Shannon Coulter
Almost 30 years in the making, the Calgary Canucks are back to compete for a national title.
Calgary dominated the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) playoffs, solidifying their place at the 2024 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, with a four-game sweep of the Whitecourt Wolverines.
The Canucks come into Oakville as a relatively young team, with only six 2003-born players on the roster. But it’s been the young players making an impact, including 18-year-old Gavin Garland, who co-led Calgary in the playoffs with nine goals and 18 points.
They finished the regular season with a 31-23-3 record, which, with only four wins separating the top four teams, landed them third overall in league standings, and moved into the AJHL final with a six-game series win over the Grande Prairie Storm and a five-game triumph over the Drumheller Dragons.
Bowden Singleton was fantastic for the Canucks, registering 21 goals and 67 points to finish fourth in AJHL scoring. The 19-year-old captain added seven goals and 15 points during the playoffs.
Behind the bench for Calgary is Brad Moran, who has an extensive hockey history of his own. An all-star in the Western Hockey League, Moran suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks and played over 500 games in the American Hockey League (Syracuse Crunch, Manitoba Moose, Oklahoma City Barons). The 45-year-old played eight seasons in Europe before he hung up his skates. Moran started as an assistant coach with the Canucks during the 2018-19 season and was promoted to head coach that fall.
The Canucks have only one previous appearance at the Centennial Cup, but it was a good one; in 1995, they claimed Canada’s National Junior A Championship with a 5-4 overtime win over the Gloucester Rangers.
HOW THEY GOT TO OAKVILLE
Alberta Junior Hockey League Quarterfinal: defeated Grand Prairie Storm 4-2 (4-3 OT, 4-3, 2-3, 3-4, 4-1, 5-4 OT) Semifinal: defeated Drumheller Dragons 4-1 (5-2, 3-2 OT, 3-6, 4-0, 3-2) Final: defeated Whitecourt Wolverines 4-0 (5-1, 5-2, 5-4, 3-2)
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL): 31-23-3 (3rd in AJHL) Goals for: 176 (T-5th in AJHL) Goals against: 190 (4th in AJHL) Power play: 41 for 232 (17.7% – 6th in AJHL) Penalty killing: 208 of 250 (83.2% – 2nd in AJHL) Longest winning streak: 6 (Sept. 23-Oct. 7)
Top 3 scorers: • Bowden Singleton – 21G 46A 67P (4th in AJHL) • Ty Hipkin – 25G 27A 52P (12th in AJHL) • Julien Gervais – 13G 38A 51P (13th in AJHL)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 12-3 Goals for: 58 Goals against: 39 Power play: 12 for 47 (25.5%) Penalty killing: 50 of 58 (86.2%)
Top 3 scorers: • Ty Hipkin – 9G 9A 18P • Gavin Garland – 9G 9A 18P • Julien Gervais – 7G 11A 18P
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1995 – Calgary Canucks | 1st place | 5-1 | 25GF 17GA
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS
Ben Buckley – Dartmouth College (2024-25) Gavin Garland – University of Nebraska-Omaha (2024-25) Easton Hewson – Minnesota State University (2024-25) Chris Kobelka – University of Alaska-Fairbanks (2024-25) Julian Molinaro – Northern Michigan University (2024-25) Nolan Paquette – Western Michigan University (2025-26)
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
Oct. 2 – 14th Oct. 9 – Honourable Mention Oct. 16 – not ranked Oct. 23 – not ranked Oct. 30 – not ranked Nov. 6 – not ranked Nov. 13 – not ranked Nov. 20 – not ranked Nov. 27 – not ranked Dec. 4 – not ranked Dec. 11 – not ranked Dec. 18 – not ranked Jan. 8 – not ranked Jan. 15 – not ranked Jan. 22 – not ranked Jan. 29 – 16th Feb. 5 – 20th Feb. 12 – not ranked Feb. 19 – Honourable Mention Feb. 26 – not ranked March 4 – Honourable Mention March 11 – Honourable Mention