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Akito Hirose

Canucks Recall Matt Irwin and Linus Karlsson, Send Akito Hirose Down

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Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin shared that the team has recalled Matt Irwin and Linus Karlsson, while sending defenseman Akito Hirose to the AHL.

Irwin is the only one of the trio to not yet appear in the NHL this season. He’s instead spent 13 games in the AHL, scoring two points and recording 10 penalty minutes. Irwin is in his first season with the Canucks organization, signing a one-year, two-way, $775K contract with the team on July 1st. Vancouver becomes the seventh franchise that Irwin has been a part of throughout his 11-year career. The 36-year-old defender was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Jose Sharks following his sophomore season at the University of Massachusetts in 2010. He has totaled 461 career NHL games, scoring 93 points and recording 211 penalty minutes. He’s also appeared in 262 AHL games and scored 121 points. This season marks the first time that Irwin has played in the AHL since 2016-17 when he appeared in four games with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Karlsson has only played in one NHL game this season, going without a point but recording a +1. He’s also managed 17 AHL games, where he’s scored 15 points, a mark that ranks second on the Abbotsford Canucks. Karlsson joined the Canucks via trade from the San Jose Sharks in 2019, with Vancouver sending Jonathan Dahlen the other way. Karlsson signed his entry-level deal with Vancouver last season. The 24-year-old Karlsson was originally drafted in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Sharks.

These roster moves swap Irwin into the seventh defenseman role that was previously held by Hirose. Hirose has played in three NHL games and 11 AHL games this season and is still looking for his first point of the year in either league. The Canucks signed the 24-year-old at the end of Minnesota State University-Mankato’s 2022-23 season. He appeared in seven NHL games last year, scoring three points, and made his AHL debut this season.

Vancouver Canucks Send Down Linus Karlsson; Recall Akito Hirose

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After making his NHL debut last night for the Vancouver Canucks, the team announces Linus Karlsson has been sent back down to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Meanwhile, in the same announcement, Vancouver has recalled defenseman Akito Hirose.

It was no question as to why Karlsson was originally called up by the Canucks, as the young forward is off to a blazing start in the AHL this year. In 13 games played in Abbotsford, Karlsson has two goals and nine assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring.

Now that Andrei Kuzmenko is expected back into the lineup for the team’s next game, Karlsson will continue to grow his game at the AHL level for the time being. He was originally acquired by the Canucks in a 2019 trade with the San Jose Sharks, making his way to North America last season.

In the case of Hirose, he will serve as a depth defenseman for the team, much like he has done over the last two seasons when he has been in the NHL. So far this year, Hirose has suited up in two games for Vancouver, averaging a touch over 12 and a half minutes of ice time per night.

Hirose is also scoreless in 11 games at the AHL level, indicating he may need more seasoning in the minor leagues to get back to the production levels he saw during his tenure at Minnesota State University. Nevertheless, with both Hirose and Karlsson on the roster in Abbotsford, the team has gotten off to an 8-4-1 start, being one of the better teams in the AHL to start the year.

Carson Soucy Out Week-To-Week With Foot Injury

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November 15th: The Vancouver Canucks have updated Soucy’s status and provided a clear timeline by now saying that the defenseman will miss the next six-to-eight weeks of action.

November 14th: Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shared that defenseman Carson Soucy will undergo further evaluation on a foot injury that currently has him designated as week-to-week. Tocchet also shared that Tyler Meyers should be ready for the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the New York Islanders. The team also recalled Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup ahead of their Tuesday practice.

Soucy has been out of action since he left the team’s November 12th game early. He’s appeared in 13 games this season, netting two goals and five points, while averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time. He’s in his first season with the Canucks, after signing a three-year contract on July 1st that carries a $3.25MM cap hit.

