Vitali Kravtsov has cleared the NHL’s waiver wire and will join the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks for the final two days of their training camp. Kravtsov was cut from the Vancouver Canucks’ preseason roster on Thursday, but before going down to Abbotsford, he needed to pass through waivers. The 31 other NHL teams passed on him, meaning he’ll likely now start the season with the Abbotsford Canucks.

The Canucks signed Kravtsov, 25, to a one-year deal with an NHL cap hit of $775,000 this past offseason. The contract is a two-way deal, meaning he will earn an AHL salary of $450,000.

Kravtsov, who was the New York Rangers’ selection at ninth overall of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, is in his second stint with the Canucks, as the club traded for him at the tail end of the 2022-23 season. Kravtsov left for the KHL after that season, and after enjoying some success in Russia over the past two seasons, Kravtsov eyed an NHL comeback with the Canucks this season.

Unfortunately, he never did much to stand out during training camp and the preseason games he got into.

The Abbotsford Canucks’ training camp kicked off on Wednesday, October 1st, and runs through Friday at the Abbotsford Centre before a scrimmage on Saturday, October 4th at the Chilliwack Coliseum. Kravtsov’s skill should be a welcome addition to an Abbotsford Canucks team that lost some veteran leadership following their Calder Cup Championship victory.

And of course, Kravtsov won’t be the last forward assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks. With the Canucks’ final game of the NHL preseason set for tonight against the Edmonton Oilers — and the NHL opening night roster deadline fast approaching — players such as Arshdeep Bains, Linus Karlsson, Aatu Räty, Max Sasson (waiver exempt), and Jonathan Lekkerimäki (waiver exempt) all remain in the hunt for final roster spots among the forward group. Each player has shown flashes this preseason, but the Canucks only have so many NHL spots up for grabs, so it will certainly be interesting to see who from that group the Canucks decided to send back down to the AHL.

While Kravtsov wasn’t claimed on waivers, three players were. Minnesota claimed Daemon Hunt — who they traded last season in the David Jiricek trade — Florida claimed Cole Schwindt from Colorado, and Colorado claimed Ilya Solovyov from Calgary.