Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Several NHL teams are making sure that their AHL affiliates will be well-stocked when the Calder Cup Playoffs open next week.
Eleven teams already on their way to the AHL postseason have an NHL parent team that is not going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs – Bridgeport, Charlotte, Cleveland, Coachella Valley, Grand Rapids, Hershey, Manitoba, Milwaukee, San Jose, Springfield and Toronto.
Some of those NHL organizations have already started to fortify their AHL affiliates. And with the NHL regular season finishing Thursday, more action could be on the way. Here are the moves that are already done:
Bridgeport Islanders
Fourth in the Atlantic Division, the Islanders are going into the postseason loaded with their parent team’s season finished. They got forwards Viktor Eklund, Liam Foudy and Cal Ritchie and defenseman Isaiah George back from Long Island. Ritchie, 21, is a 2023 first-round pick by Colorado who came to New York in a trade last season and had 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 62 NHL games this season. Eklund, another first-rounder, is just back from making his NHL debut on Tuesday night; he provided a goal in Bridgeport’s 5-2 win at Hartford on Wednesday to give him 10 points (three goals, seven assists) through eight AHL games.
Foudy, who has 26 goals, and George have been Bridgeport regulars as well. Next is a stop at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday followed by the regular-season finale at Hershey on Saturday before it’s time for the postseason.
Charlotte Checkers
The reigning Eastern Conference champions were well-represented in Florida’s season-ending 8-1 win over Detroit on Wednesday, with Michael Benning scoring his first two NHL goals, and Wilmer Skoog (2a), Marek Alscher (2a), Ludvig Jansson (1a) and Mikulas Hovorka (1a) finding the scoresheet as well.
All five players, along with Tobias Bjornfot, were returned to Charlotte on Thursday. The Checkers have locked up third place in the Atlantic Division, and will host Bridgeport, Hershey or Springfield in a best-of-three series next week.
Coachella Valley Firebirds
Top forward prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard has moved between the Seattle Kraken and Coachella Valley at different points this season. Now he can settle in with the Firebirds after Seattle reassigned him on Tuesday in time for a match-up with the San Jose Barracuda. It was Fisker Mølgaard’s first AHL contest since March 22, and he had an assist to give him 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 47 games in his first AHL season.
Forward Jani Nyman, who has 21 goals in 38 games for Coachella Valley to go with 12 assists, went up to the Kraken on Tuesday, but he will be eligible to return to Coachella Valley. With the Kraken missing three goaltenders, Nikke Kokko and Victor Östman have been pressed into NHL duty of late. Seattle’s season concludes Thursday night at Colorado, and the two goaltending prospects are eligible to return to Coachella Valley.
The Firebirds, who visit San Diego on Saturday and host Abbotsford on Sunday, have a chance to finish as high as third in the Pacific Division.
Grand Rapids Griffins
Grand Rapids’ haul heading into the postseason includes forwards Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Carter Mazur and Dominik Shine, as well as defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
The Central Division champions close out with road games against Milwaukee and Cleveland before awaiting their division semifinal opponent.
Hershey Bears
Ivan Miroshnichenko’s first AHL outing since March 3 boosted the Bears Wednesday night, as his power-play goal helped send the visitors to a postseason-clinching 5-1 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 22-year-old has 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 39 games for Hershey along with three points (two goals, one assist) in 13 games with the Washington Capitals.
Joining Miroshnichenko on reassignment from Washington were goaltender Clay Stevenson and AHL All-Rookie forward Ilya Protas. Protas, who leads the AHL in rookie scoring with 64 points (28 goals, 36 assists) in 67 games, scored his first NHL goal last Saturday for the Capitals. Stevenson got Wednesday’s start and made 32 saves to move him to 17-12-3 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in 35 games.
Hershey is trying to pass Bridgeport for home-ice advantage in first-round play. Along with the match-up with the Islanders this Saturday, they will also host the Rochester Americans on Sunday.
Laval Rocket
While the Montreal Canadiens are going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs again, the Rocket are still getting late-season help. Montreal reassigned forward Vinzenz Rohrer from his Swiss club, the ZSC Lions, to the Rocket on Wednesday. Rohrer, taken by the Habs in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft, had 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 41 games for the Zurich club. He has 142 regular-season games across three seasons in one of Europe’s top leagues.
Defenseman David Reinbacher made his NHL debut with Montreal on Sunday, but is eligible to return to the Rocket.
Laval, three points ahead of the Syracuse Crunch for the North Division lead, has a pair of road games in Toronto this weekend.
Utica Comets
Still alive entering the final weekend, the Utica Comets received a haul of top players after the New Jersey Devils finished their season Tuesday. A 3-0 win at Belleville on Wednesday has the Comets within four points of Rochester for the North Division’s final playoff berth.
Back from New Jersey are goaltender Nico Daws and defenseman Topias Vilen along with forwards Brian Halonen, Lenni Hämeenaho and Marc McLaughlin.
Utica will need to sweep a home-and-home set with the league-leading Providence Bruins that begins Friday; Rochester, holding a game in hand on the Comets, will need to go without a point in those three remaining games in order for Utica to qualify.
