BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The world of professional hockey never sleeps. Being past the NHL Draft and initial free agent frenzy means the fine-tuning is underway.
Meanwhile, in Hartford, the reunion of Hartford Whalers at the annual event at Dunkin Donuts Park by the Yard Goats drew a multitude of ex-players and plenty of fans.
From his home in Florida, Dave Keon sent a thoughtful, heartfelt video message to his former teammates and fans.
The Yard Goats hope to add more names next year as Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson couldn’t attend this year because Francis’s daughter was getting married.
70-year-old Nick Fotiu, who played for both the New England and Hartford Whalers, the Rangers, and at three separate times played and was an assistant coach in New Haven, and was also an assistant coach for the Hartford Wolf Pack, was unable to come. However, his grandson was graduating from the NYC police academy. He hopes to return to attending next year.
The Staten Island-born Fotiu still maintains his home in Cape Cod.
Mark Howe, now retired as the head of scouting for Detroit, may join his brother Marty next year, a resident who has been an attendee for the annual event.
Sean Burke was to attend. He now is in a scouting role after leaving Montreal for Las Vegas, where he joins old Whaler teammate Jim McKenzie, who couldn’t make it.
SCHEDULING
The unified 72-game AHL schedule for 2022-23 was unveiled last week.
Hartford opens on the road with a two-game set in Charlotte on October 14 and 15 and will play in the eight-team Atlantic Division.
They open up at home a week later with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The day after Thanksgiving, they are in Bridgeport and play host to Springfield on New Year’s Eve at 5:30.
The schedule features three new Central Division teams Grand Rapids, Rockford, and Milwaukee.
Milwaukee arrives on December 9th and marks its first appearance since February 14th, 2003. They now play in a new arena, the Panther Arena, as the Bradley Center is gone. Grand Rapids travels in the next night and haven’t seen the XL Center since January 2nd, 2009, and they play Rockford a week before, on December 2nd, for the first time.
Laval and Belleville have been dropped from their schedule.
Tim Gettinger’s new deal of one year was announced as a one-year two-way at $750K-NHL/$125K-AHL.
Rangers added depth and experience in signing C.J. Smith from the defending Calder Cup champs, Chicago Wolves, at one year and one-way money of $750K.
Ex-Pack Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/The Gunn School) signs with Texas (AHL).
Kasperi Kapanen, son of former Whaler Sami Kapanen, signs a two-year extension with Pittsburgh for $3.2M per released terms.
Wolf Pack spare goalie the last two years, François Brassard, heads to Providence, getting a two-way (AHL-ECHL) deal and likely end up in Maine (Portland).
Joining him is the recently re-signed ex-Pack of one game, the last game before the pandemic hit three years ago, Connor Bleackley.
Ex-Pack Terrance Wallin (The Gunn School) was named the Mariners’ new coach replacing ex-Sound Tiger Ben Guite, who took the job at D3 small Ivy at Bowdoin College (NESCAC).
Tyce Thompson, the youngest son of ex-Pack and current Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson, signed a two-year extension. The deal is split $750K -NHL /$125K-AHL his first year and one-way money at $775K his second year.
The Bridgeport Islanders have joined the big goalie craze signing 6’8 Finnish Islanders, a 7th-round draft choice last year. Henrik Tikkanen (MODO Sweden-SHL).
They did sign from Saint John (QMJHL) undrafted Vincent Sévigny, son ex-Pack Pierre Sévigny, and re-signed an old defenseman from two years ago, Ryan MacKinnon, who split last year between Lehigh Valley/ Reading (ECHL).
AHL CALGARY GETS A NAME
The Calgary AHL franchise has a name, the Wranglers.
It adopted the name of the WHL team of yesteryear (1977-1985) when the franchise was a junior team and moved to Billings, MT, becoming the Bighorns. That lasted five years before being sold and moved again.
The logo is a sharp red W with a flame at the bottom. It honors their western cowboy roots early days of the franchise in Atlanta. The team was in Stockton as the Heat for five years, and its eighth version of an AHL team started in Maine in the early 1990s.
Among the first signees was Alberta native Brett Sutter, the son of Darryl Sutter, the Calgary Flames head coach. He is the tenth Sutter to play pro hockey.
The original junior team name was the Centennials from 1967-1977, the last year of the WCHL before it became the WHL.
Junior hockey returned to Calgary when professional wrestler Brett “The Hitman” Hart, a Calgary native, lent his money and his Hitman moniker to the franchise in 1995, which it still is.
The first year of junior hockey, then the WCMHL, was 1966. The team, for one year, was called the Buffaloes. The WHA team lasted two years (1975-77) and was the Cowboys.
The new Springfield GM and St. Louis scout is Connecticut resident and former Rangers Director of Pro Scouting for the last 12 years, Kevin Maxwell, 62.
Maxwell played in NHL for three teams Minnesota, the Colorado Rockies, and New Jersey, and worked as a scout, Director of Pro Scouting, and assistant coach for the Whalers for four years, North Stars, Devils, Flyers, Dallas, and the Islanders.
