2021-22 Abbotsford Canucks Thread

[4petesake]

1 hour ago, Fen1010 said:

He got 62 games in this season, got to play in different situations including being on the ice defending a lead with less than a couple minutes left. Abby did good by him, but it will take time. 

Ryan Johnson said that Klimovich didn’t dress in the playoffs “was related to accountability in late season games.” That’s a good enough reason for me. Kids need to learn to be accountable and Klim will, he’s a good kid.

[DeNiro]

4 hours ago, 4petesake said:

Ryan Johnson said that Klimovich didn’t dress in the playoffs “was related to accountability in late season games.” That’s a good enough reason for me. Kids need to learn to be accountable and Klim will, he’s a good kid.

Wasn’t Woo on for 3 goals against in an elimination game playing as a forward?

 

Accountability is nice, winning games is nicer. Playing players out of position isn’t a recipe for winning games.

 

Seems like the coach failed to help carve out a role for Klim and now his GM has to defend him.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by DeNiro

[Boudrias]

if Gadj. Lind and Mac had not be lost last fall what conversation would we be having now? Argue the merits of whether they will have sustained NHL careers or not but all three played a significant number of games in the NHL this year. Too me these three were Cull's calling card as he coached all three in their AHL development. 

[Jack Gordon]

5 hours ago, DeNiro said:

Wasn’t Woo on for 3 goals against in an elimination game playing as a forward?

 

Accountability is nice, winning games is nicer. Playing players out of position isn’t a recipe for winning games.

 

Seems like the coach failed to help carve out a role for Klim and now his GM has to defend him.

 

 

Agreed the Woo experiment at forward was a failure and he should have been on the third D pairing for the two playoff games but there were better options than Klimovich available for a rw spot. What derailed Abby's season was the two blowout losses in Winnipeg to end the season which were mostly the result of Mikey Dipietro absolutely stinking out the joint in goal, Cull's reluctance to use Arturs Silovs, and primarily Spencer Martin being up with the big club.

 

As for Klim, it was he who failed to carve out a role for himself. The league simply shut the kid down once they saw his moves. Had Benning loaned him to the team in the Q that holds his rights we'd likely be singing his praises today after a  successful junior season against his peers. The kid was simply in the wrong league this year.

[Jack Gordon]

3 hours ago, Boudrias said:

if Gadj. Lind and Mac had not be lost last fall what conversation would we be having now? Argue the merits of whether they will have sustained NHL careers or not but all three played a significant number of games in the NHL this year. Too me these three were Cull's calling card as he coached all three in their AHL development. 

The truth is we just haven't had very much down on the farm for Cull to develop the past few years. Anyone with a pulse has been rushed right into the Vancouver lineup and skipped the AHL altogether. A function of so many picks traded of course...

[4petesake]

7 hours ago, DeNiro said:

Wasn’t Woo on for 3 goals against in an elimination game playing as a forward?

 

Accountability is nice, winning games is nicer. Playing players out of position isn’t a recipe for winning games.

 

Seems like the coach failed to help carve out a role for Klim and now his GM has to defend him.

 

 

Not defending the Woo experiment (or whatever that was) just saying that for Klim to develop into an NHL player he will need to learn that no coach will play him if he’s not accountable. I’ve got high hopes for this kid but he’s got a lot of development yet to go.

[King Loui]

5 hours ago, Boudrias said:

if Gadj. Lind and Mac had not be lost last fall what conversation would we be having now? Argue the merits of whether they will have sustained NHL careers or not but all three played a significant number of games in the NHL this year. Too me these three were Cull's calling card as he coached all three in their AHL development. 

A combined 6 goals in 140 games for those 3 this year.  Lind isn't a full-timer yet and MacEwen and Gadjovich are their to fight and both could be out of the league next year if they don't have a big summer.  

