FROM THE CREASE with BRUCE BERLET 

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, CT. – The newest Connecticut Whale player, University of Michigan left wing/captain Carl Hagelin, circled the team’s XL Center locker room early Wednesday afternoon, extending his right hand to introduce himself.

Hagelin, fresh off exit meetings with his Wolverine teammates after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA title game Saturday night, didn’t know any of his new teammates except one, injured right wing Chad Kolarik.

“He texted me after he knew I was coming here,” said Hagelin, who hadn’t attended any Rangers training camps because of injuries. “It’s good to have someone you know. It’s going to make it a lot easier.”

Kolarik smiled and said, “Just wanted to make sure he was doing all right.”

Hagelin, the New York Rangers’ sixth-round pick in 2007, was a freshman when Kolarik was the senior captain the last time the Wolverines reached the NCAA Frozen Four, losing 5-4 in overtime to Notre Dame in the semifinals.

The loss Saturday was harder for Hagelin to stomach because it was his last collegiate game.

“It was obviously devastating the last three days,” Hagelin said. “(Tuesday) we were looking at a video from the game, and it’s tough to see that last goal go in in overtime. I said goodbye to a lot of guys, but I’ll be going back for graduation on April 28th. I just had a few words for the team for next season and then had a nice chat with Coach (Red Berenson) before heading here. I’m excited to get going.”

Hagelin was scheduled to practice with the Whale on Wednesday, but getting blood work and other things done in Ann Arbor, Mich., took a little longer than expected. So Hagelin spent three days with his former team, hopped on a plane in Detroit at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and arrived at the XL Center as the Whale was finishing practice and preparing to board the team bus for the ride to Portland, Maine, for the Atlantic Division best-of-seven, first-round series opener Thursday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Kolarik gave Hagelin a quick tour of his new surroundings and had him sign for his per diem and choice of meal for the team dinner Wednesday night in Portland. Then they had a team lunch and shared some friendly jabs with goalie/Whale MVP Dov Grumet-Morris about attending and playing at Michigan and Harvard.

The speedy, 6-foot, 185-pound Hagelin from Sodertalje, Sweden, was the seventh young player to sign with the Rangers the last few weeks. Most signed amateur tryout contracts because they still have college or junior eligibility, but Hagelin signed an entry-level contract after he had 18 goals and 31 assists in 44 games this season. That came after getting 18 goals and 32 assists in 45 games as a junior, and he finished his Michigan career with 61 goals and 91 assists in 172 games as the Wolverines qualified the NCAA tournament all four seasons.

But the end came suddenly and sadly for Hagelin when UMD’s Kyle Schmidt streaked down the slot, took a pass from Travis Oleksuk and scored 3:32 into extra time.

“We didn’t play our best game, might have been a little tired from (beating) North Dakota,” Hagelin said. “But they got a lot of power plays (10 to the Wolverines’ five), and you get a bit more tired when you have to kill that many penalties.”

Then there was the disallowed goal only 4:20 into the game after Hagelin and Chris Brown jammed the puck away from goalie Kenny Reiter and into the net.

“(The referee) said he intended to blow the whistle, but people who watched the game said the puck was over the (goal) line when he blew it,” Hagelin said.

But Hagelin & Co. took satisfaction from the Wolverines rallying from a 9-5-4 start before the “Big Chill at the Big House Game” in which they routed Michigan State 5-0 before an all-time hockey record 104,173 fans. That was about five times the AHL’s largest crowd, 21,673 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on Feb. 19 for the Whale’s 5-4 loss to the Providence Bruins.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Hagelin, who majored in sports management. “We skated there the entire week, and when we stepped on the ice, it was packed. And I had a lot of Swedish fans who were watching, too.”

The Wolverines closed on a 20-5 run, including a stretch of 12 wins in 13 starts, to win the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title. Hagelin likely won’t play for the Whale until he has a few practices, but Kolarik had a definite opinion after watching some Wolverines games.

