In order to be ready for the 2024–25 AHL season, the Abbotsford Canucks have re-signed Cooper Walker and added Lee Lapid and Ben Berard.
In the three seasons since moving to Abbotsford in 2021, the Canucks have made it to the postseason. Since moving from Utica, New York, the squad has not advanced past the first round proper, thus there is still a lot of work to be done.
Jeremy Colliton’s departure as head coach, to be replaced by Manny Malhotra, is arguably the greatest offseason move to date. Malhotra has experience with the Canucks organization in the NHL, having served as both a coach and player.
In keeping with this, the Canucks announced three more additions last week, among them the extension of Cooper Walker. Along with Ben Berard and Lee Lapid, they also disclosed that the three forwards had signed one-year AHL contracts.
Greetings from Walker again.
This past season, Walker made his AHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks. He went on to score a goal and played in 16 games altogether, three of which were postseason games. Before that, he started the 2023–24 season with Kalamazoo Wings, an ECHL affiliate of the Canucks, where he recorded 13 points and 15 penalty minutes in 36 games.
The 22-year-old, who was not selected in the draft, was a member of the Guelph Storm in the OHL from 2019–20 to 2022–23. With 202 total games played (including 23 playoff appearances), 101 points, and 56 penalty minutes, he was finally chosen captain due to his leadership.
The most recent inclusions
Now for Lapid. He has been with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL for the majority of the last two seasons, and he has not yet played in the AHL. With 11 postseason games under his belt, he played in 104 games overall and finished with 74 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a +48 rating.
The 26-year-old played in the NCAA for four seasons at Canisius College before becoming pro. He scored 61 points and racked up 87 penalty minutes in a total of 97 games.
Berard is our last player, having played in 39 AHL games (seven of which were playoff games) with the Texas Stars. Having played in all but two of the previous season’s games, he has five points, eight penalty minutes, and a rating of zero.
The 25-year-old Duncan, British Columbia native played in the NCAA for four seasons at Cornell University, finishing with 68 points, 18 minutes of penalty time, and a +22 rating in 87 games. Prior to that, he played in the BCHL with the Powell River Kings, where he captained the team in his last season in 2018–19.
The Canucks have already added a number of players to their roster in an effort to bolster their squad for the 2024–25 AHL season. Adding new players like Dino Kambeitz, Layton Ahac, and Carsen Twarynski is part of this.
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