April 23, 2025 • 51 mins
The Chicago Wolves have returned to playoff contention after missing last season, finishing fourth in the Central Division with a significant 18-point improvement. Carolina Hurricanes' top prospects Bradly Nadeau and Scott Morrow had standout rookie seasons, positioning the team well for their upcoming playoff series against the Rockford IceHogs. stormTracker Chicago Wolves "Insider", Andrew Rinaldi, joins us to talk about the season that just ended & prepare us for the Wolves' upcoming playoff series vs the Rockford IceHogs.
• Bradly Nadeau scored 32 goals as a 19-year-old rookie, ranking fifth in the entire AHL and among teenagers in league history
• Justin Robidas emerged as a complete two-way player with 55 points, excelling on both the penalty kill and power play
• Scott Morrow showcased his offensive skills from the blue line and earned a 14-game call-up with Carolina
• Domenick Fensore and Charles-Alexis Legault formed an impressive defensive pairing despite being rookies
• Ryan Suzuki led the team in scoring with 59 points in 69 games, developing strong chemistry with Nadeau
• Skyler Brind'Amour surprised many with his faceoff proficiency and penalty-killing abilities
• The Wolves won nine of twelve regular-season matchups against their first-round playoff opponent Rockford IceHogs
• Chicago's strong goaltending tandem of Dustin Tokarski and Spencer Martin gives them an edge in the playoffs
If you want to follow our upcoming playoff coverage and Chicago Wolves updates, please press the subscribe button and the bell to be alerted as soon as new episodes are available.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, excitement is high for Carolina Hurricanes
fans these days as the ChicagoWolves return to the playoff
hunt.
After missing the playoffs lastseason, the Wolves are coming
off a solid year, finishingfourth in the Central Division,
and they were led by some of theCanes' top prospects, including
Scott Morrow and Bradley Nadeau, who both had outstanding
(00:23):
seasons in their first year as apro.
Joining me to talk about someof the season highlights and
help us with a preview of whatto expect in the upcoming
playoff round against theRockford Icehogs.
Stormtracker.
Chicago Wolves insider AndrewRinald.
Hey, andrew welcome back.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Thanks for having me again, Tom.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Andrew Renaud.
Hey, andrew, welcome back.
Thanks for having me again, tom.
Well, we're going to have somefun because it was a great year
for the Wolves.
We saw some of those youngstuds really show what they
could do, and it was reallyimpressive because some of them
we also saw in a short or briefcup of coffee with the
Hurricanes, and we'll talk aboutthat as well.
You know they finished fourthoverall.
(01:07):
They had 78 points.
That's an 18-point increaseover last year.
So I think, something thatthese players and the coaches
should be very proud of, and Iknow the Canes are excited about
that for sure.
So, hey, rookies, reallyimpressive, who stood out for
you.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I mean, if you're talking your first-year players,
of course, number one on thatlist is Bradley Nadeau.
On top of just the incrediblepace in which he scored goals
this year, he finished off with32, which is good for fifth in
the entire league, which is goodfor fifth in the entire league.
(01:47):
Also good for fifth in justwhat?
Under 20 players in the historyof the American Hockey League.
So teenagers aren't supposed toscore at paces like this in a
professional league where you'regoing up against fully grown
adults night in and night out.
So it was really a specialthing to watch Bradley and his
(02:11):
shot and I think it's prettywell publicized, especially
after a full year out here inChicago, just what he's capable
of doing.
And you know the team kind ofleaned on him from day one to
provide that offensive firepower.
I mean he connected instantchemistry with ryan suzuki from
(02:32):
october up until the end of theseason, right?
and it was.
It was a perfect mix, and soyou know it's.
It's hard to kind of.
You know, like I I want to tryand highlight some of the other
first-year players, but it's,you know, when you have a guy
who makes an impact like that,it's hard not to just kick it
(02:53):
off with your.
I mean really with optionnumber one in the offensive zone
.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Well, Nadeau I mean a lot of folks don't realize he
doesn't turn 20 until May, May5th, so he's still 19 years old.
It's insane.
And you know, you're right.
He did extremely well in somany areas.
He was first in rookie powerplay goals, he was second he was
sorry first in rookie goals,second in rookie power play
(03:21):
goals, he was second in shootingpercentage, he was second in
points, he was up near the topin all scoring.
You know metrics for rookiesfor sure, and he did that kind
of all season like.
We saw him start off well, hedid extremely well.
After, of course, the WorldJuniors, he came back and really
(03:41):
started to pick it up andcontinued right until the end of
the season, even after he cameback from his opportunity with
the Hurricanes.
So I agree with you.
I think Bradley Dedeau is oneof the players a lot of folks
are wondering.
You know, is he a guy that'sgoing to challenge in the coming
season with the Hurricanes?
Will he need a little bit morework in terms of his defensive
(04:02):
acumen?
Boy, he offensively he's justgifted as anything and certainly
when he was up with the canes,the broadcasters were pretty
well aware of that.
They talked about his offensiveacumen all the time and who
else?
Who else is there on thatrookie group that you think?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
the other kind of big mainstay, especially I mean not
just offensively butdefensively well has been justin
robida.
He has been, I mean, near thethe top of the point scores for
the team all season.
But I I've mentioned a lot oftimes with you from from october
, all the way on that.
(04:40):
I was really impressed by theway that this kid plays on both
ends of the ice.
He really led the penalty killunit early on, scored a couple
of early shorthanded goals andreally kind of put the rest of
the Central Division on noticethat like, hey, when you're
shorthanded you really need towatch out for this kid.
And I really liked his nose forthe net and just the motor that
(05:10):
this kid has on him, justeffort up and down, no matter
what with the puck.
Without the puck it's a raretrait to see a rookie come in
like that.
Sometimes you see flashes on ashift and then some other shifts
.
They might take off.
It's such an important aspectof the development process to
(05:31):
understand how there's no shiftsoff.
You have to bring your A gameshift in, shift out, night in,
night out, and Robitailleunderstands that as well as
anyone, any veteran in thisroster, any veteran in this
league.
So I always said he kind of hada game that's a little bit
ahead of his years and I mean,like I said, you've kind of seen
(05:53):
, with the role that he grabbedand never let go for this squad
and understand really kind ofhow this coaching staff
recognizes and understands hisimportance in that role as well.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah, and he's a guy that, as you say, did it all
right.
So he was on the power play, hewas killing penalties, he was
doing some of those importantdraws, he had 55 points, which
put him fourth overall in rookiescoring in the AHL this year.
Nobody I think at the start ofthe year would have said Justin
Robita is going to have theseason he had.
He came up last year, of course, cut his teeth in the ECHL with
(06:27):
Norfolk, and so you know folksdidn't really know what to
expect.
And again, a smallish player.
He is very stocky, but you knowhe's a smaller player out there
and you know that's always achallenge for those folks to get
attention and certainly to havesuccess.
And you know what?
Obviously, a lot of folks feltthe same way you do, andrew,
(06:49):
because he got a recall to theHurricanes and looked the part.
I mean two games he playedextremely well.
He had a goal and an assist,and I think a lot of folks were
surprised when they saw JustinRobidarni.
You know he's a mirror of hisdad.
He's just a hardworking guythat is making things happen on
the ice and so he comes fromhonestly and I think he's a guy
(07:10):
we talked a lot about thisbefore.
I think he's a guy that reallyhas a shot at the Canes.
Might be a year or two beforehe's there, but I think he
definitely is a player that'sgoing to find a home with the
Carolina Hurricanes.
So exciting stuff with JustinRobitaille man.
One other guy, and I'm sure youwanted to talk about him.
(07:31):
I'll just throw him out thereso we can kind of take a look at
, I think, the three pillarsthis year and that's Scott
Morrow.
You know, morrow got anextended audition with the
Hurricanes.
He played 14 games, had fourpoints and was a plus for us.
Those are good stats, but Ithink, more importantly, he
looked the part too.
He did a real nice job in theblue and still learning and
still finding his way.
(07:52):
But I think for the most parthe was very, very effective and
of course he had an outstandingseason with the Wolves.
He's back with the Wolves.
You must be happy about that.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Very happy.
Yeah, yeah it's.
I mean, of course you know inthis league you're ecstatic for
these guys as they go up andthey begin their NHL careers.
But hey, now that he's backI'll take him and yeah, he, I
think from like I believe it wasthe second series of the season
(08:23):
to where he scored his firstpro goal against the defending
Calder Cup champs in Hershey inovertime.
You know, this kid just blastedhis way onto the stage from day
one and really kind of neverlooked back.
And I think by now Hurricanesfans you know, after seeing 14
games of them, know and kind ofunderstand the role that he
(08:47):
brings.
And you know he's the workhorsehere in Chicago.
You know, and I granted I waspleasantly surprised to see how
well the D-Corps kind of reactedto not having him around and it
was kind of a lot of hands kindof in the bucket pulling on
(09:08):
that rope in his absence.
But you know when he's here youknow what you're getting.
You're getting a guy with poisein his own end with the puck.
Without the puck, I really lovedwatching how he's matured kind
of in his gap control and beingable to box guys out in front of
(09:28):
the net.
You know, I think it can bekind of a stereotype when you
see some of these smooth skatersand good puck handlers that
like, okay, they're so focusedthere that they don't know how
to defend their net.
And I've not found that thecase with Morrow at all, and I
think fans in Carolina arestarting to understand that and
really it's just a matter of toomany chefs in the kitchen up
(09:52):
there in Carolina.
Not enough room for this kid.
But that's my gain and I'm veryhappy for it.
And I think it's going to begreat for the Wolves heading
into this postseason and I thinkit's going to be great for the
Wolves heading into thispostseason and I think it's
going to be great for Morrow aswell, as much of an experience
as it is to be up there andexperience the NHL playoffs,
(10:16):
playing in these massive minutesin the AHL, being able to I
mean there's a reason why theyhave like 24 teams make the
playoffs is because they wantthese young kids to experience
the intensity and experience theyou know the amp up and the
pace and the responsibility isgoing to fit right in with that
(10:42):
playoff hockey and he's going tobe a huge factor for however
long the Wolves decide to make arun in these playoffs.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Well for sure and you know you mentioned the other
players that kind of stepped upand one of them that I think
really stepped up was DominicPensori, and he also got a call
up to the Canes and lookedpretty strong up with the
Hurricanes.
What have you seen with DominicPensori?
And he also got a call up tothe Canes and looked pretty
strong up with the Hurricanes.
What have you seen with Dominicthis?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
year.
