The Calder Cup Finals are here.
Fresh off back-to-back series sweeps, the Charlotte Checkers will host Game 1 of the best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals against the Abbotsford Checkers on Friday night.
Both teams have been through lengthy journeys to reach this point of the season. This will be the fifth playoff series for the Canucks, who opened their postseason back on April 23.
Both teams had strong regular-season performances. Charlotte finished fourth overall, two points off the Atlantic Division lead. The Canucks’ 13-game winning streak down the stretch made them one of the AHL’s most dangerous opponents entering the postseason, and they have continued their hot play.
Let’s break down this series, which will follow a 2-3-2 format.
Series Schedule
Game 1 – Friday – Abbotsford at Charlotte 7:00 PM ET
Game 2 – Sunday – Abbotsford at Charlotte 4:00 PM ET
Game 3 – Tuesday, June 17 – Charlotte at Abbotsford 10:00 PM ET
Game 4 – Thursday, June 19 – Charlotte at Abbotsford 10:00 PM ET
Game 5 – Saturday, June 21 (if necessary) – Charlotte at Abbotsford 9:00 PM ET (if necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, June 23 (if necessary) – Abbotsford at Charlotte 7:00 PM ET (if necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, June 25 – Abbotsford at Charlotte 7:00 PM ET (if necessary)
How They Got Here
Charlotte: After placing second in the Atlantic Division with a 44-22-3-3 record, the Checkers earned a first-round bye. From there they proceeded to eliminate the Providence Bruins, going the distance in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals. Next, they swept the back-to-back Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Finals to earn a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Laval Rocket. Matched up against the AHL’s regular-season champion, they swept the Rocket.
They come into the Calder Cup Finals holding an eight-game winning streak, and this is the first time that a Florida Panthers affiliate has reached the Calder Cup Finals. With Florida pursuing another Stanley Cup title, the Panthers and Checkers represent the first organization to reach the finals in both the NHL and AHL since the Pittsburgh Penguins and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins did so in 2008. The last time that an NHL organization won both the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup in the same year was 1995 when the New Jersey Devils and Albany River Rats did so.
Abbotsford: The Canucks (44-24-2-2) entered the postseason hot, but they got an early scare from the Tucson Roadrunners in the teams’ best-of-three first-round series. Tucson put the Canucks on the brink of elimination before Abbotsford closed out that series. From there they eliminated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the Pacific Division Semifinals and then went the distance with the Western Conference regular-season champion Colorado Eagles in the Pacific Division Finals, surviving that series as well. In the Western Conference Finals against the Texas Stars, they took the first two games of that series at home, before dropping two of the next three games on the road. However, they prevailed in Game 6 back at Abbotsford Centre last Sunday.
This is the first time that a Vancouver Canucks affiliate has reached the Calder Cup Finals since 2015 when the Utica Comets did so. Vancouver affiliates have also reached the Finals in 2009 (Manitoba) and in 1988 (Fredericton as part of a dual affiliation with the Quebec Nordiques) but were defeated both times.
Charlotte Checkers
Rather remarkably, the Checkers have not had to deal with personnel losses even with Florida still playing. Defenseman Matt Kiersted missed five games earlier this postseason, but played all four games against Laval. The Checkers also got forward MacKenzie Entwistle back during the Laval series after he had not played since Dec. 7.
Head coach Geordie Kinnear has gone with veteran Kaapo Kähkönen in all 12 games this postseason. The 28-year-old came to the Florida organization in a deal with the Winnipeg Jets on March 6 and quickly locked up Charlotte’s number-one job after splitting time in the AHL with Colorado and Manitoba Moose. A veteran of 140 NHL games, he also won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award winner as the AHL’s top goaltender in 2019-20 with the Iowa Wild. He took control of Charlotte’s number-one job down the stretch and has gone 10-2 | 1.735 | .927.
Michael Benning (4-3-7) and Tobias Bjornfot (2-5-7) lead all Charlotte blueliners in scoring. Right behind them is 2019 Calder Cup champion Trevor Carrick, who has 1-4-5 and was named to the AHL’s Second All-Star Team with 13-37-50 in 66 regular-season games.
Leading the way offensively is forward John Leonard, who has 6-4-10 in 12 games and tied for second in the AHL during the regular season with 36 goals. But the well-balanced Charlotte offense that is averaging 3.75 goals per game has received at least one goal this postseason from all but one forward. NHL veteran Jesse Puljujärvi has found a career rebirth after coming to Charlotte in February and has chipped in 2-6-8 this postseason. Will Lockwood, who had 10 regular-season goals, has five through 12 playoff games. Rasmus Asplund has delivered 4-3-7 this postseason as well. Rookie forward Sandis Vilmanis has served up 3-4-7 in just eight games.
The Charlotte penalty kill continues to excel and has taken care of 37 of 41 opposing power-play chances (90.2 percent). It’s a dangerous penalty kill, too. After leading the AHL with 16 regular-season shorthanded tallies, the Checkers have added six more this postseason. Charlotte’s power play, fifth in the AHL in the regular season, has struggled badly in the AHL and is just 3-for-43 (7.0 percent).
The Checkers have won five of seven at home this season. Tied for second overall in regular-season road play at .694 (23-9-1-3), the Checkers have all five of their road playoff contests.
Abbotsford Canucks
Goaltender Artūrs Šilovs (12-5 | 1.94 | .929) has been the story of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the Canucks. He has taken all 18 playoff starts and posted a league-best five shutouts. High-stakes success has become a key theme of the 24-year-old’s career. He backstopped Vancouver for a portion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year, and he led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World Championship.
On the back end are a pair of rookies in Victor Mancini (3-4-7) and seventh-round pick Kirill Kudryavtsev. Jett Woo offers an ornery presence, and Christian Wolanin is just two years removed from winning the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top defenseman.
Linus Karlsson is third in AHL playoff scoring at 17 points, and his nine goals tie him for the league lead. NHL veteran Sammy Blais has run into penalty trouble (69 penalty minutes), but he has supplied 3-9-12. Arshdeep Bains, an undrafted forward, has made himself a top prospect and has 3-11-14 to his name. Phil Di Giuseppe, Jujhar Khaira, Ty Mueller, and Max Sasson have been among the key contributors from a deep group of forwards. First-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimäki had a strong regular season, but he has struggled to produce offensively at playoff time with Abbotsford. If he can get into head coach Manny Malhotra’s line-up and start chipping in offense, that would be a critical boost for a team that has had to grind for goals at times.
Abbotsford’s penalty kill had been rolling for much of the postseason, handling 39 of 40 opposing power-play opportunities. But Texas broke through in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals and created some difficulty for the Canucks. Still, they are 48-for-53 on the penalty kill (90.6 percent). Their power play has been excellent, going 11-for-50 (22.0 percent). Of the Canucks’ 39 goals this postseason, 12 of them have come via special-teams play (they have one shorthanded goal).
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