Canucks Add Another to Recent String of Re-Signees

The Vancouver Canucks farm team in Abbotsford announced a new two-year deal for Chase Wouters, a 22-year-old forward who played a solid two-way game in the American Hockey League last season.

“Chase immediately became a key piece of our overall environment here in Abbotsford,” said Abby Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson in his release. “Our goal is to continue to develop him with hopes that his path goes beyond the AHL.”

Wouters won the fan vote for the club’s “Unsung Hero” award in the inaugural season in the Fraser Valley. He finished with five goals, 13 assists and 62 penalty minutes in 60 games played in 2021-’22.

The undrafted right-shot centre played five seasons for the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League in his native province, the last three serving as team captain before being signed by the Canucks last summer.

“I’m beyond excited to be coming back in Abbotsford. The fans and the organization made my first year pro one to remember!” Wouters said in the official announcement. “I can’t wait to get back to Vancouver and Abbotsford so I can continue to develop into a better player and person.”

The Abbotsford Canucks continue a string of signings as they build or re-build out their roster, most recently defencemen Quinn Schmiemann and Alex Kannok Leipert, and centre Matt Alfaro.

The Vancouver Canucks have also been re-signing some free agents, namely forwards Sheldon Dries and John Stevens and defenceman Guillaume Brisebois to two-way contracts last week.

Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin also reached back to his Swedish connections early this month to sign three free agent players who will get a look at the Canucks Development Camp next month and will also end up starting in the AHL. 22-year-old righthanded defenceman Filip Johansson and forwards Nils Aman, a teammate of Johansson’s off and on for four seasons, and Linus Karlsson, whose rights were acquired in a deal with the San Jose Sharks in 2019.