I am continuing my American Hockey League concept series with the Abbotsford Canucks. They are the primary affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. They play in the Abbotsford Centre. Abbotsford, British Columbia has a population of 149,928. It is only 44 miles or about an hour away from Vancouver. Technically the Abbotsford Canucks have been around since 1932. They have played under several different locations and team names. I don’t count that. The relocation of the Vancouver Canucks affiliate from Utica to Abbotsford for the 2020/21 season makes them a new team. I count them as an expansion team.
For this concept, the Abbotsford Canucks play in the AHL’s West Coast Division in the Western Conference. The other teams in the West Coast Division are the Bakersfield Condors, Calgary Wranglers, Coachella Valley Firebirds, Henderson Silver Knights, Ontario Reign, San Diego Gulls, and San Jose Barracuda.
The Abbotsford Canucks use two Vancouver Canucks logos as their logos. Their primary logo is the Vancouver Canucks Johnny Canuck logo. The other logo they use is the C hockey tick logo. Both logos have been used by Vancouver for a really long time.
The Abbotsford Canucks are a product of the AHLs western expansion. I think the Vancouver Canucks would have moved a team out west sooner if they weren’t already in an affiliation agreement with Utica.
Their Home jersey is green, white, and blue. It has the primary logo on the front with the other logo on the shoulders. The Away jersey is the same with the colors swapped. The Home and Away jerseys have the Abbotsford Canucks on the inside of the collar.
The Alternate jersey is blue, green, and white. It has the C hockey stick logo on the front with no logos on the shoulders. On the inside of the collar, it says Go ABBY Go. That was something I found while browsing their social media.
The Retro jersey is inspired by the Abbotsford Heat. The Abbotsford Heat was an AHL team from 2009 to 2014. They were affiliated with the Calgary Flames. The jersey is inspired by the Abbotsford Heat jersey. The colors were changed from the original Abbotsford Heat colors (red, black, grey, and white) to the Vancouver Canucks colors used from 1978 to 1997 (black, yellow, and red). I also recolored the Abbotsford Heat logo to match the Vancouver Canucks Flying Skate logo. On the shoulders is the Canadian and British Columbia flags. On the inside of the collar is 2009-2014. The years the team existed.
The City jersey is blue, green, and tan. It is inspired by the 2014 Vancouver Canucks Heritage Classic Jersey. The logo on the front is Abbotsford inside of an A. That is the only logo I made for this concept. The City jersey does not have any shoulder logos. On the inside of the collar is EST 1892. That was the year Abbotsford was founded.
The Affiliate Remix jersey is green, blue, and white. It is based on the Vancouver Canucks home jersey. It has the same logos as the home and away jerseys. On the inside of the collar, it says we are all Canucks.
The Abbotsford Canucks have three Heritage jerseys. The Fredericton Express (1982-88), the Hamilton Canucks (1992-94), and the Kansas City Blades (2000/01). The Heritage jerseys are inspired by the Vancouver Canucks former primary affiliates.
The Vancouver Canucks have had fourteen primary affiliates since 1970. I am only using teams from the American Hockey League (AHL) or International Hockey League (IHL) for the Heritage jerseys. I am not using teams that are still in some way still in operation either. For example, the Manitoba Moose from 2001 to 2011 is a different franchise than the Manitoba Moose from 2015 to current. However, I see them as the same team. I think it would be crazy for teams to have Heritage jerseys for teams that still use the same name but now have a different affiliate.
The Abbotsford Canucks are also playing in the AHL Stadium series in this concept. They are playing the San Jose Barracuda at AVAYA Stadium in San Jose for the AHL Stadium Series West Coast Division game. That jersey will be released at a later date.
Zac Electrifly 