After enduring a injury-plagued season in the Buffalo Sabres system, Michael Funk couldn’t be happier to land with the Vancouver Canucks.

The 22-year-old from Abbotsford inked a one-year, two-way contract with the Canucks this week, and he’ll challenge for a job at the NHL club’s training camp this fall.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Funk told The News in an interview on Tuesday. “It took a couple of days to sink in, and even now, it’s kind of weird. It’s definitely an opportunity that I didn’t think would be coming my way.”

Funk, a six-foot-four, 210-pound defenceman, is coming off a 2008-09 campaign where he spent the bulk of his time on the injured list. A second-round pick of the Sabres back in 2004, Funk sustained a concussion on the first day of main camp in Buffalo last September. After two months on the shelf, he returned to action with the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates, but suffered a second concussion in his 13th game back.

That injury set him back another two-plus months, and when he tried to return to the lineup, he experienced a relapse of the concussion symptoms and was advised to shut it down for the rest of the season.

Funk was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, but when the Sabres elected not to tender a qualifying offer, he gained unrestricted status.

The Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators expressed interest in signing Funk, but the Canucks were his most ardent suitors.

Having grown up in Abbotsford, Funk’s affection for the local NHL franchise runs deep.

“My grandpa had season tickets the first year the Canucks were in Vancouver (1970),” he said. “He and my dad have been going to games ever since the team’s been around. They’re pretty excited about this.”

If Funk doesn’t crack the Canucks roster, he’ll play for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. That would afford his friends and family plenty of opportunity to see him play – the Moose are in the AHL’s North Division along with the Abbotsford Heat, and the two teams will face each other eight times next season.

As for his concussion issues, Funk is sincerely hoping that they’re a thing of the past.

“I’ve been working out for the past two months, and I haven’t had any headaches in that time,” he said. “I haven’t been knocked around or anything like that, but I probably won’t be doing that for another month yet anyway.”

During his time in the Sabres organization, Funk was called up for a total of nine NHL games and notched two assists.