He was kind of the one namethat I was thinking up in the
back of my head, even though itwas, you know, a committee
standing up overall.
In the absence of Morrow.
I like, when you lose yournumber one guy in the power play
and the, the guy who's nextstands up is it's only natural
(11:31):
for the spotlight to go on him.
And I mean, you know, we saw abit of fensori last year in in
chicago, as they wereindependent.
But then you've seen him take acouple steps up this year as
he's kind of cemented himself inthis organization.
I think a lot of fans inCarolina kind of saw when he
(11:53):
showed up for the Hurricanes andhe's buzzing all over the ice
and you're like, wow, a lot offans are like where did this kid
come from?
Well, I've been watching himfor a couple years now.
I can tell you exactly thatthat's his style.
Style he loves to have the puckon his stick and even though he
can, you know, he's what youknow a lot of fans might say,
(12:14):
undersized in a way um, it's thedog that's in him is very, is
not undersized.
I can tell you that ben, sorry,is a battler, he's a warrior
and I.
You know, I've seen him take onguys that might have a couple
inches and a couple pounds andhe really doesn't care.
He's going to come right at youand get in your face.
I love that tenacity from him.
(12:36):
It's the fact of the matter.
He's smaller than your averagedefenseman.
If you're going to play likeyou're scared or you're going to
play like you're smaller,you're not going to last in this
league very long.
You're definitely not going tolast in the NHL very long.
So the fact that he's been ableto take those extra minutes in
(12:57):
Morrow's absence and really kindof lead the way for the Wolves
is testament to his attitude.
It's testament to his game forthe Wolves is testament to his
attitude.
It's testament to his game.
And now that you have both ofthem back in the playoffs for a
nice little one-two punch, it'sgoing to be very hard for their
opponents to attack withpossession, because these guys
(13:18):
know how to get the puck out,they know whether to carry it
out, whether they snap it up intransition.
It just changes the whole waythat you play against this team
and, like I said, I'm verygrateful that Morrow came in and
had that dimension.
But you know, fensore is noslosh by himself either.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, and you're right and for sure.
I mean Don, we've talked a lotabout him this year.
He's got such an impressivebackground.
A lot of folks don't know muchabout him.
Boston University.
He was a Hobie Baker nominee.
Two years in a row he was ahockey East All-Star.
He was captain of the team.
I mean, he was everything incollege and it shouldn't be a
(14:00):
big surprise that he's, you know, turning out to be the player
he is.
The other thing I like aboutDom is that he he really thinks
the game well, like you can see.
He's got ideas.
He knows where he's going to go, what he's going to try to do.
He's incredibly, you know,quick with the puck.
He's got great vision.
(14:20):
I think he's got all the tools.
And yes a little bit of achallenge with size, but I think
he's going to overcome it.
He's very fast, he gets in onhis you know, jumping in on his
gaps and particularly quickmoving the puck out of the zone.
So very impressive year for him.
And you know a guy thatcertainly has been helping him a
good part of the season and alot of folks are very interested
(14:42):
in this young man and of coursethat's Charles Alexis Legault.
Legault also had an excellentyear and he led the Wolves with
a plus 11 this year, which iskind of interesting.
Again, he's a rookie.
He came out of Quinnipiac Not alot of fanfare for him.
Again, a guy that you knowlater round draft pick.
(15:02):
Who the heck is?
Charles Alexis Legault, but Iknow there's a lot of folks now
who see him as a potential caneat some point.
He's a big player.
He can skate, he's smart, hedoes it all.
What do you think about thosetwo guys?
Speaker 2 (15:16):
They're quite impressive together.
I love the chemistry betweenthe two of them and I love that
their play styles complementeach other very well.
I think they're both verysmooth skaters, which is, you
know, you see the contrast.
Legault is not really like aRedwood out there I would
reserve that for pavlicev.
(15:37):
But when he's standing next tofensoria he can kind of he can
kind of look a little bigger,but um, you know, it's, it's you
don't?
It's at that, that at that bigsize.
You know you got to be a smoothskater in order to keep up with
some of these speedy guys, andleggo's had no problem with that
.
He's he's also.
I like his, his ability to movethe puck in transition as well.
(15:59):
He's not afraid to jump up inthe rush and contribute.
But you know, at the same timehe's, he's responsible, he knows
his role and he plays it verywell and the two of them just
work off each other in in sync,and it's one of those things
where it's like you know whereyour guy is going to be, so you
know, exactly how to play it.
You're just more loose, you'remore limber and as the year has
(16:23):
gone on, you've seen both ofthem kind of growing at the same
rate.
It's just kind of one of thosethings as you've had this guy as
your partner for a majority ofthe year.
I'll say it's been a treat towatch because going into the
year I was familiar withVansoria.
I was familiar with SealyMorrow I wasn't as familiar with
(16:46):
but the acumen backed it up andthen he kind of made a name for
himself early on.
I kind of had to learnLegault's game on the fly.
And you know, I was impressedearly on and he's just.
He's continued to steadily growand mature into his pro game
and, you know, for a bunch offirst-year players you know
(17:09):
these guys don't play like it.
I can say that it really hasbeen a treat.
I think the coaching staff hasdone an excellent job,
especially with this blue line,to move these guys along and get
them accustomed, get themcomfortable.
They're playing loose, they'replaying free.
I don't want to say they'renecessarily playing with house
(17:32):
money going into the playoffs.
But you know, I, I you don'tfeel like there's there's a lot
of pressure on this team, thatthere's just like a bunch of a
bunch of young kids that arejust going out there trying to
have fun, make the most of itand, uh, win some hockey games
well, it's interesting becausewhen I watch some of the action
for the wolves I usually forgetthat Legault and Fensori are
(17:55):
rookies.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
You know, like it's kind of insane.
Fensori played a little bitlast year, of course he got
called up.
I should also mention that lastyear, of course, he was in
Norfolk as well, and then whenthings kind of went south for
the Wolves, they sent an appealto the Hurricanes and the Canes,
among others, sent up DominicPensori and Roman Sealy.
So that was good stuff.
(18:20):
Okay, a couple of other guys Ithought we'd just touch on as we
wrap up our thoughts on theseason.
Obviously, we can't talk aboutanything without mentioning Ryan
Suzuki.
Suzuki had an outstanding year,one of the few years he's kind
of been available for the seasonchipped in with 59 points in 69
games.
So that's really great.
And of course he was the guythat was fueling to a large
(18:43):
extent Bradley Nadeau with somany great plays to set him up.
But what were your thoughts onSuzuki?
Where do you think he fits inthe Canes scheme of things?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Where do you think he fits in the Canes' scheme of
things?
Oh man, the last part of thatquestion is a real loaded one.
I mean I absolutely lovedseeing Suzuki kind of battle
after just the last couple ofseasons for him, you know, early
on in his Wolves tenure, theCalder Cup year, he was injured
for the whole playoff run.
(19:15):
The year following that he hadsome injuries to battle through
at the beginning of the year,finished off strong, but you
know it was still.
It was rough for him.
And then he had the affiliationdrop between Chicago and
Carolina.
So now he's off to Springfieldin an organization that for
(19:35):
better or worse, really didn'tcare about his development and
was just kind of like all right,like we could use a body, come
here and play, but like don'tget in the way you know and so.
So now you know he comes in fromearlier in Chicago.
(19:55):
He was the first-round pick, hewas the young kid to now.
He's the one kind of takingthese guys like Nadeau and
Ropeda under his wing andshowing them the ropes of what
it needs to do to succeed atthis level.
And of course you know hischemistry with Nadeau kind of
we've already talked about thata lot and he's, I believe he led
(20:15):
the team in points.
I think he was a point ahead ofNadeau.
Yes, so you know, to see him beable to take one obstacle and
the next and to still come outon top has been just kind of a
testament to what this kidbrings to his work ethic, night
in and night out.
You know, I had I interviewedhim when I was in Chicago at the
(20:38):
beginning of the season andthere was still kind of all the
all you know the backgroundnoise going on between the two
teams and Ryan wasn'tnecessarily wasn't concerned
with that in the least, but hejust wanted to come in, he was
happy to be back in Chicagoago,he wanted to play some hockey,
getting together with thecoaches and the boys and
everything, and and so you know,to see him just just continue
(21:02):
to play at a high level aftereverything that's been thrown in
his face is is has been justnothing short and remarkable, as
far as I'm concerned.
Where he ends up up in Carolina,well, I guess that depends on
kind of what the team sees inhim.
Going forward, I see a guy whois creative offensively.
(21:24):
He's responsible.
Defensively.
He doesn't have the bestscoring touch, although I think
that he's.
He's so focused on on settingup everyone else around him.
I do think he's got a nice shot.
I just wish he'd just use itmore, but it is obviously.
I think carolina's pretty, uhpretty satisfied with, with some
(21:47):
of their centers and it's.
It just comes to a point towhere, you know know, do they
think that Suzuki can come in,maybe fit in a role in their
bottom or their middle six atsome point for them?
That's between Ryan and EricTolsky and Ron Brindamore and I
(22:07):
just have the credentials to getinto those kind of
conversations.
So I would love to see himcontinue to put the work in and
to make an impact with Carolina.
Hey, sometimes it's just notyour spot at the organization.
I don't know about you.
I loved watching Jack Druryplaying for Colorado last night
(22:31):
and sometimes you know you getyour start somewhere and you see
your career end up somewhereelse.
You can't help but be happy forthe guys.
So we'll see.
There's a lot of moving parts,I know, in this game, but I
think Suzuki's got what it takesto continue to climb over these
obstacles and make himself intoan everyday player at the next
(22:53):
level.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Well, and I think you're onto something too that
I've been thinking for a whileas well, andrew, that Suzuki is
the kind of guy you could throwin a trade.
There's other teams that couldreally use a guy like Suzuki.
I think it's going to betougher for the Hurricanes.
I really believe that, andthey're you know, they're
clearly motivated to try to wincups right now, so they're going
(23:15):
to continue to load up.
They've even got a pretty darngood center sitting out right
now and that's Mark Jankowski.
So you know they've got depthat center ice.
And so I think Suzuki yeah, Ihope he gets a chance somewhere.
I think he's certainly earninga right.
He's starting to show some ofthe promise that you know we
have for him right from theget-go as a first-round pick,
(23:37):
and obviously his brother isthriving, so that's a good thing
as well.
Last guy, a wild card in my mind, kind of surprised a lot of
people.
Yes, he is Rod Brindamore's son, that's for sure, and that's
Skyler.