 

We exposed Lind in the expansion draft, the other two we simply just let go because obviously we felt they had not developed the way we wanted

Edited May 7, 2022 by King Loui

[Jack Gordon]

On 5/5/2022 at 11:34 AM, Curmudgeon said:

Follow Chris Faber on Twitter and also his regular posts on Canucks Army. Abbotsford is his beat.

 

On 5/5/2022 at 9:34 AM, Googlie said:

Nux have a patchy history of that 7D/13F hybrid ... think Yannik Weber and Alex Biega.  Woo might be the latest iteration

 

Alternatively,  management might have seen enough to rule him out of a RHD slot and are trying to see if they can salvage a draft pick by converting him into an energy fourth liner (think Scott Walker, before he blossomed)

 

I'm hugely disappointed though -  a sense of emptiness (can't really muster any enthusiasm for any of the surviving teams in either league) After the big team failed to make it, I was looking forward to a really long Calder Cup run.

 

Ah well.  Go Jay's go!!!

 

 

 

 

On 5/5/2022 at 10:49 AM, EP Phone Home said:

In all honesty I haven’t been keeping my eye on the farm very much this year but I’m very happy that they are locally in BC. That said could any posters give me their thoughts on what they think of Trent Cull as the coach? I heard last night that he put Klimovich in the press box and put Jet Woo on the 4th line. Those two are our best prospects (Podz of course too) on the farm so it’s easy for a fan like me to ask what is going on here? Can some Abby regulars let me know on what your thoughts are on Cull and if he’s the right guy for the job to develop these kids on the farm.
 

Tuesday when the Canucks were having their presser. JR said he was thrilled with the work that RJ has done. I am curious because I do recall RJ backing up Cull as a good coach. But if JR is so happy with Ryan’s job, why has there been such a short success of players graduating from the farm to the big club. This goes back to Utica and why prospects like Palmu and Jasek did badly but then blossomed in Europe. Would love to hear more from somebody who has been closer to the pulse of the farm team and what they think about the coach and development coach RJ.

I am a long way away from Abbotsford but I did have the AHLtv subsciption this year and watched all the games online except for the two playoff games and I don't think coaching was a problem at all.  Of course I'm not Judd Brackett but I thought players like Jack Rathbone, Will Lockwood and Spencer Martin really prospered under Cull. And heck, Ryan Johnson is getting the big bucks to make these decisions and he seems to be endorsing the job he did. The real issue I think has been the trading of so many draft picks over recent years. That catches up to a franchise. I subscribed to the Utica Comets for a few seasoins too and brother let me tell you, it was even slimmer pickings in those years.

 

Anyway, like I said I have the subscription and I'm able to go back and check out specific games and players if you or anyone else have any questions ...

Edited May 7, 2022 by Cornerwise

[Jack Gordon]

2 minutes ago, Muttley said:

It's unfortunate because this may well have set him back. For years now, people have been saying the AHL rules need to be modified to encompass "all" players ages

should be 19 not 18. The NHL wouldn't like that though. 

Anyways, you watched him play. Did he feel too much pressure?  I'm also wondering how much of a language issue was there. Couldn't have been easy.

 

He seems to be enjoyin his time here by all accounts. I just think the jump up in competition wasn't something his background had prepared him for. It was simply too much for him.

[lmm]

On 5/5/2022 at 3:45 PM, viking mama said:

 

 

Aghast at this!!! 
 

California is clearly the bain of our city’s existence in sports - especially when it comes to these “inexcusable” officiating moments!

 

Can anyone else recall all of the  “Devorski” or “O’Rourke” plagued tours of duty that our Canucks would experience through LA, Anaheim & San Jose in the past? 
 

Those teams had horribly skewed home vs away records, being influenced by a few overly-comfortable & clearly star-struck officials, who were biased beyond belief! They could be seen habitually laughing it up with the home teams in warm-ups, they would then see the ice through California-coloured glasses & the stats & a plethora of gaffs posted to you-tube, testified this was so!
 

