The Abbotsford Canucks started back in 1932 as the Quebec Beavers, before moving to Springfield to become the Indians in 1935. They have also been known as the Syracuse Warriors, the Springfield Kings, the Worcester IceCats and the Peoria Rivermen.
In 2013, the franchise was purchased by the Vancouver Canucks to operate as their official AHL affiliate. The Canucks are one of many teams to personally own their AHL team, however talks to relocate the then-Rivermen to BC broke down, and the franchise was placed in Utica, NY, where it remained until 2021.
During an AHL reshuffle, the Utica Comets franchise was successfully relocated to Abbotsford, BC and renamed the Abbotsford Canucks (during this time, the Binghamton Devils were relocated to the vacant market in Utica and became the new Utica Comets), as well as officially joining the AHL’s Pacific Division (then made up of the Stockton Heat, the Ontario Reign, the Colorado Eagles, the Bakersfield Condors, the Henderson Silver Knights, the San Diego Gulls, the San Jose Barracuda and the Tuscon Roadrunners).
The Canucks have never won the Calder Cup, however they made it to the Calder Cup finals as the Comets in 2014-15, losing to the Manchester Monarchs, then AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, in 5 games.
In the 2022-23 season, the Canucks had a record of 4-25-3-4, finished 4th in the Pacific Division. They were eliminated in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs by the Calgary Wranglers.
Their current head coach is Jeremy Colliton, their GM is Ryan Johnson, and the Canucks play out of the Abbotsford Centre.
Notable former Abbotsford Canucks include Thatcher Demko, Nils Hoglander, Sven Baertschi and Zack MacEwen