Montreal native and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin was named MVP of the NBA Rising Stars tournament as All-Star Weekend kicked off in Indianapolis on Friday.
The Vancouver Canucks have recalled forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks and re-assigned Jett Woo to the AHL club, the team announced Friday.
This marks the first time the Surrey, B.C. native will join the big club since signing an entry-level contract with his hometown team in 2022.
Bains, 23, exploded in his final year playing for the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, where he scored 43 goals and 112 points in 68 games — tallying more points than then-Regina Pats star Connor Bedard. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Bains had only breached 50 points in a season once.
Though undrafted, his play earned himself the entry-level contract with the Canucks and he’s in his second season with the farm team. This year, Bains has been scoring at a near point-per-game clip with nine goals and 39 points in 42 games. He recently earned MVP honours at the AHL All-Star Skills Competition.
Woo, 23, has five goals and 16 points in 42 games with Abbotsford this season and was initially recalled four days ago after Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy was placed on injured reserve. Selected 37th overall in 2018, Woo has been developing in the AHL for the past four seasons.