“He should get into a game,” Kolarik said. “He’ll help the team out for sure. He’s really good in his own zone and was named the best defensive forward in the CCHA this season. And he’s a fast, skilled guy. He played on the second line when he was a freshman.”

“(Kolarik’s) line was a good line to look up to,” Hagelin said.

Hagelin’s teammates at Michigan also included former New Canaan High and Taft-Watertown standout Max Pacioretty, who was sidelined with a several concussion and fractured vertebrae when checked into a stanchion by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on March 9. Pacioretty has resumed skating, but it’s not known when he might be able to return.

“He also was on the first line when I was a freshman,” Hagelin said. “(The Chara check) was tough to see. It was tough to see an old friend like that get hurt.”

If Hagelin wants any other advice, he could chat with defenseman Wade Redden, who will be participating in his 20^th playoffs from midgets to the NHL. The only time Redden has missed the playoffs is 2000 with Ottawa, 2005 in the lockout season and last year, when the Rangers failed to qualify when they lost a shootout in the 82^nd and final game to the Philadelphia Flyers, who advanced to the finals, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime of Game 6.

“The playoffs are different every time with different teams, different situations,” Redden said. “But it’s always the best time of year to be playing because it’s what you play for. It’s no fun going home after 80 games, so the most important thing this time of year is to play it smart and hard every shift. Momentum can change so quickly, and you don’t want to have an off shift and give team life. It can change the whole series in some regards.

“You’re always looking ahead because you’re always going to have ups and downs. You’re going to win games and lose some for sure, so you’ve just to keep moving forward. I think everyone knows what they’ve got to do, but it’s that attitude of coming and expecting anything. But it’s all about having fun because it’s best time to be playing, so you just want to go and leave it all on the ice. It’s not always going to go our way, but the big thing is to be ready for some ups, except them and be ready to battle back.”

The Whale were 5-3-0-0 against the Pirates, but six games were decided by one goal, with the Whale winning three times in overtime. The Whale won three of four at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, with their only loss being a 3-0 shutout on Jan. 14.

So playoff goals are like what that MasterCard ad says: priceless.

“You can’t give them any free opportunities,” Redden said. “Tight checking is obviously so important this time of year, so we need everyone playing that way. One goal could change a game or change the series, so you want to be ready for anything.”

Redden didn’t play in either of the Whale’s last two games, losses to Bridgeport and Norfolk, as coach Ken Gernander rested some veteran players who are certain to get plenty of ice time in all situations. After a day off Monday, Redden said the team had several good practices and seemed ready to go.

“You can just feel that everyone is excited,” Redden said. “You can just feel the guys are focused and looking forward to it.”

Other players who signed amateur tryout contracts are goalie Jason Missiaen, defenseman Dylan McIlrath, the Rangers’ first-round pick (10^th overall) in 2010 and forwards Tommy Grant, Kale Kerbashian, Shayne Wiebe and Andrew Yogan, who had two goals and an assist in his first two pro games.

But Boston College left wing Chris Kreider, the Rangers’ top-ranked prospect, will return for his junior year and not sign an entry-level contract after missing the last six weeks of this season with a broken jaw sustained when struck by a puck midway through a 4-0 victory over New Hampshire on Feb. 4. The loss of Kreider, the Rangers’ first-round pick (19^th overall) in 2009, hurt the Eagles’ chance to repeat as national champion. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound wing turns 20 on April 30, and many believe he is physically ready for the pros. … Kreider’s BC teammate, junior forward Cam Atkinson of Greenwich, lost the Hobey Baker Award to Miami of Ohio forward Andy Miele, whose 71 points led the NCAA in scoring. Atkinson had 31 goals and 21 assists this season before signing an entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets and getting three goals and two assists in five games with the Springfield Falcons. That included the game-winning goal in his pro debut, a 3-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on April 1, and a goal and an assist in a 6-2 victory the Whale the next night.

