Latest news with #MannyMalhotra
National Post
11 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
Abbotsford Canucks Recap: One win away from Calder Cup glory after 3-2 Game 4 victory
Yet another ensemble effort has the Abbotsford Canucks one win away from capturing the Calder Cup. Article content The Vancouver Canucks farmhands beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Thursday before an announced crowd of 7,161 at the Abbotsford Centre to go up 3-1 in the best-of-seven AHL championship series. Article content The first of three possible cracks to bring home the trophy for the first time in franchise history comes with Game 5 on Saturday (6 p.m.) at the Abbotsford Centre. Article content Game 6, if necessary, would be Monday (4 p.m.) in Charlotte, N.C., and a Game 7, if required, would go next Wednesday (4 p.m.) there. Article content Abbotsford has been buoyed throughout these playoffs by the goaltending of Artūrs Šilovs. He was strong once again Tuesday, making 32 saves. Article content More than anything, though, this playoff run for Abbotsford has been characterized by team effort. Coach Manny Malhotra rolls four lines and three pairs of defence regularly. Abbotsford comes at you in waves, and, when they're right like they were on Thursday, they're heavy and physical. Article content Jett Woo, Sammy Blais and Tristen Nielsen led the way Thursday with momentum-swaying body checks. Article content Tristen Nielsen smashes a Checker into the boards! What a hit! 🎥: FloHockey — CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) June 20, 2025 Article content Article content Various players have led the offence through these playoffs and on Thursday it was Jonathan Lekkerimäki taking his turn, potting a pair of goals. The 2022 Vancouver first-round draft choice had been a healthy scratch for five games prior to getting back into action for Game 3 on Tuesday. Article content
National Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Abbotsford Canucks Live: Who will be latest hero in Game 2 of Calder Cup finals?
Who is the real Danila Klimovich? Article content The mercurial Abbotsford Canucks right-winger has gone from Calder Cup playoffs lineup afterthought to talk of the town. He has two dramatic overtime goals and his latest propelled the AHL affiliate of the parent Vancouver Canucks to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven league championship series. Article content Article content It's the stuff of dreams. Article content Kilmovich's second extra-session strike came midway through the second overtime Friday. It was a quick pivot off the side boards, and then unloading a power play wrister from the faceoff dot that found the post and then the net, to cap a stunning 4-3 decision. Article content Article content 'They (Checkers) came as advertised and are extremely aggressive on the penalty kill and got a number of quality looks the other way,' said Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra. 'The fact we were able to stall it out and recover a puck was huge for us. Article content 'The mindset in overtime is getting pucks to the net and Klimo (Klimovich) did a good job.' Article content Game 2 against the Charlotte Checkers goes Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in North Carolina. Article content It was evident in the opener Friday that the Canucks must start better, play at a higher pace, and have somebody rise to the occasion once again. They were outshot 54-30 in Game 1, including 16-7 in the first overtime, and standout goaltender Arturs Silovs is a big reason why the Canucks have got to this place. Article content His string of superlative performances include five post-season shutouts, one shy of the AHL record. It was established by former Canucks goaltender Mika Noronen in backstopping the Rochester Americans to the league title in 2000. Silovs also has a 1.94 goals-against average and .931 saves percentage in 19 post-season starts of his impressive run. He'll be tested again Sunday. Article content 'They (Checkers) are a volume shooting team and it's not shocking with their totals, but we have to limit the number of quality chances they're getting, admitted Malhotra. 'The skate really well apply a lot of pressure. Arty came up with huge saves late in the game to keep us in it (Friday).' Article content Article content Article content As for the opportunistic Klimovich, he also played unlikely hero in the Western Conference final series against the Texas Stars. He roofed home a high backhander at 3:21 of the second overtime on June 4 to give the Canucks a 3-1 series lead. The big winger was scratched for the first three games of that series. Article content Klimovich, 22, has another year left on his entry level contract to build his game. He had 25 goals and 38 points in 65 regular-season games in 2024-25 and has three goals in 11 playoff games. He has always been a curiosity from the moment the Canucks made the Belarus native and junior level sharpshooter a surprise second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Article content He could score, but could he be responsible and gain trust of the coach? Those 28 goals in 37 games of a second-tier Belarus junior loop in 2021, and six goals in five games at the world Under-18 in 2021, look good on paper.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Abbotsford Canucks Live: Game 1 of AHL Calder Cup final vs. Charlotte
The Vancouver Canucks haven't had an AHL affiliate advance to the league final since the Utica Comets in 2015. Now they have two. The Abbotsford Canucks skated past the Texas Stars on Sunday to make the AHL's championship round, which begins Friday in Charlotte, N.C., against the Checkers, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Yes, those same Florida Panthers who are now battling the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Talk about a strong organization. For the Canucks, this season has been about growth and about the coach. Manny Malhotra had a good reputation as an assistant coach coming into the season but he'd never run a bench as the head coach. Clearly he was more than ready. This Abbotsford team plays smart, hard-working hockey. It's not filled with stars, AHL squads rarely are, but the guys leading the way may yet have an NHL future. Malhotra has seen Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson top the scoring table and it's not accident: both have shown promise as hard-working checkers at the NHL level, the very essence of players who 'play the right way.' AHL games can be chaotic — it's the reality of a league with a broad range of skill quality — so players like when players like Bains and Karlsson, who bring efficiency and focus to the ice, thrive in this environment, it's a good sign for them. They're unlikely to be stars at the NHL level but they could prove to be dependable NHL depth forwards. You also