<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A full salute to the Abbotsford <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Canucks</a> for <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-arturs-silovs-mvp-abbotsford-canucks-win-2024-25-calder-cup">clinching the Calder Cup on Monday night</a>. And they did it in perhaps the most Abbotsford way possible: absolutely grinding to the final buzzer to eke out the narrowest of victories.</span></p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But the beauty of playoff hockey – <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-can-vancouver-canucks-give-abbotsford-canucks-roster-opportunities-deserve-next-year">and this Abbotsford Canucks team personified this</a> – is that it’s not at all about perfection. It’s simply about finding a way to outscore opponents more often than they outscore you. Win by a little or win by a lot. Just add up the victories and the first team to 16 can call itself champions. And that’s what the minor-league Canucks are – American Hockey League champions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are six thoughts after the team hoisted the Calder Cup in Charlotte:</span></p>
<h2>RESILIENCE</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">1) The resilience of the Canucks was remarkable through the regular season and in the playoffs. With so many players shuttling between Abbotsford and Vancouver and then in the postseason having to get by without top forward Aatu Räty, it really didn’t seem to matter who was available to Manny Malhotra. The group personified the next man up mentality to rattle off 13 straight victories late in the regular season and then went 16-8 in the playoffs. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No statistic underscores the resilience of the bunch more than the fact Abbotsford went 8-0 following losses in the playoffs. Picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and got right back in the fight. And they did it time after time. That’s the sign of a team with a short memory and massive heart.</span></p>
<h2>DID IT THE HARD WAY</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">2) Nothing came easy to the Canucks and they were better off for it. They had to win a deciding Game 5 on the road in Colorado in the third round of the playoffs. The Eagles were the best home ice team in the AHL this season and the Canucks smoked them 5-0 to win the Pacific Division. Looking back, that seemed to be one of the defining moments of this journey. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It certainly served notice that when the chips were down, this team wouldn’t be denied. And more proof of that was winning not once, but twice, in Charlotte after falling behind by a pair of goals. It happened in Game 1 and it occurred again in Game 6. A late first period puck over the glass penalty opened the door a crack for Abbotsford and the Canucks took full advantage. Sammy Blais’ power play goal to get Abbotsford on the board and jumpstart the comeback from an early 2-0 deficit was a huge turning point in Monday’s 3-2 victory. They did it the hard way. But in the end, they got the job done.</span></p>
<h2>SIZZLING SPECIAL TEAMS</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">3) Special teams served this group so well all playoffs long and particularly in the championship series. Abbotsford went 18 for 70 (25.7%) on the power play in the playoffs. No other AHL team scored more than 10 power play goals. And as good as the power play was, the penalty kill was even better, successfully negating 67 of 76 (88.2%) opposition chances with the man advantage. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the final, Abbotsford went seven for 20 (35%) on the power play against Charlotte while the Checkers were four for 23 (17.4%) including failing to score on all four of their opportunities in Monday’s clincher. While the series was close in so many aspects, it was not really a fair fight when it came to the special teams. That’s where Abbotsford delivered repeated blows that ultimately helped the Canucks earn the decision.</span></p>
<h2>A WORK OF ART-Y</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">4) While Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains made late pushes with outstanding performances in the Final, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-busy-nhl-goalie-waiver-wire-vancouver-canucks-attempt-sneak-arturs-silovs-through">Arturs Silovs was the deserving choice for the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy</a> as the AHL Playoff most valuable player. The counting statistics speak for themselves: 16-7 with a 2.01 GAA, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He was a big part of the team’s ability to respond to each and every one of its eight losses with a victory. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There were spectacular saves. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">There were big stops in key moments. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but he faced a penalty shot in the final minute of the playoff opener with the Canucks holding a 4-3 lead. And yes, he stopped it. It was simply a case of Silovs being better than the guy at the other end of the ice in a number closely contested series. It comes with the territory when your team plays more hockey than anyone else in the playoffs, but Silovs faced 288 more shots than any other AHL goaltender in the playoffs. In the end, he stopped 672 of the 722 pucks that came his way. And after giving up two goals in the first period on Monday, he slammed the door shut the rest of the way. </span></p>