BOTH TEAMS MISSING KEY PERSONNEL

The Pirates, who closed the season with seven games in nine days, will be without their top goalie (Jhonas Enroth), top defenseman (Eddie Shore Award winner Marc-Andre Gragnani), top forward (All-AHL right wing Mark Mancari) and center/captain Matt Ellis, all of whom are with the parent Buffalo Sabres, who qualified for the NHL playoffs. Meanwhile, the Whale will be without goalie Chad Johnson, defenseman Ryan McDonagh and wing Mats Zuccarrello, who are on recall to the playoff Rangers, and the injured Kolarik and defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who didn’t make the trip to Maine because he still can’t hold his stick.

Mancari (32 goals, 32 assists) and Gragnani (12, 48) were the Pirates’ No. 1 and 3 scorers. Center Luke Adam, the third consecutive Pirates player to be named AHL rookie of the year, is the remaining top scorer with 29 goals and 33 assists, followed by centers Paul Byron (26, 27) and Mark Parrish (17, 34) and left wings Derek Whitmore (27, 20) and Colin Stuart (16, 27). While Enroth, Gragnani, Mancari and Ellis (10, 21) are missing, the Pirates have been helped by the recent return of two injured tough guys, defenseman Tim Conboy (0, 12, team-high 233 penalty minutes) and forward Travis Turnbull (5, 4, 28 PIM in 20 games). Wings Dennis McCauley (12, 21) and Maxime Legault (12, 12) are day-to-day with injuries. With Enroth in Buffalo, the goaltending is being handled by David Leggio (22-12-0, 2.80, .911, three shutouts), Jeff Jakaitis (4-1-1, 3.19, .904) and John Muse, who earned his first pro victory by making 33 saves in regulation and stopping four of five shots in a shootout Saturday night.

Gernander said it shouldn’t matter who is or isn’t in the lineup.

“I don’t think you finish checks on one particular player and not another particular player,” he said. “Obviously some players bring a little different skill set than others, but that doesn’t change our team game, and I think individually we want to play everyone as hard as we can. We don’t check differently based on personnel.

“With the teams having played so many close games, the key is to make sure you eliminate all the little mistakes because in tight games there are no little mistakes in one-goal games. We don’t necessarily have to play it close to the vest, but we have to be disciplined and make sound plays in all areas of our game.”

The teams last met in the playoffs in 2008, when the Pirates won 4-1 in the first round. The Pirates also prevailed in the 2006 division finals in six games, while the Wolf Pack won the 2004 division semifinals in five games.

Every hockey fan in the Hartford area knows of the grit and competitiveness of Pirates coach Kevin Dineen, a former Whalers right wing and captain who is one of only eight NHL players to have more than 300 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. But assistant Eric Weinrich, a former Whalers defenseman who played at the University of Maine, is also an 18-year NHL veteran and participated in nine world championships, the most of any American-born player.

AMAZING BREAKOUT SEASON FOR WETHERSFIELD NATIVE

Wethersfield native and Oklahoma City Barons right wing Colin McDonald started the season with 34 goals in 226 career AHL games but had 42 goals in 80 games to win the Willie Marshall Award as the league’s top goal-scorer.

McDonald, whose previous pro high for goals was 12, won the award dramatically when he scored with 2:32 left in regulation in the season finale, a 6-3 loss at Houston, to finish one ahead of former Wolf Pack wing Nigel Dawes of the Hamilton Bulldogs. And McDonald did it after turning down a day off to go for the scoring title. Ironically, he and Dawes will go against each other in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs starting Thursday night in Hamilton.

“At times I almost have to pinch myself that this is happening,” McDonald said via cell phone as he and his teammates were on their way to Hamilton. “It has been some crazy stuff after what happened the last three seasons.”

With five Barons on recall to the parent Edmonton Oilers, McDonald and veteran linemates Brad Moran and former Wolf Pack wing and AHL MVP Alexandre Giroux were asked to step up even more down the stretch by first-year coach Todd Nelson, an assistant coach with the Atlanta Thrashers the previous two seasons. The trio did just that, especially McDonald, who had 10 goals in the last seven goals, including six in three games last weekend that earned him Reebok/AHL Player of the Week and the Barons a spot in the playoffs.