The league needs to vett & move-along ingratiated & biased officials. Senior officials are bidding for preferred pods of assignment…& that makes for some very ingratiated characters, with the ability to influence outcomes - especially during the play-offs.

 

There SHOULD be some provision where teams can black-ball, at least 1 or 2 officials from working their games - with a sufficient case being made on their situational bias or incompetence.

 

By these standards, the Vancouver Canucks might never see either  Sutherland or O’Halloran work any of their regular season or play-off games - again! With that offering in effect,…just imagine how many extra games-won this could possibly mean to their regular season or post-season success? 

Well, I do remember Tom Sestito pickiing up 104 consecutive minutes in penalties in a 2 game trip to LA/Anahiem

 

I also recall, McKinnon or Landeskog calling out a ref this year. I cheered him for that.

there was also the Baumgartner (gosh, not that baumgartner) thing in baseball last week

The media, (yes I know Canuck fans hate the media) shredded that Ump this week and the Ump apologized yesterday.

The Canucks and the whole league needs to stop being fraiddybabys and call out bad calls when they happen

It needs to be done calmly, the players and management, upper management and the media, the much hated media need to be involved

Fines will  be levied

 

I always wished that rather than go off on the Calgary coach 2 days later, that Torts had embarrassed the league when Sestito got overly penalized 

Like when Philadelphia stopped playing when Tampa refused to forecheck, you make the offender look bad.

Philly changed the game, and how it is called

If I were In Tort's spot, I'd have pulled my goalie, I'd claim it was to protect him from abuse

once LA scored 50 goal on one powerplay, the spot light would shine on the NHL and their officials

then the situation is not Sestito took a huge penalty because he is a bum, but the Ref ruined the game, and the record book

[viking mama]

6 hours ago, Muttley said:

"From article"

 

The Abbotsford Canucks were swept in the first round of the AHL playoffs after going on an impressive 29-11-2 run over their final 42 games of the regular season.

When you looked at the Canucks and Bakersfield Condors’ lineups, the Canucks were favoured in the series and they were simply outworked and outplayed by Bakersfield. Now, general manager Ryan Johnson and his crew need to pick up the pieces in Abbotsford and move forward to build on their inaugural season.

“I’ve got an evaluation process to go through but I’m still a bit bitter and disappointed,” said Johnson. “There were some guys that I felt we had prepared and didn’t perform the way the way I felt they would. I’ve got to make some decisions and ultimately, it’s not good enough. We’re here not playing at this moment. So that’s on me. I’ve got to get back to the to the drawing board here and find the players that give us a chance to have a quality group here but sustain us as an organization through injuries and things in Vancouver while helping us grow an environment where young kids can grow at the same time.”

Eight of their 10 top scorers are without a contract for next season, and all of their six starting defencemen are without a deal fornext season.With president Jim Rutherford and NHL general manager Patrik Allvin still new in the organization, there may be questions about the future of the coaching staff and developmental coaches in Abbotsford.

Rutherford gave very positive quotes about the AHL franchise’s future during his end-of-season availability on Tuesday afternoon.

“This could be the best franchise in the American Hockey League over time,” said Rutherford. “Francesco [Aquilini] first came and talked to me, and that was a priority for a number of things that we talked about — the importance of having a franchise here in British Columbia. And how good it’s already done in its first year, but to make sure that it’s not only good but that we make it better and better, and make sure we have good players and we have a good team every year. So it’s very important to our franchise.”

Hearing Rutherford say that this could be the best franchise in the AHL is definitely reassuring for Canucks fans who have not seen a lot of production from their AHL team over the recent years. You could point at players like Zack MacEwen, Kole Lind, and Jonah Gadjovich who have come through the Canucks AHL team and made it to the NHL. These players aren’t major success stories as they are each fighting just to be in an NHL lineup on a regular basis on three teams that didn’t make the playoffs year.With the AHL team now in Abbotsford, they need to be better at developing NHL players. Francesco Aquilini is willing to invest in his AHL franchise — you could see it this year with the money spent on high-end AHL players. Now, with Rutherford at the helm of the organization, there should be confidence that the AHL will make changes to improve the development of its prospects.

