CANTLON: WOLF PACK CONTINUE ROAD PLAY BEFORE COMING HOME 

CANTLON: Wolf Pack Continue Road Play Before Coming Home

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack are not standing pat as their roster has undergone more shuffling. The team continues to struggle to find some consistency, but while they are no longer occupying the last place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 8-12-3-1 (20 pts), they head into a three-games-in-three-days weekend. They will visitProvidence and then host Rochester on Saturday night before heading up I-91 to battle with Springfield on Sunday afternoon.

Since their last home date in Hartford, the team has added Dawson Leedahl who was recalled from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and they traded Adam Cracknell ($675K one-way) to Laval for Peter Holland ($650K – NHL / $300K – AHL). Then on Tuesday, the Rangers claimed goalie Marek Mazanec on waivers from Nashville. Mazanec was playing for HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia-KHL).

Mazanec signed a one-year deal with New York ($650K – NHL / $150K – AHL) played mostly for Milwaukee last year and few games for Nashville, the 6’4 Czech Republic native was on a two-way deal in the summer with Nashville. By agreement the contract was terminated, so he would be allowed to sign in Slovakia.

As part of the CBA, upon returning to North America, every player in Europe must go through waivers first.  

The Rangers assigned Mazanec to Hartford Wednesday where he will become Alexander Georgiev’s new battery mate in net. The team now has three goalies on the roster, Mazanec, Georgiev and Chris Nell. It seems evident that Nell would eventually be assigned to Greenville to get more playing time and Brandon Halverson and his 3.98 ECHL GAA would be reassigned somewhere else.

“Today (Friday) was his first day in practice, for now, its day-to-day. We’re going to have three goalies,” head coach Keith McCambridge said.

Mazanec, a five-year pro is tall and covers the net well. According to several Nashville sources, he was well thought of and was believed to be a #2 goalie in the NHL, but he had several bad games and didn’t recover well. The skill level, however, is there.

Mazanec is likely an insurance policy for any potential long-term injuries in goal in New York.

It seems the Rangers aren’t finishing retooling the Pack.

Heading into the trio of weekend games, the Pack are still on the AHL learning curve after showing some resiliency in coming back from three deficits against the Rochester Americans to win their first shootout game of the year. They then let a two-goal lead dissipate in Toronto late in the third period in what was a 4-3 overtime loss.

“To get all the points against a deep Rochester team and the #1 team in the AHL in Toronto would have been nice. We did get some points. We’re learning how to play in pressure situations and put ourselves in positions to succeed,” McCambridge said.

Toronto tied the game on the powerplay with a blind backhanded pass along the goal line that Trevor Morre buried for his second of the game to tie it.

“That’s about awareness and positioning. We can’t allow that to happen. It’s against of the learning process.”

Two players have begun to demonstrate significant growth.

Rookie winger Ryan Gropp picked up his first two-goal game in Rochester.

“He is doing better and getting to those quiet areas and using his shot, which is very good, more effectively and he isn’t standing around waiting for the puck. He is going and getting it for himself and his linemates,” McCambridge said speaking of the former Seattle Thunderbird (WHL) product drafted in the second round.

The other player is on the backline. Brandon Crawley’s hard work is paying off for the former fourth-round pick from the well-regarded London Knights (OHL) program.

“He is starting to eliminate those mistakes, not running around and letting the game go a 100-mph in his head. He is making much better first passes which allow us to get out of the zone quicker. He is getting a better understanding of the game and getting more consistent in several areas.”

The weekend health update has two players listed as day-to-day. Filip Chytil has an upper-body problem. Steven Fogarty’s issue is an injury to the lower body. Dan Cantenacci returned to the lineup in Toronto. Eric Selleck will be the healthy scratch against Providence.

CRAWFORD GETS THE CALL

30-years and more than 2,000 AHL games under his belt and now Bob Crawford will get a chance at calling a game in, “The Show.”

