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The 'Klim Reaper' Is Here: Abbotsford Canucks Winger Danila Klimovich's Journey From Belarus To BC
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- The 'Klim Reaper' Is Here: Abbotsford Canucks Winger Danila Klimovich's Journey From Belarus To BC
When Danila Klimovich took to the ice on October 16, 2021, he was making history along with his Abbotsford Canucks teammates in a new era of the Canucks' AHL affiliate. Klimovich scored his first North American professional goal that night at the 8:09 mark of the second period, in an eventual 5-3 loss to Stuart Skinner and the Bakersfield Condors .
Just months earlier, with 93 seconds left in a pivotal game five, Klimovich had scored the championship-clinching goal for the Minsk Zubry (Minsk Bison) in the Belarusian Vysshaya Liga, the second league in the Belarus hockey system. Five years later, Klimovich would be known for his clutch goal-scoring on another continent, with Abbotsford fans declaring him the "Klim Reaper," a nickname the young winger loves.
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"When it came out, I was like, 'Oh my God, it's pretty cool," Klimovich told The Hockey News earlier this season. "People call me like that 'cause it means something. It means that I did something like, well, I do something good."
Klimovich is one of three players left on the roster from the inaugural Abbotsford season, along with Canucks captain Chase Wouters and defenseman Guillame Brisebois. The 2025-26 campaign was a stark drop off for the club, missing the playoffs despite their 2025 Calder Cup win the previous season. Still, Klimovich, now 23, had 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) in 63 games, just four points shy of his career high (38) set last season.
He was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks , their first pick of that year's draft due to the earlier Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland trade, which sent the Canucks' first-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes. Expecting to go later in the draft, Klimovich was at a summer training session when he found out about the Canucks' selection.
"It was exciting, I got drafted and I didn't expect me to draft that high in the second round," Klimovich said, "I was looking at [the draft rankings], and they were like third round. I was practising that summer and I was waiting in the locker room for the third round, and the guys were just yelling at me, like, you got in the second round.
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"I was so happy, and then just ran to the cafe, where my father was sitting, and we celebrate together."
Klimovich hails from the southern Belarusian city of Pinsk and grew up playing in their youth system, playing briefly in the southwestern city of Brest as well before moving north to the capital city of Minsk, joining the national under-17 team. Belarus has had 23 players appear in NHL games, including Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo , though less than half of these players have played over 50 games, meaning a lot of attention also turns to players from their hockey superpower neighbour, Russia.
"I mostly looked at Russian players, like Kovalchuk , Ovechkin , Datsyuk , and trying to be more like them," Klimovich said of his idols growing up, "In Belarus, we had a couple of players, like [Mikhail] Grabovski , who played in Toronto . He was really good."
Grabovski scored 296 points in 534 NHL games over 10 seasons, appearing with the Montreal Canadiens , Toronto Maple Leafs , Washington Capitals , and New York Islanders . After retiring from playing, Grabovski went on to coach Dinamo Minsk in the KHL, which was affiliated with the Minsk Zubry, where Klimovich had played, as well as the Belarusian national team program.
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The 2019-20 season was for making waves for the teenage Klimovich, as he moved up through the junior national system, playing at the under-17, -18, and -20 levels. Across the pond, heads were turning towards the young forward, as he was picked by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL in the 2020 CHL Import Draft. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Klimovich was not able to come to North America at that point, instead staying in Minsk.
In his draft year, Klimovich scored 52 points (28 goals, 24 assists) in 37 regular-season games with Minsk Zubry, along with 14 points (9 goals, 5 assists) in 12 playoff games. Klimovich also appeared with the Belarusian national team, leading the team in scoring with six goals during the under-18 World Junior Championships, including a hat trick against Switzerland, and played three games in the senior World Championships.
Klimovich made the jump to North America a year later, debuting on the continent at the same time as the franchise he joined. He signed an entry-level contract with the Canucks just days after the draft, moving to a new country to pursue his dream at 18.
"I just wanted to play in North America, it's my dream to play here and stay here, and make my dream come true to be an NHL player."
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Not only was Klimovich entering a new environment, but so was the Canucks organization, with Abbotsford's inaugural AHL season. It came a decade after the organization's AHL-affiliated team moved south of the border, after the newly resurrected Winnipeg Jets took over the Manitoba Moose franchise in 2011.
