CANTLON’S CORNER: WOLF PACK OFF-SEASON REPORT, VOLUME 8 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Another busy week of news as the NHL Entry draft is less than 24 hours away.

NHL DRAFT

The yearly confab of the entire NHL will be in Dallas on Friday and Saturday as they begin selecting players for the future.

The Rangers are expected to be among the teams most likely to be wheeling and dealing. They presently have 52 players under contract, two over the required CBA of 50 allowed. A percentage of those players have expiring contracts and will be RFA’s or UFA’s until the end of the month.

Adam Tambellini was released. Steven Fogarty was given a qualifying offer. Hubert Labrie and John Albert, both acquired from Hershey, are two others likely not to return. Labrie as a result of a glut of defenseman in the organization. Albert, who was earning a serious six figure deal last year, will likely be Europe bound.

All RFA’s including Scott Kosmachuk, Dan DeSalvo, Chris Bigras were made qualifying offers.

The Pack will see an influx of new players like Sean Day, Tim Gettinger, Brett Howden, and Libor Hajek at training camp. There will also be ten draft picks from the Rangers draft.

Free agency for NHL and AHL starts on July 1^st.

CALDER CUP FINALS GAME 7

The Toronto Marlies were not to be denied and reeled off four goals in the third period to capture their first Calder Cup. They knocked on the door the last two years, but got it on the very last game of hockey in North America and Europe this season.

Andreas Johansson, whose second period goal broke a one-one tie, turned out to be the game winner. He was named the AHL Jack Butterfield Playoff MVP with 24 points in 16 post season games (10-14). Mason Marchment, the son of former Hartford Whaler, Bryan Marchment, was one of four players with two points each. He scored twice in the 6-1 win including the last goal of the game on an off balance turnaround slapshot.

Ex-Pack Chris Mueller was among three players on the Marlies squad to capture their second Calder Cup title.

The loss for Texas goalie Mike McKenna, who faced 40+ shots in each of the last two games, came up short on securing a championship in a Game 7 two years in a row. The 35-year-old netminder may have seen his last chance for a title. Curtis McKenzie had a strong tournament as the second highest post season scorer. In 22 games he had 11 goals and 20 points.

The title was the first pro hockey title for the city since the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967. They are the first Maple Leafs farm team to win an AHL title since 1981-’82 when the New Brunswick (Moncton) ‘Hawks, a dual affiliate with Chicago, took home the silver chalice.

The Toronto Marlboros of the OHA (now OHL) captured the Memorial Cup title in 1975, their second in two years with Bruce Boudreau, former Whaler and Nighthawk, John Anderson (they are now the head and assistant coach in Minnesota) future NHL’ers Islanders great, John Tonelli (whose two sons who now play at Taft Prep in Watertown), Mark Napier, John Smrke, Mike Kascycki, former Ranger, Whaler, Nighthawk, Mike McEwan, Trevor Johansen, and Mike Kitchen.

The Marlies won all the odd numbered games of the series 1, 3, 5, and 7.

Joining Mueller (with 12 assists and 16 points) in savoring a title was Marlies team captain, Ben Smith, who became the 126^th player of an elite group to capture a Calder Cup and Stanley Cup title. The Texas Stars had two ex-Sound Tigers in Matt Mangene and Colin Markison who both fell short of a title. Ex-Pack defenseman Mike Paliotta (Westport/Choate Prep) was a Black Ace and didn’t dress for any games of the Calder Cup playoffs.

PLAYER  AND COACHING MOVEMENT

Another ex-Wolf Pack is hanging up the skates.

The ever-ebullient and self-confident Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau is retiring.

PA, as he was known, came to the Wolf Pack in 2008. He would play two-and-a-half seasons in Hartford. In 181 games he had 83 goals and 96 assists (179 points) and 286 PIM. He was an Assistant Captain in his last season.

