A new NHL season is upon us, and the Vancouver Canucks are prepared for a run at the Stanley Cup. The team is ready for Game 1 of their season against the Calgary Flames this upcoming Wednesday and has already shrunk their training camp roster to less than 30 players in preparation of locking down their opening-night roster. One player who is still with the team is 23-year-old Arshdeep Bains, who signed out of the Western Hockey League as an undrafted player back in 2022. Bains has progressed mightily in his two years in the American Hockey League (AHL) and is now ready to take a full-time role with Vancouver.
Bains Has Shown He Is Ready For The NHL
Although preseason games are taken with a grain of salt because of their lack of meaning towards the season, it should not go unnoticed that Bains has produced during his time in exhibition play. The forward has produced two goals and an assist for three points in the four games he has played with both goals coming on the power play. Both goals Bains has scored have been one-timers on the left side of the ice set up by full-time members of the Canucks roster. Kiefer Sherwood and Daniel Sprong set up his first goal while Danton Heinen and Nils Hoglander set up his second goal, and his lone assist was on a goal by Quinn Hughes. He has shown he can play meaningful minutes and keep pace with the Canucks’ main group of players.
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Bains has also been shown a lot of trust from head coach Rick Tocchet since he has put him in these positions on several occasions. Tocchet looks to be sending a message to Bains that he definitely sees a role for him on the team, or at the very least, he knows what positions to put him in if he is ever on the team. Bains has been put on the bottom six, which makes sense due to the firepower that they have up front, but the fact the Canucks’ staff has given him power play time shows they believe he has the talent to score goals when put in the correct offensive situations.
Bains Is Too Good For The AHL
There comes a time in every prospect’s career when they become too good for the AHL but not good enough to be an NHL regular. Bains was close to being in that category if he was not able to have a good training camp. However, at the Canucks rookie showcase, he was by far the best Canuck on the ice and looked like he was a man playing amongst boys. Bains looked too good to be in that tournament filled with young and talented players looking to make an impression on their NHL teams. Although it was only three games, he proved that the players he was playing with were not on his level.
If he goes back to the AHL, he will not be learning anything new or going up against competition that is going to challenge him in his developmental path towards making the NHL. All you hope to see out of prospects is continued growth and improvement, and Bains has done that. He will not learn or grow much more if he plays the majority of the year in the AHL and lights up the league because it isn’t as hard for him. If he makes the Canucks out of camp and plays at least five to 10 games at the start of the season, the Canucks will know what he is capable of and whether he is ready to play in the NHL full-time. If it is determined after the first five or so games that he isn’t read, then he can be sent back to the AHL without having to clear waivers; no harm no foul. However, he also may prove people wrong and show he belongs in the NHL.
Bains has proven he can be an NHL-caliber player on many different occasions. He has shown he is ready to, at the very least, be given a chance to play for the Canucks once preseason concludes. Starting him in the AHL this season will not help him. It will only hurt him.
