CANTLON: PACK LAST FULL HOME WEEKEND OF PLAY 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack have a pair of weekend games in which they seek to snap a five-game losing streak against the Utica Comets Saturday night and the Binghamton Devils Sunday afternoon.

The task got a bit harder on Thursday when defenseman Ryan Lindgren was recalled for a second time likely to play in either one or both of the Rangers last two regular season games against Columbus and Pittsburgh.

You can just call them the Hartford Junior Wolf Pack for the final two weekends of play.

In addition to Lindgren’s recall, the Rangers announced the signing of two more collegians and recent junior hockey signing to ATO deals and sent two players back to Maine.

Pack added collegiate forward in Harvard’s Lewis Zerter-Gossage. A Montreal area native, Gossage completed his four-years at Harvard after playing two years of prep hockey at Kent School.

Current New York Rangers head coach David Quinn and player Boo Nieve also attended the western Connecticut private school.

Hartford signed a local Springfield college product, Shawn McBride, the captain of American International College (AIC) from the AHA conference. He will likely play this weekend as will Gossage. AIC knocked off St. Cloud State in their first-ever NCAA Division 1 tourney game in one of the biggest upsets in college hockey history.

He is the second McBride to play for the Wolf Pack in team history. Brock McBride played eight games in the 2008-09 season but is no relation. He is presently an assistant coach with the Cornwall Colts (CCHL) one of the 10 Junior A leagues in Canada.

The junior player is Jake Elmer of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL). He was signed last month and arrives here after Lethbridge dropped a seven-game first round series to the Calgary Hitmen, four games to three. They lost Game 7, 4-2. Elmer had a goal and six points in that first-round matchup.

Through 68 regular-season games, Elmer was third in team scoring with 81 points with a team-leading 39 goals. The Hurricanes finished second in the WHL Central Division with a record of 40-18-5-5 and second highest offensive output in the WHL with 268 goals.

One of his junior teammates, Jake Lechyshyn, a Las Vegas draftee, is the son of former Hartford Whaler, Curt Lechyshyn, who tallied ten points in the series tops in the WHL. One of his opponents for Calgary the son of Ed Kastelic, another Whaler, in Mark Kastelic.

Two players were returned to the Maine Mariners. Ty Ronning had four goals and five points in 23 games, and Terrence Wallin, who was returned for the third time this season, has just one assist in 23 games.

The Wolf Pack have an influx of junior and college players. One of them has a Connecticut address, Ryan Dmowski.

The East Lyme born forward, a veteran of four games, Dmowski played at UMASS–Lowell, but his hockey GPS has landed in various parts of New England.

Dmowski played against UCONN at the XL Center back on November 16th tallying two goals in a 5-2 win over the Huskies. Dmowski garnered the game’s First Star and was on the ice for the opening shift.

“I had about 40 friends and family in the stands that night. It was a good game and I liked playing here when I was with UMASS (Lowell). I loved the atmosphere, and so far, the crowd has been awesome to me and I am very happy to be here.”

Finding his way to Hartford was something special.

“It’s been amazing; a dream come true to go pro, and even more special being here in Hartford. (I’m) just thrilled to get the opportunity. To be honest, I never thought I would be back here to start my career in Connecticut. (It’s) kinda crazy how it works.”

He talked with Providence and a few other AHL teams, but the best opportunity came from the Rangers.

His hockey road map started in Rhode Island at age seven. After school, his grandfather would take him to North Smithfield, Rhode Island. It’s an hour away each time to begin his first skate lengths of hockey.

“I would get out of school, and my grandfather picked me up or my dad (Dave). All the dedication we both put in was incredible, and all worth it so far,” Dmowski said with a smile.

When he finished Bantam-level play, he headed in the opposite direction and played for the Springfield Junior Falcons program when after his freshmen high school year, he put a new address in the GPS for Gunnery prep school in Washington, CT closer to New York state than Connecticut.

“To be honest, I had no idea there was a Washington, Connecticut until I went there,” Dmowski said with a laugh, who had a fellow Highlander (Gunnery’s nickname) Terrence Wallin, older by three years, just sent back to Maine on the Wolf Pack roster, “(It’s) kinda weird we took about the same hockey path and wound up here.”

He went to a few P-Bruins and Wolf Pack games as a kid, but he spent more time honing his craft and schoolwork.

His adjustment to the Wolf Pack has been a stretch playing with a new line almost every game.

“It’s been a bit stressful, but part of being a pro, and I’ve been doing a pretty good job getting to know everybody and a new line this week too.”

Pack head coach, Keith McCambridge had Dmowski with Bobby Butler, the vet, and newcomer Shawn McBride.

