HARTFORD WOLF PACK VS SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS CALDER CUP PLAYOFF PREVIEW 

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack has a familiar opponent for the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Behind three points from Chris Wagner and a four-goal third period, the Providence Bruins defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds 7-4 on Sunday afternoon. The loss locked the Thunderbirds into the fourth spot in the Atlantic division and will face the fifth-place Wolf Pack, who make their first appearance in the postseason in eight years. The Pack will now need to contend with goalie Joel Hofer who has had a fantastic season against the Wolf Pack.

The series begins Wednesday in Springfield. On Friday, the two teams travel down I-91 to the XL Center for Game Two in Hartford. If Game Three becomes necessary, it will be played Saturday in Springfield. All the games have their opening faceoff at 7:05 PM.

This is the second time in Hartford franchise history that the two cities have battled in a Best-of-Three series. The last time Springfield was known as the Falcons, they knocked them out in two straight in 2002.

However, this is the first time the two meet with Springfield as the Thunderbirds. Hartford has the series edge over the Falcons (2-1)  and in games (6-4). This is the fourth time the two cities have met in the playoffs in 26 years.

The last time the Wolf Pack was in the playoffs was May 15th, 2014. The series was against the Hershey Bears, and the Pack won Game 6, 6-3. That would be their last series win and the previous playoff series in eight years for the New York Rangers’ top minor league team. In that series, the two home dates were played in Worcester because of XL Center conflicts with the circus that spring. They were then swept by the eventual Calder Cup champs Manchester Monarchs in the Conference Finals in their last season in Manchester before the Pacific Division was created.

The Pack won another best-of-three when they eliminated Bridgeport beating the Sound Tigers behind two consecutive shutouts by Cam Talbot.

After 14 straight seasons of making the postseason, the Wolf Pack missed the playoffs for the first time in 2009-2010.

In four of the last five years with Ken Gernander behind the bench, the Wolf Pack missed the postseason, and overall it’s been 13 of the previous 14 years without playoffs in HartCity.

The Wolf Pack arrive in the playoffs after putting on a tremendous push over the final seven weeks of the regular season before clinching the last spot in the Atlantic Division. However, before the celebration of the achievement could even be felt, the Rangers recalled four essential cogs to the Wolf Pack machinery as forwards Jonny Brodzinski and Jake Leschyshyn, defenseman Libor Hájek, and goaltender Louie Domingue were recalled to be part of their Stanley Cup Black Aces.

Leschyshyn and Hájek were healthy scratches for the games on Friday and Saturday.

All four are important, but Brodzinski, the March AHL Player of the Month, is essential.

Brodzinski’s play, especially in third periods, willed his team out of its win-one, lose-one play. However, their play was excellent at the end of the season, winning their final eight games, the longest winning streak in two years.

The streak allowed the Wolf Pack to surpass the Bridgeport Islanders and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and plant the Wolf Pack flag as the sixth entrant in their division.

Brodzinski’s recalls leave him numerically short of league-wide MVP consideration because of games played, but it’s clear he was the MVP in Hartford.

Recalling these critical components of the roster will not make it any easier on Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch.

Brodzinski and Domingue have another year left on their contacts and will return. Leschyshyn has two more years on a one-way NHL money, paying him $775K yearly. Hájek has an expiring deal at the end of the season.

The Rangers have decided that having these four in the stands is more important than having them play the most meaningful games in Hartford in eight years.

Similarly, 31 years ago, the LA Kings airlifted seven prospects, seven weeks from the end of the season, to play for the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL). It effectively killed off any New Haven Nighthawks chances of making the Calder Cup playoffs.

With both of their parent teams out of the NHL playoffs, in Laval, the Montreal Canadiens received back Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who scored in the two minutes in his first game back,  as well as Cayden Primeau, and Sean Farrell, making The Rocket a team to be wary of as the Calder Cup playoffs start. The Tucson Roadrunners received five players from the Arizona Coyotes.

The old cliche about “next man up” and “creating opportunities for other players” comes to the forefront for the Wolf Pack. Someone must step up for those missing points with these three skaters gone. Dylan Garand will have big shoes to fill in Domingue’s absence. He will need to be at his best between the pipes.

The reconfigured lineup was on full display Friday with what is likely to be the lineup for the Springfield series.

Will Cullye, a significant beneficiary of playing with Brodzinski this year, will likely skate with Ryan Carpenter, almost a point-a-game player, and Will Lockwood, who provided offense down the stretch.

Tim Gettinger will likely stay on the second line on the left wing. He had no goals and six points last month until Friday night. Tanner Fritz and Lauri Pajuniemi will likely be pushed up to form a new troika.

Anton Blidh will likely stay as the solid third-line left-wing as a net-front nemesis, along with the reliable Karl Henriksson and likely Bobby Trivigno, who added so much spark when he played alongside Henriksson.

