Former NHL Defenseman Among Four Players Signed by Vancouver Canucks Organization

This past week has been very busy for the Vancouver Canucks organization as their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, have been hard at work preparing their roster for the 2025-26 season.

On Wednesday, Abbotsford announced the re-signing of three members of their Calder Cup championship-winning team and did the same yesterday.

As Abbotsford looks to round out their roster, General Manager Ryan Johnson has signed a handful of players on Friday morning, including a defenseman who has experience at the National Hockey League level.

In a press release, the Abbotsford Canucks revealed that they have given one-year contracts to four unrestricted free agents - forward Nolan Walker, defensemen Derek Daschke and Jayden Lee, along with former San Jose Shark Nikolai Knyzhov.

Knyzhov, a native of Kemerovo, Russia, had six points in 26 AHL games last season split between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Grand Rapids Griffins.

While it's not confirmed whatsoever and we're just speculating here, it wouldn't be a shock if Knyzhov were to land a professional tryout (PTO) with Vancouver ahead of training camp, similar to what we saw with forward Sammy Blais last year, who signed an AHL deal with Abbotsford and was invited to the Canucks' main camp.

Nolan Walker is returning to North America after a very successful one-year stint in Sweden's second division - HockeyAllsvenskan - where he registered 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 51 games with IK Oskarshamn.

As for Derek Daschke and Jayden Lee, they both spent the 2024-25 season in the ECHL, putting up 52 and 36 points while suiting up for Utah Grizzlies and South Carolina Stingrays, respectively.

The Abbotsford Canucks will begin their defense of the Calder Cup starting on Friday, October 10th against the Henderson Silver Knights, AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Source: Abbotsford Canucks
Canucks Sign Four Players To One-year Ahl Contracts