His son Chase (Xavier HS) plays for the CT Junior Rangers (NCDC). His eldest son, Jackson, played club hockey for Springfield College (ACHA Division-III), followed in his footsteps, and is a scout for Toronto.
Former Nighthawk Sylvain Couturier is hired as the new GM by the Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL). After twenty years, he leaves Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) from the other side of the province.
Former New Haven Senator Jake Grimes has left Cape Breton as head coach for the University of Waterloo (OUAA) next season as their new bench boss.
Former UCONN player Ben Freeman signs with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. In addition, ex-Sound Tiger Robert “Bobo” Carpenter signs a one-year deal with Florida (ECHL).
Defenseman Zack Malik split last season in the Czech Republic (Czechia) Division-2 with his former Whaler, Springfield Indians, Ranger, and Beast New Haven father Marek, an assistant coach with HC Frydek-Mistek and HK Dukla Jihlava, heads to FPS (Finland Mestis Divison-2).
Nick Bochen of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) transfers to Bentley University (AHA).
UCONN gets another transfer from Vermont (HE) in Andrew Lucas. In addition, the team’s first-ever Finnish commit, they get Samu Salminen from the Jokerit U-20 team, who is eligible for the Finnish 2023 WJC team to take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick.
That makes for 102 school transfers that we know of and 103 grad transfers for a total of 205 this off-season.
Over 100 players remain in the transfer portal. Hockey East has seen 50 players sign pro deals, and NCHC and CCHA have had 32 each.
The Big 10 has 28, ECACHL 23, the AHA 17, and NCAA Independents with 12.
71 AHL’ers have signed overseas, with Russia leading the way with 16, Sweden with 13, Germany with nine, and Switzerland and Finland with eight each.
26 of 31 teams have lost at least one player.
Ex-Pack Nick Merkley departs Hartford, and John Gilmour leaves CSKA Moscow (Russia-KHL), both head for Dynamo Minsk (Belarus-KHL).
Chase Harwell (Southbury/Selects Academy at South Kent Prep) finished his Canadian college hockey career at Concordia University (OUAA) in Montreal after five years of major junior in Quebec.
He signed with Norfolk (ECHL) at the end of last season signs with Como (Italy Division-2) for next season.
The WJC camp resumed from the postponed December tournament to be held next week in Edmonton rostershaves been finalized.
The Canadian team will feature Ranger draftees Will Cullye and Brennan Othmann, but Chase Stillman, the grandson of former Nighthawk and Springfield Indian Bud Stefanski, was cut.
Ridley Greig, the son of former Hartford Whaler Mark Greig, made the final cut.
Future Wolf Pack goalie Dylan Garand was named to the team. Future possible Bridgeport Islander William Dufour was also selected.
One of the camp coaches is ex-Springfield Indian Brad Lauer from last year’s WHL champion, the Edmonton Oil Kings, who was just hired as an assistant coach by Winnipeg (NHL).
Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Ted Donato has bowed out of the US WJC team as one of its assistants, and Grant Potulny, former Springfield Falcon and brother of ex-Pack Ryan and head coach of Northern Michigan (CCHA), will take his place.
Rangers draftee Brett Berard (Providence College-HE) is the lone Ranger team rep. Matt “Mackie” Samokevich (Newtown) from Michigan (Big 10) program is also on the team.
The Czechia (Czech Republic) squad has David Spacek, the son of former Beast of New Haven Jaroslav Spacek.
The Rangers’ first draft pick from last month’s draft in Montreal, Adam Sýkorais, on the Slovakian team along with Rayen Petrovický, son of former Whaler/Ranger Róbert Petrovický.
Finland has Bridgeport’s Aatu Raty and Oliver Kapanen, nephew of former Whaler Sami Kapanen.
Austria has Senna Peters in his last junior level tournament. He is a former player from the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep and will be with HC Innsbruck (IceHL) in the fall.
Former Whaler Brad Shaw has left Vancouver and been named the new assistant coach in Philadelphia.
While embroiled in international controversy and intrigue lately, Taiwan, known as Chinese Taipei to appease mainland Chinese sentiment, had a big hockey win to celebrate.
The U-20 squad team had an exciting 5-4 overtime win over host Mexico in the central Mexican town of Queretaro at the Lakeside Ice Rink and won the IIHF U-20 Division III title, earning a promotion to Division II Group B Division in 2023. This is after establishing the program just 12 years ago in a country with just three rinks on the island nation.
The game-winner came off the stick Hung-Li Chou on a two-on-one with his tourney-leading tenth goal. He scored early after host Mexico had tied the score late with an extra attacker with a minute left in regulation on the powerplay.
Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) was the tournament Cindrella’s. They beat Mexico in the preliminary round in OT and Israel in OT in the semi-final by the count of 6-5 on a Chou goal.
Australia won bronze by beating Israel 1-0 as Ethan Hawes had the only goal. Israeli Mike Levin (16 points) was the tourney’s leading scorer.
