The Abbotsford Canucks signed goaltender Mitchell Weeks to a one-year AHL deal on Wednesday, adding a third goalie to the farm club stable. The Barrie, Ontario native has worked his way up the long way, going undrafted after his time with the Sudbury Wolves, taking an ECHL tryout with the Wheeling Nailers, and parlaying it into four seasons between the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs and the ECHL’s Indy Fuel. Weeks played 44 games with the Fuel last season, winning 20 games and earning a .906 save percentage.

The move to sign Weeks is crucial for keeping the Canucks’ goaltending depth in check. With Jiri Patera off to Providence, the keys to the Abbotsford crease will fall to Canucks prospects Aku Koskenvuo and Ty Young. So where does Weeks fit into this puzzle?

Weeks is 25, older than Koskenvuo and Young, and has plenty of pro experience between the IceHogs and Fuel. Vancouver’s biggest priority will be giving the majority of the runway to their drafted prospects, meaning Weeks will likely start the season as the third man in the press box. For young goalies, that lack of ice time is detrimental; for a veteran, it’s much easier to go stretches between starts without skipping a beat. And should Abbotsford not need his services for an extended period of time, they’d have the option of sending him to the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL to get some extra games in.

But the odds are high that Weeks will eventually get some playing time in Abbotsford. Both of Vancouver’s goalies, Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen, have missed time in recent seasons due to various injuries. And should the Canucks be required to call up one of Koskenvuo or Young to the big club, that will open the door for Weeks to get a run of games.

The Canucks’ goaltender pipeline is set in stone, but all Weeks needs is a stretch of AHL contests to make his contract worthwhile and prove his overall value. That game plan has proved successful for previous Abbotsford netminders like Patera and Spencer Martin. Martin, in particular, is the blueprint for what Weeks should aim for. Working with Canucks goalie coach Justin Pogge to shore up his game and improve his stock as an AHL goaltender will make Weeks a more attractive option for teams looking for goalie depth next season and beyond, in the same way that Martin turned his time with the Canucks into regular NHL contracts and steady starts between the NHL and the AHL.

If all goes according to plan, this one-year deal should be a win-win for both the team and the player. Abbotsford gets a steady veteran presence to fill in for starts when their young guns are either on assignment or require rest. Weeks will gain access to one of the best goalie development programs in hockey and the opportunity to use it as a springboard for his hockey career.