Welcome back to another Vancouver Canucks 2024–25 report card. Today, we’ll be discussing Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks forward Linus Karlsson, who played in 23 games for the former and 32 games for the latter.
In both the NHL and AHL, Karlsson took big steps to carve himself a spot in the Canucks’ lineup in this season and possibly 2025–26. He played his first game of the season with Vancouver on December 19, skating in one other match before being sent back to Abbotsford. Karlsson didn’t make his way back into Vancouver’s playing roster until January 23, though after that, he managed to find a bit of consistency within the lineup.
Karlsson scored his first NHL goal on January 29 against the Nashville Predators, though in the AHL, he was already scoring at a rapid rate. By mid-March, Karlsson had broken an Abbotsford franchise record in most goals scored as an AHL Canuck in team history with 66. He has since upped his career total to 70 during the regular season. He finished the AHL season with 23 goals and 16 assists in 32 games, coming out to a points-per game pace of 1.21.
On an NHL level, Karlsson found success particularly towards the end of the 2024–25 season. With injuries hitting the Canucks as the season wound down, Karlsson and many of his other Abbotsford peers were given opportunities to prove themselves with the Canucks. In his final 10 games of the season with Vancouver, Karlsson registered two goals and three assists.
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Karlsson clearly benefitted from the extra time in the NHL this season, as once he got back to Abbotsford for the Calder Cup Playoffs, he exploded offensively. By the end of the AHL postseason, Karlsson led all players in points with 14 goals and 12 assists in 24 games played, averaging a points-per game pace of 1.08. He led all players in goals as well, having five goals over the next highest total. His 11th goal of the postseason also broke an AHL record for most goals scored in a single postseason by a Swedish player. Had it not been for the spectacular play of Artūrs Šilovs during the team’s Calder Cup victory, it’s likely that Karlsson would have won the award for playoff MVP in 2025.
The Evolution Of Vancouver And Abbotsford Canucks Forward Linus KarlssonWhen the Vancouver Canucks acquired Linus Karlsson on February 25, 2019, fans had mixed feelings. The piece going back to the San Jose Sharks in exchange was Jonathan Dahlén, a player who had previously shown flashes of success alongside franchise cornerstone at the time Elias Pettersson. Some had even referred to the two as the second-coming of the Sedin twins. Still, the 19-year-old Karlsson had the belief of Canucks general manager at the time, Jim Benning, behind him.
The 2024–25 season was a solid one for Karlsson, who did pretty much what was asked of him by further developing his game and working towards getting himself a solid spot in Vancouver’s lineup. His 23 NHL games this season were a massive step-up from the four he played the season prior. With the team’s roster looking a little clearer now that the first day of free agency has passed, Karlsson has a solid shot at getting himself a spot in the team’s depth ranks. This season, Karlsson receives a B- for the work he did in improving his game. Optimistically, he’ll be able to build on his NHL goal-scoring in the 2025–26 season, making him an even more impactful depth player.
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