CANTLON: HARTFORD WOLF PACK OFF SEASON 2 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Professional hockey playoffs at all the major professional levels are well underway and there is still lots of news being made, not only for the Hartford Wolf Pack but for the sport worldwide.

JUNIORS MOVING UP

Ryder Korczak of the Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) signed his initial three-year Entry-Level Contract (ELC) paying $925K-NHL/$80K-AHL. He will be in Hartford in the fall after a 25-goal and team-leading 79-point regular season.

Ex-Hartford Whaler Mark Greig’s son Ridley was assigned from Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) to Belleville.

RUSSIANS AND THE DRAFT

How will the NHL’s 32 franchises handle the selection of Russian players in the upcoming July entry draft in Montreal?

How the situation will be handled is currently being formulated between the NHL and NHLPLA. The general feeling is a ban on all players in keeping with league policy in cutting off all contact with players, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, and the commercial side of Russia. The CHL (Canadian Hockey League) has announced all Russian and Belarussian players as being banned from the annual draft at the annual CHL Import Draft. Those selections are usually conducted a week after the NHL Draft where top Russians and other European players are usually paired up with teams in either the QMJHL, OHL, or WHL which make up the CHL.

The outright ban is a tricky proposition. While some wish to show their disgust and indignation with Russian actions in the invasion of Ukraine, however, will this collective guilt stand and be sustained in any potential legal challenges that are likely to come?

There is the famous 1978 Alabama case when a judge ruled in favor of Canadian junior players (Ken “The Rat” Linseman, Craig Hartsburg, Mark Napier, Gaston Gingras, John Garrett Rob Ramage, Michel Goulet, Rick Vaive and Pat Riggin) dubbed the ‘Baby Bulls’ (only Linseman, Vaive, Gingras, Ramage, Riggin and Hartsburg made the team). At the time they were seeking to work for the renegade WHA Birmingham Bulls successfully overturning the established minimum of being 20-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Draft and making it 18-years-old which the NHL still operates under.

At that time, another underage player, Keith Crowder, played five games late in the season for Birmingham and there were three other “underagers” who played in the league that year. Those players were former New York Rangers’ All-Star Mike Gartner (Cincinnati), Mark Messier (Indianapolis and Cincinnati), and a youngster named Wayne Gretzky (Indianapolis and Edmonton).

Many North America are not going back to the KHL and are signing elsewhere and some teams have opted out of the KHL in protest.

These issues, however, are obviously different. Banning players who clearly are not a party to the conflict will not be easy and won’t be going away any time soon.

OFF-SEASON PLAYER MOVES

Ex-Pack Nicklas Jensen saw one of those teams, Jokerit Helsinki, pull out of the KHL over the war. On Friday, the left-winger signed a one-year deal with HC Rapperswill-Jona (Switzerland-LNA). Joining him from Jokerit in Switzerland will be his teammate, and former Yale Bulldog and US Olympian, Brian O’Neill.

Ex-Pack Tomas Kundratek switches Czech Elite League teams going from HC Ocelari Trinec to HC Brno.

Ex-Sound Tiger Ty Wishart signs with the Melbourne Mustangs of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). He started the year in Poland with Unia Oswiecim (PIZHL) before moving on to ETC Crimmitschau (Germany-DEL-2).

River Rymsha, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk Andy Rymsha, heads across the border from HK Poprad (Slovakia-SLEL) to HK Hradec Kralove (Mounfield HK) Czech Republic (Czechia)-CEL.

Kristoff Kontos, the son of former Nighthawk/Ranger, Chris Kontos, leaves Kristianstads IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) to HC Banska Bystrica (Slovakia-SLEL).

MORE MOVES

Former QU Bobcat goalie Mike Garteig goes from HIFK Helsinki (Finland-FEL) to ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL).

Declan Bronte of the CT Chiefs (EHL) of Melbourne, Australia heads back home and signs with the CBR (Canberra) Brave (AIHL). His older brother Tyrone is the only Australian playing NCAA Divisio-I hockey with Michigan Tech (CCHA) after transferring from Alabama-Huntsville.

Former Yale Bulldog John Hayden (Greenwich/Brunswick Prep) of the Buffalo Sabres was named to the US World Championship team that will play in Finland in two weeks.

COLLEGE NEWS

Boston University Hall-of-Famer Jay Pandolfo is a new coach at Boston University.

The BC Head Coach position was filled as Associate Head Coach and Hartford-born Greg Brown was announced Friday to be elevated in the fall to replace NHL and US Hall-of-Famer, Jerry York.

Brown is the son of former NHL’er Doug Brown (Devils, Pittsburgh, and Detroit) who also attended Boston College under Len Ceglarski and had two nephews (Chris and Patrick) played under York. His brother-in-law is New York Giants co-owner, John Mara.

Providence College Head Coach Nate Leaman signed a multi-year extension to remain the PC coach.

Adam Nightingale, the older brother of former Wolf Pack player, now Rockford assistant coach Jared Nightingale, is hired by Michigan State (Big 10) from the USNDTP program. Their other brother, Jason, is the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Buffalo Sabres.

LOTS MORE COLLEGE NEWS

Nate Raboin, the Minnesota assistant coach, is named the new bench boss at the brand new 62nd Division-I program at Augustana (SD) University.

Nick Oliver, an assistant with St. Cloud State (CCHA) leaves to be the head coach of the USHL Fargo (ND) Force.

Illinois was flirting with going D-I and heading to the Big 10 but instead announced they’re passing, citing a 30% increase in construction costs of a new on-campus arena as one of the reasons.

Stonehill (MA) College from the D-III NE-10 is heading D-1 next year heading to the AHA.

Mike Murtagh, a UCONN commit in 2023-24, heads from the Gunn School (Washington, CT) to the Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) next year.

The Huskies got their first 2025-26 commit in right-handed shooting defenseman 6’3 Braydan Smith 17, from the Saskatoon Contacts (SMAAAAHL).

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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