<h2>CLOSE ENCOUNTERS</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">5) The Canucks went 8-4 in one-goal decisions in the playoffs. So exactly half of their 24 postseason contests were decided by the slimmest of margins. But they continued to find a way. Five of the six games in the championship series were one goal games. Abbotsford won three of those. In the high leverage situations throughout this run they didn’t shrink. Sure, they didn’t win them all. That’s playoff hockey. The other team is doing all it can to secure a result, too. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But somehow the Canucks were so often just a goal better than the other guys. And one of the statistics that sums up the journey to the Calder Cup best is that Abbotsford had 10 different players score its 16 game winning goals. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-arshdeep-bains-linus-karlsson-four-points-abbotsford-canucks-6-1-rout-charlotte-checkers-game-3">Linus Karlsson, as expected, led the way with four</a>, followed by Danila Klimovich (3), Max Sasson (2) while Sammy Blais, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Ty Mueller, Tristen Nielsen, Christian Wolanin, Kirill Kudryavtsev and Akito Hirose all chipped in with one apiece. That’s depth. That’s spreading the scoring around.</span></p>
<h2>BONDED FOR LIFE</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">6) The on-ice <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/abbotsford-canucks-win-2025-ahl-calder-cup">celebration at Bojangles Coliseum spoke volumes</a>. While nobody grows up dreaming of winning a Calder Cup, you could see what the accomplishment meant. The AHL Championship represents months and months of hard work, much of it away from bright lights and fanfare. For some of these players – many, in fact – this will be the highlight of their professional hockey careers. It was great to see the healthy scratches and injured players (that were able) lace up the skates one final time and join the jubilation. The locker room photos and videos gave all the feels, too. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fact of the matter in professional sports is that there will be changes in that Abbotsford locker room next season. But on Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina bonds were cemented that will last a lifetime. It was a likeable bunch that seemed easy to root for. It was a team that got better as the season moved along and then peaked when it mattered most. What a run. What a ride. What a season for the Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks.</span></p>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">A full salute to the Abbotsford <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Canucks</a> for <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-arturs-silovs-mvp-abbotsford-canucks-win-2024-25-calder-cup">clinching the Calder Cup on Monday night</a>. And they did it in perhaps the most Abbotsford way possible: absolutely grinding to the final buzzer to eke out the narrowest of victories.</span>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But the beauty of playoff hockey – <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-can-vancouver-canucks-give-abbotsford-canucks-roster-opportunities-deserve-next-year">and this Abbotsford Canucks team personified this</a> – is that it’s not at all about perfection. It’s simply about finding a way to outscore opponents more often than they outscore you. Win by a little or win by a lot. Just add up the victories and the first team to 16 can call itself champions. And that’s what the minor-league Canucks are – American Hockey League champions.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are six thoughts after the team hoisted the Calder Cup in Charlotte:</span>
<h2>RESILIENCE</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">1) The resilience of the Canucks was remarkable through the regular season and in the playoffs. With so many players shuttling between Abbotsford and Vancouver and then in the postseason having to get by without top forward Aatu Räty, it really didn’t seem to matter who was available to Manny Malhotra. The group personified the next man up mentality to rattle off 13 straight victories late in the regular season and then went 16-8 in the playoffs. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">No statistic underscores the resilience of the bunch more than the fact Abbotsford went 8-0 following losses in the playoffs. Picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and got right back in the fight. And they did it time after time. That’s the sign of a team with a short memory and massive heart.</span>
<h2>DID IT THE HARD WAY</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">2) Nothing came easy to the Canucks and they were better off for it. They had to win a deciding Game 5 on the road in Colorado in the third round of the playoffs. The Eagles were the best home ice team in the AHL this season and the Canucks smoked them 5-0 to win the Pacific Division. Looking back, that seemed to be one of the defining moments of this journey. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">It certainly served notice that when the chips were down, this team wouldn’t be denied. And more proof of that was winning not once, but twice, in Charlotte after falling behind by a pair of goals. It happened in Game 1 and it occurred again in Game 6. A late first period puck over the glass penalty opened the door a crack for Abbotsford and the Canucks took full advantage. Sammy Blais’ power play goal to get Abbotsford on the board and jumpstart the comeback from an early 2-0 deficit was a huge turning point in Monday’s 3-2 victory. They did it the hard way. But in the end, they got the job done.</span>