Butler, Dmowski, and McBridge…sounds like a law firm.

“It’s so different here. The speed is so much different just getting used to that now. I’m just trying to get the puck in and not rushing myself and taking my time and learning to keep my feet moving and developing that confidence I’m gonna be good to go.”

McCambridge likes what he’s seen so far.

“He carries himself well. He is a big body, has played well with the puck, and he’s handled several different situations well.”

It’s audition time for the 2019-20 Wolf Pack roster for Dmowksi and his GPS will be putting in another address for the summer.

‘My girlfriend is going to graduate school at Sacred Heart University (Bridgeport) so we’re looking for a place between Hartford and Bridgeport now.”

The pro hockey map Dmowski has just begun.

NOTES:

A story has been was broken by the Rangers long-time beat writer Larry Brooks of the New York Post on Thursday that Glen Sather’s stepping down as Rangers President. Sather’s retirement makes an already complicated offseason going to be a palace of intrigue as to where the deck chairs will fall.

With Sather’s departure, expect Jim Schoenfeld, who held the post as Hartford GM for 10 years and was a head coach for one and who has been Sather’s right-hand man, will likely also get a golden parachute by either retirement or might find another new gig.

The question now is who will be promoted or hired to take the upper echelon reigns? Jeff Gorton, Sather’s hand-picked successor, is the present GM. Will he make the move upstairs or add this role to his portfolio? Chris Drury, the present assistant GM, and Hartford GM, could he be promoted? Will there be an overhaul of the entire Rangers scouting staff, professional North America, Europe, and amateur by a new team President?

How will the Wolf Pack be affected? They’re on the verge of a potential sub-par, below .500 season. What will happen with its coaching staff? How will a future team President feel about Hartford and the unresolved XL Center business? The Rangers also have serious player-personnel decisions to make in New York and Hartford in relation to next year’s cap space and with a looming potential labor stoppage in two years, and yes, the expansion draft in three years when Seattle enters the NHL family.

Many questions to be answered over the next three and half months in preparation for the NHL Draft in Vancouver on the organization direction under a new regime. Read more HERE

NEWS & NOTES

This next story is without a doubt the best hockey story of the year.

Former AHL player and now Pro Scout for the Arizona Coyotes, Craig Cunningham, who nearly died two years before an AHL game in Tucson, and by the true Grace of God is still among us, released a video showing him skating with his prosthetic leg at the San Diego Gulls practice facility. It was simply amazing, spectacular great news for a young man who suffered so much and has triumphed in the most outstanding way.

Hope he gets some shifts in a game in a league where there isn’t as much hitting or contact-like in the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH) or in Australia (AIHL) and New Zealand (NZIHL) to end his career as a player, not as a heart attack victim. Read more HERE

Despite having the same last name, the reporter in that story is of no relation.

With the arrival of McBride, and Zerter-Gossage, plus Quinnipiac’s Brandon Fortunato signing with Nashville (NHL), the number of Division I players that have signed is up to 150 and that the total number of college players that have signed over the past month is 168.

The first college coach signing as Chris Bergeron after nine season leaves the Bowling Green Falcons (WCHA) to take the reigns of his alma mater Miami (OH) RedHawks (NCHC).

Bergeron, graduated in 1993 when the school won its first conference title (CCHA at that time) and made their first NCAA tournament appearance.

The NCAA announced the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award that will be given out in Buffalo next weekend at the site of the NCAA’s Frozen Four.

It’s a hat trick of finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. All three finalists are defensemen. Senior Jordan Schuldt, St. Cloud State Huskies (NCHC) who just signed an NHL free agent deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. The second is junior Adam Fox of Harvard who is a Carolina Hurricanes draft pick who is weighing whether to sign or wait another year and go the free agent route. Then there’s UMASS-Amherst Minutemen sophomore Cale Makar, a Colorado Avalanche draft pick who is likely to go pro after next weekend.

A unique college commit right from a CT prep school in Cooper Moore (Cos Cob) Brunswick School (Greenwich) with North Dakota (NCHC).

Overseas we see former Whaler great Sami Kapanen retains his franchise owner and Chairman of the Board title with KalPa Kuopio (Finland-FEL) but relinquished his head coaching duties to take the job as head coach with HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA) in the fall. His son Kasperi skated with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ex-Sound Tiger goalie, C.J. Motte, who has played most of the season with Allen (ECHL) and some games with Iowa signs with HC Innsbruck (Austria-EBEL) for next season.

Philippe Hudon, who played prep school hockey at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford) after finishing his Canadian collegiate career with the Concordia Stingers (Montreal) (OUAA0 played 14 games with seven points for Florida (ECHL) was loaned to Laval (AHL).