The Abbotsford Canucks continued their rollercoaster season over the weekend, splitting a two-game set with one of the Pacific Division’s top teams.

After opening their six-game homestand with a 5–2 loss to the Colorado Eagles, Abbotsford bounced back in Game Two with a four-goal performance highlighted by a 23-save shutout from Ty Young — the first of his AHL career.

While the NHL trade deadline dominated headlines in Vancouver, a smaller move at the AHL level proved pivotal in Abbotsford’s weekend success.

The Canucks acquired defenceman Jack Thompson from San Jose in exchange for Jett Woo, and the newcomer immediately made his presence felt. Opening the team’s scoring on the weekend, Thompson finished his Abbotsford debut with two goals and five points across the two games.

Ty Mueller also played a key role in the rebound effort. After missing Friday’s game while travelling to meet Vancouver in Chicago as a precaution, the Canucks’ top-line centre returned Saturday and delivered a two-goal performance.

Despite the split, Abbotsford remains at the bottom of the Pacific Division. Now sitting at 21-30-3-3, the Canucks remain ten points outside of a playoff spot with just 15 games left in the 2025–26 season.

With trades, call-ups, and injuries all factoring into the lineup, Abbotsford entered Friday night severely shorthanded.

Although the Canucks welcomed back Kirill Kudryavtsev and newly acquired Jack Thompson, several forwards remained unavailable. As a result, the team dressed just ten forwards and six defencemen, with newly signed Christian Felton filling one of the forward spots.

Colorado opened the scoring midway through the first period when Jason Polin recorded his 10th goal of the season off a missed check from Kirill Kudryavtsev at the netfront.

Abbotsford responded nearly 20 minutes later as Thompson introduced himself to the home crowd. Captain Chase Wouters cut back on the entry and found the trailing defenceman. Thompson took a moment to pick his spot before firing a wrist shot through the legs of former Vancouver Giants goaltender Trent Miner to tie the game.

The deadlock lasted only seconds.

Chase Bradley answered almost immediately after forcing a turnover on the forecheck. The Eagles added another before the period ended when Luke Toporowski blasted a power-play one-timer to give Colorado a 3–1 lead heading into the third.

The Eagles extended the lead just 57 seconds into the final frame. Newcomer Thompson and veteran Jimmy Schudlt had their assists out of order. Standing wide open at the netfront, Ivan Ivan deposited the Jack Ahcan cross ice feed with ease.

The Canucks would respond with more last tally. After an offensive-zone faceoff win started the cycle, the puck found Thompson at the point. His shot toward the net was redirected by Ben Berard in the slot, cutting the deficit to two with under five minutes remaining.

That would be as close as Abbotsford would get. Bradley sealed the 5–2 result with an empty-net goal.

Despite the scoreline, Jiri Patera delivered a strong performance in net, stopping 33 of 37 shots.

With Ty Mueller returning to the lineup after travelling the previous day, Abbotsford gained a small boost up front. Yet, still decimated, the Canucks once again dressed ten forwards and (now) seven defencemen, while Ty Young — fresh off his first AHL victory in his previous start — got the nod in goal.

This time, Abbotsford struck first.

Mueller collected the puck along the boards before cutting into the middle of the ice and releasing a snap shot from the top of the circles. Although his shot was interrupted, the puck still managed to find its way past the Eagles’ netminder to open the scoring.

Just two minutes later, Thompson continued his near-perfect debut weekend. After getting a stick on the puck at the blue line, the defenceman quickly sent a routine shot toward the net. A Colorado defender attempted to glove the puck down, but instead redirected it perfectly past his own goaltender to double Abbotsford’s lead.

The score remained 2–0 until the final minutes of the second period, when Danila Klimovich added another.

The play began with Thompson starting the breakout that sprung Ben Berard on an odd-man rush. Berard rang a shot off the post, but the rebound bounced into the slot and off the body of a driving Klimovich before finding the net for his 10th goal of the season.

Early in the third, Klimovich and Thompson added to their point totals on the power play after Ivan Ivan was assessed a double minor for high-sticking.

Stationed along the half-wall, Klimovich spotted Mueller at the netfront and delivered a perfect pass. Mueller showed excellent hand-eye coordination, tipping the puck home for his second goal of the night.

The two-goal outing tied Mueller with Ben Berard for the team lead with 13 goals while pushing him into sole possession of the team scoring lead with 30 points.

Thompson’s five-point weekend brought him to five goals and 17 points on the season, immediately surpassing Sawyer Mynio for the team lead among defencemen.

Young handled the rest. Turning aside all 23 shots he faced, the rookie netminder secured his second straight victory and recorded his first career AHL shutout.

The Canucks continue their six-game homestand on Tuesday when they host the Manitoba Moose for the first of a midweek two-game set. Game One is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. PT at Rogers Forum, with Game Two following on Wednesday night at the same time.