But you know what, when he wasup with the Hurricanes, I think
(23:58):
he showed some things that werereally kind of surprising to
folks.
He's particularly good in theface-off, don.
He's an excellent penaltykiller, he's a solid defensive
center and, guess what, hescored the boot.
So he's a guy that, uh, youknow, didn't didn't do
(24:19):
particularly well with uh uh,you know with um the checkers,
previously, uh, part of theflorida system.
He was there for a short periodof time.
I think he certainly started tofind his game with the wolves.
What do you think about?
About brendamore?
What do you think about hisMoore?
What do you think about?
Speaker 2 (24:34):
his trajectory.
Yeah, so I mean I'll admit thatI was kind of guilty at first,
kind of seeing his name rollacross the transaction list,
like, okay, you know, I get itCoach's son, we'll give him a
shot in the organization and seewhat it's all about.
I'm happy to be proven that Iwas very wrong on expecting what
(24:54):
to expect from him this season,because he really blew me away
with.
Of course he's kind of a carboncopy of his dad for some of us
older guys who watched him rockin the red and white in Carolina
, older guys who watched himrock in the red and white in
(25:15):
Carolina, you know, just a demonin the face-off circle and a
demon going to the net andmixing it up and all that.
He really just very I saw thestaff did not look good last
year and I was like, oh boy,here we go.
That did not look good lastyear and I was like, oh boy,
(25:36):
here we go.
But this, um, this season, he,he, really, he really wowed me
with with just how, how well hewas able to adapt to the game,
it and it, the penalty killing,of course, you know again, he's,
he's just like his dad and andand the tenacity without the
puck to, just, you know, lay itall out on the line.
Yeah, these are.
You know it can kind of soundlike cliches at times, but these
(25:57):
are the traits that make theseguys so valuable when your team
really needs them the most.
And he's been out there and youknow, no questions asked like
what do you need?
Put me in?
(26:17):
Coach type of guy.
And you know, again, pleasantlysurprised with what we got from
Brynden Moore in this one butabsolutely crucial piece of that
bottom six, that special teamson the penalty kill for Chicago
and it's.
You know, sometimes you justcan't judge a book by its cover.
You know, and I'll, I'll, I'lladmit I was, I was wrong on that
(26:39):
one.
You're not going to be right onall of them.
So I can, I can say that aboutBrenda Moore.
But you know, I'm glad he's herein Chicago, I'm glad that that
he's brought that, that acumen,and you know, even though he's,
you know of course he's got hisconnection to Carolina but he's
really established himself ashis own player and his own
(27:01):
identity and everything, andwhether you know that continues
to carry on up to Carolina inthe future, you know that's for
him, I'm sure he's going to beback here in Chicago and you
know, the more he's in thisorganization, the longer he's
comfortable with his coachingstaff and everything.
(27:21):
They're going to continue togive him opportunities.
And you know it's going tostart with the playoffs and of
course, you know all thoseheroes and all those long
playoff runs.
You're going to have that thirdline center who's going to come
in for a clutch overtime goalor something.
And you know that's gotBrindamore's name written all
over it.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I can argue Well for sure, and you know again, he
came out of a pretty solidcollege career with Quinnipiac.
They won the championship.
He was a key member of thatforward crew for them and so
again a little older, sure, buta guy that you know.
(28:02):
As you look at the Canes, inthe coming years they're going
to need third and fourth linecentermen.
I mean, at some point JordanStahl will retire Not sure where
Kokeniemi fits in, so therecould be a spot that could open
up for a guy like Brendamore tocome in and play that
fourth-line spot and I thinkhe'd be, as he's growing now and
(28:24):
as he continues to play betterhockey, could be a candidate.
I know a lot of folks on X don'tagree with me, but that's okay.
I do think he's definitelygoing the right way and he's got
.
A lot of folks on X don't agreewith me, but that's okay.
I do think he's definitelygoing the right way and he's got
a lot of the right skills to bethat kind of player.
You're not looking for him tobe a 20-goal, 50-point guy If he
can pop in a few.
(28:44):
And he's solid defensively andparticularly in the faceoff top
where he was 68% in his twogames.
One game.
He was 8 of 10.
Yeah, just like his dad 68% inhis two games.
One game he was 8 of 10.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Yeah, yeah, just like his dad, an absolute menace in
the face off.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
To wrap up the season discussion.
I just wanted to see was anyonea real disappointment for you?
Like, if you look at the startof the year, were there players
that you thought, oh boy, Ican't wait to see what's going
to go and how it's going to dothis year.
Anybody stick?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
out A couple.
I'll say, you know, I'll startwith Brandon Lemieux.
Not that I mean I'm, you know,a little biased and I was like,
oh boy, here we go, claude's soncoming on over here.
It's unfortunate, kind of theway it happened.
(29:41):
But then, as you've kind ofseen the antics he got up to in
Europe, you're kind of glad thatthat tumor got cut early from
this team, especially with somany impressionable young
players, you know.
So you're kind of hoping for abit of a, a physical veteran
presence there and it just it,just it just wasn't it.
(30:04):
You know, sometimes some ofthese guys don't.
They think they're better thanthe American league and you.
If that's the case, then wedon't want you here anyway.
So number one that was early onin the season Glad to see him
gone.
Another one that I know a lotof fans had a lot of hopes for I
(30:26):
did as well was Felix Unger'sSorum.
I know the numbers aren'tspectacular.
What we saw from Nadeau wasjust absolutely historic, and
this is kind of more of yourtypical rookie experience,
(30:47):
especially coming over fromEurope, a completely different
country, different play style.
At the same time, I think, asyou know, the second half of the
season is going by.
You're kind of hoping like allright here, like here's where
the switch gets turned on, okay,here's where the switch gets
(31:08):
turned on.
Okay, here's where the switchgets turned on.
You know, and Ungerswarm, hadyou know um and unger swarm, had
you know power play time andand plenty of opportunities
changing up with some line matesand everything.
And you know I, I I don't thinkthe numbers are necessarily
indicative of how he's playedand certainly not what he's
(31:30):
capable of of this year.
Um, I just think sometimes youknow it's, it's it's a number of
different factors again thatcan impact you.
And he's a young kid, he'sgonna he's gonna learn, he's
gonna continue to grow and Ithink he'll be all right.
I just, I think you knowcarolina fans kind of um, you
know they, they expected him,with his wonderful preseason and
(31:54):
all that, to kind of come inand kick the door down here in
Chicago and while, you know,there's just some things that
young players have to learn andcontinue to adapt and grow
through.
But I think the intangibles arethere, I think he's got the
sense, I think he's got theskill and it's just a matter of
(32:16):
putting it all together.
Um, but you know, admittedlyprobably like to see a couple
more, uh, a couple more numberson the score sheet than than
what we saw from.
But it's part of the game andand I think the true test of his
metal will be, you know, areyou gonna?
You're gonna get down onyourself.
You're medal will be, you know,are you gonna?
You're gonna get down onyourself.
You're gonna feel sorry foryourself.
Are you gonna get?
(32:37):
you know you're gonna hit the,hit the weight room, hit the
practice ice and gonna keep onpushing forward I think that's
what he's gonna do, whether it's, you know, kind of show out in
these playoffs or he's gonna putthe work in the offseason, come
back as a much better playernext year for the Wolves.
I'm looking forward to see howhe responds to this.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, he was definitely one that I was
thinking of.
Of course he's very young.
He played in the World Juniorsthis year and I thought that was
going to be a springboard kindof to use your terminology as
well.
Andrew, one of the other thingswith Ungers Sorem.
Of course they wereexperimenting with him at center
and I'm not sure that's workedout very well for him.
(33:18):
I feel myself he seems to bemore comfortable in the wing,
but we'll see how it goes.
I think he's definitely a playerthat he's going to come back.
He's going to be pushing hard,learning experience.
Similar situation for therussian guys, you know, uh, glad
trick is off.
He had a tough, tough start tothe his pro career.
Ruslan kazeeb uh, somechallenges with him as well.
(33:41):
Look, these are all topprospects for the kings.
They're they got lots of time.
They're very young.
Uh, you know, they'll get somegrooming.
And and one thing we talked alot about this year, and I think
these guys deserve immensecredit, is the coaching staff,
led by Cam Abbott and his crew.
I think they've done aphenomenal job and one of the
(34:01):
ways that we can kind ofreference that is by the fact
that when these guys go up toplay for the Canes, they don't
miss a beat.
So I think, again, wellprepared and kudos to all those
guys and a great season.
I think it was wonderful thisyear with the Wolves.
So let's talk about theplayoffs.
And of course, they're upagainst Rockford Icehogs.
(34:21):
They played 12 games againstthe Icehogs this year and they
beat them nine times, so that'snot a bad start.
Goals were pretty close, goalsagainst were close.
I mean, most of the metrics arereally close Power play,
penalty kill, you name it.
I looked at a bunch of stuff.
It looks like it's all prettyclose.
So what are you thinking as wehead into this series?
(34:43):
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
You kind of got a tale of two different teams here
, I think.
On Rockford's side, first off,you know they're going to be
getting Frank Nazar, arturLevshunov, a number of guys that
have been spending some timewith Chicago, so they're
probably not necessarily goingto be the same team that you'd
(35:08):
seen before.
At the same time, you know, theWolves are getting Scott Morrow
for some reinforcements.
I think that should kind of,like you know, balance itself
out a little bit there and again.
At the same time, I feel likeRockford with, you know, with
Chicago up there rebuilding andyou've seen a lot of talented
(35:31):
young players there in the icehogs, um complimented with some
veterans like joey anderson andbrett cini yes, that they were.
I think the rockford kind of hadan incredibly disappointing
season.
I was expecting them to be wayhigher up in the standings for,
uh, for kind of the caliber ofplayers that they had and for
(35:53):
whatever reason, it just neverseemed to get it all together.
And you know, the Wolvescertainly took advantage of
Chicago seeming to just kind ofanytime anyone was playing good,
for a stretch of three or fourgames it just swiped someone up
to the Blackhawks and you kindof you know where each team
(36:14):
rests in the standings, is kindof you know what she's what you
get.
So you know the obviously 12games Chicago took nine of them.
Uh, justin Robida, I think, had17 points in the whole series
and just absolutely terrorizedthe Rockford defense.
Bradley had a show with 11 ofhis 32 goals against Rockford.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
In 12 games.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Yeah.
So I think he was pretty happyto see those red sweaters on the
other side whenever they showedup.
