Patrick WilliamsFeatures Writer for TheAHL.com
Several NHL teams are making sure their AHL members will be full when the Calder Cup Playoffs open next week.
Eleven teams are already on their way to the AHL postseason with an NHL parent team that is not in the Stanley Cup Playoffs – Bridgeport, Charlotte, Cleveland, Coachella Valley, Grand Rapids, Hershey, Manitoba, Milwaukee, San Jose, Springfield and Toronto.
Some of those NHL organizations have already begun to strengthen their AHL organizations. And with the NHL regular season ending on Thursday, there could be more action. Here are the moves that have already been made:
The Bridgeport Islanders
Fourth in the Atlantic Division, the Islanders will enter the postseason with their parent team’s season completed. They went forward Viktor Eklund, Liam Foudy again Cal Ritchie and the protector Isaiah George coming back from Long Island. Ritchie, 21, was a 2023 first-round pick by Colorado who came to New York in a trade last season and had 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 62 NHL games this season. Eklund, another first round pick, just returned from making his NHL debut on Tuesday night; scored a goal in Bridgeport’s 5-2 win at Hartford on Wednesday to give him 10 points (three goals, seven assists) through eight AHL games.
Foudy, with 26 goals, and George were also regular players for Bridgeport. Next up is a stop at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday followed by the regular season finale at Hershey on Saturday before it’s time for the postseason.
Charlotte Checkers
The reigning Eastern Conference champions were well represented in Florida’s 8-1 season win over Detroit on Wednesday, Michael Benning scoring his first two NHL goals, too Wilmer Skoog (2a), Marek Alscher (2a), Ludwig Jansson (1a) again Mikulas Hovorka (1a) to get the score sheet again.
All five players, once Tobias Bjornfotthey were sent back to Charlotte on Thursday. The Checkers locked up third place in the Atlantic Division, and will host Bridgeport, Hershey or Springfield in a best-of-three series next week.
Coachella Valley Firebirds
High hopes ahead Oscar Fisker Mølgaard between the Seattle Kraken and Coachella Valley by different points this season. Now he can settle in with the Firebirds after Seattle re-delivered him on Tuesday during the game against the San Jose Barracuda. It was Fisker Mølgaard’s first AHL contest since March 22, and he had an assist to give him 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 47 games in his first AHL season.
Forward Jani Nymanwho has 21 goals in 38 Coachella Valley games to go with 12 assists, moved up to the Kraken on Tuesday, but will be eligible to return to the Coachella Valley. With Kraken missing three strikers, Nikke Kokko again Victor Östman they have been pressed into the NHL career of late. Seattle’s season ends Thursday night in Colorado, and the top two scorers are eligible to return to the Coachella Valley.
The Firebirds, who travel to San Diego on Saturday and host Abbotsford on Sunday, have a chance to finish as high as third in the Pacific Division.
The Grand Rapids Griffins
Grand Rapids’ push to the postseason includes going forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Carter Mazur again Dominik Shineand the protector Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
The Central Division champions close with road games against Milwaukee and Cleveland before awaiting their semifinal opponent.
The Hershey Bears
Ivan MiroshnichenkoA first AHL outing since March 3 gave the Bears a boost Wednesday night, as his power-play goal helped the visitors to a 5-1 postseason victory in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 22-year-old has 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 39 games for Hershey and three points (two goals, one assist) in 13 games with the Washington Capitals.
Joining Miroshnichenko where he was again given Washington were goals Clay Stevenson and AHL All-Rookie forward Ilya Protas. Protas, who leads the AHL in rookie scoring with 64 points (28 goals, 36 assists) in 67 games, scored his first NHL goal last Saturday against the Capitals. Stevenson got the start Wednesday and made 32 saves to move him to 17-12-3 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in 35 games.
Hershey is trying to get past Bridgeport for home field advantage in the first round game. Along with the game against the Islanders this Saturday, they will also host the Rochester Americans on Sunday.
The Laval Rocket
While the Montreal Canadiens are going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs again, the Rockets are still getting help from last season. Montreal was reassigned to the front Vincent Rohrer from his Swiss team, the ZSC Lions, to the Rockets on Wednesday. Rohrer, taken by the Habs in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft, had 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 41 games for the Zurich club. He has 142 regular season games in three seasons in one of Europe’s top leagues.
The protector David Reinbacher He made his NHL debut with Montreal on Sunday, but is eligible to return to the Rockets.
Laval, three points ahead of North Division-leading Syracuse Crunch, has two road games in Toronto this weekend.
Utica Comets
Still alive going into the final weekend, the Utica Comets got some great players after the New Jersey Devils ended their season on Tuesday. A 3-0 win at Belleville on Wednesday moved the Comets to within four points of Rochester in the final North Division playoff game.
Back in New Jersey they are goals Nico Dawes and the protector Topias Vilen and the frontrunners Brian Halonen, Lenny Hämeenaho again Marc McLaughlin.
Utica will need to sweep a home-and-home set with the league-leading Providence Bruins starting Friday; Rochester, which holds a game in hand over the Comets, will need to go scoreless in the remaining three games for Utica to win.
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