Starting his full-time NHL career at age 27, Parenteau tallied 114 goals and added 182 assists over 491 games. He played  with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators.

The Boucherville, Quebec, native who was born in Hull (nee Gatineau), entered the league as ninth-round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2001. He became an NHL regular with the New York Islanders during the 2010-11 season.

Parenteau matched his career-high with 20 goals in 77 games with the Maple Leafs during the 2015-16 season. He played in a Stanley Cup final with Nashville two years ago.

He resides with his family in the greater Moncton, New Brunswick area where he started his career with the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL).

Former Whaler Dave Tippett has surfaced after leaving the Arizona Coyotes as their head coach just about a year ago. Tippett has been named a Special Advisor for Seattle Hockey Partners LLC., the operating company for the potential Seattle NHL franchise. They are working on completing their NHL expansion application that will likely to be voted on in the fall by the NHL BOG. Clearly, Tippett will have a role with the team in some fashion when that day comes. READ MORE HERE

Wethersfield native and ex-Sound Tiger, Colin McDonald, re-signs an AHL veteran deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a fourth straight year. He has worn the C in all four years for the Phantoms. The team will celebrate their fifth year in Allentown, PA this year. McDonald will be earning more than $300K a year. His father Gerry played for the Whalers and Nighthawks.

In addition, the Flyers announced they had signed former UCONN (HE) defenseman Dallas Drake to an AHL deal likely at the AHL minimum of $70K a year. The deal comes after UCONN was knocked out by BU in the Hockey East playoffs. The towering 6’6, Drake, signed an ATO deal and played seven games with the Phantoms – including one at the XL Center near the end of the season.

Former Yale Bulldog John Hayden signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) at $700K in year one and $800K in the second season.

The AHL players to Europe has picked up as Ben Smith (Avon/Westminster Prep) literally out celebrating his Calder Cup win with his Toronto teammates last Thursday. Their captain saw a press release early in the morning German time that he had agreed to a three year deal with Adler Mannheim (Germany-DEL).

Markus Eisenschmid will be a teammate as he returns to his native Germany. Eisenschmid leads Laval for Adler Mannheim (Germany-DEL). Alex Grant departs Iowa to Jokerit Helsinki (Finland-KHL) and Ty Loney, the son of former NHL’er Troy Loney, after splitting the season with Bakersfield and Syracuse while the part of his season was with Adirondack (ECHL) heads to EC Graz (Austria-AEHL).

The latest pair is defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. After playing 629 AHL games, Bonarchuk leaves Texas for EHC Munich (Germany-DEL) while teammate Tyler Kelleher, acquired from Milwaukee, at the trade deadline, signs with ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL).

That makes 25 players from 16 AHL teams that have signed for Europe thus far and more to come.

Derek Army, joins his father, Tim (now with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins as an assistant coach) in the coaching ranks. He retired as an active player to become the assistant coach for the Worcester Railers (ECHL) in the fall. In his youth, Army played for Hotchkiss Prep (Washington, CT).

Doug Christiansen, a former Danbury Trasher and Bridgeport Sound Tiger, was named the new head coach of the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL). He had been the USHL Director of Player Development the last four years.

The Maple Leafs and Marlies have officially announced they are making the expansion Newfoundland Growlers their ECHL affiliate starting in the fall. The Maple Leafs had their AHL team in St. John’s from 1992 until 2007 before moving them to Toronto.

In THIS story, the St. John’s Telegram on Sunday reported that former Ranger, Ryane Clowe, a Newfoundland native will be their very first head coach.

Closer to home, the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL), who were purchased from Calgary a year ago by a local consortium called the Adirondack Civic Center Coalition, have made the final lease payment on their initial lease for the Thunder. The contract now takes them out to 2019 with an option of buying the building now known as the Cool Insuring Arena, formerly the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Another playing Marchment this time has a new deal. Jake Marchment, the cousin to Mason, who split last season with Colorado (ECHL) and Utah (ECHL) on an AHL contract, signed with San Antonio and has signed an ECHL deal with Utah for next season.

