CANTLON: FREE AGENT FRENZY 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The free-agent frenzy has led to completing the 2022-23 Hartford Wolf Pack roster as the usual free agency carnival has come and gone. Incredibly, over 150 players changed addresses, and close to a billion dollars in compensation was doled out.

Up in New York, the Rangers lost Andrew Copp, who returned home to Michigan to join the Detroit Red Wings. He will line his pockets with $5.65M per season. Kevin Rooney, the cousin of former New Haven Nighthawk Steve  Rooney, headed West to Calgary to join the Flames and will receive $1.4M per season for the next four years.

The Rangers paid dearly to upgrade Hartford.

Zach Jordan, whose contract has not yet been posted, comes to Hartford via the Cleveland Monsters. Turner Elson from Grand Rapids (GM Ryan Martin’s old stomping grounds) at $750K-NHL/$225K-AHL for two years, a 6’0 195 center.

Ty Emberson comes from Tucson (contract yet posted), making it now 12 D going into training camp in the fall.

Andy Welinski comes over from Stockton (Calgary) on a one-year $400K-AHL deal.

The Rangers made their qualifying offers by Mondaefore the 5 pm deadline as per the CBA, and two were very curious.

Defenseman Hájek, who played a grand total of 17 games in New York and five in Hartford on a conditioning stint, was amazingly signed for another year at a cap helpful $800K and shockingly big 6’7 forward Austin Rueschoff (contract not yet posted), who signed as a collegiate free agent two years ago from Western Michigan (NCHC) who spent all last year in Hartford.

His season could be broken into three parts; a physical start, showed flashes of a hot stick in the middle of the season, and like the rest of his teammates, a disappearing act in the last third of the season as they had a meteoric meltdown of 8-20-2 and out of the AHL playoffs after being in first at the AHL All-Star break.

Tim Gettinger was given an offer who played well in all situations in Hartford in four years and was among the taxi squad call-ups got a one-year extension at amazingly as the lanky 6’6 forward got a one-year deal not yet posted.

Not to anyone’s surprise, the following were not qualified, thus allowing them to go to free agency. They included goalie Keith Kinkaid, who signed in primary for $750K. He was a main culprit in the late-season collapse with many rough performances.

Also departing is goalie, Adam Huska (UCONN-HE). In three years in Hartford performed well but was not consistent enough.

Tyler Wall played just 15 games in his two years, despite gaudy Hockey East numbers at UMASS-Lowell where he broke long-standing freshman winning record and career wins, but he never replicated those efforts and never gained the trust of his head coach or fellow teammates. His season ended six weeks early with knee surgery from a freak pre-game injury he suffered in Jacksonville.

As of now, Zac Jones and Matt Robertson will be on defense. Robertson is a year from his RFA status. On an AHL deal comes Zach Guittari (Loomis Chaffe).

That’s half the defense.

Hunter Skinner, Brandon Scanlin, and Nils Lundkvist are scheduled to return and could be the other half.

Up front, the ever polite, pleasant, and gregarious Ty Ronning never built off his surge in performances in 2020-21 or early last season and sputtered at the end.

Reports are Ronning, who lives in Vancouver in the off-season, where his father Cliff played with the Canucks and may sign there and head to nearby Abbotsford.

Nick Merkley and Maxim Letunov, acquired at the trade deadline, were not re-signed.

Merkley was injured in the next to last game in Bridgeport. Letunov was not a match and may be headed back home to Russia to play in the KHL with Torpedo Novgorod, who has his KHL rights.

Despite an 81-point year in juniors, Jake Elmer was buried in the ECHL and never got a call-up. Anthony Greco has already left for Sweden.

Mike O’Leary, who had minimal offensive output and was a late-season scratch, is gone to Iowa (AHL).

Tanner Fritz, Alex Whelan, and Cristiano Di Giacinto are defensemen who all signed AHL  deals. Fritz will be in Hartford and could push the other two to Jacksonville because of the lack of lineup space.

D-man Blake Hillman did well in Providence/ Toledo (ECHL) and was last year’s training camp invitee is now under contract,

Tim Theocaridis and goalie Parker Gahagan (Florida-ECHL/Milwaukee-AHL) have all been signed to AHL deals; four of the five will be in Hart City or likely the ECHL with the teams’ affiliate there, the Jacksonville Icemen.

Underperforming Justin Richards was given every chance to succeed on all four lines and special teams. However, he will find a new address, likely in the ECHL, after not being qualified.

What the team does with the unhappy Lauri Pajuniemi, a year from his RFA, is yet to be determined.

Will Jarred Tinordi return to reprise the mentor role or find a new address with his young family?

Three part-time players are heading to separate teams in the Slovak Extra league. Abbott Girduckis (HC Presov), Liam Pecararo (HC Slovan Bratislava), and the second Hamden-born player in team history, Mike Lee (the Gunn School), as he heads to (HC Nove Zamsky).

A fourth, James Sanchez, is available for other teams.

Defenseman Jeff Taylor scratched more than he played in four years as an insurance policy, just 38 games in that time, signed with Adirondack (ECHL), and has new twins just born.

Greg McKegg, who played one game in Hartford and 43 games and five points in New York, was cut loose and headed to Edmonton for a lucrative two-way deal of $750K-NHL/$350K-AHL.

Billy Thompson, a one-game emergency from Adirondack, heads to play with defending champions Cardiff (Wales-EIHL) next year.

Coming in from Europe draftees are; Karl Henriksson  Frölunda HC (Sweden-SHL), Adam Edström (Sweden-Rögle BK). Veteran Gustav Rydahl (Sweden-Farjestad BK) comes on a free agent $750K deal and goalie Olof Lindbom of Kristianstads IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan).

Captain Jonny Brodzinski, with his youngest sibling, Easton, is on an AHL deal and scheduled to return.