McDonald, a second-round pick of the Oilers in 2003 after playing at Wethersfield High and Providence College, had a career-high four goals in a 7-2 victory at San Antonio on Friday night and one goal in a playoff-clinching, 2-0 victory at Dallas on Saturday night. Then came the award-winning goal and two assists Sunday, when Moran and Giroux, who won the league scoring title the last two seasons, sat out.

“It was a great thing for him and for our team,” Nelson told The Oklahoman. “It was important for him that he have the chance, and he really came through.”

McDonald knew he might not have a chance like that again and appreciated all that Nelson had done for him this season after he had to play for three different coaches in three seasons with the Springfield Falcons, who failed to make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.

“From Day One, (Nelson) gave me an opportunity to play on the top line, and I feel fortunate to have been able to produce with Giroux and Moran,” said MacDonald, who led the league in power-play goals with 19. “With the way the game has changed, the power play is important, and they gave me a chance and I did it the old-fashioned way standing in front.

“I didn’t play any different than I did the last three years, but I took more chances. I’ve always been able to score, but (Nelson) showed trust in me, and I knew I could try things and not get benched. I played in every situation – power play, penalty kill, shootout, 5-on-5, 4-on-4. Before I had been told by Edmonton that I was a third- and fourth-liner, a shutdown guy, which was fine. Then I got called up, scored in my second game, was sent back and never called up again.

“Getting only an AHL contract last summer was a little disheartening, but it also gave me some incentive. I was 25 years old, and it was a reality check. I wasn’t looking to get called up (this season), just have a good season, and I was pretty consistent. It’s fun scoring goals.”

It also was fun qualifying for the postseason for the first time.

“Making the playoffs and having a major role made this season special,” McDonald said. “Now I just hope it continues in the playoffs.”

The Barons have been helped by the return of defenseman Jeff Petry and forwards Chris VandeVelde, Ryan O’Marra, Temmu Hartikainen and Linus Omark from the Oilers, but they’ll still be counting most on McDonald, Giroux and Moran, who combined for 208 points.

“They’re talented players, and I think it helps their lineup,” Dawes told The Canadian Press.

Gerry McDonald, the general manager of Gengras Volvo-Lincoln Mercury in East Hartford and GM of Gengras Volvo in Meriden, saw Colin play several times this season and will be in Hamilton for the start of the playoffs.

“An amazing season, not like his father,” Gerry, a defensive defenseman in his playing days, said with a chuckle. “It just goes to show you what happens when you have someone who believes in you. It was a great situation for Colin after three years of bad coaches. Todd kept Colin real grounded, and I’m really happy for him. He’s a hard-working guy who does a tremendous job of keeping himself in shape and being a solid citizen off the ice. That’s really important, and it finally paid off for him.”

CAPUANO GET EXTENSION FROM ISLANDERS

Congratulations to Jack Capuano on being named the New York Islanders’ full-time coach on Tuesday.

Capunao was promoted from the Sound Tigers on Nov. 15, replacing Scott Gordon, while the Islanders were in the throes of a horrific 1-17-2-1 slide that buried them in the Atlantic Division cellar. But after starting 1-8-2 as interim coach, Capunao led the Islanders to a 25-21-8 record, including 15-12-6 after the All-Star break with newly acquired former Wolf Pack Al Montoya in goal down the stretch. He was 133-100-8-14 the previous 31/2 seasons with the Sound Tigers.

“I think first of all, you come in and you don’t want to change a whole lot right away,” Capunano said in a conference call. “It was an easy transition because I had most of these guys in Bridgeport and felt I could get the maximum potential out of these guys. In the second half we did that. I didn’t once ever really think of the future. My goal was to move forward, try to win hockey games and get the team into the postseason.

“In the AHL, it’s more about developing your players. Here, I know for sure you don’t lose track of the teaching side of it, but the bottom line is to win hockey games, and that’s what we plan on doing.”

