CANTLON’S CORNER: WOLF PACK NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE ROAD 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The first two recalls heading to the NHL from the Hartford Wolf Pack this season, saw the team’s leading scorer, Filip Chytil, and first pair defenseman, Ryan Lindgren, head to New York to join the Rangers.

In his first game back with the Blueshirts, Chytil tallied the game inning goal and had three shots on net in the Rangers 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and then picked up the opening goal in his next game against the Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win,

When he left the Pack, Chytil led the team with nine points in nine games and was a plus-9 and consistently the guy with the puck, and not chasing it too much.

Lindgren was in the lineup too. He played 15:04 minutes against the Lightning and picked up an assist, had two shots on goal, and one hit. That same night, Marc Staal, was a healthy scratch for the first time in his 13-year-old NHL career. In Hartford, Lindgren was a plus-7, good for second best on the team.

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Ex-Pack and Ranger, Dale Weise, is now a veteran of hockey.

The now, 30-year-old, started out his career in Hartford nine years ago. Time sure flies!

“I can’t believe its been nine years. I really enjoyed starting things out here, and I have had a great run in the NHL,” Weise said while in Hartford last week.

Weise is doing PK duty for the Laval Rocket in his second tour of the Le Belle province, the first was in the big city of Montreal at the Bell Centre, which was his boyhood dream come true.

Now in the last year of his the NHL deal he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, Weise acknowledged that his NHL days are dwindling. Now a father of four, he isn’t done playing hockey.

He had a goal and two assists against Toronto on Saturday and still wasn’t one of the three stars.

“I won’t lie, I’m not crazy about riding the buses again. Physically, I’m in better shape than when I was with the Wolf Pack, but mentally, the daily grind is really tough.”

Could Europe be a possibility?

“Switzerland or Russia are some good places and offer a lot, but we’ll see how things go. I got twins now, six months, plus a six, and four year old (two boys and two girls), so I have a lot more to consider than when I was 23.”

Open, honest and still true to himself, Weise has always found a way in the game of hockey. No doubt, the last chapters will be just as fun. Seattle is coming and it’s possible that Weise could be headed to the Pacific Northwest.

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The Place Bell in Laval is a must for a hockey To-Do List. It’s a great place to watch hockey. It’s similar to Manchester, NH that was home to the AHL/ECHL Monarchs. SNHU Arena has a large one bowl arena concept with fine sight-lines with lively crowds, a very good game presentation. It can be chilly and ear plugs would be a plus as the goal horn is exceptionally loud.

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Wrapping up the Vitali Kravtsov Affair, he played his first game at Trakor Chelyabinsk and went scoreless.

With five games played, and played is a subjective term, Kravtsov showed none of the skills or the form he displayed in last years WJC tournament that led to him becoming the seventh overall selection.

Kravtsov was benched in his first game which is exceptionally rare.

The move, however, was not completely unexpected. Pack Head Coach, Kris Knoblauch, said discussions have been ongoing for a period of time. “We weren’t totally surprised. He didn’t just walk in and say, ‘I’m leaving.’ This has been discussed with Vitali’s agent and the Rangers for a while now. He practiced with us (last) Tuesday, and Wednesday, we were informed he was exercising his contract clause. Then we recalled Ty Ronning (from Maine).”

Kravtsov is just 19-years-of-age and will need some maturing. He’ll be 20 on December 23rd, missing the WJC tournament cutoff date by eight days. However, the sulking will need to go. Chytil could have come to Hartford whining about being sent to the AHL after having spent last season in the NHL, but he didn’t. He came, worked and played hard, and is now back in the NHL.

“I just want to play hockey,” he said last week after a game. “I don’t care where. This is what I do.”

At 25, fellow countrymen, Igor Shesterkin, complete with all the KHL accolades, still has came to Hartford to hone his craft and get adjusted to North American hockey. In the very near future, he too will be seen in the bright lights of MSG. He too came to Hartford with an outstanding attitude.

There is likely a lot to more to this story given that Kravtsov took the first chance he could to exercise his escape clause. He was taking up space, so Knoblauch and his coaching staff under the Rangers guidance even shifted lines around in Hartford in an attempt to jump start his moribund, even, at times, non-existent play.

This is all part of the new paradigm in pro hockey. It’s now an even younger league, with higher expectations as the salary cap guides everything and each team looks to exploit loopholes in the CBA, which expires at the end of the 2022 season before a new one will be crafted.

It is hoped that Kravtsov will develop the maturity that both Chytil and Shesterkin have demonstrated in their time in Hartford

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The Ryan Gropp saga is resolved for now with the Rangers management winning out. Gropp, who initially refused to report to the Maine Mariners, has reported to Portland this weekend where he went scoreless in one game. It’s still highly possible that he will be moved in a minor league swap or as a part of some larger Rangers deal.

In turn, Hartford recalled Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/Gunnery Prep) from Maine where he had six points in five games in the first three weeks of the ECHL season.

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Ex-Pack, Ilkka Heikkinen, who played with TPS Turku (Finland-FEL) last year, has signed with his first Finnish team, Lukko Rauma, for the rest of the season.