CANTLON: DISMANTLING THE WOLF PACK 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Any thought of the Hartford Wolf Pack making the post-season were slim at best, but another Monday off day trade pretty much seals the team’s fate. The New York Rangers have tossed in the towel on their AHL affiliate’s season and have begun the dismantling the 2018-19 edition of the team.

In the space of a month, the Rangers have traded their team captain, Cole Schneider, the fourth consecutive season where the team captain was dealt, their first off-season signing from last summer, goalie Marek Mazanec, and now the team’s leading scorer, Peter Holland.

Holland, 28 was a former #1 overall pick of the Anaheim Ducks. He was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks for a 22-year-old defenseman, and former first-round selection, Darren Raddysh, who was playing with the Rockford Ice Hogs. Holland was assigned to Rockford with a ledger that has 20 goals and 49 points on it, tops on the Wolf Pack and ninth in AHL scoring race. Holland was one of the three assistant captains on the team.

The other assistant captains are Steven Fogarty and Matt Beleskey – who’s filling for the injured Rob O’Gara. The new assistant structure is still being formulated.

“We have a couple scenarios we have looked at, but no final decision has been made,” remarked head coach McCambridge.

The second year bench boss kept his remarks to the point in losing his leading scorer.

“Peter did a lot of good things for this organization its an opportunity for both players we get a young defenseman on the back end and that’s a part of pro sports and part of the game of hockey,” replied a measured Keith McCambridge.

Did you get a heads up that this deal was a possibility ?

“As a head coach in this league you always know around this time of year, the trade deadline time this is a possibility of some type of movement,” said McCambridge being very precise in his answers when asked twice about the trade.

In Holland’s first game with Rockford he posted two primary assists in a 3-2 OT come from behind win in Grand Rapids sporting jersey number 13.

For the the Pack’s Matt Beleskey, now the most senior forward of experience on the team he has been through the revolving door of hockey was sanguine regarding the upheaval of the past month.

“You see what the big club what direction there going in. It’s tough, but as a team you have to look at yourself and were not winning and when things aren’t going well there gonna be changes. Its really tough to lose Pete, he has been a good player and leader for us. I know he wasn’t asking to go anywhere it’s kinda surprising, but it’s a part of the business.

We all know things happen at this time of year (trade deadline) it usually does and I don’t think its over.””

For Beleskey, he loses just not only a teammate, a fellow veteran to guide in the sheperding process with the younger players which Holland embraced, he loses his linemate. Holland along with the presently injured Ville Meskanen formed one of the few consistent solid lines the Pack have had all season.

Helping young players absorb this lesson is not by him alone,but he clearly a few extra bricks are tossed on his shoulder.

“Its kinda done by committee,but you have to point out if you have a losing record changes are going to happen. You certaintly don’t want to get use to this (losing) you want a team to stick together and be able to go places in April and may that’s a lesson. I kinda try to preach when things are going well, these kinda changes don’t happen.”

Beleskey skated with Lias Andersson and Bobby Butler the last two days and that changed Thursday afternoon.

Lias Andersson, who has just one goal and six points in 16 game since the Rangers reassigned him after four points in 21 games in New York was recalled as the Rangers because they will sit either one or both, Steven Hayes and ex-CT Whale Mats Zuccarello who are expected to be traded by Monday by the Rangers.

“Look we have what maybe 30% of the team we started the year with. I think one or two defenseman right now from the start, so that’s tough to get into a groove, but our job is not to make the lineup, its to play. That’s all you can really do,”.

The Holland trade was the 22nd AHL level trade made prior to Monday’s NHL trade deadline by the parent clubs since mid-December. These moves are primarily cap space moves for this season and in some cases for next season, a year before the expected lockout/work stoppage coming at the NHL level.

Holland scored his 20th goal Sunday afternoon in a wild 5-4 OT loss to Wilkes Barre allowing the Wolf Pack to have had at least one 20 goals scorer in each of their 22 seasons. Holland is a UFA after this season which his salary was a one way NHL deal at $700K.

The player he was traded for is right handed defenseman Darren Raddysh who had a strong junior career with Erie (OHL) with 65 assists 81 points plus 22 points in 22 OHL playoff games and eight points in five Memorial Cup games in his last season.

Raddysh was a free agent undrafted signee to an ELC deal by the Black Hawks which he has one more year left at $70K-AHL/$755K-NHL.Raddysh has played 120 AHL games with Rockford with 13 goals and 48 points for the 6’0 200lb. rearguard.

His brother Taylor plays for Syracuse (AHL).

McCambridge got his first look at him at Wednesday’s practice.

“He was poised with the puck, moved it well, I liked how his shot came off his stick, a good first practice and impression,” said McCambridge.

Having a righthanded defenseman is like a lefthanded pitcher in baseball everybody wants a couple of them.

“There are year when you might six righthanded shots as I have seen a lot of different mixes in the past. Right now, you want the best available defenseman to work on the back end.”

The Wolf Pack have a truly very important three in three this weekend they must be all regulation wins no overtimes or shootouts if they can keep the very slim post season hopes alive. Friday season long nemesis Springfield is in town and Saturday starts a home and home with the team holding fourth place in the Atlantic division the Providence Bruins.

