CANTLON’S CORNER: WOLF PACK PRE-SEASON VOLUME 2 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Off the ice, a contract is being drawn up with the approved and agreed upon amendments to the present Hartford Wolf Pack lease agreement for a CRDA Board approval at their regular monthly meeting coming up on January 21st.

Because MSG has an existing contract, the Wolf Pack training staff is very hard at work preparing for training camp at the XL Center. To fit things into the yet-to-be-announced AHL schedule matrix, likely in the 24 to 38 game range, as previously reported by Cantlon’s Corner, as recently as last week, the Wolf Pack will likely have a schedule closer to 24 games.

The AHL schedules were expected to be released by the end of the week, but that is more likely to come early next week as a lot of horse-trading is ongoing to meet the league requirement.

In other Wolf Pack related news, two former New York Rangers/Wolf Pack players are making their way into broadcasting. NBCSN has announced that the newest additions to their NHL broadcast team are the recently retired former Rangers’ Captain, Ryan Callahan, and Dominic Moore.

RANGERS-PACK PLAYER MOVEMENT

The ice is down at the XL Center as well as in Cromwell at their practice facility, Champions Skating Center, and is ready to go for some skates to cut their turns.

The first batch of Rangers cuts came on Monday with a second batch made on Tuesday with their respective destinations being the taxi squad in New York and the AHL in Hartford.

Morgan Barron, Anthony Bitetto, Colin Blackwell, Libor Hajek, Matthew Robertson, and goalie, Keith Kinkaid will be on the Rangers’ taxi squad.

Meanwhile, those who are Hartford-bound include:

Goalies: Adam Huska and Tyler Wall.

Defenseman: Brandon Crawley, Darren Raddysh, and Tarmo Reunanen

Forwards: Jonny Brodzinski, Gabriel Fontaine, Tim Gettinger, Anthony Greco, Patrick Khodorenko, and Austin Rueschoff.

The Wolf Pack has several returning players who are back on AHL deals. Those players include Mason Geersten, Nick Jones, Vincent Loverde, Patrick Newell, Justin Richards (newcomer), Ty Ronning, and off-season, free-agent signee, Paul Thompson.

Geersten, LoVerde, and Thompson will comprise three-of-the-five AHL veteran spots that are allowed on the roster.

Richards is the son of a current NHL assistant coach, Todd Richards of the Nashville Predators.

Richards, former UCONN Husky, Max Letunov, two sons of Hartford Whaler, Kurtis MacDermid (Los Angeles), and Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh), were among the 18 players listed on the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol List as being unable to play.

The Dallas Stars had six who were not listed in the press release.

Remaining under contract to the Rangers but being left in Europe to play are Vitali Kravtsov, who’s with Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia-KHL), Nils Lundkvist, who plays for Lulea HF (Sweden (SHL), and Yegor Rykov remaining with CSKA Moscow (Russia-KHL).

As if the Wolf Pack don’t have enough defenseman, some media are reporting that a first-rounder (22nd overall) in October, Braden Schneider, who’s fresh off winning a silver medal with Canada at the World Junior Championship, could be signing in a few days to what is likely a likely an ATO deal. This allows him to start the season in Harford until his junior team, the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) being their season.

The WHL and OHL are granting waivers to 18-years-olds since the leagues are not operating. This will allow them to get AHL ice time. The current NHL and AHL CBAs prohibit 18-years-old, junior eligible players from playing in the AHL until their junior season ends, then, they can come to play.

100+ PLAYERS ON MONDAY WAIVERS

A pair of ex-Wolf Pack players, one-time captain, Steven Fogarty, and Dustin Tokarski were both assigned to the Rochester Americans, as was a defenseman, Mattias Samuelsson, the son of one time New Haven Nighthawk, Kjell Samuelsson.

Ex-CT Whale, Michael Del Zotto, signs a one-year, two-way deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets for $700K for play in the NHL and $400K for time played in the AHL.

Ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger, Travis Hamonic, signs a one-year deal paying $1.25M with the Vancouver Canucks.

Ex-Pack, Sean Day, Daniel Walcott, and one-time, Taft prep player, Ross Colton, all were assigned to the Syracuse Crunch. As part of the dual affiliation arrangement this year, Chase Priskie (Quinnipiac) is assigned to Syracuse by the Florida Panthers.

Joining Tampa Bay was ex-Pack, Boo Nieves. He will be on the Lightning’s taxi squad. On Tuesday, Nieves signed a one-year, two-way deal paying the same he earned last season, $708K, for play in either league.