<h2>SIZZLING SPECIAL TEAMS</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">3) Special teams served this group so well all playoffs long and particularly in the championship series. Abbotsford went 18 for 70 (25.7%) on the power play in the playoffs. No other AHL team scored more than 10 power play goals. And as good as the power play was, the penalty kill was even better, successfully negating 67 of 76 (88.2%) opposition chances with the man advantage. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">In the final, Abbotsford went seven for 20 (35%) on the power play against Charlotte while the Checkers were four for 23 (17.4%) including failing to score on all four of their opportunities in Monday’s clincher. While the series was close in so many aspects, it was not really a fair fight when it came to the special teams. That’s where Abbotsford delivered repeated blows that ultimately helped the Canucks earn the decision.</span>
<h2>A WORK OF ART-Y</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">4) While Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains made late pushes with outstanding performances in the Final, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-busy-nhl-goalie-waiver-wire-vancouver-canucks-attempt-sneak-arturs-silovs-through">Arturs Silovs was the deserving choice for the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy</a> as the AHL Playoff most valuable player. The counting statistics speak for themselves: 16-7 with a 2.01 GAA, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He was a big part of the team’s ability to respond to each and every one of its eight losses with a victory. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">There were spectacular saves. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">There were big stops in key moments. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but he faced a penalty shot in the final minute of the playoff opener with the Canucks holding a 4-3 lead. And yes, he stopped it. It was simply a case of Silovs being better than the guy at the other end of the ice in a number closely contested series. It comes with the territory when your team plays more hockey than anyone else in the playoffs, but Silovs faced 288 more shots than any other AHL goaltender in the playoffs. In the end, he stopped 672 of the 722 pucks that came his way. And after giving up two goals in the first period on Monday, he slammed the door shut the rest of the way. </span>
<h2>CLOSE ENCOUNTERS</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">5) The Canucks went 8-4 in one-goal decisions in the playoffs. So exactly half of their 24 postseason contests were decided by the slimmest of margins. But they continued to find a way. Five of the six games in the championship series were one goal games. Abbotsford won three of those. In the high leverage situations throughout this run they didn’t shrink. Sure, they didn’t win them all. That’s playoff hockey. The other team is doing all it can to secure a result, too. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But somehow the Canucks were so often just a goal better than the other guys. And one of the statistics that sums up the journey to the Calder Cup best is that Abbotsford had 10 different players score its 16 game winning goals. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-arshdeep-bains-linus-karlsson-four-points-abbotsford-canucks-6-1-rout-charlotte-checkers-game-3">Linus Karlsson, as expected, led the way with four</a>, followed by Danila Klimovich (3), Max Sasson (2) while Sammy Blais, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Ty Mueller, Tristen Nielsen, Christian Wolanin, Kirill Kudryavtsev and Akito Hirose all chipped in with one apiece. That’s depth. That’s spreading the scoring around.</span>
<h2>BONDED FOR LIFE</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">6) The on-ice <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/abbotsford-canucks-win-2025-ahl-calder-cup">celebration at Bojangles Coliseum spoke volumes</a>. While nobody grows up dreaming of winning a Calder Cup, you could see what the accomplishment meant. The AHL Championship represents months and months of hard work, much of it away from bright lights and fanfare. For some of these players – many, in fact – this will be the highlight of their professional hockey careers. It was great to see the healthy scratches and injured players (that were able) lace up the skates one final time and join the jubilation. The locker room photos and videos gave all the feels, too. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The fact of the matter in professional sports is that there will be changes in that Abbotsford locker room next season. But on Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina bonds were cemented that will last a lifetime. It was a likeable bunch that seemed easy to root for. It was a team that got better as the season moved along and then peaked when it mattered most. What a run. What a ride. What a season for the Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks.</span>

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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JPat: 6 final thoughts after the Abbotsford Canucks claim the Calder Cup

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