After losing his starting role at the junior level to a 2025 first-round draft candidate, Ty Young has quickly rebuilt his game in the ECHL. Well, on Saturday night, it was time to take that success to the AHL with his anticipated Abbotsford Canucks debut.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the fairytale start he had envisioned. Young allowed goals on the first three shots he faced, putting him and the team in a deep hole early. Despite that shaky start, he found his footing as the game progressed, making key saves and keeping his team in contention during a frantic, rather lopsided third period.

Unfortunately, the Canucks’ top six failed to provide the necessary support, leaving their bottom six to pick up the slack. All in all, it was a night of learned lessons for Ty Young and yet another subpar effort from a middling Abbotsford Canucks squad.

Let’s break down how it all played out.

The forward group did not see any new recruits but did see a shake-up of the line combinations. Danila Klimovich jumped up with Max Sasson to slide next to Arshdeep Bains. That left a second line of Ty Mueller, Nils Aman, and Tristen Nielsen.

Rookie defenceman Kirill Kudryavstev drew back into the lineup after being healthy and scratched for two consecutive matches. Meanwhile, fellow rookie defender Elias Pettersson slid up to the top pair for the first time in a young career.

Akito Hirose was the healthy scratch, while Linus Karlsson, Phil Di Giuseppe, Sammy Blais and Christian Wolanin remain out with injury.

As mentioned, 20-year-old Ty Young got the call for his first taste of AHL action.

Despite all the buzz surrounding his anticipated debut, it wasn’t the ideal debut period for the ‘young’ 20-year-old. He faced just two shots throughout the 20-minute stretch, allowing goals on each.

It was the Canucks who came out the gate strong, however. The newly formed second unit went to work moments into the game, grabbing a couple of good chances off the hop.

A few plays later, Cole McWard kicked off the play from behind his net, firing a stretch pass toward Cooper Walker. Using his stick to redirect the pass, Ty Glover turned on the jets to burst through the zone before firing a cheeky backhand shot through the wickets of Firebirds’ netminder Ales Stezka.

Immediately following the goal, the Birds took a tripping call to send a buzzing Canucks team to their first man-advantage of the night.

PP1 – Nils Aman, Tristen Nielsen, Arshdeep Bains, Danila Klimovich and Cole McWard
PP2 – Max Sasson, Chase Wouters, John Stevens, Ty Mueller and Kirill Kudryavtsev

The powerplay did not amount to much, and that would prove costly.

With the penalty killed, the Firebirds got a lucky bounce off the backboard. The puck shot out directly toward Luke Henman, who deposited the puck into an empty cage. It’s a brutal start for Ty Young, who conceded his first goal on his first shot faced. But he had no chance on that one.

And just like the Firebirds did after allowing their goal, the Canucks took a penalty mere seconds later to put them down a man and still mourning the goal.

PK1 – John Stevens, Chase Wouters, Elias Pettersson and Jett Woo
PK 2 – Nils Aman, Ty Mueller, Guillaume Brisebois and Christian Felton

With the perfect penalty kill nearly expired, Elias Pettersson picked his team up with a tremendous hip check, channelling his inner Dan Hamhuis on the play.

By now, Ty Young had only faced one shot against, now 15 minutes into his debut period. And just past the 15-minute mark, this happened.

Max McCormick found himself all alone rushing wide and lifted a nasty backhand over the shoulder of the young netminder to send his Firebirds to their first lead of the contest.

Two shots faced, two goals allowed.

It’s tough enough being an AHL rookie goaltender, but facing just two shots in 20 minutes is a nightmare scenario for building rhythm. It showed, and the Canucks took a 2-1 deficit despite outshooting their opponents by an 8-2 margin.

Things only got worse for Young. Just one minute into the second frame, the puck rang around the boards, and the Firebirds were the first ones on the puck to find Eduard Sale in the slot.

Just a minute in, Eduard Šalé ripped a perfectly placed shot to the top corner, putting the Firebirds up by two. Three shots on. Three shots in.

But then, things began to turn around.

Moments later, Young made two sharp saves, earning his first official stop in the AHL. His confidence grew as the period progressed, and so did the Canucks’ energy.

