CANTLON’S CORNER: “SHOOTER” SCORES ALL HOF & HOCKEY NOTES 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was announced late Thursday and Connecticut can raise it’s collective glasses to two new AHL Hall of Famers who had their finest seasons in Connecticut.

Brad “Shooter” Smyth, the Hartford Wolf Pack’s all-time leading goal scorer (184) and all-time leading points leader (365), and was among the heroes of the 2000 Calder Cup championship run was announced to be one of those enshrined in the AHL Hall Of Fame.

“I’m so very honored to be named and to be in a class with a guy like Don Cherry, a Canadian icon, John Anderson who had a fine NHL and AHL career, and Murray Eaves, a family with a great history in hockey. It’s a very great honor and humbling all at the same time,” Smyth said in an exclusive Cantlon’s Corner phone interview.

In 99′-00, Smyth led the Pack with 39 goals in the regular season and chipped in another 13 in the postseason. The following season he scored 50 goals, the only Wolf Pack player to ever accomplish that feat. He became just the sixth person in AHL history to score 50 or more goals with two different teams (68 in ’95-’96 with the Carolina Monarchs). Smyth is the seventh player to lead the goal scoring department on two separate occasions and two separate teams.

He reunited with Wolf Pack championship head coach John Paddock with the Binghamton Senators and went to the conference finals in 2002. Smyth played with the Manchester Monarchs before returning to the Wolf Pack for his third tour of duty. That season he registered 34 goals, and 86 points recording another Top 10 scoring spot for the fifth time in his career.

His AHL totals are impressive with 667 points in 610 games, good for the 12^th spot on the all-time leading scorer in AHL history. Smyth also ranks sixth on the post-season goal scoring list with 46 goals.

John Anderson is presently an Assistant Coach with the Minnesota Wild with his lifelong friend, and fellow AHL Hall of Famer, Bruce Boudreau. Anderson is a former Hartford Whaler who played for the organization for four seasons. His career wound down when he played with the Binghamton Whalers and then had a superb season with the New Haven Nighthawks with a league-leading 41 goals and 95 points. He was a plus-42 in just 68 games and had a knee injury end his season prematurely. Anderson was named the AHL MVP and Fred T. Hunt Award winner for dedication to hockey, the only player to ever do so in the same season.

Congrats to ex-Wolf Pack, Vinni Lettieri, and goalie, Alexander Georgiev, who after strong training camps, made the Rangers opening night roster against Nashville.

The Rangers new goalie consultant is former Pack netminder, and Yale grad, Jeff Malcolm. He will be handling the goalie prospects in Maine, do some scouting, and handle other duties. Eric Raymond remains the Wolf Pack goalie coach.

“Vinni did a great job for us last year. He worked in all situations and had a great camp in New York. So did Alex, who was such a big part of the turn-around when we picked up 18 out of 20 points before we lost him (to injury recall to the Rangers).”

The Wolf Pack record in season home openers is 6-7-1 and overall 10-10-1.

In 22 years, seven of the teams they played in those openers are no longer in the league. They are New Haven, Philadelphia, Albany, Manchester, Adirondack, St. John’s, and Quebec.

The first ever Wolf Pack goal scored was from Pascal Rheaume, who is now the head coach of the Val D’Or Foreurs (QMJHL). PJ Stock scored the first one at XL Center.

The highest attended home opener was in the team’s first year against Portland. That attendance was 12, 934. The lowest attended was last year against Charlotte where 6,035 took in the contest.

On Sunday, the Pack host the Laval Rocket at 3 pm coached by ex-Pack and Sound Tiger Joel Bouchard. The team is completely revamped from last year when they finished miserably in their first season in the suburbs of Montreal.

The team features some local flavor such as former Yale Bulldog, Kenny Agostino, Hayden Verbeek, the nephew of former Whaler great and NY Ranger, Pat Verbeek, and ex-Springfield Falcon, Michael Chaput.

The NHL is one step closer to a 32^nd team in the Pacific Northwest after Tuesday’s immediate two thumbs up from the NHL Executive committee who are forwarding the Seattle application for a full vote by the NHL BOG on December 3-4 in Georgia. Seattle will have a nice early Christmas tree present nicely wrapped in two months time.

This will also see the AHL expand to 32 teams and add one new Pacific Division member and likely a second. Vancouver will then likely leave Utica in two years and Abbotsford will likely be coming back to the AHL. The AHL will do all it can to keep Utica in the AHL, but they would likely migrate to the ECHL.

A pair of ex-Pack players, Ryan Potulny, and Stu Bickel have both retired and become graduate assistant coaches with their alma mater, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. However, both must complete their undergraduate degrees to become paid assistants.

Potulny left after his junior year and Bickel after his freshmen campaign.

Now, 87 ex-Wolf Pack players are coaching at various levels in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Some last camp cuts include a pair of ex-Pack; Dylan McIlrath (Grand Rapids), Chris Mueller and Adam Cracknell (Toronto), and Alex Krushelnyski from Lehigh Valley to Reading (ECHL) plus Al Montoya heads for Bakersfield after being cut from Edmonton. Former QU Bobcat, Devon Toews, was assigned by the Islanders to Bridgeport and ex-Sound Tiger Matt Finn is with Grand Rapids.

Goalie Jon Gillies is sent to Stockton and Philip Samuelsson, the eldest son of ex-Whaler and Ranger, Ulf Samuelsson, signs with Lehigh Valley.

Sam Gagner, the son of ex-Nighthawk Dave Gagner, was cut by Vancouver, but a deal was cut with Toronto to loan him to the AHL Toronto Marlies for him to be closer to his family in Ontario. Dominik Turgeon, the nephew of former Whaler Sylvain Turgeon, is with Grand Rapids.

Johnny Austin (UCONN-HE) was assigned to Wheeling (ECHL) from Wilkes Barre/Scranton and fellow Husky, Spencer Naas, has been assigned to Idaho (ECHL) by Texas. Parker Milner (Avon Old Farms) was sent to South Carolina (ECHL) by Hershey and Josh Wesley, the son of ex-Whaler Glen Wesley, was assigned to Florida (ECHL).

Ex-Pack goalie Charles Williams has re-signed with Manchester (ECHL), Brady Shaw, the son of ex-Whaler Brad Shaw, is with Orlando (ECHL) while Charlie Millen, the son of former Whaler Greg Millen, is in goal with Worcester (ECHL).

Mark Zengerle of Lehigh Valley signs with Fischtown (Germany-DEL) making 79 AHL’ers from 27 AHL teams from last season who have signed with European or Southeast Asian teams.

Alex Summers (no relation to ex-Pack, Chris Summers) goes from Clarkson University (ECACHL) to Adirondack (ECHL) making 208 Division I players to sign pro deals in North America and 272  total North America and Europe.

Ex-Sound Tiger, Masi Marjamaki, who split last year between Jokerit Helsinki (Finland-KHL) and Almtuna IS (Sweden-Allsvenskan) signs with HC Chomutov (Czech Republic-CEL).

Milan Mazanec, the older brother of the Pack’s Marek Mazanec, plays with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL).

Eric Linell, a UCONN commit for next season who has played for Choate and the CT Wolf Pack U-18 team, was traded from the Surrey Eagles (BCHL), despite 11 points in nine games. to  the Penticton Vees as a part of a three team deal with the Nanaimo Clippers, whose President, Co-Owner and goalie coach is ex-Pack, David LeNeveau.

UCONN gets another commit for next season from Carter Berger from the Victoria Royals (BCHL).