Fresh off a disappointing home opener on Wednesday night, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled winger Arshdeep Bains from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. General manager Patrik Allvin made the announcement Thursday morning.
Bains was the final cut from the Canucks’ opening night roster, but the club then elected to waive defenceman Mark Friedman and send him down to Abbotsford, giving them an extra roster spot. Bains is now the 23rd man on the Canucks’ NHL roster.
The Canucks squandered a three-goal lead on two separate occasions during Wednesday night’s season opener against the Flames. After dominating for the first 20 minutes of play, the Canucks took their foot off the gas and allowed the Flames to get right back in the game. There were more than a couple Canucks who didn’t bring their A-Game last night, and it will be interesting to see if Bains, who impressed during the preseason, gets an immediate shot to play.
The Canucks are set to practice out at UBC later today, and we should get some sort of indication as to where he’ll play in the lineup should Bains slot in for Friday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. Bains enjoyed a breakout year last season in the American Hockey League.
He scored 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points in 59 games and represented the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL All-Star game. After finishing the tournament with two goals and three assists, including scoring the game-winning goal with 12.9 seconds left in the All-Star game finals against the Atlantic division, he won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
Bains followed that impressive weekend by earning his first NHL call-up. The undrafted forward suited up in eight games in Vancouver, faling to register a point during his stint, but showing signs of promise. He finished with four shots on goal, six penalty minutes and a minus-nine rating in 11:48 minutes of ice time.
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