CANTLON: WOLF PACK OFF-SEASON VOLUME 13 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – There has been much activity in the world of the NHL and AHL, especially for the heart of the summer.

PLAYER AND COACHING MOVEMENT

Former Hartford Wolf Pack and New York Ranger, Marc Savard, who has been doing work as a skills development coach with Petersborough (OHL) was hired as an Assistant Coach by the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.

Ex-Sound Tiger, Richard Seeley, after the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL), folded following the season, is now the GM of the Ontario Reign.

The AHL roster shuffle continues at a slower pace than at the beginning of the month but remains chugging along.

Eric Condra heads from Texas to Colorado. Ian McCoshen gets a one-year, two-way deal with Springfield/Florida of $250K-AHL/$700K-NHL and defenseman Julien Melchiori leaves Springfield for Binghamton.

Melchiori, is a much younger cousin to former Nighthawk, Daryl Evans, and former Springfield Indian, Vic Venasky. Tyler Gaudet leaves Milwaukee for Toronto Marlies for a one-year, one-way, $700K deal. Cavan Fitzgerald moves from San Jose to Charlotte.

Matt Moulson, with almost a 1,000 NHL games, signs an AHL deal with the Hershey Bears. Max McCormick gets a one-year, two-way deal with Charlotte/Carolina paying $100K-AHL/$700K-NHL after splitting last season with Belleville/Colorado.

Four more AHL’ers head off to Europe. Ex-Pack Tom Pyatt, who split last season with Utica/Ottawa, signs with Skelleftea AIK (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Pack defenseman, Chris Summers, departs the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins to join his good friend, and ex-Pack, Chris Brown with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany-DEL) on a two-year contract. He will still be wearing number 55 on his jersey.

Kerby Rychel goes from Stockton to Orebro HK (Sweden-SHL). Shane Hanna of Texas heads off to Rungsted IK (Denmark-DHL).

Those make 61 AHL’ers who have signed off to Europe or Asia for next season.

Hampus Gustafsson of Hershey is on a tryout with Rogle BK (Sweden-SHL).

Ex-Pack, Paul Crowder, re-signs with the Fife Flyers (Scotland-EIHL) for the fall and winter hockey season while he is presently playing with the Sydney Ice Dogs (Australia-AIHL).

Crowder is their third-leading scorer after playing 12 games (11g-29a-40pts) as the team heads into the final month of the regular season. Crowder’s brother Tim is tied for the team lead at 50 points and is third in AIHL scoring of the short season league.

Goalie, Jackson Whistle, the nephew of ex-Nighthawk, Rob Whisle, leaves Sheffield (England-EIHL) for Nottingham (England-EIHL)

Defenseman Joesph Masonius, a former UCONN Husky signs with Reading (ECHL). He played one game in Wheeling (ECHL) and 12 with now-defunct Manchester (ECHL) last year.

Philippe Hudon (Choate Prep) signs an ECHL one-year deal with the Florida Everblades. After finishing his Canadian collegiate career with Concordia University (OUAA) in Montreal, the Hudson, Quebec native played 14 games with Florida and three games with Laval.

Karl El-Mir, also from Montreal area, the former UCONN Husky (HE), signs with Indy (ECHL) for next year. Jake Cliffords of Arizona St. (Division 1-Independent) signs with Tulsa (ECHL) and a pair of Division III players sign. Zach Borsoi of Utica College (UCHC) signs with Adirondack (ECHL) while Matt Lippa of Manhattanville College (UCHC) puts his name on a contract with Idaho (ECHL).

Three more collegians sign pro deals. Freddy Gerard from Ohio State (Big 10) signs with Idaho (ECHL). Timo Kocer departs Division 3 Finlandia University (NCHA) for his native Slovenia to play for HDD Jesenice (AlpsHL). Peter Crinella of Holy Cross (AHA) signs a deal with Wichita (ECHL) making 184 players from Division I to sign North American pro deals, 22 from Division III, 49 sign European deals, making an overall count of 247 collegians to sign pro deals.

