With the Canucks set to return to action on Monday against New Jersey, they’ve made a trio of roster moves, announcing the recalls of forwards Vasily Podkolzin, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and Nils Aman from Abbotsford of the AHL.
Podkolzin is the headliner of the three. The 21-year-old was a regular last season in Vancouver, picking up 14 goals and 12 assists in 79 games in his rookie campaign and the 2019 first-rounder was expected to take a step forward this year.
However, he struggled out of the gate, notching just three assists in 16 games, resulting in him being sent to the AHL back in November. While Podkolzin didn’t light up the scoresheet by any stretch, he still fared reasonably well with Abbotsford, picking up seven goals and 11 helpers in 28 contests prior to the recall.
Vancouver had just 10 forwards on their roster before the recall so there’s a good chance that Podkolzkin will be in the lineup against the Devils.
This will be the third recall of the year for Di Giuseppe who had been sent back down when Vancouver hit the bye week. The 29-year-old has played just one game with Vancouver so far, his first appearance at the top level since 2020-21.
Di Giuseppe has been quite productive in the minors, however, picking up 30 points in 33 games. He has seen NHL action in seven of the last eight seasons, tallying 16 goals and 37 assists in 202 appearances.
Aman, meanwhile, somewhat surprisingly cracked Vancouver’s opening roster out of training camp in his first season in North America. He got into 35 games with the team, logging just over 12 minutes a night but managed just a goal and four assists.
That resulted him in him being sent down in late December and the demotion seemed to help him a bit offensively as he was more productive with Abbotsford, collecting four goals and five helpers in 17 contests.
With these moves, Vancouver’s roster now sits at the maximum size of 23 players.
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