Despite a strong stretch run behind Montoya (9-5-5, 2.39 goals-against average, .921 save percentage, one shutout in 21 games), the Islanders didn’t make the playoffs but finished sixth in the Atlantic Division and 14^th in the Eastern Conference despite losing more than 600 man-games to injuries. Among those with long-term injuries were goalie Rick DiPietro, right wing Kyle Okposo and defensemen Mark Streit and former Wolf Pack Mike Mottau.

But like the Rangers, they have a young nucleus that features John Tavares (29, 38), Michael Grabner (34, 18), Matt Moulson (31, 22), Blake Comeau (24, 22), Frans Nielsen (13, 31), defenseman Andrew McDonald (4, 23) and Okposo (5, 15), who missed the first 44 games with a shoulder injury. Former Wolf Pack right wing P.A. Parenteau had 20 goals and 33 assists as one of the new veterans on the team.

“Jack took over a team that really lacked in confidence,” Islanders general manager Garth Snow said. “I thought he did a tremendous job communicating with the players. I thought Jack had a really good familiarity with most of the players in the locker room since he coached a lot of them in the minors. He took over a team that was really down in the dumps emotionally and mentally and did an excellent job getting the most out of our players.

“There was not one particular moment by any means, but when you’re around the team on a day-to-day basis and you see the confidence the players display not only in games but practices, it was really a fun team to be around from December on. Despite the injuries that we had to key players, the guys played at an extremely high level.”

AHL SCHEDULE REDUCED TO 76 GAMES, EXTENDED ONE WEEK

The AHL announced Wednesday that its board of governors has approved the schedule for next season will be reduced from 80 to 76 games and extended one week, eliminating four games in five nights. The first round of the playoffs will be reduced to a best-of-five series.

“As our league has grown in recent years, we have been working closely with the National Hockey League and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association to seek a solution to what has become a very onerous playing schedule,” AHL president and CEO David Andrews said in a statement. “As our league has grown and our game has become faster and more physical, the wear and tear on our players has begun to affect player development and at times the quality of competition. These steps are intended to provide a safer environment for our players through increased rest and recovery time, and also to provide our fans with an even higher caliber of play as a result of reduced player fatigue.”

Gernander liked the changes.

“I’m all for eliminating four games in five days,” he said. “You have some guys who really battle and pay the price and slug it out, so four-in-five does a lot. And you have some guys are perimeter players and kind of bide their time and look great on Sunday. The other part of the equation is you’re here to develop your skills and other things, but sometimes you’ve got to gut it out, too. So there is that aspect, but I think over the course of the season, too many four-in-fives take its toll on teams. I think it will make for better hockey.” … Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie Brad Thiessen, winner of the Baz Bastien Award as the AHL’s top goaltender (35-8-1, 1.94, .922, seven shutouts), is the first to win more than 30 games and lose fewer than 10 since the Wolf Pack’s Jason LaBarbera in 2003-04 (34-9-9). The Penguins open the playoffs against Norfolk on Friday night. … The Toronto Marlies were extended past regulation 17 times, with 16 ending in a shootout (6-10). They were the only team without an overtime win (0-1), while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was the only team without an overtime loss (4-0). That helped the Penguins to a 28-11-0-1 record away from Mohegan Sun Arena, which tied the 2007-08 Providence Bruins’ AHL record for most road wins in a season. … The Pirates had nine shootout victories (9-2), which enabled them to win the Atlantic Division title. They finished four points ahead of Manchester, which was 1-6 in shootouts. … Abbotsford tied a league record with 11 shootout wins (11-6), becoming the fifth team to reach that mark. … All eight Western Conference playoff teams finished with at least 85 points. Since 2007-08, only two of 31 West Division team have finished a season with a points percentage below .500. … Binghamton had the AHL’s top-rated power play (22.8 percent) for the second time in three years. … Average league attendance was 5,379, a 5.5 percent increase. The Whale ranked 12^th at 5,659, which was a 35.1 percent increase over their all-time low 4,188 that was 28^th last season and the highest average since 5,845 in 2002-03. Bolstered by a name change on Nov. 27 and an AHL-record 21,673 at the Whale Bowl at Rentschler Field in East Hartford on Feb. 19, the Whale’s average increased from 3,466 for the first 11 home games to 6,540 the last 29. They haven’t averaged at least 6,540 since 6,714 in 2001-02.