Ten months ago, it would be stunning to think that Nieves would be in the NHL this year when he was unable to play a game in the AHL over the final 19 games last year. It’s quite the comeback story.

COVID ALLOWING FINLEY & OTHERS AHL OPPORTUNITIES

Jack Finley, 18, the son of former Wolf Pack and Ranger, Jeff Finley, who is now an amateur scout with the Winnipeg Jets, has had a wild hockey ride since October.

He was drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round (57th overall) and signed his three-year, entry-level deal last month.

He was scheduled to go back to juniors with the Spokane Chiefs (WHL). That team is in Washington State and borders Canada. The border remains closed. He signed a provisional contract to play with the West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL) until the WHL season was to start and a determination made on where, when, or even if Spokane would play.

The BCHL season has yet to start. The start date, like the WHL, has been pushed back by British Columbia’s Public Health Order (BC PHO) most likely until February.

Finley went to Tampa Bay’s training camp, and he was assigned on Monday to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL).

So, because the WHL (and OHL) are not playing, and the AHL will start February 5th, the league has given a waiver allowing 18-year-olds, like Finley, who, because of contractual agreements with the NHL and AHL would otherwise be prohibited from playing in the AHL because of their age, now can play.

Usually, they are unable to play until their regular season or playoffs in juniors are completed.

What a wild year for one player!

MORE PLAYER MOVEMENT

Dennis Yan, of Syracuse, signs with EHC Linz (Austria-IceHL) making 225 of last season’s AHL’ers to sign in Europe.

The Islander sent the Sound Tigers Samuel Bolduc,  Cole Bardeau, Tanner Fritz, A.J. Greer, Thomas Hickey, the truculent, Josh Ho-Sang, Grant Hutton, Simon Holmstrom, Mason Jobst, Bode Wild, and Parker Wotherspoon.

Andrew Ladd was assigned, but whether the NHL vet will report is somewhat of a question mark.

The Islanders’ taxi squad assignees were Kieffer Bellows, Austin Czarnik, Otto Koivula, and Jakub Skarek. All except Czarnik played in Bridgeport last year.

Ex-Sound Tiger defensemen, captain Kyle Burroughs, and Kevin Czuczman were re-assigned. Burroughs goes to the Colorado Eagles while Czuczman heads to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Alan Quine goes to the Bakersfield Condors.

EX-PACK MOVING AROUND

Ex-Pack/Ranger, Lias Andersson, and Mason Marchment, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Bryan Marchment, are on the LA King taxi squad. Tyler Madden (Avon Old Farms) is sent to the Ontario Reign.

The Nashville Predators send Pat Harper (New Canaan/AOF) to the Chicago Wolves and Mathieu Olivier, the son of former New Haven Knight, Simon Olivier, to their taxi squad.

The Anaheim Ducks put a pair of ex-Wolf Pack players, Vinni Lettieri and Kodie Curran, to the taxi squad. They send Trevor Zegras (AOF), fresh off his WJC gold medal, MVP performance, to the San Diego Gulls.

The Las Vegas Knights send ex-Pack, Danny O’Regan to the Henderson Silver Knights.

Ex-Pack, Steve Kampfer, and Paul Carey (Salisbury School) were assigned to the Providence Bruins by the Boston Bruins.

Micheal Haley (Wolf Pack/Sound Tigers) and Matt Peca (Quinnipiac University) are on the Ottawa Senators taxi squad.

Ex-Pack, Dylan McIlrath and Dominic Turgeon, the son of former Whaler, Patrick Turgeon, were both sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Chicago Wolves receive ex-Pack, Joey Keane, and Sacred Heart University product, Jason Cotton from the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Belleville Senators get three sons of ex-Whalers, Logan Brown (Jeff), Ridley Greig (Mark), and Mark Kastelic (Ed). Greig is on a junior waiver from Brandon (WHL).

CONNECTICUT CONNECTIONS

AHL assignees include; Chad Krys (Ridgefield) to the Rockford IceHogs, Ken Agostino (Yale) to the Toronto Marlies, and Alex Lyon (Yale) heads to the Philadelphia Flyers taxi squad.

Jon Gillies (Salisbury School) and Sam Anas (Quinnipiac), who would have been in Springfield with the Thunderbirds, are heading to the Utica Comets, as part of the dual affiliation by the St. Louis Blues and the  Vancouver Canuks for this season.

Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) was put on Florida’s injury list as an undisclosed injury.

Ex-Pack Josh Nicholls goes from Kunlun China (KHL) to Heilbronner (Germany DEL-2).

Ex-Sound Tiger, David Ullstrom, was involved in a four-player trade in Switzerland He goes from EHC Biel/Bienne (Switzerland-LNA) to HC Davos (Switzerland-LNA).

Landon Ferraro, the son of Whaler great, Ray Ferraro, goes from Löwen Frankfurt (Germany DEL-2) to Cologne (Germany-DEL).

Ex-Sound Tiger goalie, Frederic Cloutier, steps down a notch going from HC Bolzano (Italy-IceHL) to Unterland (Italy Division-2).

The NHL expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, continues to be a haven for former New Haven Nighthawks, Hartford Whalers, and New York Rangers as Norm MacIver is hired as their first Director of Player Personnel. He played for all three teams.

MacIver has been with the Chicago Blackhawks for the past eleven years in that role and as Assistant GM. In his other life, he was an assistant coach for three years with the Springfield Falcons.

Former Nighthawk (under two different affiliations) plus the Whalers and Rangers, Paul Fenton, departs the Minnesota Wild as a scout after being fired as a GM. He is now a special advisor to the new Florida Panthers’ GM, Bill Zito.

Fenton’s son, P.J. Fenton, came over from Minnesota with him to Florida as a scout as well.

Zito has another advisor. He is another former Nighthawk head coach, Rick Dudley.

Tyrell Boucher, of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (WCHA), transfers in the second-semester inter-conference to Northern Michigan University since the Seawolves opted not to play this year and the program is disbanding making 55 transfers in the NCAA this season.

Two more college players sign with Greenville (ECHL). Gordi Myer of Ohio State (Big 10) and Luc Brown from the University of Alaska-Anchorage join the Swamp Rabbits.

Tyler Irvine of Merrimack College (HE) signs with Binghamton (AHL) nee Newark Devils for this year making 209 Division I players who have signed pro deals and 346 total college player Division I and III to sign deals in North America and Europe.

The conference breakdown is; Hockey East has 38, the NCHC has 37, Big 10 has 35, ECACHL 34, WCHA 32, AHA 28, and NCAA Division I independent Arizona State has four.

Wyatt Ege of Ohio State (Big 10) signs with HK Nitra (Slovakia-SLEL). Eriks Zohovcs Alaska-Fairbanks (WCHA) heads back home to play with HZ Prizma Riga (Latvia-LHL).

Nicodemus Numavicius from Division III Middlebury College (NESCAC) also heads home to Lithuania and is skating with Energie Elektrenai making 87 college players Division I and III have signed in Europe.

Pat Lawn leaves West Kelowna (BCHL), which is not playing, and signs with the CT Junior Rangers (Stamford) of the NCDC.

HOCKEY LEAGUE NEWS

As expected on Tuesday, the ECHL announced two new expansion franchises that will bring its membership to 28 franchises, four short of the preferred hockey model of 32- NHL 32 teams, AHL 32 teams, and the ECHL 32 teams, when business returns to normal for the 2021-22 season.

Coralville, Iowa, located near Iowa State University and the Xtreme Arena, will have a team, and the other will be in Trois-Rivieres Quebec (Canada) at the District 55 Coliseum that more than likely to be an affiliate of the NHL Montreal Canadiens and the AHL Laval Rocket.

The official announcement will likely come in the next month along with team colors, names, and the naming rights for the new building.

Both new teams are owned by Deacons Sports Entertainment (DSE) which also owns the ECHL Newfoundland (St. John’s) Growlers.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, one of Canada’s three major-junior leagues, announced that its twelve Quebec-based teams will re-start play later this month. The tentative date is January 22nd.

The games will be played in protected environments in the four QMJHL cities of Chicoutimi, Drummondville, Rimouski, and Shawinigan. The QMJHL’s six-team Maritime Division suspended play in late November. The QMJHL is still evaluating plans for restarting play for those teams and according to QMJHL sources, no decision is imminent.

The Western Hockey League is one of the other three major-junior leagues. The WHL is comprised of 22 teams and they stated last week they will hold a 2020-21 season.

The statement details said that teams would each play a 24-game schedule (like the Wolf Pack and potentially other AHL teams) instead of its traditional 68-game schedule.

The WHL had a previously announced start date of January 8th that was wiped out by the BC PHO.