure. Cooper Walker will get a legitimate shot to make the Abbotsford Canucks next season. And as an undrafted UFA, that's all you can ask for--a legitimate shot to make it.

I know a lot of posters are discouraged about the state of the parent club these days......but the Abbotsford Canucks are easily one of the best things to happen to this franchise in the last decade.

 

[RobertKron]

I'm really beginning to believe that Abbotsford might soon be the preferred destination for undrafted UFA's, if it isn't already.

It's one thing for guys occupying one of the Canucks 50-contract slots to show improvement. But seems to me the guys signed to AHL contracts by the Abby Canucks are making major strides on their own.

One thing is for sure. Cooper Walker will get a legitimate shot to make the Abbotsford Canucks next season. And as an undrafted UFA, that's all you can ask for--a legitimate shot to make it.

I know a lot of posters are discouraged about the state of the parent club these days......but the Abbotsford Canucks are easily one of the best things to happen to this franchise in the last decade.

I assume you’re familiar enough with the rest of the AHL to make this claim, yeah?

Like, on this very same page you made a post about how "stacked" Abbotsford is for next season, but somehow Abbotsford is simultaneously the best destination for UFAs because it offers them a good chance of making the roster. Which is it?

 

[Tables of Stats]

I assume you’re familiar enough with the rest of the AHL to make this claim, yeah?

Like, on this very same page you made a post about how "stacked" Abbotsford is for next season, but somehow Abbotsford is simultaneously the best destination for UFAs because it offers them a good chance of making the roster. Which is it?

I don't think it's an either-or situation, especially at the AHL level. You can have a solid top-6 and top-4 and still have room to give guys chances. The fact that players like Bains, Gatcomb, and Schmiemann all came in and got the ice time and development they did speaks well for other players coming in and doing the same. This isn't the NHL where spots can get clogged up so there's little worry about an AHL team being too stacked for a good player to see the ice.

 

[alternate]

I assume you’re familiar enough with the rest of the AHL to make this claim, yeah?

Like, on this very same page you made a post about how "stacked" Abbotsford is for next season, but somehow Abbotsford is simultaneously the best destination for UFAs because it offers them a good chance of making the roster. Which is it?

Like 85% of your posts are these "gotcha" posts to VanJack. Did he date your mom or something??

 

[RobertKron]

Like 85% of your posts are these "gotcha" posts to VanJack. Did he date your mom or something??

I'm trying to figure out who let an AI chatbot loose on HF.

 

[Hit the post]

Like 85% of your posts are these "gotcha" posts to VanJack. Did he date your mom or something??

I dated both their moms & have to say, I know where RobertKron got his good looks from.

99% of my posts are "gotcha" posts to anybody.

 

[VanJack]

You can monitor all the signings on Cap Friendly, A lot of clubs in the NHL mostly confine their signings to ELC's for players they've already drafted. A few others, have picked up an NCAA player or two.

So when you add in the UFA's the Canucks have signed from Sweden; along with guys from the NCAA; and junior ranks; I feel confident in saying there isn't a team in the league that has signed more young, free agent players than the Canucks.

And on the basis of their NCAA signings alone, the Canucks have added Sasson, McWard, Hirose and McDonough after the end of the NCAA season. And d-man Andy Carrol signed an AHL contract with Abbotsford. This is easily the most NCAA players added by any NHL team.

Most of these guys could have signed anywhere. So why is Vancouver such a favored destination for top NCAA players? It's because they feel they have a legitimate shot to make the big club or develop their game by playing in a solid AHL market like Abbotsford.

 

[MS]

You can monitor all the signings on Cap Friendly, A lot of clubs in the NHL mostly confine their signings to ELC's for players they've already drafted. A few others, have picked up an NCAA player or two.

So when you add in the UFA's the Canucks have signed from Sweden; along with guys from the NCAA; and junior ranks; I feel confident in saying there isn't a team in the league that has signed more young, free agent players than the Canucks.

And on the basis of their NCAA signings alone, the Canucks have added Sasson, McWard, Hirose and McDonough after the end of the NCAA season. And d-man Andy Carrol signed an AHL contract with Abbotsford. This is easily the most NCAA players added by any NHL team.

Most of these guys could have signed anywhere. So why is Vancouver such a favored destination for top NCAA players? It's because they feel they have a legitimate shot to make the big club or develop their game by playing in a solid AHL market like Abbotsford.

When you have fewer draft picks (and use most of them poorly), you have more contract slots to make UFA prospect signings. That's about all there is to it.

Not a single player from the 2018-2021 drafts signed with the team last summer and joined Abbotsford for the 22-23 season. That freed up the team to sign a bunch of older prospects in the last 12 months.

 

[Tables of Stats]

When you have fewer draft picks (and use most of them poorly), you have more contract slots to make UFA prospect signings. That's about all there is to it.

Not a single player from the 2018-2021 drafts signed with the team last summer and joined Abbotsford for the 22-23 season. That freed up the team to sign a bunch of older prospects in the last 12 months.

That's true but we also landed Kuzmenko and then a couple of the top-tier college UFAs. We used to miss out on those kinds of free assets and now we seem to be something of a destination for them.

 

[MS]

That's true but we also landed Kuzmenko and then a couple of the top-tier college UFAs. We used to miss out on those kinds of free assets and now we seem to be something of a destination for them.

Oh, for sure. We have normal competent management now who have been able to leverage the opportunity provided by a thin roster into results. And Kuzmenko was a massive home run.

But generally speaking, the reason we've signed so many Euro/NCAA/CHL UFA prospects in the past 12 months is because we had few picks (and few good, signable prospects amongst the picks we did use) from the 2018-2021 drafts.

And again for 23-24 we have only one Canuck-drafted prospect turning pro (McDonough) plus Bloom acquired in a trade.

And to be clear, I have no problem with that. One of the reasons I've supported trading picks and running a pick deficit is that these things don't happen in a vacuum. If you trade a 4th round pick in 2020, that means you have one less prospect to sign in 2022 and you have the ability to sign a Bains or an Aman and you've lost nothing.

 

[Tables of Stats]

Oh, for sure. We have normal competent management now who have been able to leverage the opportunity provided by a thin roster into results. And Kuzmenko was a massive home run.

But generally speaking, the reason we've signed so many Euro/NCAA/CHL UFA prospects in the past 12 months is because we had few picks (and few good, signable prospects amongst the picks we did use) from the 2018-2021 drafts.

And again for 23-24 we have only one Canuck-drafted prospect turning pro (McDonough) plus Bloom acquired in a trade.

And to be clear, I have no problem with that. One of the reasons I've supported trading picks and running a pick deficit is that these things don't happen in a vacuum. If you trade a 4th round pick in 2020, that means you have one less prospect to sign in 2022 and you have the ability to sign a Bains or an Aman and you've lost nothing.

Yeah, our current crop of UDFAs is a result of a few factors. Here's hoping we can keep it up for a while even if (hopefully when) we hang onto more draft picks than we have in the past decade.