So you know I.
But at the same time it's sucha unique dynamic here in this
little play-in series in the AHLbecause it's a three-game
(37:02):
series.
All you need is one stolen gamefrom a goaltender.
All of a sudden you're theother teams on the brink of
elimination and I'm going to goon a bit of a mini rant here.
(37:22):
The whole situation of Chicagobeing the higher seed but having
to play two games on the roadagainst Rockford really doesn't
sit well for me.
I understand that there's abillion playoff series so you
need to get these done in timeand the All-State Arena is
booked solid this weekend.
I get it.
Why is it so difficult to havea back-to-back on Wednesday and
Thursday in All-State and then,if Game 3 is necessary, you go
(37:45):
play it out in Rockford?
Okay, you still have your homeice advantage for the Ice Hogs
on the weekend there.
But sorry, some teams, in someof these three-game series, with
the distance in between, tucsondoesn't even have a home
playoff game.
So I don't want to hear thatlike Rockford needs their game
two home game or whatever, itdoesn't even matter, it
shouldn't matter.
(38:05):
Higher seeded team home iceadvantage that's what they play
the whole regular season for.
Whole mice advantage that'swhat they play the whole regular
season for.
And instead I feel like chicagois getting kind of a a little
vindictive revenge for theirexperiment of independence last
year.
So the league's just givingthem one more whack on the no
thing.
I told you, so don't ever dothat again.
(38:27):
And it's it's frustrating atthe same.
And Wolves fans really want togo over there and make a
difference.
Rockford's not even an hour anda half away from Allstate Arena
.
So you know, go out there, goand make some noise for the boys
on the road.
I'm sure they would absolutelylove it.
It's going to be pretty charged.
(38:50):
These teams have seen eachother for 12 times now.
I don't know about you but I'dbe pretty sick of the other team
if I now have to see them atleast two more times, maybe even
three.
So I think again with thestakes, every game.
You're starting off on gamefive basically.
(39:11):
So the intensity is alreadyramped up to 100, and you're
sick of seeing Bradley Nadeauscore a thousand times on you.
It's going to be charged, it'sgoing to be physical, and you
know, this is the kind of stuffI don't know about you, but this
is why I watch the sport, thisis why I cover it, this is why I
(39:32):
live it.
I am excited to get this allkicked off on Wednesday night.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Well, and you know, we've seen with some of the NHL
playoff games, the intensity ofcourse goes through the roof and
it's a whole different animal.
A couple of things that I wasthinking about.
You know you look at the lineupfor Chicago.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I love the defensive core.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
You know they're really deep.
We talked a little bit about.
Of course.
You've got Scott Morrow, you'vegot Dominic Finsori, you've got
Charles Alexis Legault, you'vegot Ty Smith who I think has
been playing great hockey.
You've got Ronan Seeley.
He's a veteran.
He's going to be back there.
(40:19):
And you've got some other guysthat could be interesting.
Like Yoel Nistro I would liketo see in some playoff games.
I think he's started to showwhat he can do.
He's a guy, that boy over inEurope.
He was outstanding playing inthe SHL, so I'd like to see what
he can do.
And they've even got DominicBedinka hanging around.
So they've got lots of depth inthe blue.
And, of course, goaltending.
Look, you've got DustinTokarski, who just beat these
guys something fierce.
He won five games, 1.75 goalsagainst average against Rockford
(40:42):
.
You had Spencer Martin.
He's had a great year.
He won three out of four gameswith them.
These are two excellentgoaltenders and if you look back
at you know the kind of playthat you know these guys have
done in the playoffs and theAmerican League before.
They've been rock solid.
So these are a couple of guysthat I really like.
I think they're going to behuge If the Wolves are going to
(41:05):
go deep.
They're going to need thatdefensive core to be rock solid.
They're going to need theirgoaltending to come to come up
big, and then they've got lotsof guys that can score and I I
kind of I'm curious to see howfar these guys can go it's.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
I don't want to say that I kind of feel like the
whole division feels wide open,but look, grand rapids seem like
the juggernaut at the beginningof the year and they just
absolutely fell off a cliff.
Milwaukee is extremely wellcoached.
They won the division again,but I feel like they don't have
(41:43):
Zach LaRue.
They don't have YaroslavAskarov.
They're not the monster thatthey were in years past.
And same thing with Texas.
Logan Stankoven is oh hey, he'spart of the organization now.
He's not terrorizing thisdivision anymore.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yeah, he was huge last year.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Yeah, maverick Bork was the league MVP.
He's up in Texas.
I mean, still they have JustinRitzkovian and Mate Blumel and
they just keep.
That organization just kind ofkeeps churning out stars out of
nowhere.
I'm kind of getting sick of it,but at the same time it feels
(42:23):
like if this team gets hot atthe right time and starts
getting shrieking, you've gotSpencer Martin, one of the best
options that you can get.
At this level, anything canhappen.
And again, in these shorterseries, a best of five in the
next round.
If they can make it pastRockford, anything can happen.
And again, like I said, thesekids are playing loose.
(42:45):
I feel like there's not a wholelot of pressure on them.
They got house money, why not?
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (42:51):
Why can't these guys make a run for it?
So it's an exciting time to beon the beat and I, you know I'll
be covering it from beginningto end.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Well, you know the interesting thing, if you look
at the way the lineup isstructured, you know you've got
the big line, where you've got,of course, ryan Suzuki and
Bradley Nadeau, and I think NickSweeney generally gets in on
that line now these days he'sbeen there quite a bit or
Pavlich, one of those guys willbe jumping in there and then
you've got, you know you've gotJustin Robitaille and you know
(43:25):
he's got some guys that can putthe puck in the net on his line.
And you've got, of course youknow, josiah Slavin and Skylar
Brendamore, who bring that good,solid third line defensive
capability and pop in the oddgoal as well.
It's a lineup that looks prettysolid.
I mean you've got other guysstill there, like Noel Gundler
(43:46):
and you know you've got UngarSohrm.
You've got players that couldjump up and do something on the
forward side.
So I think you know they're alot deeper than a lot of folks
think.
Now that they're fully loadedup, everybody's back in there.
They're healthy, they're backfrom visits to Carolina.
Everything is kind of trendingthe right way.
I think they could surprisesome folks and, like you, I'm
(44:14):
going to be following this very,very closely.
Rockford's an interesting one.
I've been watching the Hawks alot this year.
Frank Nazar is a heck of ahockey player, obviously.
Lev Shanoff is going to be adandy as well.
He's very young, so he's stillfinding his game, and I don't
know if they're going to bringsome of the collegians down.
They have Moore and Renzel, wholook really good at the end of
the year in Chicago, so thoseguys, if they're coming down,
(44:35):
they're going to help too, sothat would be good.
I want to see a good, toughseries.
Obviously, we want theseplayers that have been here this
year to continue to grow, andthere's nothing like playoff
action to add to their acumenfor sure, and so I think that's
going to be excellent.
Yeah, so are you expecting awin for the Wolves in this
(45:00):
series, or what are youforecasting?
Speaker 2 (45:03):
I would expect Chicago to move on past
Brockford.
I think you know nine wins thatthey've had over them over the
course of the season that theykind of you know, obviously
super familiar.
But they know what works andwhat doesn't against this team.
And furthermore, you know, asyou get into the playoffs and
(45:25):
everything becomes more tight,checking and all that Chicago's
record in one-goal games wassomething like what 23-4,.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
I want to say yes, it was.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
So what that's telling me is that you know when
the stakes are, when the gameis right on the edge, when the
stakes are raised, that thisteam knows how to lock it, lock
it down, knows how to how tohold that lead and knows how to
how to come away on top.
And that's that's exactly whatthis, it's what this entire time
(46:03):
of the year is, is just how tominimize those mistakes and and
to capitalize on your opponents.
So so I like their chances, Ilike where this team has been
all year and just thistrajectory continuing to move
upwards.
And again, I like this matchup.
I think Rockford's in theplayoffs, by the saving grace
(46:26):
that Manitoba and Iowa were twoof the worst teams in the league
and I'm not afraid to put thatout on the air.
If that's some bulletin boardmaterial for the Ice Hogs, then
I hope that.
If that's what they need tomotivate them is this mug saying
that then more power to them.
(46:47):
But I like where this Chicagoteam has been from October until
now.
I think that they still have alittle bit more to show us what
they're capable of.
And again, like I said, this iswhat it's all about this time of
the year to.
You know, you've had what I'mtrying to think six months of
(47:08):
war up until this point.
Yes, the next three games.
I'm trying to think it was sixmonths of war up until this
point.
Yes, the next three games.
Yeah, after 72 games, you havethree to decide whether you're
going home early or whether youcontinue to advance.
So you know, we talked a lotabout all the rookies and
everything.
(47:28):
Well, no one cares if you're arookie or you're a 10-year vet.
At this point it's time to seewhat you're made of.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Well, andrew, I think , well said.
And boy, I'll be like you.
I'll be following closely andhope that this group of young
players with some fine veteranssprinkled in to try to help them
and mentor them through this, Ihope they can get to the next
round as well, as always.
Hey, man, it's awesome talkingChicago Wolves with you.
(47:59):
Your knowledge is justfantastic and continuing to
learn, every time we gettogether, a lot more about the
Wolves, and we'll do this againfor sure in the coming months.
Where can folks find you?
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Yeah, so my written work can be found on the Calder
Times, which is where I coverboth the Griffins and the Wolves
.
So I'm going to be doing a lotof central division playoff
coverage here in a bit, which isa good change of pace after the
last couple of years, with theWolves out of the postseason and
(48:36):
then on X I guess I'll call it.
You can find me at Andrewunderscore, rinaldi underscore,
and that's where I give updateson the team.
I live tweet on the team.
I live tweet during the games.
I, you know, I share highlights,whether it's a big hit, a big
(48:59):
save, a big goal, a fight orjust something silly that I find
in the crowd.
You know, and I and you know,especially this time of the year
, I love interacting with thefans.
I love.
So if anyone out there has anyquestions or anything about the
(49:20):
team whatsoever, even if youjust want to chat, drop by or
chirp me because Rockford sweptthe Wolves and because I jinxed
them into doing it, then I'mopen for all of it.
And yeah, you know, it's why Ido this.
I love, you know, the communityand the fans and all that.
(49:40):
And, yeah, I'll be here untilthe bitter end, whether it's
this series or whether it's inJune with the cup race.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
Well, that's fantastic and you know what,
andrew?
It's always great fun.
