Max Sasson made the Abbotsford Canucks’ first-ever home Calder Cup Playoff game one to remember.
Only eight games into his pro career after two seasons at Western Michigan University, Sasson supplied a goal and an assist to help carry the Canucks to a 3-0 win in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Bakersfield Condors last night.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Sasson said via the team’s website. “It was so awesome seeing everybody with the rally towels. That’s playoff hockey, right?”
The 22-year-old Sasson was a sought-after free agent after leaving Western Michigan, where he notched 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 38 games in 2022-23. He had seven games with three or more points, including a hat trick in a postseason contest. The parent Vancouver Canucks landed him with a two-year entry-level contract on March 26.
Seven regular-season contests with Abbotsford helped ease Sasson into the pro game before he had to face Calder Cup Playoff competition. He had impressed head coach Jeremy Colliton enough to take a spot on a line between Nils Höglander and Kyle Rau, and the trio combined for six points last night.
“It helped a lot,” Sasson said of his those first seven games. “I’m still adjusting. It was really good to get my feet under me.”
Then came a team meeting with Abbotsford general manager Ryan Johnson before the series.
“Everything he said about having fun, and that you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get at this, really resonated,” Sasson recounted. “The guys all looked around and were like, ‘Let’s go.’”
The Canucks-Condors rivalry will continue to build as this best-of-three round progresses. Last year the teams also met in the first round, but Bakersfield emerged with a two-game sweep on its home ice. Now the Canucks are in position to end Bakersfield’s season in Game 2 on Friday.
“We have a huge game Friday night,” Sasson said. “Bakersfield is going to come out extremely hard. They don’t want their season to end.”
Rocco Grimaldi has given the Rockford IceHogs exactly what they expected when they acquired him in a deal with San Diego on March 2.
Grimaldi provided 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in his 16 games with Rockford, and he continued to deliver last night as his overtime goal carried the IceHogs to a 3-2 win in Game 1 of their first-round series with Iowa. Grimaldi forced a turnover just inside the Wild blue line before ripping a right-circle shot past Jesper Wallstedt for a 1-0 series lead.
In all, Grimaldi’s 36 goals in 70 games placed him third in the AHL during the regular season, and he finished sixth with 73 points. He came to Rockford as part of an extensive trade deadline makeover for a club that had to battle until the final day of the regular season to lock down a playoff berth in the Central Division.
With the best-of-three series moving to Iowa for Game 2 on Friday and a possible Game 3 on Sunday, Grimaldi’s goal eased some pressure off the IceHogs as they try to build a postseason run.
“I know what they traded for me for,” Grimaldi said via the team website after the win. “I know what they expected of me. It’s moments like that. Trying to have a deep playoff push. Being someone who is reliable defensively. Be someone who is going to chip in offensively. Make the play at the right time. Score big goals.
“It’s a nice start, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
― Patrick Williams