“We felt we have had some good efforts like against Toronto, we split two games in Lehigh Valley never an easy easy building to play in this league. Then  again Bridgeport we had a chance there against a team who added two good piece on a conditioning loan (Andrew Ladd and Thomas Hickey both recalled on Monday). We like the traction we have had, we just haven’t gotten the results.”

For John Gilmour he realizes this a critical weekend.

“We have had a do or die mentality lately, we just haven’t gotten the W’s we wanted. We have a little over 20 games left we can’t afford to drop any and were playing every game like it’s a playoff game. We have to have a lot of desperation to our games if we want to make the playoffs which is our goal.”

The Wolf Pack are down three games to none can they reverse the trend ?

NOTES:

-Beleskey with one more year left at $1.9 million of an originally deal signed with Boston in 2015 who carries only an $800K cap hit for New York remains the optimist and realist, “Your always trying to figure what’s gonna happen, but I‘ve learned in this business you never know what’s  gonna happen.”

-The Pack injury front there is some encouraging news Ville Meskanen (lower body) practiced in his a red no contact jersey could see a game as could Ty Ronning (lower body) and Brandon Crawley (upper body) practiced could see some time this weekend. Defenseman Rob O’ Gara (lower body) still remains a week or so away from playing.

-The Wolf Pack continued to add more player insurance ahead of the trade deadline with foward Zach Lynch from Wheeling (ECHL). The three year ECHL vet has 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points in 53 games with Wheeling Nailers (ECHL). He has 145 career ECHL games with Wheeling and Manchester and 36 career AHL games with Utica, Springfield and Portland when they were in the AHL as the Pirates.

-The Washington Capitals picked up ex-CT Whale Carl Hagelin from Los Angeles for a 3rd round pick in 2019 and a conditional sixth round pick in 2020 late Thursday.

“We are pleased to welcome Carl to our organization,” said Caps senior VP and GM former New Haven Nighthawk Brian MacLellan. “We felt this trade enables us to add depth up front and provides us with a veteran player with a tremendous amount of speed to help us on the penalty kill.”

-Ryan Donato, son of ex-Pack and Sound Tiger Ted Donato was traded by Boston to Minnesota for Charlie Coyle, a younger cousin to former New Haven Nighthawk, Bobby “The Cat” Sheehan.

-Ex-Pack Desmond Bergin signed a PTO deal with Binghamton he was playing with Adirondack (ECHL).

-Former UCONN Husky Derek Pratt having been scratched both games that he was eligible for was released on Tuesday from his PTO deal and reassigned to Maine (ECHL). This was similar to Matt Petgrave two weeks ago who was scratched for three games he was eligible for and returned to Brampton (ECHL).

-Goalie Chris Nell, still Rangers property was reassigned early in the year to Greenville (ECHL) their old ECHL affiliate from Maine was curiously reassigned to Hartford Wednesday. Like Halverson is in the last year of his contract.

-Justin Salvaggio who played four games last year for the Wolf Pack was reassigned from Maine (ECHL) to Wichita (ECHL).

-Looking ahead four Wolf Pack players will be UFA (unrestricted free agents) Group 6 category at the end of the year. Group 6 is defined as a player with three years pro experience who has not played 80 NHL games by their 25^th birthday making them unrestricted.

Steven Fogarty and Rob O’ Gara each have just 11 games, John Gilmour is at 28 and Boo Nieves who is in New York, if he plays all of the remaining 24 Rangers games will qualify by just two games.

Dustin Tokarski and Connor Brickley on recall are straight UFA’s.

-After three games and no points ex-Pack Dale Weise was assigned to Laval by Montreal.

-Micheal Haley, the ex-Wolf Pack and Sound Tiger was claimed off waiver by his former NHL team the San Jose Sharks from the Florida Panthers.

-Former New Haven Senators head coach Don MacAdam brought in as an interim coach on December 18th was let go after exactly two months later from SC Csikszereda (Romania-EBEL) that plays in the Austrian Elite League.

-Late breaking news is the New York islanders have named Oak View Group (OVG) to be the new management company of the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. This is significant in two ways. One, OVG that is the group beginning the renovation project on the Seattle KeyArena that will house the NHL’s 32nd yet unnamed franchise.

The other significance is OVG is in partnering with MSG run by Jim Dolan who is the primary financial backer in OVG on renovation in Seattle and have a piece of the pie with the Islander new building to be built in Belmont Park slated to begin at last report next month. Webster Bank Arena’s original 20 year lease negotiated by the late Roy Boe expires in two seasons and the building at 20 years of age will need state funding to begin replacing and repairing its operating mechanical systems.

Matthew Herpich, was named the new GM of the Webster Bank Arena, a 12 year veteran of arena management . He has run arena’s in Chicago, Portland,ME, Cleveland State University and in Aiken, SC. Michael Picker, the current President and GM, a long time Islanders executive will remain as President of the Sound Tigers.

The deal will be effective February 28^th.