Linus Karlsson leads Abbottsford Canucks to 3-2 win over Charlotte Checkers to win Calder Cup
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Linus Karlsson scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Abbotsford Canucks beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Monday night to win their first Calder Cup championship.
Sammy Blais and Danila Klimovich also scored for the Canucks, and Arshdeep Bains had two assists. Arturs Silovs finished with 28 saves.
Abbotsford is Vancouver's first AHL affiliate to hoist the cup and the first Canadian winner since the Toronto Marlies in 2018.
John Leonard and Jack Devine scored first-period goals for the Checkers, who lost the best-of-seven American Hockey League championship series in six games.
The Canucks lost Game 5 in overtime on Saturday in front of the largest crowd to ever witness an AHL game at the Abbotsford Centre in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
After spotting Charlotte the first two goals on Monday night, the Canucks roared back with three unanswered goals, including the winner from Karlsson with 2:41 left in the second period.
Abbotsford went 1 for 2 on the power play, while Charlotte went 0 for 4.
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Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Grizzled veteran Sammy Blais and the mercurial Danila Klimovich drew the Canucks even and then AHL leading scorer Linus Karlsson delivered the dagger in the second period. He was left open on the back door and covered a perfect cross-ice feed from linemate Arshdeep Bains at 17:19. And Arturs Silovs did what he has done so often in the post-season. He turned aside 28 shots and was named playoff most valuable player. The 2015 Utica Comets, under the guidance of Travis Green, advanced to the Calder Cup Finals but ran out of gas in an exhausting post-season run. They played 12 one-goal games and six overtimes, include a four-OT slog to get to the championship series, but lost in five games to the powerhouse Manchesters Monarchs. In 2025, the journey proved the adventure for Abbotsford. Manny Malhotra, 45, got his first shot at running a pro bench after being an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs for four seasons and three with Vancouver. His seamless transition became a talking point for NHL teams pondering coaching vacancies. Selling the vision and getting the buy-in can be harder in a league where players are either on the right development path, on the cusp of making it to 'The Show', or close to seeing their careers coming to a close. And that's where the well-respected Malhotra made a difference. It was about resilience and resolve. 'That's been the makeup of our group the whole playoffs,' said Malhotra. 'When we decide to play like ourselves and advance the play on the forecheck, it works. 'We're not a storybook team. We grind. We work for what we get.' It wasn't easy. It never is. The Canucks were 14-15-1-1 in January before a club record 13-game win streak and finishing the regular season on a 16-1-1 run. 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