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Abbotsford Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains wins AHL all-star challenge MVP

Surrey product collects two goals and three assists to help Pacific Division win event
Ben Lypka
Ben Lypka
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Abbotsford Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains was named the most valuable player of the AHL’s all-star challenge on Monday (Feb. 5). (Abbotsford Canucks photo)

He may have arrived to the AHL All-Star Classic fashionably late, but Abbotsford Canucks forward Arshdeep Bains more than made up for it by helping the Pacific Division win the all-star challenge and earning the most valuable player award on Monday (Feb. 5).

Bains collected two goals and three assists, including the all-star challenge winning goal in San Jose on Monday.

He was also set to compete in the AHL all-star skills competition event in San Jose on Sunday (Feb. 4), but an atmospheric river that hit California hard prevented him from arriving on time.

“It was awesome,” he said following the championship game. “It was a blast, I think every single game went into overtime and it was all one-goal games. It was really competitive.”

The event on Monday saw four teams made up of the four divisions in the AHL. Bains and his Pacific Division teammates opened with a 1-1 shootout tie with the North Division, then tied the Atlantic Division 2-2. They then defeated the Central Division 4-3 after a shootout. The final game saw the Pacific Division defeat the Atlantic Division 3-2 and Bains potted the winning goal.

Games were three-on-three action and were 10 minutes in duration.

It was the first-ever AHL all-star selection for the Surrey product and he’s just the second Abbotsford Canucks player to attend the event. Defenceman Christian Wolanin represented the Canucks last year.

Bains is in his second season with the Abbotsford Canucks and leads the team in scoring this season with 40 points in 40 games. He also had a solid rookie campaign, collecting 38 points in 66 games and adding three points in six playoff games. Bains is signed through the 2024-25 season.

RELATED: Surrey’s Arshdeep Bains chasing pro hockey dream in Abbotsford

He played his junior hockey with the Red Deer Rebels and captured the WHL’s Bobby Clarke Trophy as top scorer in 2021-22 with 112 points in 68 games. Bains went undrafted during his time in junior and signed a professional contract with the Canucks on March 11, 2022.

Bains and the Canucks next head to Colorado to take on the Eagles for games on Friday (Feb. 9) and Saturday (Feb. 10). The next home game occurs on Feb. 17 when the Calgary Wranglers come to Abbotsford.

Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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