Abbotsford Canucks Sign Forward Bennett Schimek to One-Year AHL Deal

Bennett Schimek is heading to the AHL after one of the more productive senior seasons in the NCHC this year. The Abbotsford Canucks signed the 22-year-old Arizona State winger to a one-year AHL contract through the 2026-27 season, with Schimek joining the club immediately for the remainder of 2025-26 on a professional try-out agreement.

The 6-foot, 187-pound forward capped his collegiate career with a career-best 43 points, recording 13 goals and 30 assists across 35 games for the Sun Devils in 2025-26 while serving as team captain. Those numbers ranked second on the ASU roster in all three offensive categories. His performance earned him All-NCHC Second-Team honors, and it also made him an attractive target for an Abbotsford club actively mining the NCAA free-agent pool this week. The Canucks had signed forward Austin Brimmer to an identical deal just one day earlier on March 10.

Canucks reporter Thomas Drance characterized Schimek as a strong organizational get, and the underlying numbers support that assessment. Schimek finishes his four-year NCAA career with 117 points, 47 goals, 70 assists, and 36 penalty minutes in 141 games. His path through college hockey included two seasons at Providence College from 2022 to 2024, where he totaled 19 goals and 18 assists in 71 games alongside current Abbotsford teammate Nick Poisson. He then transferred to Arizona State, where he immediately elevated his production, posting 15 goals and 22 assists in 35 games in his first season with the Sun Devils in 2024-25 before topping those marks this past year.

Before college, Schimek skated 92 regular-season games in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers and Omaha Lancers between 2020 and 2022. His most notable junior moment came in the 2022 Clark Cup playoffs, where he ranked third on Sioux City with six points, three goals and three assists, across 10 postseason games as the Musketeers claimed the USHL championship.

The Poisson connection gives Schimek a familiar face in the locker room from day one, a small but real advantage for a player stepping into professional hockey mid-season. Abbotsford, coming off a 4-0 loss to the Manitoba Moose on March 10, resumed that home stand the following evening. Schimek figures to slide into the lineup as the organization builds depth heading into what should be a competitive stretch run and a full 2026-27 campaign.