The Abbotsford Canucks don’t have much time to put their thrilling Pacific Division win over Colorado behind them. Starting on Thursday night, they have to be ready to face the Texas Stars in the best-of-seven American Hockey League Western Conference Final.

The two teams did not face each other during the regular season, so there may be a feeling-out process as they engage for the first time with a trip to the Calder Cup Final on the line. Unlike previous series in these playoffs, this is a best-of-seven that will follow the 2-3-2 format and will begin in the Fraser Valley.

Here’s what the Canucks can expect from the Dallas Stars top farm team:

Lone star? More like 3 stars

Texas currently boasts the top three scorers in the AHL Playoffs. Justin Hryckowian leads all postseason point producers with 15 through his team’s first eight games. That’s one ahead of Cameron Hughes, while familiar face Kole Lind is tied for third place with 11 points. Hryckowian and Hughes have at least a point in all eight of their team’s games through the first two rounds. Lind has been held off the scoresheet just once. That trio has combined for 16 goals, with six of them coming on the power play.

Hard to pronounce, harder to stop

Justin Hryckowian (pronounced ritz-COVE-ian) has scored in five straight games, totalling six goals over that span. The 24-year-old from L’Ile Bizard, Quebec, is in his first full year of professional hockey after three seasons at Northeastern University. He had 22 goals and 60 points during the regular season and earned his first taste of NHL action with five games for Dallas, where he registered one assist.

Shooting Star

No one scored more goals during the regular season than Stars winger Matej Blumel, who pummeled AHL goalies for 39 markers. That was three more than anyone else in the league this season. He also led all AHL skaters with 274 shots on goal. Blumel has three goals and 10 points in eight playoff games so far. The fourth-round pick of Edmonton in the 2019 NHL Draft has a pair of big league goals to his credit in 13 games with Dallas. Blumel, who will turn 25 on May 31st, finished with 72 points on the season, which was one off the AHL lead. Of his 39 goals, 11 came on the power play.

Dining at the roadhouse

Texas eliminated higher-seeded Milwaukee with a 3-2 road win in Game 5 of their Central Division Final last Sunday. The Stars are 4-1 as the visitors in the playoffs, and that’s after a regular season in which Texas went 24-12. Only four teams in the league finished with more points on the road this season – and nobody won more road games. Texas scored the second-most road goals in the AHL (126). Interestingly, the only team to score more was Abbotsford with 127. A huge part of the recipe for the Stars’ road success was the second-best power play in the league at 22.7% away from home.

Puck stopper extraordinare

While the Canucks feel confident in the way Arturs Silovs has performed in the playoffs, the Stars feel they have a guy that can match Silovs shot for shot. Remi Poirier is 4-1 in the postseason with a 1.87 GAA, a .926% save percentage with one shutout. He allowed a total of five goals in the final three games against Milwaukee. Only once in his six playoff appearances this spring has Poirier surrendered more than two goals in a game. The 23-year-old was a sixth-round draft pick of Dallas in 2020. He is still looking to make his big league debut.

Homecoming for a few

There are a couple of Texas players with ties to British Columbia. Veteran Curtis McKenzie was born in Golden and spent two seasons with Penticton in the BCHL. The 34-year-old has appeared in 99 NHL games, all with Dallas. He also spent one year in Utica when it was still the Canucks farm team and was teammates with Jett Woo and Guillaume Brisebois. Trey Taylor hails from Richmond and turned pro this season after three years at Clarkson University. Prior to that, the 23-year-old spent three seasons with Vernon in the BCHL.