The only radio voice the Hartford Wolf Pack have ever known will get to call his first NHL game between the Rangers and New Jersey Devils on Saturday Night from Madison Square Garden. The game will be heard on ESPN Radio 98.7 in New York.

It was indeed a call out of the blue.

“I was doing several things on Monday with practice underway. I see the call coming in. The number is unfamiliar. Let’s see who this is? It was a very nice early Christmas present indeed,” Crawford, who spent six years with the Adirondack Red Wings and one year with the Providence Bruins as well as two years with the Binghamton Rangers before moving with them to Hartford in 1997, said.

Longtime Rangers’ voice Kenny Albert has another assignment. His backup, Don LaGreca, is celebrating the arrival of twins with his wife, so Crawford gets the radio tap on the right arm and gets to go to Broadway.

“Just a fortunate series of events gives me a great opportunity. It’s a thrill and something I’ve wanted to do for all 30-years, to do an NHL game.”

Crawford gets to work with a Rangers’ legend from the 1970’s. Pete Stemkowski will fill in for Dave Maloney who will be between the benches for MSG while John Giannone fills in for Sam Rosen on the TV play-by-play.

Crawford’s career has taken him to many North American hockey destinations from Houston, to San Antonio to Winnipeg. He’s done games at the Bell Centre in Montreal and the Le Colisee in Quebec City.

Other places remain near and dear to him from his illustrious career.

“Glens Falls will always be special. It was my first place, and I always loved Hershey. Both arenas have an atmosphere that are fantastic. I really liked the new place in St. John’s (the Mile One Centre). It had a lot of character, and I also did some games in the old building (Memorial Stadium) there. But getting to do a game at MSG just very special.”

There are a lot of ex-Wolf Pack and few CT Whale players dotting the lineup for the Rangers and having seen the Devils these past few years before they moved to Binghamton, Crawford has a good grasp on the Devils.

“I have seen a lot of the players from a JT Miller to Mats Zuccarello to Boo Nieves, who just scored his first NHL goal the other night. Having seen Albany the past few years, I have a good idea on their lineup, and it’s a big rivalry as well. It’s great to have them as an opponent for this game.”

He has seen a lot of great AHL moments and players.

“I saw a young Adam Graves in Glen Falls score an overtime game seven winner against Hershey to complete a comeback from a three-games-to-none (series) deficit. The 1992 Calder Cup in Glen Falls with Barry Melrose as coach with Keith Primeau, Mike Sillinger and Sheldon Kennedy on that team and of course the Wolf Pack Calder Cup team.”

The Wolf Pack broadcast will be manned by long-time home color analyst Mark Bailey, who has held that role for the last seven years. Bailey, a Danbury native, has been involved with the Wolf Pack broadcasts for the last two decades from doing between period interviews to pre- and post-game shows, between period highlights and the NHL and AHL scoreboard.

Bailey filled in for Crawford during the lockout year several times and the rare times due to illness or family commitments that Crawford was unable to do a game.

NHL EXPANSION

Cantlon’s Corner reported this several times, and now it’s finally come to pass.

The NHL wasted little time in starting the process of putting their 32nd franchise into the league, and it will be, as we reported, Seattle by 2020.

The city council approved an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on Monday by a vote of 7-1, the day after the previous one that was held by Chris Hansen of Microsoft, expired and failed to get a downtown SoDo Arena approved.

There are some final pieces to be worked out before the deal is officially signed with the mayor. Those include a long-term lease, final environmental impact studies and the final parts of the financing of the all privately financed $660 million renovations to the 55-year-old Key Arena.

On Thursday, the NHL announced a limited expansion application could be filled out by the Bonderman group that consists of Dave Bonderman, a multi-billionaire, and TV/Film producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, a long time hockey fan and someone who has long expressed an interest in owning an NHL franchise.

The expansion fee set the NHL Board of Governors is an astounding $650 million, up $150 million from Las Vegas’ expansion fee. The application fee is $10 million with $2 million of it being non-refundable.

