Abbotsford Canucks at Ontario Reign & Bakersfield Condors Preview
October 13, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Abbotsford Canucks News Release
The Abbotsford Canucks kick off their second season on Friday night, playing in the first of back-to-back games on the road. On Friday night, the Canucks will visit the Ontario Reign, with the puck dropping from Toyota Arena at 7:00pm pst. Abbotsford then will make the trek up to Bakersfield to square off with the Condors on Saturday night. That one also takes place at 7:00pm pst from Mechanics Bank Arena.
Abbotsford had Ontario’s number in their inaugural campaign, going 5-2-1 against the Reign in 2021/22. It was always a close affair between the two, four which required overtime. As for the Condors, that season series was a lot closer, with Abbotsford going 4-4-2 across the regular and post-season. It was Bakersfield who ended the Canucks’ playoff run last year, winning 2-1 and 3-2 to sweep Abbotsford in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Friday will mark the first time Jeremy Colliton steps onto the bench as Head Coach, making him the second Head Coach in team history. Colliton, 37, spent parts of four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as time with the Rockford IceHogs. Jeremy Colliton took the position on July 1st after previous Abbotsford Head Coach, Trent Cull, joined the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff as an Assistant Coach.
The clash against the Reign will also provide another first, with Chase Wouters leading the team out for the first time as captain. Wouters was named the first captain in team history on Thursday morning, a little over 24 hours before his second season in the AHL. Wouters was previously the longest serving captain of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, and said that wearing the C is a “huge honor”, and that he “takes a lot of pride in”.
Similar to Wouters last season, a handful of Canucks are expected to make their first AHL appearance over the weekend. The list includes Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains, Quinn Schmiemann and Michael Regush.
With Spencer Martin making his way onto the Vancouver Canucks roster, the Abbotsford goaltending carousel will consist of Arturs Silovs, Collin Delia and Michael DiPietro. Silovs and DiPietro combined for 18 wins, 1 shutout and a .899 save percentage. Collin Delia was signed from the Chicago Blackhawks during the off-season, having played under Jeremy Colliton at both the NHL level with Chiacgo and the AHL with Rockford.
Both games will be available to stream for free with AHLTV’s “Weekend Freeview” available only this weekend. You can also follow coverage of the games on the Abbotsford Canucks Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as a post-game recap of each game.
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