The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...

. The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. The team is a relocation of the franchise owned by the Canucks and known as the Utica Comets from 2013 to 2021. This is the second AHL team to play in Abbotsford after the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

affiliate Abbotsford Heat from

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

until

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

History

The Abbotsford Canucks franchise is one of the oldest professional hockey franchises in existence, dating back to 1932, when the team was known as the Quebec Beavers. In 1935, the franchise moved to Springfield and became the Indians, reviving the name after the original Indians franchise ceased operations during the 1932–33 Canadian-American Hockey League season. In addition to the Indians, the team has been known as the Syracuse Warriors, Springfield Kings, Worcester IceCats, Peoria Rivermen, and Utica Comets. On March 29, 2013, Canucks Sports & Entertainment (CS&E), owners of the

's (NHL)

, was announced as purchasing the

(AHL) franchise then playing as the Peoria Rivermen. The purchase was approved by the league on April 18. After purchasing the franchise, CS&E intended to have the franchise located in a market close to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

with their initial preference as Abbotsford, which at the time was home to the

AHL farm club, the Abbotsford Heat. The Heat had been rumored to be relocating to

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

, at the time. Negotiations between the Canucks and Abbotsford broke down by April 22 and the Heat remained in the city. After exploring options for having the team in Vancouver,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, and Peoria, CS&E came to a six-year operating agreement with Robert Esche to place the franchise in Utica and the city's soon-to-be-renovated Memorial Auditorium as the Utica Comets. The Comets began play in the

2013–14 AHL season The 2013–14 AHL season was the 78th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 4, 2013, and ended on April 19, 2014. The 2014 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. The Calder Cup was ...

. The Heat lasted only one more season in Abbotsford before relocating to

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...

, as the Adirondack Flames in 2014. Before the 2019–20 season, CS&E and Esche's operating contract was extended for up to an additional six years, with potential opt outs every two seasons. On July 14, the name, logo, and colours were released. The Vancouver Canucks transferred both former Comets general manager Ryan Johnson and head coach Trent Cull to Abbotsford. On June 8, 2025, the Abbotsford Canucks advanced to the Calder Cup final for the first time in franchise history. This marked the second appearance of the Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate in the final round in 10 seasons.

Season-by-season records

Players

Current roster

Updated April 17, 2025.

Team captains

* Chase Wouters, 2022–present

Head coaches

* Trent Cull, 2021–2022 * Jeremy Colliton, 2022–2024 *

Manny Malhotra Emmanuel "Manny" Noveen Malhotra (born May 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He is the head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL), and was previously an assistant coach in the National ...

, 2024–present

References

External links

* {{British Columbia Sports American Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2021 2021 establishments in British Columbia