This move sets the NHL with 16 teams in the East and 16 teams in the West. Then teams can move within that framework, the most likely being Arizona. Unless there is some last minute lease deal arrangement in Glendale which is set to expire, the team would likely be relocated to Houston, Texas who has expressed interest in getting an NHL team and already has a facility.

Eventually, this will trickle to the AHL which will have to find a West Coast city for Seattle and probably Vancouver as well as they will ultimately relocate its farm team out of Utica, though they are likely to move them to Abbotsford.

One hiccup does remain, and that is the financing part.

Reliable sources have told Cantlon’s Corner that historic preservation tax credits are a major piece of the financing puzzle since the building is in a historic district and the roof of the arena is considered a unique historical part of the architecture that fits the criteria to be preserved.

These two features would allow OVG Group to be eligible to apply for these credits. The catch is that in the current federal tax bill that was just passed by the GOP, the House eliminated those credits while the Senate bill keeps those credits intact. It will be a battle of lobbyists on this one.

Just an exciting FACTOID: The NHL expansion fee in 1967 that doubled the size of the NHL from six to 12 teams was $2 million.

Here are a few articles on the events of the week. HERE and HERE

CAROLINA HURRICANES

Dreams of the Whalers returning to Hartford are now officially over.

Peter Karmanos has agreed in principle to sell the team to Texas billionaire, Thomas Dundon.

The deal will keep Karmanos as the minority owner with 48% for three years before he can be fully brought out. The price tag is $500 million and keeping the team in Raleigh was a condition of the sale.

The final sales agreement has to be finalized and then ratified by the NHL Board of Governors sometime in 2018.

Stories on that can be found HERE and HERE

NOTES:

The Pack visits Providence tonight. The Bruins lost Adam Payerl and Chris Porter to suspension by the AHL. Each received a game apiece for separate transgressions.

Toronto’s Andreas Johansson received just one game for boarding Hartford’s Filip Chytil.

Springfield has reassigned Matt Buckles and Mikel Aagaard to Manchester (ECHL). Bridgeport assigned defenseman Patrick Cullity to Worcester and promoted winger Yannick Turcotte.

Ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Justin Vaive, was reassigned by Belleville to Cincinnati (ECHL).

Congrats to San Jose head coach Roy Sommer on his 700^th win Sunday in a 2-1 win over Bakersfield.

Russia’s ban from the 2018 PyeonChang Olympic games will likely affect two Rangers prospects who were expected to play for the Russian hockey team that was supposed to be a favorite among the strong competition for a medal.

Goalie, Igor Shestyorkin, and defenseman, Alexei Bereglazov, were expected to be on the roster. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, says that athletes will be allowed to compete under the Olympic banner, so a “Russian” hockey team might indeed yet still play in South Korea

Former Yale standout goalie, Alex Lyon, was recalled by the Flyers from Lehigh Valley. So far, Lyon was a backup in Edmonton and Vancouver.

Former Salisbury Prep player Nick Lukko was recalled by Lehigh Valley from Reading (ECHL).

Josh Wesley, the son of ex-Whaler, Glen Wesley, was reassigned to Florida (ECHL) by Charlotte.

Ex-Pack, Garrett Noonan, who played six games at the start of the season in Hartford before being reassigned to Greenville and before his contract was terminated, has signed with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia-AEHL) of the Austrian Elite Hockey League.

Ex-Pack, Andre Deveaux, has left Sheffield (England-EIHL) after just nine games.

Ex-CT Whale, Andreas Thuresson, leaves Kunlun (China-KHL) for SC Langnau (Switzerland-LNA) for the rest of the year.

Ex-Pack, Vinny Saponari, heads from HC Sparta Prague (Czech Republic-CEL) to IF Frisk Asker (Norway-NEL).

Wilton native, Matt Gosiewcki, playing with Central Illinois (USHL), gave a verbal commitment to Colorado College (WCHA) for next year after rescinding his commitment to Harvard.

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