Former Quinnipiac Bobcat, and briefly a Sound Tiger defenseman, Mike Dalhuisen, a Dutch-native, leaves EC Bad Nauheim (Germany DEL-2) and signs with HK Dukla Michalovce (Slovakia-SLEL).

Travis Culhane, the son of ex-Whaler, Jim Culhane, moves from Western Michigan (NCHC) to Colorado College (NCHC) in the same capacity as Director of Hockey Operations.

Besides AHL President Dave Andrews, another hockey honcho will step down following the 2019-20 season. Joe Bertagna, the commissioner of Hockey East after 23 years at the helm will leave the scene, not by his own choice, but the conference directors elected not to renew his contract. He also spent 13 years as the head man for the ECAC before heading up Hockey East in 1997.

Bertagna’s name is all over college hockey in the Northeast. Beside commissioning two college conferences, he is an accomplished author of five books on goaltending and was twice the goalie coach for the Boston Bruins (1985-1991 & 1994-95) as well as the 1991 Canada Cup US entry, and the 1994 US Olympic team, that played in Lillehammer, Norway.

He was the pioneer in making women’s hockey a Division I sport when he became Harvard’s first head coach of women’s hockey (1977-1979) and actively promoted and developed that side of the college hockey equation.

He is already in the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame and the ECAC Hall of Fame. He played from 1970-1973 at Harvard under three big names of collegiate history in Ralph “Cooney” Weiland, Billy Cleary, and the late, Tim Taylor of Yale, who was an assistant at Harvard. Bertagna, being a starter his last two years, was in an era where freshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports.

He played professionally for two years with SG Cortina (Italy-IHL) and Milwaukee (USHL) then a senior hockey league not in its present junior format.

UCONN adds another recruit for this fall’s campaign. Forward Jonny Mulera from the Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) commits after playing 49 games and scoring 27 goals, getting 27 assists (54 points). The team’s Director of Player Development is ex-Pack, Bobby Butler.

The Yale University Bulldogs (ECACHL) snagged another son of a former NHL’er, Will Dineen, the son of Hartford Whaler great, Kevin Dineen, has made a commitment to Yale for 2020-21. He played this past season for the Chicago Mission U-16 (HPHL) and was drafted by two different US junior leagues this spring. He was taken first taken by Omaha Lancers (USHL) 7th round 98th overall then taken by the Odessa (TX) Jackalopes (NAHL).in the 7th round 162nd overall.

Now with the commit to Yale looks more than likely he will be in the USHL come the fall.

His father Kevin, as previously mentioned, just signed to be the head coach in San Diego (AHL). He is the younger of the Dineens. Two of his uncles, Peter and Shawn, played for the New Haven Nighthawks, and his other uncle, Jerry Dineen, is the Rangers video coach.

Two college graduate transfers are heading to Boston University (HE) in the fall.

Wilton CT native, goaltender Sam Tucker, who played his prep school hockey at Choate, takes his Yale degree and four years of collegiate hockey to the Terriers. Also joining him from the ECACHL conference is Alex Brink of Brown University taking the 50-minute trip up I-95  to BU’s campus.

Ex-Pack, Jeff Finley, is changing scouting addresses. He leaves Detroit, where he was the Chief of Amateur scouting, to go Winnipeg to replace the retiring Marcel Comeau, a one time New Haven Nighthawks head coach.

Need some cool thoughts during the hot days of summer? Here is a superb hockey story to keep you cool and get to read about hockey at the southernmost point in the world; HERE

The NHL and college hockey should help in the development of hockey here.

Dominic Turgeon, nephew of ex-Whaler Sylvain signed a new one year two-way deal with Grand Rapids for a slight AHL increase from $67,500K to $80K and the NHL money is up from $650K to $750K-NHL).