Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced that the club has placed defenceman Jett Woo on waivers for the purpose of AHL assignment on Monday morning:

Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal shared further insight on this move and when Abbotsford can expect Woo back in the lineup:

“Jett Woo has been put on waivers, only because he has to be cleared to be sent down, just like if it were the first game of the season. He is closer to returning from his hand injury. Maybe in a week, they’re thinking. So, Jett Woo’s close to returning to the lineup. They had to put him on waivers to send him down to Abby.”

In his availability ahead of training camp, Allvin shared that Woo would be out month-to-month after undergoing surgery in August. We now know that the injury was to his hand.

Woo, 25, has been with the Canucks organization since they drafted him in the second round (37th overall) of the 2018 NHL draft. The right-shot defenceman has yet to make his NHL debut, but has logged 267 regular season games with the Utica Comets and Abbotsford Canucks. Woo has 21 goals and 62 assists for 83 points over his five seasons. The defensive stalwart has been difficult to play against, throwing big hits, logging 332 penalty minutes and is an impressive plus-32 in the American League.

Last season, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native scored two goals and 16 assists, and posted a career-best plus-14 rating in 67 games in Abbotsford. His defensive play helped the Canucks capture their first Calder Cup Championship in the franchise’s history. Woo potted a goal, adding five assists for six points and a plus-eight rating in 22 postseason games.

The Canucks have struggled without their long-serving defenceman. Abbotsford currently sits in last place of the division with a 5-15-1-3 record, seven points behind the second-lowest Tucson Roadrunners. Their record has them 30th in the league standings, but second-last in points percentage (0.292), ahead of only the Iowa Wild.

On the backend, Sawyer Mynio has been leading the way for Abbotsford. He’s logged heavy ice time and leads Abbotsford’s blueline with two goals and 10 points in 24 games.