Then four junior-age players, Will Cullye (Windsor-OHL), Brennan Othmann (Flint-OHL), Matt Rempe (Seattle-WHL), and Roger Korczak (Moose Jaw-WHL), are coming to camp.

Othmann has to spend a half-season in juniors after training camp with Flint (OHL) because of the CHL and NHL agreement that prohibits 19-year-olds from being in the AHL full-time unless a team’s junior season has ended.

He will be WJC eligible, which will be when he turns 20 NEXT January 5th. The last day of next year’s WJC when it ends in Halifax and Moncton.

Bobby Trivigino, signed at the end of the season from UMASS (HE), will be back.

Patrick Khordorenko will be in the house in the last year of his deal.

PLENTY OF MOVES

The number of AHL’ers off to Europe is 42 as ex-Sound Tiger Josh Ho-Sang departs to Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia-KHL).

Despite the Ukraine war, Russia amazingly leads the Euro race with ten signings. Sweden has nine, with Finland inking seven, Germany six and Austria four.

NEWS AND NOTES

The Wolf Pack 2022-23 schedule with three new opponents expected out in two weeks.

The home opener is October 22nd.

The Rangers lost Frank Vatrano to Anaheim.

They got the backup goalie they sought in ex-Sound Tiger Jaroslav Halak from Vancouver at $1.5M. They also signed forward Vincent (Vinnie) Trochek from Carolina.

To battle for the backup spot with a two-year contract, the Rangers signed Louis Domingue of Pittsburgh. He played with four teams last year (two NHL, two AHL).

He hurt the Wolf Pack at the end of the year and nearly stole the Ranger series in an emergency relief situation in Pittsburgh. Instead, he got one-way money at $775K.

Former CT Whale Cam Talbot was moved from Minnesota to Ottawa for goalie Filip Gustavsson.

Ex-Pack Lias Andersson signs a one-year extension $750K deal with LA.

Ex-Pack Malte Strömwall has decided to give North America another try and has  signed a one-year, two-way deal with Carolina/Chicago (AHL) for $750K-NHL/$150K-AHL leaving Dynamo Minsk (Belarus-KHL)

Brogan Rafferty (Quinnipiac University) leaves for Anaheim-NHL/San Diego-AHL for Seattle-NHL/ Coachella Valley-AHL at $750K/$250K. –Fellow former Bobcat Chase Priskie leaves Florida-NHL/Charlotte-AHL to Buffalo-NHL/Rochester-AHL on a one-year $800K deal.

Goalie Alex Lyon (Yale) from the Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves/ Carolina (NHL) leaves to head off to Florida-NHL/Charlotte-AHL for one year at $750K.

Another ex-Pack goalie, Dustin Tokarski, goes from Buffalo to Pittsburgh for a $775K package.

Ex-Pack defenseman Anthony Bitetto goes from San Jose to Florida on a one-year, one-way deal at $750K.

Max Pacioretty (New Canaan/Taft) was traded from Vegas to Carolina.

Calle Järnkrok, the cousin of former Nighthawk Mikael Lindholm, signs a four-year deal with Toronto for $2.1M leaving Calgary.

Rangers signed Adam Sýkora, 17, their first pick in last week’s draft to a standard three-year ELC deal at $925K-NHL/$80K-AHL and because of his age, he will more than likely be with Medicine Hat (WHL) next year. They took him first overall in the CHL Import draft two weeks ago.

SOMMER IN CALI

Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Joël Bouchard and his staff were sacked in early May. Now San Diego has hired the AHL’s winningest coach, 65-year-old Roy Sommer (808 wins), ending a 24-year relationship running San Jose’s minor league teams to replace Bouchard after just one year.

Sommer also had two years as an assistant in San Jose and half a season as an interim head coach.

He started coaching in Cali with the Roller Hockey International San Jose Rhinos (formerly Connecticut (New Haven) Coasters). As a young man, he started his minor pro playing career in the old Pacific Hockey League (PHL) with the Spokane (WA) Flyers.

Sommer’s hockey coaching journey started in Richmond/Roanoke in the ECHL and has taken him to Cleveland, Worcester, Kentucky, and the Bay Area for the last eight years.

Cody MacLeod retires from playing in Iowa to become a skills development coach for Minnesota.

The brand-new Coachella Valley (CA) Firebirds (Seattle) signed their first two players, Samuel Bucek from MHC Nitra of the Slovak Extra League, who has been in Slovakia. About six years ago, Bucek had three junior years with the Chicago Steel (USHL) twice and the Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL).

Then to take care of the heavy lifting, they inked the capable Ian MacKinnon, who had 145 PM between Providence and Maine (ECHL) and Jacksonville (ECHL) last year, totaling 31 games and remembered for his battles with ex-Pack Mason Geersten two years ago.

The team hired the first female assistant coach at the pro level, with Jessica Campbell going to the Firebirds.

They got from Detroit ex-Pack goalie Magnus Hellberg ticketed initially for Grand Rapids now has been re-routed to the California desert,

Jon Gillies (Salisbury Prep) goes from New Jersey to Arizona.

After six years in Cleveland, Justin Scott signs with the Colorado Eagles.

Andrew Sorenson of Rockford has the interim tag as head coach at Rockford taken off.

Daniel Brickley, the cousin of ex-Pack Connor Brickley, after splitting the year between Chicago (AHL)/Norfolk (ECHL), signs with Västerviks IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan).

-Nick Sczerbinski, a QU grad, was named as associate commissioner of the ECACHL after six years in Hamden as the associate athletic director for athletic communications since 2018.

The Bobcats had another reason to celebrate as Boston hired Danielle Marmer (2017) to work in Player Development and as a Scouting assistant and became the first female bench hire in team history.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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