I love your passion and yourexcitement with the Wolves and
with hockey in general.
It's always contagious as heck.
In any case, to those of youwho have been listening or
watching, andrew and I aredelighted that you spent time
with us today.
Of course, for those who likethis episode, please press the
(50:16):
like button.
If you do have comments or youwant to make any kind of
communication with myself orwith Andrew, of course please
leave that in the commentsection down below and we'll
make sure we get back with youas soon as possible.
And, of course, if you want tobe alerted of future episodes of
Storm Tracker and ChicagoWolves Report, please press the
(50:36):
subscribe button and the belland we'll make sure you're
alerted as soon as those areavailable.
Once again, thanks so much forspending time with us today,
andrew, and I look forward togetting together with you real
soon once again on ChicagoWolves Report here on Star Trek.
Well, excitement is high for Carolina Hurricanes
fans these days as the ChicagoWolves return to the playoff
hunt.
After missing the playoffs lastseason, the Wolves are coming
off a solid year, finishingfourth in the Central Division,
and they were led by some of theCanes' top prospects, including
Scott Morrow and Bradley Nadeau, who both had outstanding
(00:23):
seasons in their first year as apro.
Joining me to talk about someof the season highlights and
help us with a preview of whatto expect in the upcoming
playoff round against theRockford Icehogs.
Stormtracker.
Chicago Wolves insider AndrewRinald.
Hey, andrew welcome back.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Thanks for having me again, Tom.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Andrew Renaud.
Hey, andrew, welcome back.
Thanks for having me again, tom.
Well, we're going to have somefun because it was a great year
for the Wolves.
We saw some of those youngstuds really show what they
could do, and it was reallyimpressive because some of them
we also saw in a short or briefcup of coffee with the
Hurricanes, and we'll talk aboutthat as well.
You know they finished fourthoverall.
(01:07):
They had 78 points.
That's an 18-point increaseover last year.
So I think, something thatthese players and the coaches
should be very proud of, and Iknow the Canes are excited about
that for sure.
So, hey, rookies, reallyimpressive, who stood out for
you.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I mean, if you're talking your first-year players,
of course, number one on thatlist is Bradley Nadeau.
On top of just the incrediblepace in which he scored goals
this year, he finished off with32, which is good for fifth in
the entire league, which is goodfor fifth in the entire league.
(01:47):
Also good for fifth in justwhat?
Under 20 players in the historyof the American Hockey League.
So teenagers aren't supposed toscore at paces like this in a
professional league where you'regoing up against fully grown
adults night in and night out.
So it was really a specialthing to watch Bradley and his
(02:11):
shot and I think it's prettywell publicized, especially
after a full year out here inChicago, just what he's capable
of doing.
And you know the team kind ofleaned on him from day one to
provide that offensive firepower.
I mean he connected instantchemistry with ryan suzuki from
(02:32):
october up until the end of theseason, right?
and it was.
It was a perfect mix, and soyou know it's.
It's hard to kind of.
You know, like I I want to tryand highlight some of the other
first-year players, but it's,you know, when you have a guy
who makes an impact like that,it's hard not to just kick it
(02:53):
off with your.
I mean really with optionnumber one in the offensive zone
.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Well, Nadeau I mean a lot of folks don't realize he
doesn't turn 20 until May, May5th, so he's still 19 years old.
It's insane.
And you know, you're right.
He did extremely well in somany areas.
He was first in rookie powerplay goals, he was second he was
sorry first in rookie goals,second in rookie power play
(03:21):
goals, he was second in shootingpercentage, he was second in
points, he was up near the topin all scoring.
You know metrics for rookiesfor sure, and he did that kind
of all season like.
We saw him start off well, hedid extremely well.
After, of course, the WorldJuniors, he came back and really
(03:41):
started to pick it up andcontinued right until the end of
the season, even after he cameback from his opportunity with
the Hurricanes.
So I agree with you.
I think Bradley Dedeau is oneof the players a lot of folks
are wondering.
You know, is he a guy that'sgoing to challenge in the coming
season with the Hurricanes?
Will he need a little bit morework in terms of his defensive
(04:02):
acumen?
Boy, he offensively he's justgifted as anything and certainly
when he was up with the canes,the broadcasters were pretty
well aware of that.
They talked about his offensiveacumen all the time and who
else?
Who else is there on thatrookie group that you think?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
the other kind of big mainstay, especially I mean not
just offensively butdefensively well has been justin
robida.
He has been, I mean, near thethe top of the point scores for
the team all season.
But I I've mentioned a lot oftimes with you from from october
, all the way on that.
(04:40):
I was really impressed by theway that this kid plays on both
ends of the ice.
He really led the penalty killunit early on, scored a couple
of early shorthanded goals andreally kind of put the rest of
the Central Division on noticethat like, hey, when you're
shorthanded you really need towatch out for this kid.
And I really liked his nose forthe net and just the motor that
(05:10):
this kid has on him, justeffort up and down, no matter
what with the puck.
Without the puck it's a raretrait to see a rookie come in
like that.
Sometimes you see flashes on ashift and then some other shifts
.
They might take off.
It's such an important aspectof the development process to
(05:31):
understand how there's no shiftsoff.
You have to bring your A gameshift in, shift out, night in,
night out, and Robitailleunderstands that as well as
anyone, any veteran in thisroster, any veteran in this
league.
So I always said he kind of hada game that's a little bit
ahead of his years and I mean,like I said, you've kind of seen
(05:53):
, with the role that he grabbedand never let go for this squad
and understand really kind ofhow this coaching staff
recognizes and understands hisimportance in that role as well.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah, and he's a guy that, as you say, did it all
right.
So he was on the power play, hewas killing penalties, he was
doing some of those importantdraws, he had 55 points, which
put him fourth overall in rookiescoring in the AHL this year.
Nobody I think at the start ofthe year would have said Justin
Robita is going to have theseason he had.
He came up last year, of course, cut his teeth in the ECHL with
(06:27):
Norfolk, and so you know folksdidn't really know what to
expect.
And again, a smallish player.
He is very stocky, but you knowhe's a smaller player out there
and you know that's always achallenge for those folks to get
attention and certainly to havesuccess.
And you know what?
Obviously, a lot of folks feltthe same way you do, andrew,
(06:49):
because he got a recall to theHurricanes and looked the part.
I mean two games he playedextremely well.
He had a goal and an assist,and I think a lot of folks were
surprised when they saw JustinRobidarni.
You know he's a mirror of hisdad.
He's just a hardworking guythat is making things happen on
the ice and so he comes fromhonestly and I think he's a guy
(07:10):
we talked a lot about thisbefore.
I think he's a guy that reallyhas a shot at the Canes.
Might be a year or two beforehe's there, but I think he
definitely is a player that'sgoing to find a home with the
Carolina Hurricanes.
So exciting stuff with JustinRobitaille man.
One other guy, and I'm sure youwanted to talk about him.
(07:31):
I'll just throw him out thereso we can kind of take a look at
, I think, the three pillarsthis year and that's Scott
Morrow.
You know, morrow got anextended audition with the
Hurricanes.
He played 14 games, had fourpoints and was a plus for us.
Those are good stats, but Ithink, more importantly, he
looked the part too.
He did a real nice job in theblue and still learning and
still finding his way.
(07:52):
But I think for the most parthe was very, very effective and
of course he had an outstandingseason with the Wolves.
He's back with the Wolves.
You must be happy about that.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Very happy.
Yeah, yeah it's.
I mean, of course you know inthis league you're ecstatic for
these guys as they go up andthey begin their NHL careers.
But hey, now that he's backI'll take him and yeah, he, I
think from like I believe it wasthe second series of the season
(08:23):
to where he scored his firstpro goal against the defending
Calder Cup champs in Hershey inovertime.
You know, this kid just blastedhis way onto the stage from day
one and really kind of neverlooked back.
And I think by now Hurricanesfans you know, after seeing 14
games of them, know and kind ofunderstand the role that he
(08:47):
brings.
And you know he's the workhorsehere in Chicago.
You know, and I granted I waspleasantly surprised to see how
well the D-Corps kind of reactedto not having him around and it
was kind of a lot of hands kindof in the bucket pulling on
(09:08):
that rope in his absence.
But you know when he's here youknow what you're getting.
You're getting a guy with poisein his own end with the puck.
Without the puck, I really lovedwatching how he's matured kind
of in his gap control and beingable to box guys out in front of
(09:28):
the net.
You know, I think it can bekind of a stereotype when you
see some of these smooth skatersand good puck handlers that
like, okay, they're so focusedthere that they don't know how
to defend their net.
And I've not found that thecase with Morrow at all, and I
think fans in Carolina arestarting to understand that and
really it's just a matter of toomany chefs in the kitchen up
(09:52):
there in Carolina.
Not enough room for this kid.
But that's my gain and I'm veryhappy for it.
And I think it's going to begreat for the Wolves heading
into this postseason and I thinkit's going to be great for the
Wolves heading into thispostseason and I think it's
going to be great for Morrow aswell, as much of an experience
as it is to be up there andexperience the NHL playoffs,
(10:16):
playing in these massive minutesin the AHL, being able to I
mean there's a reason why theyhave like 24 teams make the
playoffs is because they wantthese young kids to experience
the intensity and experience theyou know the amp up and the
pace and the responsibility isgoing to fit right in with that
(10:42):
playoff hockey and he's going tobe a huge factor for however
long the Wolves decide to make arun in these playoffs.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Well for sure and you know you mentioned the other
players that kind of stepped upand one of them that I think
really stepped up was DominicPensori, and he also got a call
up to the Canes and lookedpretty strong up with the
Hurricanes.
What have you seen with DominicPensori?
And he also got a call up tothe Canes and looked pretty
strong up with the Hurricanes.
What have you seen with Dominicthis?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
year.
He was kind of the one namethat I was thinking up in the
back of my head, even though itwas, you know, a committee
standing up overall.
In the absence of Morrow.
I like, when you lose yournumber one guy in the power play
and the, the guy who's nextstands up is it's only natural
(11:31):
for the spotlight to go on him.
And I mean, you know, we saw abit of fensori last year in in
chicago, as they wereindependent.
But then you've seen him take acouple steps up this year as
he's kind of cemented himself inthis organization.
I think a lot of fans inCarolina kind of saw when he
(11:53):
showed up for the Hurricanes andhe's buzzing all over the ice
and you're like, wow, a lot offans are like where did this kid
come from?
Well, I've been watching himfor a couple years now.
I can tell you exactly thatthat's his style.
