Canucks: AHL affiliate is officially relocating to Abbotsford next season
The Vancouver Canucks are officially bringing their American Hockey League affiliate closer to home.
Earlier this week, the team announced their intent to move their farm team back to the Lower Mainland for the 2021-22 season. At the time, the details of the partnership between the Canucks’ organization and the city of Abbotsford were still being finalized, and the official move was subject to approval from the AHL Board of Governors.
That meeting took place on Thursday morning, and, as expected, the Canucks were given the green light to officially begin the relocation process.
.@TheAHL Board of Governors has approved the relocation of the @Canucks' AHL franchise to Abbotsford, B.C., and of the @NJDevils' AHL franchise to Utica, N.Y., effective with the 2021-22 season.
— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) May 6, 2021
Details: https://t.co/JLXOuZAg4L pic.twitter.com/pUf0Zxhx4C
The Canucks have been affiliated with the Utica Comets since the 2013-2014 campaign, with the team achieving good success during their tenure in New York. They were able to reach 200+ consecutive regular season sellout games between 2015 and 2020, and also made it all the way to Calder Cup Finals during the 2014-15 campaign, falling to the Manchester Monarchs in five games.
The new farm team will play out of the Abbotsford Centre, which served as the previous home to the Abbotsford Heat, the former failed affiliate for the Calgary Flames, from 2009 to 2014. The arena can host approximately 8,500 hockey fans, and it’s expected that the team should have no issues filling up the stands once people can safely attend again.
For starters, the Abbotsford Centre is one of the newest and best-equipped buildings amongst the other AHL teams. Built in 2009, the arena shouldn’t require any serious renovations or upgrades for at least the next 10-15 years, and will be a great experience for fans who are looking to enjoy the game while supporting local hockey (when they’re not at Rogers Arena, of course).
This will also be an opportunity for both fans and management to keep better tabs on some of the talented and promising prospects in the system, such as Will Lockwood and Jett Woo, who have yet to make the jump from the AHL, as well as recent NHL first-timers Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich and Jack Rathbone, granted they don’t crack the Canucks’ roster next year.
Not to mention, we might be able to get a sneak peek of possible coaching staff for the Canucks in the distant future. Just ask current bench boss Travis Green, who coached the team from 2013 to 2017.
No matter the structure of next year’s NHL season, it will also be much easier for the team to call up players in a timely manner, especially for last-minute emergency acquisitions.
Players will no longer need to fly across the continent to join the Canucks, nor will they have to quarantine for seven days if the league still requires such measures. And for a team that’s supposedly just starting another rebuild (or maybe we never really escaped from the first one?), this will prove dividends for the development of their younger hopefuls who could benefit from as much professional hockey exposure as they can get.
Plus, it’s so much more fun to root for a team that isn’t associated with a long-time division rival.
It’s expected that the Canucks’ new affiliate will play in the AHL’s Pacific Division, which now includes seven other franchises, although next year’s standings and schedule has not been confirmed as of yet, and could even include an all-Canadian division.
The Canucks’ organization also revealed that a new name, logo and brand are in the works for their affiliate team, and, to no surprise, fans have already started throwing out their creative suggestions into the Twitterverse.
The Comets won’t be gone, however.
In addition to the official news of the Abbotsford relocation on Thursday morning, it was also announced that the Comets have already linked up with another NHL partner, signing a 10-year agreement with the New Jersey Devils. This deal will move the Devils’ current affiliate from Birmingham to Utica, with only new jerseys and colours being rolled out before next season.
There are still lots of behind-the-scene details that need to be ironed out, but this relocation announcement is already a great step for the organization moving forward, as discussed by owner Francesco Aquilini in a media release on Tuesday.
“The move would bring significant opportunities for both our team and the community and it would begin a new chapter, bringing Canucks hockey to even more fans throughout the Lower Mainland.”
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