Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Can the Chicago Wolves do it again?
They swept the Texas Stars in the Central Division semifinals, going the distance in that series. Texas had gone 7-1-0-0 against the Wolves, with six of those shutouts coming between March 7 and the end of the regular season. None of this mattered. Chicago entered the Calder Cup Playoffs and hosted an opponent with a core that had reached the Western Conference Finals last year.
Then came the big, bad Grand Rapids Griffins, a team that had opened the season 29-1-1-1. But Chicago took that challenge, answered it, and got through it. They went to Grand Rapids, won the first two games of the series there, then swept the Griffins in four games.
Chicago, the 2022 Calder Cup champion, is back for more. The next step comes tonight with Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals against the Colorado Eagles. The Blue FCU Arena is a very challenging place for visitors. But so was Texas. Grand Rapids, too. However, the Wolves have started both of these series away from home and are 3-1 on the road this season, with two of those wins coming in overtime.
Along with the parent Carolina Hurricanes, it has been a breakout season so far for the entire organization. The last time the same NHL organization won the Stanley Cup and the Calder Cup in the same year was 1995. That was 31 years ago when the New Jersey Devils and the Albany River Rats accomplished that two-game winning streak. Now the Hurricanes, one game away from the Stanley Cup Final, are well positioned to chase the title.
The Wolves are trying to keep up with their parent team in that pursuit. Cayden Primeau he leads them to the net. At 26 years old, he is a veteran of these long postseasons. He took the Laval Rocket to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and 2025. Now he’s trying the Western Conference. Primeau went 6-3 with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.
It can be dangerous to rely on the power play, but the Wolves have lived off the man advantage this postseason. Finishing 24th in the AHL with 16.9 percent in the regular season, they have increased that number to 21.2 percent so far in the playoffs. With Primeau in net, that offensive reinforcement gave them the edge they needed; five of their six wins have been by one goal.
Before there is Felix Unger SörumA 20-year-old in his second AHL season, he continues to deliver after a 66-point regular season. The 2023 second rounder has eight points (three goals, five assists) in nine games. There is another member of that 2023 team, a first-round pick Bradley Nadeau. Over the course of 21 years, Nadeau is coming off a 27-goal campaign and has shown the ability to finish the puck with seven assists and a goal in his eight playoff games. Justin RobidasA likely fifth-round steal in the 2021 NHL Draft, he has 20 or more goals in his first two AHL seasons. Noah Philp came from the Edmonton Oilers on waivers back on Dec. 28 and ended with Chicago. His two goals last Thursday night helped eliminate the Griffins. The back end can distribute the puck as well.
It’s been a year of being thrown to the Wolves. At 11-7-3-1 on December 12, the Hurricanes elected to replace their head coach. Cam Abbott with Spiros Anastaswho took his first AHL head coaching role. At that time, the Griffins were already out of the Central Division, so taking second place was the team’s prize. Anastas and the Wolves controlled that spot, but a 1-7-0-1 slide in March nearly put that in jeopardy. But they finished strong, taking five of the last six games to earn that home showdown with the Stars.
Now they have a chance to do more damage. The Eagles will be another big challenge. But that was the case in Texas and Chicago. All four regular season division winners are now at home when the Wolves play.
This is the Calder Cup Playoffs, and the Wolves have sent a message that they can be counted out.
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.
