When will the Canucks give Bains or Podkolzin a look?
Linus Karlsson was sent back down to Abbotsford by the Vancouver Canucks today.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise move. The 24-year-old forward has been sent to the AHL four separate times since his last NHL game on January 4. If their AHL affiliate wasn’t so close to home, he’d be racking up a ton of air miles by now.
Karlsson has played in four games with Vancouver this season and hasn’t scored a point.
The question is, when the Canucks need a call up to actually play games again, who’s their best option? Maybe that’s Karlsson, but you can also make a strong case for Arshdeep Bains or Vasily Podkolzin.
The Canucks haven’t spread the love when it comes to call ups this season. Abbotsford’s leading scorer and AHL All-Star MVP Bains has yet to get a shot in the NHL. The same goes this season for their most-prized prospects in Abbotsford; Podkolzin and Aatu RĂ€ty.
The only player who has earned a full-time promotion to Vancouver after an extended look in Abbotsford this season is Nils Ă man, who scored 15 points in 15 AHL games.
It appears to be a strategy for the Canucks, similar to how they let Nils Höglander cook in the minors throughout the entire second half of last season.
Given the way Höglander’s 2023-24 season has gone, perhaps it’s a good idea.
The Canucks’ NHL roster has so far remained relatively healthy this season, so they haven’t needed much help from the farm. But down the stretch, and perhaps into the playoffs, they may need someone to step up.
And just who is most well-suited for NHL action remains to be seen.
THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE ALL-STAR, ARSHDEEP BAINS âïž #AHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/KTISypbpEs
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) January 14, 2024
Bains, the 23-year-old from Surrey, is now in his second season of pro hockey. He’s waiting for his chance in a season that sees him with 40 points after 40 games.
By all accounts, the 6-foot, 184-pound winger plays a responsible two-way game, which is critically important for a call up under Rick Tocchet.
âHe’s a really important player for us who can play in all situations,â Abbotsford head coach Jeremy Colliton told Chris Faber of Canucks.com last month. “He’s transformed his game to be a two-way, responsible, heart and soul kind of player.â
Remember when Podkolzin began training camp on a line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser? Seems like a long time ago now.
The young Russian didn’t come close to making the team out of camp, but he has seemingly made strides with Abbotsford.
Podkolzin is tied for the team’s goal-scoring lead with 13 goals in 35 games. Now 22 years old, the 2019 first-round pick won’t be waiver-exempt forever. They’ll need to know what they have in him at some point. He hasn’t played an NHL game since March 25 last year.
Podkolzin is 11 days removed from netting a Gordie Howe hat trick, which included this bout with Raphael Lavoie.
Vasily Podkolzin drops the gloves with 6â4â, 216 lbs Raphael Lavoie pic.twitter.com/kjCGCyq7gC
— đđ”đżđ¶đ Faber đ„ (@ChrisFaber39) January 28, 2024
The Canucks have seemingly made all the right moves up to this point in the season, so it will be interesting to see how they approach things going forward.
Will it take an injury to give someone from Abbotsford a look? Will they look to acquire more depth via the trade route? Or will they give one of their promising prospects a chance before then?
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