Ex-Pack, Jeff Ulmer, after playing in 1,147 games from the SJHL, NCAA, AHL to Europe in 25 cities, 17 leagues in 19 years, has retired after playing last year for EHC Lustenau (Austria-AlpsHL). Ulmer will be taking a yet to be announced job in hockey. His brother Jason also played in the AHL and Europe is also retired and is now the assistant coach at North Dakota.

Kevin McKernan, of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) and who played a few games in Ft. Wayne (ECHL) after the college season ended has signed a one year ECHL deal with the South Carolina Stingrays for next season.

Ex-Sound Tiger, Tanner Eberle, who split last season between Allen (ECHL) and Jacksonville (ECHL), signs with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL).

Mike Dalhuisen, a former Sound Tiger and QU Bobcat, goes from Torpedo-Ust Kamenogorsk (Russia-VHL) to EC Bad Nauheim (Germany-DEL-2).

Ex-Sound Tiger, Krill Kabanov, goes from the Danish champs Aalborg Pirates to the Krefeld Penguins (Germany-DEL).

Glen Hanlon, a former Ranger and Nighthawk, was named the new head coach for DVTK (Hungary-MOL).

Tomi Kallio, the boyhood hero of the Wolf Pack’s Lias Andersson, announced his retirement from hockey at age 41 after completing the season with TPS Turku (Finland-FEL). Kallio played with Andersson’s father Niclas in the 1990’s.

Another NCAA player has signed to head for Europe. That makes 19 college players that have signed for Europe as Tyko Karjalainen returns home from Clarkson (ECACHL) to Finland to play with Kiekko-Vantaa (Division-1). 109 collegians have now signed prop deals since the end of the college hockey season.

Two Hockey East transfers to Penn State from the Merrimack Warriors.

Evan Bell, who left Merrimack after the first semester last year to go to the Fargo Force (USHL) where he helped lead them to the Clark Cup title, will be able to play for the Nittany Lions starting second semester.

Ludvig Larsson leaves under the grad transfer rule because he obtained his undergraduate degree and can play immediately, but for only one year. Larsson become the first Swedish player and grad transfer for the six year old Division I program.

Arizona State announced it will begin building a new hockey arena on campus starting in the spring of next year. Putting up this building will help the Sun Devils, currently operating as a NCAA Division I independent, to select a conference. This will likely help the Pac-10 take a dip into the college hockey pond in starting a true US West Coast Division I college hockey conference especially when Seattle is granted a 32^nd NHL franchise sometime in the fall.

The latest from the Arizona Republic can be read right HERE

The roster for the US WJC team camp that will be held at the site of the summer WJC Summer Showcase (WJCSS) in Kamloops,BC  July 28-August 2 features a few CT names.

In goal 2019, NHL Draft eligible, Spencer Knight (Darien/Avon Old Farms) a BC commit, sophomore goalie Keith Petruzzelli (Quinnipiac University) and Cayden Primeau, son of former Whaler Keith who is a sophomore as well at Northeastern (HE) and a Montreal draft pick.

On defense, another pair of sophomores, Phil Kemp (Greenwich/Brunswick Prep) from Yale University (ECACHL) and Ben Miragaes (Avon Old Farms) from Providence College (HE).

Then Mattias Samuelsson, a freshmen at Michigan (Big 10) and son of former Nighthawk and NHL’er, Kjell Samuelsson.

Then up front Jack Drury, son of ex-Whaler Ted Drury and nephew of current Hartford GM and Rangers assistant GM Chris Drury who is Harvard (ECACHL) bound following his father’s skate blades. The brothers Drury from Trumbull played their high school hockey at Fairfield Prep where their number 18 is retired.

Former Beast of New Haven Pat Mikesch now head coach/GM for the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) was named as guest coach for the US team at the WJCSS.