Meyers’ return to the lineup will help fill in for the missing Soucy. The 33-year-old defenseman looked strong to start the season, netting six points in 15 games before his injury while operating on the team’s second pairing. If he can’t go, Akito Hirose will step back into the lineup after spending 11 games in the AHL. Hirose appeared in two Canucks games earlier in the season before being sent to the minors. He’s failed to score in either the NHL or AHL this year, although he did record two penalties and a +2 in his AHL appearances. Hirose is in his first full season as a professional, although the NCAA free agent he did appear in seven games with the Canucks last year as well – netting three assists. He’ll have a chance to record his first NHL goal or his first point of the year if he’s able to slot into the lineup.

Canucks Recall Akito Hirose

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced the recall of defenseman Akito Hirose to the NHL lineup. Hirose has appeared in 11 AHL games so far this season, going without a point while also accruing four penalty minutes and a +2. Hirose made his NHL debut with the Canucks last season, signing with the team after the conclusion of the Minnesota State University-Mankato season.

Hirose was one of three players from last year’s Mankato lineup to sign NHL contracts, joining Nashville’s Jake Livingston and Colorado’s Ondrej Pavel. All three players were undrafted free agents at the time of their signing and all three have since made their NHL debut. Hirose has played in the most NHL action of the bunch, with nine games under his belt. He also leads the group in scoring, with three points in those nine games topping the one point Livingston has scored through five games. Pavel has yet to score his first NHL point.

Hirose has already appeared in two games with Vancouver’s NHL lineup through the early season, going without any changes to his stat line. He also recorded a 39.39 CF% (Corsi-For Percentage) and 43.87 xGF% (expected-goals-for percentage) in the pair of games – both modest tallies that are certainly influenced by a small sample size, although both numbers are an improvement from the CF% and xGF% he recorded in his seven NHL games last season.

Carson Soucy was announced with injury on November 12th and the team has yet to provide an update on his status. Hirose will provide some depth to the Canucks’ blue-line while Soucy works his way back into the lineup.

Vancouver Recalls Friedman, Sends Hirose To AHL

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The Vancouver Canucks have recalled their latest player acquisition, Mark Friedman, to the NHL club. Akito Hirose has been sent to the AHL to accommodate this move. The Canucks acquired Friedman in a four-player trade that sent Jack Rathbone and Karel Plasek to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Friedman and Ty Glover.

Friedman has split time between the NHL and AHL over the last two seasons, recording 23 NHL games and 24 AHL games last year. He netted three NHL points and six AHL points in those games. Friedman’s longest tenure in the NHL came during the 2021-22 season, when he spent 26 games with the Penguins, tallying five points. Friedman joined the Penguins via waivers from the Flyers during the 2020-21 season, after operating as a healthy scratch for much of Philadelphia’s season. But despite the NHL attention, Friedman only appeared in nine games that year, losing time to healthy scratches and an upper-body injury sustained in the Spring.

Hirose has yet to play in his rookie NHL season, appearing in seven NHL games last season and a pair of games so far this year. He’s tallied three points, all coming during the 2022-23 season. This assignment will be Hirose’s first experience in the AHL, after signing with Vancouver following the conclusion of Minnesota State University-Mankato’s 2022-23 season. Hirose was a successful two-way defender in college, recording 27 points in 38 games last year – his junior year of school.

Vancouver is 2-1-0 to start the season, with a +6 goal-differential. Friedman will likely slot in as the team’s seventh defenseman, adding pressure to Noah Juulsen’s role on the team’s third pair.

Canucks Assign Vasily Podkolzin To AHL, Recall Akito Hirose

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The Vancouver Canucks assigned forward Vasily Podkolzin to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and recalled defenseman Akito Hirose in corresponding transactions, a team release states Wednesday.

This signals that 26-year-old Guillaume Brisebois may not play tonight in the team’s season opener against the Edmonton Oilers. Brisebois is dealing with a lower-body injury, and his unavailability would leave the Canucks with just five healthy defensemen at their disposal. Free-agent addition Carson Soucy is listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, although he remains on the active roster for now.

