Canucks recall Nikolay Goldobin, send down Sven Baertschi

Nikolay Goldobin is back up with the Canucks.

The team announced today that the 24-year-old Russian forward has been recalled from the Utica Comets. In a corresponding move, Sven Baertschi has been reassigned to the AHL club.

Goldobin has been on a tear in the AHL, leading the team in scoring with eight goals and 20 points through 18 games. He’s coming off a hat trick performance in his most recent AHL outing — a 4-2 victory over Laval.

Goldobin failed to make the Canucks out of training camp after registering seven goals and 27 points in 63 games for the club last season. Baertschi also didn’t make the big club out of camp but was recalled by the Canucks in early-November.

Baertschi failed to make much of an impact in his call-up with the Canucks, registering two assists and seven shots on goal in six contests. Given the competition for a bottom-six role on this team, Baertschi was going to need to stand out if he wanted to avoid being sent back down.

Goldobin certainly earned this opportunity. He’s been one of the most consistent offensive threats in the AHL this season and has scored six times in his last six games. Aside from the five-goal power play outburst against Nashville, the Canucks have been struggling on offense. They’ve have been held to just a single goal in five of their last nine contests and have only managed 11 even-strength goals in the last 11 games.

Goldobin isn’t an instant magical fix to the team’s offensive woes, but he’s a skilled forward with a proven history of creating offense. Consistency has been the issue for Goldy, so his ability to transfer his success from the AHL level to the NHL will likely play a key role in determining whether or not he sticks with the team.