Vancouver Canucks recall forward Linus Karlsson

The news comes just days after he had been reassigned to Abbotsford following their lengthy seven-game road trip. In his return, he skated in back-to-back midweek matches for Abbotsford, collecting goals in each while skating on the team’s third line.

Karlsson, a 2018 third-round draft pick, is currently enjoying his second season of North American professional hockey and has collected 33 goals and 74 points across 99 games, all with the Abbotsford Canucks. This year, he sits second on the team with nine goals and 25 points in 27 games.

Now on his fourth call-up of the year, Karlsson has suited up in four games for Vancouver, making his debut on November 16th in Calgary against the Flames.

He has yet to produce any points in the NHL, averaging 10:08 minutes of ice time. The Canucks, who were carrying just 12 forwards before the call-up, are home for the next week, where they will play in four matches at Rogers Arena.

His first opportunity to dress will be on Saturday, as the Canucks are set to host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Andrei Kuzmenko was benched for the entire third period of Thursday’s matchup against the Arizona Coyotes following a terrible giveaway, which resulted in a scoring chance the other way. He skated in just 11:02 minutes in the game, going minus-one on the night.

It’s been a challenging year for the 27-year-old, who is coming off of a strong 39-goal, 74-point campaign (2022-23). Now in his sophomore year, he has just eight goals and 19 points through 39 games and is riding a nine-game pointless skid.

It is unclear if Karlsson will draw into the lineup on Saturday, but should he get the nod, he can be expected to slot in on the fourth line, presumably in place of Kuzmenko. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet spoke about the situation with Kuzmenko at length following the club’s practice on Friday.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with him yet,” he said.

“It’s nothing personal, it’s not a systems thing, you’ve got to participate in certain parts of the game,” Tocchet said. “I think he’s trying to understand that. You have to participate. He doesn’t have to hit a guy, I don’t care about that. I think there are certain parts of his game he has to participate. You have to do it. He’s a great kid, but he’s struggling right now. We just have to keep working with him and he has to understand.”

Read the full quotes from Tocchet by clicking here.