Abbotsford (Vancouver Canucks) and Charlotte (Florida Panthers) will meet in the Calder Cup Finals to determine the American Hockey League champion.
Charlotte hosts Game 1 of the best-of-7 series Friday.
Abbotsford eliminated Tucson (Utah Mammoth), Coachella Valley (Seattle Kraken), Colorado (Colorado Avalanche), and Texas (Dallas Stars).
Charlotte eliminated Providence (Boston Bruins), defending Calder Cup champion Hershey (Washington Capitals), and regular-season champion Laval (Montreal Canadiens). Each NHL organization is seeking its first Calder Cup championship.
A Vancouver affiliate last reached the Calder Cup Finals in 2015. This is the first time that a Florida affiliate has reached the Finals.
Here is a look at each team’s prospects, as well as familiar NHL names, who can play a key role in the series.
Abbotsford
Vancouver fans are familiar with goalie Arturs Silovs from his performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. The 24-year has excelled with Abbotsford. He has played all 18 playoff games, going 12-5 with a 1.94 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and a league-leading five shutouts.
Vancouver selected Silovs in the sixth round (No. 156) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He was 2-6-1 with a 3.65 GAA and .861 save percentage in 10 regular-season games (nine starts) for the Canucks this season.
Defensively, Abbotsford features several strong prospects. Victor Mancini, 23, was acquired from the New York Rangers with forward Filip Chytil and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for forward J.T. Miller and defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington. Mancini, selected in the fifth round (No. 159) of the 2022 Draft by the Rangers, has six points (two goals, four assists) in 31 games between the Rangers and Canucks. In 18 playoff games with Abbotsford, he has seven points (three goals, four assists).
Rookie defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev, 21, taken in the seventh round (No. 208) by Vancouver in 2022, had 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 65 games with Abbotsford and also played two games with Vancouver. He has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 15 playoff games.
Among the forwards, Linus Karlsson had 39 points (23 goals, 16 assists) in 32 regular-season games with Abbotsford and has carried that standard into the postseason. He is third in playoff scoring with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 18 games and is tied for the league lead in goals. He also played 23 games with the Canucks this season and had six points (three goals, three assists). Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the third round (No. 87) of the 2018 Draft, the Canucks acquired him in a trade for forward Jonathan Dahlen on Feb. 25, 2019.
Arshdeep Bains, an undrafted forward signed March 11, 2022, by Vancouver, is sixth in playoff scoring with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 18 games. The 24-year-old led Abbotsford in regular-season scoring with 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games. He had one goal in 13 games with Vancouver as well. Jonathan Lekkerimaki, 20, has five points (one goal, four assists) in 12 playoff games. Selected by Vancouver in the first round (No. 15) of the 2022 Draft, he had 28 points (19 goals, nine assists) in 36 regular-season games with Abbotsford and six points (three goals, three assists) in 24 games with the Canucks.
Charlotte
Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen is trying to get himself back to the NHL, where he has played 140 games with the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Colorado Avalanche. Acquired by Florida from the Winnipeg Jets for goalie Chris Driedger on March 6, the 28-year-old is 10-2 with a 1.73 GAA and .927 save percentage in 12 playoff games for Charlotte.
Charlotte defensemen Mike Benning (four goals, three assists) and Tobias Bjornfot (two goals, five assists) are tied for the team lead in playoff points at the position. Benning, selected by Florida in the fourth round (No. 95) of the 2020 Draft, had 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 54 regular-season games. Bjornfot, selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round (No. 22) of the 2019 Draft, had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 50 regular-season games with Charlotte and has 15 points (one goal, 14 assists) in 134 NHL games.
Forward Justin Sourdif could be poised for a full-time role next season with Florida, where he had a goal in one game this season. Selected by Florida in the third round (No. 87) of the 2020 Draft, he had 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 43 regular-season games with Charlotte and has six points (three goals, three assists) in 12 playoff games.
Jesse Puljujarvi brings 387 games (58 goals, 70 assists) of NHL experience to the Charlotte lineup. He had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 31 games between Florida and the Pittsburgh Penguins this season after Florida signed him to a two-year contract March 5. The 27-year-old, selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (No. 4) of the 2016 Draft, had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 26 regular-season games between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte, and has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 12 playoff games.