Having the second-best prospect in the system not play in the most crucial games of his rookie AHL season is inexcusable. I don’t personally believe that Danila Klimovich was one of the best 12 forwards that Abbotsford had available to them for their playoff series but it’s more about the process.

The AHL is a developmental league.

For that reason only, Klimovich should have been in the lineup for Abbotsford on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Instead, defenceman Jett Woo was used as the third third-line right winger.

Don’t know if there was rule-breaking or any team-culture issues being violated to bring about Klimovich’s omission from the play-off line-up.
 

Many of these AHL players are young people, a long way from home, perhaps lonely & with some time & money to burn.

I hope not,..but small disciplinary measures hoping to prompt more sacrifices on the player’s part - is that a possibility here? 

 

BUT - in a quick ‘do or die’ maximum 3-game series away…please - just put out the best product with most potential to succeed, on the ice. I believe there were clearly missed opportunities, for the player & his team here.

Work it out & get back on track y’all! 

Edited May 8, 2022 by viking mama

[Jack Gordon]

1 hour ago, viking mama said:

Don’t know if there was rule-breaking or any team-culture issues being violated to bring about Klimovich’s omission from the play-off line-up.
 

Many of these AHL players are young people, a long way from home, perhaps lonely & with some time & money to burn.

I hope not,..but small disciplinary measures hoping to prompt more sacrifices on the player’s part - is that a possibility here? 

 

BUT - in a quick ‘do or die’ maximum 3-game series away…please - just put out the best product with most potential to succeed, on the ice. I believe there were clearly missed opportunities, for the player & his team here.

Work it out & get back on track y’all! 

I don't think there were any disciplinary issues there Mama.  By all accounts he's a really nice kid, he's even married now despite just having turned 19. He was two years younger than the youngest players in the league and wasn't quite ready for prime time is all.

 

[King Loui]

Do we know of any prospects that will possibly be joining the Jr Canucks next season?  

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, King Loui said:

Do we know of any prospects that will possibly be joining the Jr Canucks next season?  

That Persson guy in the Loop looks ready.  He’s already way better than Woo as a defensive D man.  

[King Loui]

2 minutes ago, Alflives said:

That Persson guy in the Loop looks ready.  He’s already way better than Woo as a defensive D man.  

Well that's not saying much seeing as how Woo is a 4th line RW'er now... 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[stanleysteamersmyl]

I hope Ethan Keppen makes the Abby Canucks next season.  Power Forward.

Ethan Keppen

#92

LW

Flint Firebirds

Shoots: L

Height: 

6.02

Weight: 

212

Birthdate: 

2001-03-20

Hometown: 

Whitby, ON

Draft:

NHL - VAN (2019) Round: 4 (#122)

OHL - FLNT (2017) Round: 1 (#10)

GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	SOG	FOW
42	23	17	40	12	33	2	0	145	9

 

Having a good playoff so far.

Season	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	SOG	GWG	FOW	FOA	PTS/G
2022 Playoffs	FLNT	9	5	3	8	0	0	1	0	43	1	2	5	0.89

 

[viking mama]

On 5/7/2022 at 5:16 PM, Cornerwise said:

I don't think there were any disciplinary issues there Mama.  By all accounts he's a really nice kid, he's even married now despite just having turned 19. He was two years younger than the youngest players in the league and wasn't quite ready for prime time is all.

 

Awesome report - worth posting twice!!

 

Best wishes, to the Klimovich's! Were there any thoughts put towards having him develop elsewhere other than with the Abby Canucks, this season?

To be here in Canada, newly married, that pro-experience with  pro-money was likely the best incentive to give ‘im, all around. 

Edited May 9, 2022 by viking mama

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Abbotsford Canucks Head Coach Trent Cull addressed the media today at his year-end press conference via Zoom.