RANGERS CAPTAIN DRURY HAS MESSAGE FOR YOUNG TEAMMATES

Rangers captain/Trumbull native Chris Drury scored another dramatic goal on his first shift Saturday in his first game in 28 since Feb. 3, a 5-2 victory that kept the Black-and-Blueshirts’ playoff chances alive. Tampa Bay’s 6-2 rout of Carolina on Saturday night assured the Rangers wouldn’t miss the postseason for the second consecutive year.

Wednesday night, Drury and the Rangers opened their Eastern Conference first-round series against the top-seeded Washington Capitals and star Alex Ovechkin, who ended the season on a 16-2-1 run. Before the puck was dropped, Drury had played in 130 playoff games, which was 129 more than teammates Derek Stepan, Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust and former Wolf Pack/Whale players Michael Sauer, Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, Matt Gilroy and Chad Johnson combined.

So Drury, who helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2001, had a definitive message to his youthful teammates, who are the longest odds in the 16-team playoffs at 35-to-1 in Las Vegas.

“Whether you’re a young guy or a veteran, whether this is your first time in the playoffs or have been through this before, you can never take it for granted,” Drury told Larry Brooks of the New York Post. “My first two years in the league in Colorado, we lost to Dallas in the seventh game of the conference finals both times. The next year we won the Cup, and I remember thinking that this must be the way it is. But it isn’t, and you learn that pretty quickly.

“I’ll never forget (defenseman) Adam Foote telling me the first week of my rookie season that by the time you blink, you’re already 30, so not to take anything for granted for even a second. That couldn’t be more true; it goes by so fast. That’s what I’ve tried to tell our young guys, that they should enjoy this and embrace this opportunity.” … The Rangers made the unusual move of sending home left wing/enforcer Derek Boogaard, who hadn’t played since sustaining a concussion in a fight on Dec. 9. Boogaard, who had one goal, one assist in 100 minutes in 22 games, had started to skate on his own and participated in several optional morning skates in the middle of March even though a return before next season had been ruled out. Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather didn’t elaborate on the departure of Boogaard to the New York media. Boogaard has three years at $1.625 million per year remaining on the free-agent contract that he signed July 1 after leaving the Minnesota Wild. … The Rangers will open next season with two games in Stockholm, Sweden, against playoff teams, the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 7 and the Los Angeles Kings and standout goalie Jonathan Quick of Hamden on Oct. 8. With Madison Square Garden shut down through late October for reconstruction, the Rangers will be on the road for the exhibition season and first month of the regular season. The Rangers are expected to play a few preseason games in Europe after several in the United States. The start of the 2011-12 season will be especially enjoyable for standout goalie Henrik Lundqvist, a native of Sweden.

“It’s going to be very exciting,” Lundqvist said. “I heard some talk about it the last few weeks, and to go to Sweden for a couple of games and maybe go to Gothenburg (for an exhibition game), that’s my hometown, that would be very special. But that’s next year. I can think about it and enjoy it over the summer. Now we get ready for (the playoffs).” … Rugged left wing Lane MacDermid, son of former Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, was one of 10 players that the Boston Bruins called up from the Providence Bruins, who didn’t make the AHL playoffs. Goalie Anton Khudobin and forwards Matt Bartkowski and Steven Kampfer were the only players to report to the NHL Bruins, who play Montreal Canadiens in the first round. The others will remain in Providence to train with the P-Bruins coaching staff. MacDermid, a fourth-round pick in 2009, had seven goals, 12 assists and 158 penalty minutes in 78 games this season.