25 Brogan Rafferty D

Rafferty was promoted to the active roster Thursday, Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News reports.

With the Canucks trending toward a return to the ice after a COVID-19 pause, they elected to add more depth to the active roster. Rafferty has played one game with the big club this season, earning an assist and a shot across 13:58 of ice time. It's unclear when the Canucks will return to game action, but Rafferty could be in the lineup when they do so.

Rafferty was promoted to the taxi squad Sunday, CapFriendly reports.

Rafferty has been in Vancouver's lineup once this season and has spent most of his time as a healthy scratch on the taxi squad. He won't see any NHL action barring a handful of injuries.

Rafferty was assigned to AHL Manitoba on Wednesday.

Rafferty has been on the taxi squad since January, and he has played just one game with the big club this year, notching his first career point -- an assist -- across 13:58 of ice time. The 25-year-old will focus on his development in the AHL, where he accrued 45 points over 57 games last year.

Rafferty was demoted from the NHL roster to the taxi squad Friday.

Rafferty performed well in his lone appearance of the year, recording one assist, one shot and one hit against Montreal on Thursday despite logging just 13:58 of ice time. Still, it wasn't enough to keep the 25-year-old blueliner in the lineup now that Jordie Benn has been cleared of the COVID-19 protocols.

Rafferty posted an assist in Thursday's 7-3 loss to the Canadiens.

Rafferty's helper on Brandon Sutter's third-period goal was the former's first NHL point. The undrafted Rafferty was pressed into third-pairing duties with Alexander Edler and Travis Hamonic sidelined by upper-body injuries. With Jalen Chatfield (upper body) also hurt Thursday, Rafferty may get an extended look in the Canucks' lineup. It's unlikely the 25-year-old will produce enough to interest most fantasy managers despite his 45 points in 57 games with AHL Utica last year -- he still has a lot of learning to do at the NHL level.

Rafferty scored a goal and added three assists in AHL Utica's 6-5 overtime win over Hartford on Wednesday.

Rafferty, an undrafted collegiate free agent out of Quinnipiac, has been arguably the AHL's best defenseman this season. The 24-year-old leads all rearguards in scoring with 37 points in 40 games and his 31 helpers have him tied for the most in the league. If he keeps up this torrential pace, Vancouver will be forced to give Rafferty a look sooner rather than later.

Rafferty leads AHL Utica in points by a defenseman.

Rafferty has 29 points in 33 contests, ranking him second overall in team scoring. He also boasts a team-leading plus-17 rating. The 24-year-old is having a successful campaign and could work his way into earning a spot with the big club before long.

Rafferty signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Canucks on Tuesday.

After concluding his three-year college career at Quinnipiac in the spring, the undrafted defenseman headed to Vancouver immediately after signing an entry-level pact. He appeared in just two games for the Canucks and may be on the outside looking in for a spot on the 23-man roster heading into training camp.

Vancouver sent Rafferty a qualifying offer Tuesday.

Rafferty inked a one-year, entry-level deal with Vancouver in April after ending a successful three-year career at Quinnipiac University, so there was never really any doubt that he'd be qualified by the team. The 24-year-old American will, however, likely spend the entirety of the 2019-20 season in the minors.