Style he loves to have the puckon his stick and even though he
can, you know, he's what youknow a lot of fans might say,
(12:14):
undersized in a way um, it's thedog that's in him is very, is
not undersized.
I can tell you that ben, sorry,is a battler, he's a warrior
and I.
You know, I've seen him take onguys that might have a couple
inches and a couple pounds andhe really doesn't care.
He's going to come right at youand get in your face.
I love that tenacity from him.
(12:36):
It's the fact of the matter.
He's smaller than your averagedefenseman.
If you're going to play likeyou're scared or you're going to
play like you're smaller,you're not going to last in this
league very long.
You're definitely not going tolast in the NHL very long.
So the fact that he's been ableto take those extra minutes in
(12:57):
Morrow's absence and really kindof lead the way for the Wolves
is testament to his attitude.
It's testament to his game forthe Wolves is testament to his
attitude.
It's testament to his game.
And now that you have both ofthem back in the playoffs for a
nice little one-two punch, it'sgoing to be very hard for their
opponents to attack withpossession, because these guys
(13:18):
know how to get the puck out,they know whether to carry it
out, whether they snap it up intransition.
It just changes the whole waythat you play against this team
and, like I said, I'm verygrateful that Morrow came in and
had that dimension.
But you know, fensore is noslosh by himself either.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, and you're right and for sure.
I mean Don, we've talked a lotabout him this year.
He's got such an impressivebackground.
A lot of folks don't know muchabout him.
Boston University.
He was a Hobie Baker nominee.
Two years in a row he was ahockey East All-Star.
He was captain of the team.
I mean, he was everything incollege and it shouldn't be a
(14:00):
big surprise that he's, you know, turning out to be the player
he is.
The other thing I like aboutDom is that he he really thinks
the game well, like you can see.
He's got ideas.
He knows where he's going to go, what he's going to try to do.
He's incredibly, you know,quick with the puck.
He's got great vision.
(14:20):
I think he's got all the tools.
And yes a little bit of achallenge with size, but I think
he's going to overcome it.
He's very fast, he gets in onhis you know, jumping in on his
gaps and particularly quickmoving the puck out of the zone.
So very impressive year for him.
And you know a guy thatcertainly has been helping him a
good part of the season and alot of folks are very interested
(14:42):
in this young man and of coursethat's Charles Alexis Legault.
Legault also had an excellentyear and he led the Wolves with
a plus 11 this year, which iskind of interesting.
Again, he's a rookie.
He came out of Quinnipiac Not alot of fanfare for him.
Again, a guy that you knowlater round draft pick.
(15:02):
Who the heck is?
Charles Alexis Legault, but Iknow there's a lot of folks now
who see him as a potential caneat some point.
He's a big player.
He can skate, he's smart, hedoes it all.
What do you think about thosetwo guys?
Speaker 2 (15:16):
They're quite impressive together.
I love the chemistry betweenthe two of them and I love that
their play styles complementeach other very well.
I think they're both verysmooth skaters, which is, you
know, you see the contrast.
Legault is not really like aRedwood out there I would
reserve that for pavlicev.
(15:37):
But when he's standing next tofensoria he can kind of he can
kind of look a little bigger,but um, you know, it's, it's you
don't?
It's at that, that at that bigsize.
You know you got to be a smoothskater in order to keep up with
some of these speedy guys, andleggo's had no problem with that
.
He's he's also.
I like his, his ability to movethe puck in transition as well.
(15:59):
He's not afraid to jump up inthe rush and contribute.
But you know, at the same timehe's, he's responsible, he knows
his role and he plays it verywell and the two of them just
work off each other in in sync,and it's one of those things
where it's like you know whereyour guy is going to be, so you
know, exactly how to play it.
You're just more loose, you'remore limber and as the year has
(16:23):
gone on, you've seen both ofthem kind of growing at the same
rate.
It's just kind of one of thosethings as you've had this guy as
your partner for a majority ofthe year.
I'll say it's been a treat towatch because going into the
year I was familiar withVansoria.
I was familiar with SealyMorrow I wasn't as familiar with
(16:46):
but the acumen backed it up andthen he kind of made a name for
himself early on.
I kind of had to learnLegault's game on the fly.
And you know, I was impressedearly on and he's just.
He's continued to steadily growand mature into his pro game
and, you know, for a bunch offirst-year players you know
(17:09):
these guys don't play like it.
I can say that it really hasbeen a treat.
I think the coaching staff hasdone an excellent job,
especially with this blue line,to move these guys along and get
them accustomed, get themcomfortable.
They're playing loose, they'replaying free.
I don't want to say they'renecessarily playing with house
(17:32):
money going into the playoffs.
But you know, I, I you don'tfeel like there's there's a lot
of pressure on this team, thatthere's just like a bunch of a
bunch of young kids that arejust going out there trying to
have fun, make the most of itand, uh, win some hockey games
well, it's interesting becausewhen I watch some of the action
for the wolves I usually forgetthat Legault and Fensori are
(17:55):
rookies.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
You know, like it's kind of insane.
Fensori played a little bitlast year, of course he got
called up.
I should also mention that lastyear, of course, he was in
Norfolk as well, and then whenthings kind of went south for
the Wolves, they sent an appealto the Hurricanes and the Canes,
among others, sent up DominicPensori and Roman Sealy.
So that was good stuff.
(18:20):
Okay, a couple of other guys Ithought we'd just touch on as we
wrap up our thoughts on theseason.
Obviously, we can't talk aboutanything without mentioning Ryan
Suzuki.
Suzuki had an outstanding year,one of the few years he's kind
of been available for the seasonchipped in with 59 points in 69
games.
So that's really great.
And of course he was the guythat was fueling to a large
(18:43):
extent Bradley Nadeau with somany great plays to set him up.
But what were your thoughts onSuzuki?
Where do you think he fits inthe Canes scheme of things?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Where do you think he fits in the Canes' scheme of
things?
Oh man, the last part of thatquestion is a real loaded one.
I mean I absolutely lovedseeing Suzuki kind of battle
after just the last couple ofseasons for him, you know, early
on in his Wolves tenure, theCalder Cup year, he was injured
for the whole playoff run.
(19:15):
The year following that he hadsome injuries to battle through
at the beginning of the year,finished off strong, but you
know it was still.
It was rough for him.
And then he had the affiliationdrop between Chicago and
Carolina.
So now he's off to Springfieldin an organization that for
(19:35):
better or worse, really didn'tcare about his development and
was just kind of like all right,like we could use a body, come
here and play, but like don'tget in the way you know and so.
So now you know he comes in fromearlier in Chicago.
(19:55):
He was the first-round pick, hewas the young kid to now.
He's the one kind of takingthese guys like Nadeau and
Ropeda under his wing andshowing them the ropes of what
it needs to do to succeed atthis level.
And of course you know hischemistry with Nadeau kind of
we've already talked about thata lot and he's, I believe he led
(20:15):
the team in points.
I think he was a point ahead ofNadeau.
Yes, so you know, to see him beable to take one obstacle and
the next and to still come outon top has been just kind of a
testament to what this kidbrings to his work ethic, night
in and night out.
You know, I had I interviewedhim when I was in Chicago at the
(20:38):
beginning of the season andthere was still kind of all the
all you know the backgroundnoise going on between the two
teams and Ryan wasn'tnecessarily wasn't concerned
with that in the least, but hejust wanted to come in, he was
happy to be back in Chicagoago,he wanted to play some hockey,
getting together with thecoaches and the boys and
everything, and and so you know,to see him just just continue
(21:02):
to play at a high level aftereverything that's been thrown in
his face is is has been justnothing short and remarkable, as
far as I'm concerned.
Where he ends up up in Carolina,well, I guess that depends on
kind of what the team sees inhim.
Going forward, I see a guy whois creative offensively.
(21:24):
He's responsible.
Defensively.
He doesn't have the bestscoring touch, although I think
that he's.
He's so focused on on settingup everyone else around him.
I do think he's got a nice shot.
I just wish he'd just use itmore, but it is obviously.
I think carolina's pretty, uhpretty satisfied with, with some
(21:47):
of their centers and it's.
It just comes to a point towhere, you know know, do they
think that Suzuki can come in,maybe fit in a role in their
bottom or their middle six atsome point for them?
That's between Ryan and EricTolsky and Ron Brindamore and I
(22:07):
just have the credentials to getinto those kind of
conversations.
So I would love to see himcontinue to put the work in and
to make an impact with Carolina.
Hey, sometimes it's just notyour spot at the organization.
I don't know about you.
I loved watching Jack Druryplaying for Colorado last night
(22:31):
and sometimes you know you getyour start somewhere and you see
your career end up somewhereelse.
You can't help but be happy forthe guys.
So we'll see.
There's a lot of moving parts,I know, in this game, but I
think Suzuki's got what it takesto continue to climb over these
obstacles and make himself intoan everyday player at the next
(22:53):
level.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Well, and I think you're onto something too that
I've been thinking for a whileas well, andrew, that Suzuki is
the kind of guy you could throwin a trade.
There's other teams that couldreally use a guy like Suzuki.
I think it's going to betougher for the Hurricanes.
I really believe that, andthey're you know, they're
clearly motivated to try to wincups right now, so they're going
(23:15):
to continue to load up.
They've even got a pretty darngood center sitting out right
now and that's Mark Jankowski.
So you know they've got depthat center ice.
And so I think Suzuki yeah, Ihope he gets a chance somewhere.
I think he's certainly earninga right.
He's starting to show some ofthe promise that you know we
have for him right from theget-go as a first-round pick,
(23:37):
and obviously his brother isthriving, so that's a good thing
as well.
Last guy, a wild card in my mind, kind of surprised a lot of
people.
Yes, he is Rod Brindamore's son, that's for sure, and that's
Skyler.
But you know what, when he wasup with the Hurricanes, I think
(23:58):
he showed some things that werereally kind of surprising to
folks.
He's particularly good in theface-off, don.
He's an excellent penaltykiller, he's a solid defensive
center and, guess what, hescored the boot.
So he's a guy that, uh, youknow, didn't didn't do
(24:19):
particularly well with uh uh,you know with um the checkers,
previously, uh, part of theflorida system.
He was there for a short periodof time.
I think he certainly started tofind his game with the wolves.
What do you think about?
About brendamore?
What do you think about hisMoore?
What do you think about?
Speaker 2 (24:34):
his trajectory.