If Brisebois cannot play, Hirose will suit up on the team’s third pair alongside Noah Juulsen tonight. Vancouver signed Hirose, 24, to a two-year, $1.575MM contract in July. An undrafted free agent, the Canucks initially acquired Hirose’s rights by extending him an entry-level contract in March after he concluded his junior season at Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Playing in seven games down the stretch of the 2022-23 NHL season, Hirose notched three assists and a -1 rating while averaging 17:27 per game. He does not require waivers for assignment to AHL Abbotsford and will likely be returned to the minors once one or both of Brisebois and Soucy are ready to return.

Podkolzin, meanwhile, finds himself on the outside looking in on Vancouver’s roster for their first game of the season. Selected 10th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Russian winger is entering his third season in North America. He managed to avoid designation to the AHL in his rookie season in 2021-22, notching 14 goals, 12 assists and 26 points in 79 contests for the Canucks before joining Abbotsford in the postseason. 2022-23, meanwhile, saw Podkolzin appear in just 39 games for Vancouver while suiting up in 28 for AHL Abbotsford. There, he scored seven goals and added 11 assists for 18 points.

Like Hirose, Podkolzin does not require waivers to head to Abbotsford. With his $925K cap hit being slightly higher than most of his fringe NHLer teammates, Podkolzin will likely need a strong start to the season in the minors to find his way back to Vancouver.

Vancouver had $0 in cap space before making this transaction, as the team had not made any moves since turning in their opening night roster on Monday evening. Replacing Podkolzin with Hirose on the active roster now leaves the Canucks with $137.5K in space in their LTIR salary pool created by defenseman Tucker Poolman and his $2.5MM cap hit.

Pacific Notes: Backlund, Hirose, Broberg

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Trade offers for Flames center Mikael Backlund have been soft thus far, notes Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg.  The 34-year-old is actually coming off a career year offensively, notching 19 goals and 37 assists in 82 games last season while continuing to be strong in the defensive end.  However, while his performance last year was strong, his contract, which carries a $5.35MM AAV, is likely contributing to a weak trade market at this time.  Backlund hasn’t ruled out signing an extension to stay with the team that drafted him back in 2007 but wants to see how the team fares in 2023-24 before making a decision.  Cap space is tight for Calgary at the moment so GM Craig Conroy is likely open to trying to free up some salary but with Backlund’s trade market being light, it’s unlikely that the veteran middleman will be the cap casualty.

More from the Pacific:

  • While Akito Hirose impressed for the Canucks late last season, his waiver exemption could work against him in training camp, suggests Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province. The 24-year-old held his own after signing as an undrafted college free agent, collecting three assists in seven games while logging over 16 minutes a night.  However, Jack Rathbone, Guillaume Brisebois, Noah Juulsen, and Matt Irwin (among others) must pass through waivers to go to AHL Abbotsford.  If Vancouver is worried about possibly losing one of them on the wire, Hirose could find himself on the outside looking in as a result.
  • Although blueliner Philip Broberg is viewed as one of the Oilers’ top youngsters, Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal wonders if he could be a victim of what could be too much left-side defensive depth. Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm are entrenched in the top two slots on that side while Brett Kulak has three years left on a deal worth $2.75MM which would be hard to move in this market.  Those three present some roadblocks for Broberg who will be looking to establish himself as a full-time NHL player this coming season. If the 22-year-old gets a chance to play his off-side in the preseason, that might be his best chance of earning a significant role in 2023-24.

Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Akito Hirose

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced a two-year contract extension for young defenseman Akito Hirose, a relatively recent signing out of college hockey. The deal carries a $787k cap hit for each year, and is a two-way deal with a $350k AHL salary in 2023-24 and a one-way deal in 2024-25.

Hirose, 24, was signed out of Minnesota State University after a successful three-year stint there. The former top defender in the BCHL scored 68 points in 104 games at the college level and stepped right into the NHL after signing from college.

Hirose got into seven contests for the Canucks and scored three points, averaging nearly 17 and a half minutes per game. He’s more of an offensive defenseman and will likely need a little bit of time in the AHL before he’s ready for full-time NHL duty.

The one-way portion of this contract is an indication that the Canucks are very much believers in Hirose’s NHL potential, and now with his contract secured he’ll head to training camp hoping to compete for an NHL roster spot or secure a premier offensive role in the AHL.

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