On Wednesday afternoon, Abbotsford Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson announced that the club had signed forward Marc Gatcomb to a one-year AHL contract extension.

“Marc was one of our most improved players this year from start to finish,” said Johnson in a statement. “He is a big body that can skate and be a presence in every game. He’s a great pro and we are excited to keep working with him next season.”

Gatcomb, 23, tallied three goals and five assists through 45 games played with Abbotsford this season. Gatcomb was one of Abbotsford Canucks head coach Jeremy Colliton’s more trusted players in this year’s Calder Cup Playoffs, as Woburn, Massachusetts native appeared in all six of the club’s playoff games, scoring his first career playoff goal against Dustin Wolf in game 1 of the Canucks’ second round series against the Calgary Wranglers.

Gatcomb was signed as an NCAA free agent following his final season with the University of Connecticut in 2021-22. After signing that one-year contract, he spent the majority of his first full professional season with Abbotsford in 2022-23 in addition to a brief stint with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings.

As Johnson said, Gatcomb improved as the season went along, and at just 23, could be a valuable piece to Abbotsford’s bottom six forward group for years to come.