Yeah, so I mean I'll admit thatI was kind of guilty at first,
kind of seeing his name rollacross the transaction list,
like, okay, you know, I get itCoach's son, we'll give him a
shot in the organization and seewhat it's all about.
I'm happy to be proven that Iwas very wrong on expecting what
(24:54):
to expect from him this season,because he really blew me away
with.
Of course he's kind of a carboncopy of his dad for some of us
older guys who watched him rockin the red and white in Carolina
, older guys who watched himrock in the red and white in
(25:15):
Carolina, you know, just a demonin the face-off circle and a
demon going to the net andmixing it up and all that.
He really just very I saw thestaff did not look good last
year and I was like, oh boy,here we go.
That did not look good lastyear and I was like, oh boy,
(25:36):
here we go.
But this, um, this season, he,he, really, he really wowed me
with with just how, how well hewas able to adapt to the game,
it and it, the penalty killing,of course, you know again, he's,
he's just like his dad and andand the tenacity without the
puck to, just, you know, lay itall out on the line.
Yeah, these are.
You know it can kind of soundlike cliches at times, but these
(25:57):
are the traits that make theseguys so valuable when your team
really needs them the most.
And he's been out there and youknow, no questions asked like
what do you need?
Put me in?
(26:17):
Coach type of guy.
And you know, again, pleasantlysurprised with what we got from
Brynden Moore in this one butabsolutely crucial piece of that
bottom six, that special teamson the penalty kill for Chicago
and it's.
You know, sometimes you justcan't judge a book by its cover.
You know, and I'll, I'll, I'lladmit I was, I was wrong on that
(26:39):
one.
You're not going to be right onall of them.
So I can, I can say that aboutBrenda Moore.
But you know, I'm glad he's herein Chicago, I'm glad that that
he's brought that, that acumen,and you know, even though he's,
you know of course he's got hisconnection to Carolina but he's
really established himself ashis own player and his own
(27:01):
identity and everything, andwhether you know that continues
to carry on up to Carolina inthe future, you know that's for
him, I'm sure he's going to beback here in Chicago and you
know, the more he's in thisorganization, the longer he's
comfortable with his coachingstaff and everything.
(27:21):
They're going to continue togive him opportunities.
And you know it's going tostart with the playoffs and of
course, you know all thoseheroes and all those long
playoff runs.
You're going to have that thirdline center who's going to come
in for a clutch overtime goalor something.
And you know that's gotBrindamore's name written all
over it.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I can argue Well for sure, and you know again, he
came out of a pretty solidcollege career with Quinnipiac.
They won the championship.
He was a key member of thatforward crew for them and so
again a little older, sure, buta guy that you know.
(28:02):
As you look at the Canes, inthe coming years they're going
to need third and fourth linecentermen.
I mean, at some point JordanStahl will retire Not sure where
Kokeniemi fits in, so therecould be a spot that could open
up for a guy like Brendamore tocome in and play that
fourth-line spot and I thinkhe'd be, as he's growing now and
(28:24):
as he continues to play betterhockey, could be a candidate.
I know a lot of folks on X don'tagree with me, but that's okay.
I do think he's definitelygoing the right way and he's got
.
A lot of folks on X don't agreewith me, but that's okay.
I do think he's definitelygoing the right way and he's got
a lot of the right skills to bethat kind of player.
You're not looking for him tobe a 20-goal, 50-point guy If he
can pop in a few.
(28:44):
And he's solid defensively andparticularly in the faceoff top
where he was 68% in his twogames.
One game.
He was 8 of 10.
Yeah, just like his dad 68% inhis two games.
One game he was 8 of 10.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Yeah, yeah, just like his dad, an absolute menace in
the face off.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
To wrap up the season discussion.
I just wanted to see was anyonea real disappointment for you?
Like, if you look at the startof the year, were there players
that you thought, oh boy, Ican't wait to see what's going
to go and how it's going to dothis year.
Anybody stick?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
out A couple.
I'll say, you know, I'll startwith Brandon Lemieux.
Not that I mean I'm, you know,a little biased and I was like,
oh boy, here we go, claude's soncoming on over here.
It's unfortunate, kind of theway it happened.
(29:41):
But then, as you've kind ofseen the antics he got up to in
Europe, you're kind of glad thatthat tumor got cut early from
this team, especially with somany impressionable young
players, you know.
So you're kind of hoping for abit of a, a physical veteran
presence there and it just it,just it just wasn't it.
(30:04):
You know, sometimes some ofthese guys don't.
They think they're better thanthe American league and you.
If that's the case, then wedon't want you here anyway.
So number one that was early onin the season Glad to see him
gone.
Another one that I know a lotof fans had a lot of hopes for I
(30:26):
did as well was Felix Unger'sSorum.
I know the numbers aren'tspectacular.
What we saw from Nadeau wasjust absolutely historic, and
this is kind of more of yourtypical rookie experience,
(30:47):
especially coming over fromEurope, a completely different
country, different play style.
At the same time, I think, asyou know, the second half of the
season is going by.
You're kind of hoping like allright here, like here's where
the switch gets turned on, okay,here's where the switch gets
(31:08):
turned on.
Okay, here's where the switchgets turned on.
You know, and Ungerswarm, hadyou know um and unger swarm, had
you know power play time andand plenty of opportunities
changing up with some line matesand everything.
And you know I, I I don't thinkthe numbers are necessarily
indicative of how he's playedand certainly not what he's
(31:30):
capable of of this year.
Um, I just think sometimes youknow it's, it's it's a number of
different factors again thatcan impact you.
And he's a young kid, he'sgonna he's gonna learn, he's
gonna continue to grow and Ithink he'll be all right.
I just, I think you knowcarolina fans kind of um, you
know they, they expected him,with his wonderful preseason and
(31:54):
all that, to kind of come inand kick the door down here in
Chicago and while, you know,there's just some things that
young players have to learn andcontinue to adapt and grow
through.
But I think the intangibles arethere, I think he's got the
sense, I think he's got theskill and it's just a matter of
(32:16):
putting it all together.
Um, but you know, admittedlyprobably like to see a couple
more, uh, a couple more numberson the score sheet than than
what we saw from.
But it's part of the game andand I think the true test of his
metal will be, you know, areyou gonna?
You're gonna get down onyourself.
You're medal will be, you know,are you gonna?
You're gonna get down onyourself.
You're gonna feel sorry foryourself.
Are you gonna get?
(32:37):
you know you're gonna hit the,hit the weight room, hit the
practice ice and gonna keep onpushing forward I think that's
what he's gonna do, whether it's, you know, kind of show out in
these playoffs or he's gonna putthe work in the offseason, come
back as a much better playernext year for the Wolves.
I'm looking forward to see howhe responds to this.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, he was definitely one that I was
thinking of.
Of course he's very young.
He played in the World Juniorsthis year and I thought that was
going to be a springboard kindof to use your terminology as
well.
Andrew, one of the other thingswith Ungers Sorem.
Of course they wereexperimenting with him at center
and I'm not sure that's workedout very well for him.
(33:18):
I feel myself he seems to bemore comfortable in the wing,
but we'll see how it goes.
I think he's definitely a playerthat he's going to come back.
He's going to be pushing hard,learning experience.
Similar situation for therussian guys, you know, uh, glad
trick is off.
He had a tough, tough start tothe his pro career.
Ruslan kazeeb uh, somechallenges with him as well.
(33:41):
Look, these are all topprospects for the kings.
They're they got lots of time.
They're very young.
Uh, you know, they'll get somegrooming.
And and one thing we talked alot about this year, and I think
these guys deserve immensecredit, is the coaching staff,
led by Cam Abbott and his crew.
I think they've done aphenomenal job and one of the
(34:01):
ways that we can kind ofreference that is by the fact
that when these guys go up toplay for the Canes, they don't
miss a beat.
So I think, again, wellprepared and kudos to all those
guys and a great season.
I think it was wonderful thisyear with the Wolves.
So let's talk about theplayoffs.
And of course, they're upagainst Rockford Icehogs.
(34:21):
They played 12 games againstthe Icehogs this year and they
beat them nine times, so that'snot a bad start.
Goals were pretty close, goalsagainst were close.
I mean, most of the metrics arereally close Power play,
penalty kill, you name it.
I looked at a bunch of stuff.
It looks like it's all prettyclose.
So what are you thinking as wehead into this series?
(34:43):
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
You kind of got a tale of two different teams here
, I think.
On Rockford's side, first off,you know they're going to be
getting Frank Nazar, arturLevshunov, a number of guys that
have been spending some timewith Chicago, so they're
probably not necessarily goingto be the same team that you'd
(35:08):
seen before.
At the same time, you know, theWolves are getting Scott Morrow
for some reinforcements.
I think that should kind of,like you know, balance itself
out a little bit there and again.
At the same time, I feel likeRockford with, you know, with
Chicago up there rebuilding andyou've seen a lot of talented
(35:31):
young players there in the icehogs, um complimented with some
veterans like joey anderson andbrett cini yes, that they were.
I think the rockford kind of hadan incredibly disappointing
season.
I was expecting them to be wayhigher up in the standings for,
uh, for kind of the caliber ofplayers that they had and for
(35:53):
whatever reason, it just neverseemed to get it all together.
And you know, the Wolvescertainly took advantage of
Chicago seeming to just kind ofanytime anyone was playing good,
for a stretch of three or fourgames it just swiped someone up
to the Blackhawks and you kindof you know where each team
(36:14):
rests in the standings, is kindof you know what she's what you
get.
So you know the obviously 12games Chicago took nine of them.
Uh, justin Robida, I think, had17 points in the whole series
and just absolutely terrorizedthe Rockford defense.
Bradley had a show with 11 ofhis 32 goals against Rockford.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
In 12 games.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Yeah.
So I think he was pretty happyto see those red sweaters on the
other side whenever they showedup.
So you know I.
But at the same time it's sucha unique dynamic here in this
little play-in series in the AHLbecause it's a three-game
(37:02):
series.
All you need is one stolen gamefrom a goaltender.
All of a sudden you're theother teams on the brink of
elimination and I'm going to goon a bit of a mini rant here.
(37:22):
The whole situation of Chicagobeing the higher seed but having
to play two games on the roadagainst Rockford really doesn't
sit well for me.
I understand that there's abillion playoff series so you
need to get these done in timeand the All-State Arena is
booked solid this weekend.
I get it.
Why is it so difficult to havea back-to-back on Wednesday and
Thursday in All-State and then,if Game 3 is necessary, you go
(37:45):
play it out in Rockford?
Okay, you still have your homeice advantage for the Ice Hogs
on the weekend there.