"When I came here at first, people were like so helpful, and like it's the same stuff now," Klimovich commented on his first impressions of the new team. "It was bumpy sometimes, but everybody tried their best, and now we're a great organization."
Still, there were certain roadblocks for Klimovich entering professional hockey in another country, especially at such a young age. His first season was not as offensively productive as was likely hoped, with 18 points through 62 games, which he improved upon the following year, reaching 29 points in 67 games in his sophomore season. His third year was a further dip, though, appearing in only 24 games due to injury and healthy scratches, earning just four points over the 2023-24 campaign.
"I would say I put more pressure on myself," Klimovich said of playing up to higher pick expectations. "It's good to be drafted that high and of course, like everybody expects something from you, like people, fans, and organizations, especially. But you just need to be the player you are and try to develop from that."
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On the transition to playing in North America, he said, "It was hard. Like the first two years, hard with the English barrier, and now I just only start to get into it more like the last two years. I'm getting better in these things, like, I can understand now, and it's so much easier for me because back then it was just like, all alone.
"And then, yeah, hockey is different. It's faster, and it's more physical than Europe. Europe is more like, I'd say, hold this puck, like control more. Here, it's like physical dump, like go forecheck, backcheck, like more energetic."
Despite the language barrier, the Canucks forward has grown to fit into the environment in Abbotsford, saying, "I just get this culture pretty quickly, like all the jokes and all the holidays. It's amazing. I like Canadian everything, pretty much."
Klimovich also credited his now-wife, Nastassia, with helping him adjust to Canada and stay grounded during the move to North America.
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"My girlfriend came, like, six months later, and we got married here, so she helped me a lot. We're both trying to like, get into the culture together, it's really helped me."
The 2024-25 campaign was good for both the player and the team, as Klimovich hit a career high in points with 38, leading the team in goals with 25 during the regular season. In the run to Abbotsford's run to the Calder Cup last postseason, Klimovich scored four goals, and all were incredibly consequential; the first was the game-winning goal in game one of Pacific Division semifinals against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the second was in double overtime of game four of the Western Conference final against the Texas Stars which gave the Canucks a 3-1 series lead, the third was again in double overtime in game one of the finals against the Charlotte Checkers, and the fourth was the tying goal in the second period of the Calder Cup-winning game.
"We won the [Calder] Cup last year, and to be like the first Canucks team to win anything, it's big. I'm really proud of what we done last year, and now we just need to build that culture for NHL too," Klimovich commented on the Calder Cup win with Abbotsford, calling it his highlight with the organization. "It was the greatest team. For me just I think all these goals in the Calder Cup finals are really helpful for the team, and were really proud of what we all done. And then like, I scored in the game six in the finals, I think it's the biggest highlight and we won after [Linus] Karlsson's goal."
Danila Klimovich of the Abbotsford Canucks (Photo Credit: Kaja Antic/The Hockey News)
Klimovich has spent much of his professional and adult life within the Canucks organization and has grown into the player he is now over the last five seasons, leading the Abbotsford franchise in game-winning goals with 15. The 23-year-old right-shot winger is a restricted free agent heading into the offseason, with a qualifying offer of $874,125, as his entry-level contract signed in July 2021 has carried over, and he has yet to appear on Vancouver's ice. Dependent on free agency, preseason outcomes, and impending contract decisions, if the yet-to-be-determined coaching staff wants to promote from within as the organization did for their recent management changes, Klimovich could be an option for a depth forward who is able to score in big moments.
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"The Sedins' work and coaching staff from last year and this year. Like Manny [Malhotra], Harry [Mahesh], Jordan Smith, they've been really helpful." Klimovich said of his influences during his time growing within the organization. "They've helped so much to improve my game and improve me as a person. […] I love this culture in Abbotsford, in the Canucks."
As for what he's learned over the last five seasons, Klimovich said, "I am still learning to let things go, just better, like quicker. And be more positive, kinda thing. That's for me is the most because I'm putting, like, pressure on myself and it's not helping me, so now it's better."
And as for advice for his younger self?
"Just stick with it, be positive and have fun. Enjoy the hockey, enjoy the life."
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