The Finalists Are Set

For the first time in the three professional leagues' histories, a Canadian team will compete for each league's top prize in the same season. We already know that Canada has one championship trophy coming north after the Trois-Rivières Lions defeated the Toledo Walleye in five games in the ECHL, and the Edmonton Oilers are currently tied 1-1 with the Florida Panthers in the NHL's Stanley Cup Final. We can add the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks to the list of Canadian teams looking for a championship as they're now set to take on the Charlotte Checkers in the Calder Cup Final beginning on Friday, June 13 in North Carolina after downing the Texas Stars.

After dropping Game Five by a 2-1 score, it felt like we might be in for a similar result as Texas took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. Arshdeep Bains cut into the deficit with 1:08 to play in the middle frame with his second goal of the postseason, so it could have been worse for the Canucks had Bains not scored when he did.
The 24 year-old Bains is a Surrey, BC native who was signed by the Canucks after a five-year WHL career with the Red Deer Rebels that included a 43-goal, 112-point 2021-22 season. While he was an overager and ineligible for the NHL Entry Draft, the Canucks may have struck gold with Bains after seasons of 38, 55, and 43 points.

Bains' goal may have lit the fire under the Canucks for the third period, though, as they came out on fire, launching 17 shots in the final frame on Magnus Hellberg as Texas found itself reeling. Jujhar Khaira scored 112 seconds into the period to tie the game, Max Sasson gave the Canucks their first lead at 11:50, and Bains capped things off with a backhander from centre ice that was lifted high into the air before settling in the vacant Texas net with 35 seconds to play. That led to elation in both the stands and on the ice.

"It's obviously a huge step for us as a group and organization," Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra said after the game. "I'm happy to see the guys get rewarded for the way they're playing and what we're trying to do here. The biggest takeaway for me was the fact of being down in the third period wasn't a back-breaker. It galvanized our group in terms of wanting to push through and find a way. And with contributions throughout, I was able to roll four lines and get the most out of guys."

Netminder Artūrs Šilovs continued his strong play in the Abbotsford net as well, stopping 23 of 25 shots he faced to improve to 12-5 in these playoffs. In 18 games, he's surrendered just 35 goals for a 1.94 GAA and a .929 save percentage, and his five shutouts are three better than any other netminder in this postseason. While Linus Karlsson is tied for most goals in these playoffs, it's hard to argue that Šilovs hasn't been the MVP for Abbotsford thus far.

Their opponents in the Calder Cup Final will be their toughest test yet as the Charlotte Checkers are a machine right now. The Checkers enter the final having swept the defending champion Hershey Bears in three games and the AHL's best regular-season team in the Laval Rocket in four games. They haven't lost a game since May 4 when they trailed Providence 2-0 in their best-of-five series. If you're doing the math, that's a ten-game winning streak against three teams who were favoured to win. The Checkers are a buzzsaw right now.

In weird twist, the Calder Cup Final has the same history between the teams that the Kelly Cup had - none. The Checkers and Canucks have never met for a regular season game since the Canucks moved to Abbotsford for the 2021-22 season, so this matchup will write a little history between the two franchises as well. There are a few connections between the teams as Will Lockwood was a Canucks draft pick and played two seasons for Abbotsford before joining Charlotte in 2023 while winger Phillip Di Giuseppe was a Hurricanes draft pick, playing six seasons in Charlotte before joining Abbotsford in 2023 after a few other stops. Beyond that, it's a clean slate between these two teams, so we'll see who prevails in this first historic series.

Games One and Two of the Calder Cup Final will be played in Charlotte before the series moves for three games to Abbotsford in order to cut down on travel for the teams, so that's also a similarity between the Calder Cup Final and the Kelly Cup Final. We saw how that benefitted the Trois-Rivières Lions as they split in Toledo before winning all three games at home to win the Kelly Cup, and I suspect that's the goal for the Canucks - split at the very least, then win at home. Charlotte won't make it easy, but these Canucks have shown their resilience in these playoffs in every series they've played.

Abbotsford has a chance to do what the 2018 Toronto Marlies, the 2007 Hamilton Bulldogs, and the 2001 Saint John Flames did by bringing home the 2025 Calder Cup championship. Could Canada hold two or even all three championships in the same year? It's entirely possible with the Canucks advancing to the Calder Cup Final!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!