don't get this far without standout performances on the blue-line and both Vincent Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev have shown why they remain on the NHL club's radar: to make the NHL you have to be able to play quicker and smarter than your AHL peers and both have done so. The trick is converting that to the even faster NHL game. Charlotte, on the other hand, are led by a quintet of veteran players, some of whom are familiar: John Leonard is an AHL veteran, but Jesse Puljujärvi is a busted NHL prospect. Will Lockwood came up with the Canucks but has been in the Florida system for the past two seasons. Rasmus Asplund is another AHL veteran with lots of NHL experience. Defenceman Mike Benning, is Jim Benning's son and at 23 may yet make an impact at the NHL level but is obviously playing for an organization that's deep on the blue-line. FloHockey is offering a free stream on YouTube for Game 1, you can watch below: Also, scroll down for the play-by-play updates from tonight's game. Be sure to hit the refresh button for the latest update. Watch this space for updates when the game starts at 4 p.m. More to come … Abbotsford Canucks Recap: Max Sasson the hero as Abby advances to Calder Cup with 4-2 victory Abbotsford Canucks: Travis Green knows 'it's not a race' for Manny Malhotra to run an NHL bench Calder Cup Game 1 is free to watch on web and other fun facts about Abby Canucks bid for AHL title
Vancouver Sun
7 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Abbotsford Canucks Live: Game 1 of AHL Calder Cup final vs. Charlotte
The Vancouver Canucks haven't had an AHL affiliate advance to the league final since the Utica Comets in 2015. Now they have two. The Abbotsford Canucks skated past the Texas Stars on Sunday to make the AHL's championship round, which begins Friday in Charlotte, N.C., against the Checkers, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Yes, those same Florida Panthers who are now battling the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Talk about a strong organization. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. For the Canucks, this season has been about growth and about the coach. Manny Malhotra had a good reputation as an assistant coach coming into the season but he'd never run a bench as the head coach. Clearly he was more than ready. This Abbotsford team plays smart, hard-working hockey. It's not filled with stars, AHL squads rarely are, but the guys leading the way may yet have an NHL future. Malhotra has seen Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson top the scoring table and it's not accident: both have shown promise as hard-working checkers at the NHL level, the very essence of players who 'play the right way.' AHL games can be chaotic — it's the reality of a league with a broad range of skill quality — so players like when players like Bains and Karlsson, who bring efficiency and focus to the ice, thrive in this environment, it's a good sign for them. They're unlikely to be stars at the NHL level but they could prove to be dependable NHL depth forwards. You also don't get this far without standout performances on the blue-line and both Vincent Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev have shown why they remain on the NHL club's radar: to make the NHL you have to be able to play quicker and smarter than your AHL peers and both have done so. The trick is converting that to the even faster NHL game. Charlotte, on the other hand, are led by a quintet of veteran players, some of whom are familiar: John Leonard is an AHL veteran, but Jesse Puljujärvi is a busted NHL prospect. Will Lockwood came up with the Canucks but has been in the Florida system for the past two seasons. Rasmus Asplund is another AHL veteran with lots of NHL experience. Defenceman Mike Benning, is Jim Benning's son and at 23 may yet make an impact at the NHL level but is obviously playing for an organization that's deep on the blue-line. FloHockey is offering a free stream on YouTube for Game 1, you can watch below: Also, scroll down for the play-by-play updates from tonight's game. Be sure to hit the refresh button for the latest update. Watch this space for updates when the game starts at 4 p.m. More to come …
National Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Abbotsford Canucks Live: Game 1 of AHL Calder Cup final vs. Charlotte
The Vancouver Canucks haven't had an AHL affiliate advance to the league final since the Utica Comets in 2015. Now they have two. Article content The Abbotsford Canucks skated past the Texas Stars on Sunday to make the AHL's championship round, which begins Friday in Charlotte, N.C., against the Checkers, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Yes, those same Florida Panthers who are now battling the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Article content Article content Article content Talk about a strong organization. Article content For the Canucks, this season has been about growth and about the coach. Manny Malhotra had a good reputation as an assistant coach coming into the season but he'd never run a bench as the head coach. Clearly he was more than ready. Article content This Abbotsford team plays smart, hard-working hockey. It's not filled with stars, AHL squads rarely are, but the guys leading the way may yet have an NHL future. Article content Malhotra has seen Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson top the scoring table and it's not accident: both have shown promise as hard-working checkers at the NHL level, the very essence of players who 'play the right way.' Article content AHL games can be chaotic — it's the reality of a league with a broad range of skill quality — so players like when players like Bains and Karlsson, who bring efficiency and focus to the ice, thrive in this environment, it's a good sign for them. They're unlikely to be stars at the NHL level but they could prove to be dependable NHL depth forwards. Article content Article content You also don't get this far without standout performances on the blue-line and both Vincent Mancini and Kirill Kudryavtsev have shown why they remain on the NHL club's radar: to make the NHL you have to be able to play quicker and smarter than your AHL peers and both have done so. The trick is converting that to the even faster NHL game. Article content Charlotte, on the other hand, are led by a quintet of veteran players, some of whom are familiar: John Leonard is an AHL veteran, but Jesse Puljujärvi is a busted NHL prospect. Will Lockwood came up with the Canucks but has been in the Florida system for the past two seasons. Rasmus Asplund is another AHL veteran with lots of NHL experience. Defenceman Mike Benning, is Jim Benning's son and at 23 may yet make an impact at the NHL level but is obviously playing for an organization that's deep on the blue-line. Article content Article content Article content