The fourth line should feature Matt Rempe, at the center, sidelined as a healthy scratch over the last eight games. His 6’8 presence plus faceoff skills will be critical in the short opening round series. Turner Elson will patrol the left side and can also take draws. He might be moved up to the first line. Anything is possible.

One of the younger kids, Adam Sýkora or Bryce McConnell-Barker, may get some time on the wing. Adam Edström made a strong case for himself with his NHL move and shot on his first goal.

Blake Hillman, like Rempe, saw little game activity by the end of the regular season. He could slide in for Hájek, The other pairings of Jones-Emberson and Clendening-Kalynuk will remain untouched.

In net, it’s Garand’s from here on in. He has performed very well this season. How the defense complies? The backup in the net will be Talyn Boyko.

POSSIBLE LINES:

Cullye-Lockwood-Carpenter
Gettinger-Fritz-Pajuniemi
Henriksson-Trivigno-Blidh
Elson-Rempe- Adam Sýkora or Adam Adam Edström (?)

Jones-Emberson
Blake Hillman-Scanlin
Clendening-Kalynuk

Garand
Boyko

SCRATCHES:

Brett Berard #27 (healthy)
Louie Roehl #4 (healthy)
Bryce McConnell-Barker #8 (healthy)
Easton Brodzinski #23 (healthy)
Matt Robertson (upper body, week-to-week)
Patrick Khordorenko (season-ending shoulder surgery)
C.J. Smith (hip area surgery done for the season)

NOTES:

Media reports from Sweden speculate that Pajuniemi and his reps are conversing with several Swedish Hockey League clubs for the Finnish winger’s services next year.

Pajuniemi has an expiring two-year ELC deal at $925K-NHL/$70K-AHL. He has had no recalls in two years at all.

One player not coming next year is junior prospect Jayden Grubbe. He’s the team captain of the Red Deer Rebels (WHL). He had 67 points (18 goals,49 assists, and 71 PIM). Grubbe was drafted in the third round (65th overall) in 2021 and will be passed on.

According to Eliotte Friedmann of TSN Sportsnet, the Rangers told all the other NHL organizations they would not offer him a contract and had a June 1st deadline to do so. So, as per the CBA, they will retain his rights till August 15th, then he can work out a free-agent deal with the other 31 NHL teams.

The Rebels finished first in the WHL Central Division 43-19-3-3  and are currently in the WHL playoffs awaiting their second-round opponent after knocking off the Calgary Hitmen in five games in the first round. Grubbe had one goal and 10 points in the series.

In four WHL seasons, the 20-year-old had 95 assists, 134 points in 194 games, and along with 195 PIM. He was a seventh overall pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft and was team captain for three of those four years.

He represented Canada on the U-17 World Championship team with another Rangers prospect, Brennan Othman, with three points in five games.

ROY SOMMER

San Diego Gulls head coach Roy Sommer, the all-time winningest coach in AHL history (828 wins) and who coached in the most games (1,814) in a career spanning over 25 years, announced his retirement before the team’s last game of the season.

Sommer won a Calder Cup with the original Maine Mariners in 1984. After that, he played for two years in the AHL.

During his playing days, two teammates were current Springfield GM, former Hartford Whaler player, and Rangers Director of Scouting, Kevin Maxwell. His other teammate, who would become the head coach that year after injuries, ended his career was AHL HOF John Paddock, who is now coaching Regina (WHL).

Sommer won the Louis A. Pieri AHL Coach of the Year in 2016-17 in San Jose.

One of the best Sommer stories is that he was one of the first true-born and bred California players in the mid-1970s. It was a generation before seeing California as a player’s hometown was common. He went to play junior hockey in the rough-and-tumble WHL in Western Canada.

Sommer started his hockey journey in 1978-79 as a member of the Pacific Hockey League (PHL) with the Spokane (WA) Flyers playing against the legendary Bill “Goldie” Goldthorpe.

At next year’s AHL All-Star game at the Tech CU Center in San Jose, he would be a fitting addition to be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. For the Oakland, CA native, it would be a home run. They should also induct Colorado resident and Wolf Pack all-time great Derek Armstrong.

Sommer teamed up with ex-Ranger, New England/Hartford Whalers Nick Fotiu as a coaching tandem with the Kentucky Thoroughblades for three years.

BERT MALLOY

Cheshire native and former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack player, now a dual citizen, Robert “Bert” Malloy, began playing for the Australian National Team in the IIHF Division II Group A tournament in Madrid, Spain, for what is likely his last season of pro hockey.

The Mighty Roo (their national team’s name) lost their opening game to Croatia 6-4.

After falling behind 4-0, they made it close twice, first 4-3 and then 5-4, but couldn’t overcome the early, large deficit. Former AHL’er Borna Rendulic scored twice for Croatia.

Malloy was a minus-one with two shots on goal for the game.

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

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