But sorry, some teams, in someof these three-game series, with
the distance in between, tucsondoesn't even have a home
playoff game.
So I don't want to hear thatlike Rockford needs their game
two home game or whatever, itdoesn't even matter, it
shouldn't matter.
(38:05):
Higher seeded team home iceadvantage that's what they play
the whole regular season for.
Whole mice advantage that'swhat they play the whole regular
season for.
And instead I feel like chicagois getting kind of a a little
vindictive revenge for theirexperiment of independence last
year.
So the league's just givingthem one more whack on the no
thing.
I told you, so don't ever dothat again.
(38:27):
And it's it's frustrating atthe same.
And Wolves fans really want togo over there and make a
difference.
Rockford's not even an hour anda half away from Allstate Arena
.
So you know, go out there, goand make some noise for the boys
on the road.
I'm sure they would absolutelylove it.
It's going to be pretty charged.
(38:50):
These teams have seen eachother for 12 times now.
I don't know about you but I'dbe pretty sick of the other team
if I now have to see them atleast two more times, maybe even
three.
So I think again with thestakes, every game.
You're starting off on gamefive basically.
(39:11):
So the intensity is alreadyramped up to 100, and you're
sick of seeing Bradley Nadeauscore a thousand times on you.
It's going to be charged, it'sgoing to be physical, and you
know, this is the kind of stuffI don't know about you, but this
is why I watch the sport, thisis why I cover it, this is why I
(39:32):
live it.
I am excited to get this allkicked off on Wednesday night.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Well, and you know, we've seen with some of the NHL
playoff games, the intensity ofcourse goes through the roof and
it's a whole different animal.
A couple of things that I wasthinking about.
You know you look at the lineupfor Chicago.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I love the defensive core.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
You know they're really deep.
We talked a little bit about.
Of course.
You've got Scott Morrow, you'vegot Dominic Finsori, you've got
Charles Alexis Legault, you'vegot Ty Smith who I think has
been playing great hockey.
You've got Ronan Seeley.
He's a veteran.
He's going to be back there.
(40:19):
And you've got some other guysthat could be interesting.
Like Yoel Nistro I would liketo see in some playoff games.
I think he's started to showwhat he can do.
He's a guy, that boy over inEurope.
He was outstanding playing inthe SHL, so I'd like to see what
he can do.
And they've even got DominicBedinka hanging around.
So they've got lots of depth inthe blue.
And, of course, goaltending.
Look, you've got DustinTokarski, who just beat these
guys something fierce.
He won five games, 1.75 goalsagainst average against Rockford
(40:42):
.
You had Spencer Martin.
He's had a great year.
He won three out of four gameswith them.
These are two excellentgoaltenders and if you look back
at you know the kind of playthat you know these guys have
done in the playoffs and theAmerican League before.
They've been rock solid.
So these are a couple of guysthat I really like.
I think they're going to behuge If the Wolves are going to
(41:05):
go deep.
They're going to need thatdefensive core to be rock solid.
They're going to need theirgoaltending to come to come up
big, and then they've got lotsof guys that can score and I I
kind of I'm curious to see howfar these guys can go it's.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
I don't want to say that I kind of feel like the
whole division feels wide open,but look, grand rapids seem like
the juggernaut at the beginningof the year and they just
absolutely fell off a cliff.
Milwaukee is extremely wellcoached.
They won the division again,but I feel like they don't have
(41:43):
Zach LaRue.
They don't have YaroslavAskarov.
They're not the monster thatthey were in years past.
And same thing with Texas.
Logan Stankoven is oh hey, he'spart of the organization now.
He's not terrorizing thisdivision anymore.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yeah, he was huge last year.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Yeah, maverick Bork was the league MVP.
He's up in Texas.
I mean, still they have JustinRitzkovian and Mate Blumel and
they just keep.
That organization just kind ofkeeps churning out stars out of
nowhere.
I'm kind of getting sick of it,but at the same time it feels
(42:23):
like if this team gets hot atthe right time and starts
getting shrieking, you've gotSpencer Martin, one of the best
options that you can get.
At this level, anything canhappen.
And again, in these shorterseries, a best of five in the
next round.
If they can make it pastRockford, anything can happen.
And again, like I said, thesekids are playing loose.
(42:45):
I feel like there's not a wholelot of pressure on them.
They got house money, why not?
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (42:51):
Why can't these guys make a run for it?
So it's an exciting time to beon the beat and I, you know I'll
be covering it from beginningto end.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Well, you know the interesting thing, if you look
at the way the lineup isstructured, you know you've got
the big line, where you've got,of course, ryan Suzuki and
Bradley Nadeau, and I think NickSweeney generally gets in on
that line now these days he'sbeen there quite a bit or
Pavlich, one of those guys willbe jumping in there and then
you've got, you know you've gotJustin Robitaille and you know
(43:25):
he's got some guys that can putthe puck in the net on his line.
And you've got, of course youknow, josiah Slavin and Skylar
Brendamore, who bring that good,solid third line defensive
capability and pop in the oddgoal as well.
It's a lineup that looks prettysolid.
I mean you've got other guysstill there, like Noel Gundler
(43:46):
and you know you've got UngarSohrm.
You've got players that couldjump up and do something on the
forward side.
So I think you know they're alot deeper than a lot of folks
think.
Now that they're fully loadedup, everybody's back in there.
They're healthy, they're backfrom visits to Carolina.
Everything is kind of trendingthe right way.
I think they could surprisesome folks and, like you, I'm
(44:14):
going to be following this very,very closely.
Rockford's an interesting one.
I've been watching the Hawks alot this year.
Frank Nazar is a heck of ahockey player, obviously.
Lev Shanoff is going to be adandy as well.
He's very young, so he's stillfinding his game, and I don't
know if they're going to bringsome of the collegians down.
They have Moore and Renzel, wholook really good at the end of
the year in Chicago, so thoseguys, if they're coming down,
(44:35):
they're going to help too, sothat would be good.
I want to see a good, toughseries.
Obviously, we want theseplayers that have been here this
year to continue to grow, andthere's nothing like playoff
action to add to their acumenfor sure, and so I think that's
going to be excellent.
Yeah, so are you expecting awin for the Wolves in this
(45:00):
series, or what are youforecasting?
Speaker 2 (45:03):
I would expect Chicago to move on past
Brockford.
I think you know nine wins thatthey've had over them over the
course of the season that theykind of you know, obviously
super familiar.
But they know what works andwhat doesn't against this team.
And furthermore, you know, asyou get into the playoffs and
(45:25):
everything becomes more tight,checking and all that Chicago's
record in one-goal games wassomething like what 23-4,.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
I want to say yes, it was.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
So what that's telling me is that you know when
the stakes are, when the gameis right on the edge, when the
stakes are raised, that thisteam knows how to lock it, lock
it down, knows how to how tohold that lead and knows how to
how to come away on top.
And that's that's exactly whatthis, it's what this entire time
(46:03):
of the year is, is just how tominimize those mistakes and and
to capitalize on your opponents.
So so I like their chances, Ilike where this team has been
all year and just thistrajectory continuing to move
upwards.
And again, I like this matchup.
I think Rockford's in theplayoffs, by the saving grace
(46:26):
that Manitoba and Iowa were twoof the worst teams in the league
and I'm not afraid to put thatout on the air.
If that's some bulletin boardmaterial for the Ice Hogs, then
I hope that.
If that's what they need tomotivate them is this mug saying
that then more power to them.
(46:47):
But I like where this Chicagoteam has been from October until
now.
I think that they still have alittle bit more to show us what
they're capable of.
And again, like I said, this iswhat it's all about this time of
the year to.
You know, you've had what I'mtrying to think six months of
(47:08):
war up until this point.
Yes, the next three games.
I'm trying to think it was sixmonths of war up until this
point.
Yes, the next three games.
Yeah, after 72 games, you havethree to decide whether you're
going home early or whether youcontinue to advance.
So you know, we talked a lotabout all the rookies and
everything.
(47:28):
Well, no one cares if you're arookie or you're a 10-year vet.
At this point it's time to seewhat you're made of.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Well, andrew, I think , well said.
And boy, I'll be like you.
I'll be following closely andhope that this group of young
players with some fine veteranssprinkled in to try to help them
and mentor them through this, Ihope they can get to the next
round as well, as always.
Hey, man, it's awesome talkingChicago Wolves with you.
(47:59):
Your knowledge is justfantastic and continuing to
learn, every time we gettogether, a lot more about the
Wolves, and we'll do this againfor sure in the coming months.
Where can folks find you?
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Yeah, so my written work can be found on the Calder
Times, which is where I coverboth the Griffins and the Wolves
.
So I'm going to be doing a lotof central division playoff
coverage here in a bit, which isa good change of pace after the
last couple of years, with theWolves out of the postseason and
(48:36):
then on X I guess I'll call it.
You can find me at Andrewunderscore, rinaldi underscore,
and that's where I give updateson the team.
I live tweet on the team.
I live tweet during the games.
I, you know, I share highlights,whether it's a big hit, a big
(48:59):
save, a big goal, a fight orjust something silly that I find
in the crowd.
You know, and I and you know,especially this time of the year
, I love interacting with thefans.
I love.
So if anyone out there has anyquestions or anything about the
(49:20):
team whatsoever, even if youjust want to chat, drop by or
chirp me because Rockford sweptthe Wolves and because I jinxed
them into doing it, then I'mopen for all of it.
And yeah, you know, it's why Ido this.
I love, you know, the communityand the fans and all that.
(49:40):
And, yeah, I'll be here untilthe bitter end, whether it's
this series or whether it's inJune with the cup race.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
Well, that's fantastic and you know what,
andrew?
It's always great fun.
I love your passion and yourexcitement with the Wolves and
with hockey in general.
It's always contagious as heck.
In any case, to those of youwho have been listening or
watching, andrew and I aredelighted that you spent time
with us today.
Of course, for those who likethis episode, please press the
(50:16):
like button.
If you do have comments or youwant to make any kind of
communication with myself orwith Andrew, of course please
leave that in the commentsection down below and we'll
make sure we get back with youas soon as possible.
And, of course, if you want tobe alerted of future episodes of
Storm Tracker and ChicagoWolves Report, please press the
(50:36):
subscribe button and the belland we'll make sure you're
alerted as soon as those areavailable.
Once again, thanks so much forspending time with us today,
andrew, and I look forward togetting together with you real
soon once again on ChicagoWolves Report here on Star Trek.
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