With the save on the second shot, the puck came out, and the Canucks turned the play over. From there, the fourth line struck again. Chipping away at the loose puck, Cooper Walker poked it past the Firedbirds’ netminder to cut the deficit to one goal. This line and the bottom six as a whole would prove to be the club’s best players throughout the period.

The third line was at it, laser-focused on finding the equalizer, working away behind the net. Winning the battle, Nate Smith found Carsen Twarynski, who was gifted the game’s best chance – without scoring – of the game while all alone in the slot. Ales Stezka sprawled out to make the robbery glove save, denying Twarynski the goal against his former team.

With the clock passing five minutes remaining, the Canucks completed the comeback.

After a stretch of solid puck movement, Elias Pettersson dropped the puck back to Chase Wouters, who covered the point for the activated defender. He sent a shot through traffic, where Nate Smith tipped it to even the score at three and collected his first goal as a member of the Canucks’ organization.

What started as a nightmare was quickly becoming a game to remember.

By the time the third period rolled around, Ty Young had settled into his net and began the period with a series of big saves to keep the game tied.

Unfortunately for him, the Canucks’ offence dried up, and the Firebirds would spend the next 19 minutes pressing with the Canucks’ against the wall.

Right off the hop, he made several strong saves to deny the Firebirds the chance to take the lead. He’d make eight saves within the first five minutes of the period, slowly becoming a calming presence between the pipes.

The Canucks’ best stretch came midway through the period, with Ty Mueller and Danila Klimovich creating chances off the rush. However, they couldn’t solve Stezka, who remained steady between the pipes.

With just five minutes remaining, the unravelling began.

The Canucks took two penalties in quick succession, giving the Firebirds an incredibly untimely 5-on-3 power play.

Despite the loss of men, things were going relatively smoothly. Ty Young was making stops, the defence was shutting down, and no goals were conceded.

With the first penalty expired, the Birds continued their in-zone attack, working the puck around the perimeter before finding a cross-ice feed between the wickets of Young. Banging on the doorstep was Logan Morrison, who potted the puck into the open net.

But wait, what about the net? The Firebirds continued celebrating and acting like they had taken the lead late in the frame, but the referee was not fooled.

It was clear that McCormick had knocked the net off its moorings to halt the play, and the goal was overturned rather quickly.

But it didn’t matter.

Seconds later, Cale Fleury received the pass and blasted a one-timer through traffic, beating Young for the eventual game-winner.

Despite a late push with the goalie pulled, the Canucks couldn’t find the equalizer. The game ended 4-3, a tough loss for Young in his AHL debut, against back-to-back Western Conference Champions.

Ty Young’s debut was a rollercoaster. Facing just two shots in the first period is a nightmare scenario for any goalie, let alone a rookie. While his shaky start put the team in a tough spot, he rebounded admirably and showed flashes of the potential that earned him this opportunity.

Offensively, the Canucks’ top six was a no-show, leaving their bottom six to carry the load. With names like Arshdeep Bains, Danila Klimovich, and Nils Åman, more is expected from the team’s stars, who did not deliver tonight.

Third Star: Guillaume Brisebois
Since the weekend series did not carry many positives, we must give our third star to Guillaume Brisebois, who continues to put in the work and be a contributing member of this Canucks organization. On Friday, he scored his first professional goal since March 14, 2024, so credit must be given where due.

Second Star: Chase Wouters
The captain continues to provide this team with solid bottom-six minutes, playing important roles and supplying energy when his team needs it. He had one assist tonight but has contributed to several goals over the weekend, including the screen that directly led to the already-mentioned Brisebois goal.

First Star: Ty Glover
Fourth line or not, Ty Glover was noticeable all weekend, which probably isn’t saying all that much. When he gets going, the 24-year-old can sure fly, and he matches that with a tremendous work ethic and gear toward pressure. He picked up a goal and an assist in tonight’s game and was one of the more consistent in both.

The Canucks hit the road for a long six-game trip, starting Tuesday against the Bakersfield Condors. The puck drops at 10:30 am PT for the Condors’ annual “school day” game. Abbotsford won’t return home until December 7th, making this road swing a critical test for the team.