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2021-22 SEASON REVIEW
The Chicago Wolves had a season for the books. Right from the jump, they looked to be one of the best teams in the league and they never really slowed down. Multiple players earned individual awards, and the team took home some much-coveted hardware. But, the Wolves 2021-22 success wasn’t a total guarantee heading into the season.
Now, the Wolves are usually a competitive team and amongst the top teams in the AHL. They certainly were in 2020-21, as well. But that was a short season, and the Wolves were a two-headed monster of sorts. With the Milwaukee Admirals opting out of the shortened season, the Nashville Predators teamed up with the Carolina Hurricanes to send their prospects to the Chicago Wolves to get them game action and not have it be a total lost season. Predictably, two powerhouse teams in the Central coming together created a super team, and they dominated with a 21-9-1-2 record in 33 games. The kicker? Three of the top five scorers on the team belonged to Nashville, and the Wolves didn’t have a reliable netminder to carry into the 21-22 season.
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But, this is the Chicago Wolves we are talking about, and if there is anything they enjoy doing, it’s winning. So, the Wolves and the Hurricanes identified the holes they needed to fill and brought in three massive additions to the roster that set the tone for the entire year: Andrew Poturalski, Stefan Noesen, and Alex Lyon.
Poturalski was named captain of the team and took that role to heart. In 71 regular season games, he scored 28 goals and added 73 assists for 101 points, becoming the first player to hit 100 points in the AHL since 2009-10. He won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy for the AHL top point producer and became the first player to win the scoring title in back-to-back seasons since Peter White in 1997-98.
Noesen was given an “A” on his sweater as alternate captain and went on to score 48 goals in 70 games, more than tripling his previous career high (14). He added 37 assists for 85 points and was the second leading scorer on the team. Noesen also took home the Willie Marshall Award as the AHL leading goal-scorer and had the highest AHL goal total since 2009-10.
As good as those two were, you aren’t getting far without some help in the blue paint. Enter Lyon with his 18-7-3 record, 2.16 goals against average, and .912 save percentage. The Wolves had to use a record-setting eight goaltenders in 2021-22 due to injuries in Chicago and up with Carolina. Even so, Lyon was the man, playing 15 more games than the next guy behind him. He also took home some personal hardware, winning the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award which goes to all of the goaltenders who play at least 25 games for the team with the lowest GAA. He was the sole winner for the Wolves.
Thanks to these three additions and huge contributions up and down the lineup, any questions about this Wolves team heading into the 2021-22 season were quickly answered. The team finished with a record of 50-16-5-5 putting them atop the Central Division, the Western Conference, and the entire American Hockey League. They brought the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy back to Chicago as the top team in the AHL with 110 points and a franchise record .724 points percentage.
That wasn’t Chicago’s only team hardware. The Wolves went into the postseason as the number one seed and after a first round bye, they swept their in-state rival, the Rockford IceHogs. They took care of the Milwaukee Admirals in four games (3-1). They cooled off the Stockton Heat in six games (4-2). Then, they took down the Eastern Conference Champions, the Springfield Thunderbirds, in five games (4-1) to become the 2022 Calder Cup Champions!
It was a storybook season from start to finish, but now we must look ahead.
Two of those three key contributors are gone; Poturalski and Lyon both signed elsewhere. But, not all hope is lost. That guy that played the second-most games in net behind Alex Lyon? 23 year-old goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov. He was also key for this Wolves team down the stretch, posting a 13-1-2 record with a 2.09 GAA and .921 sv% in 15 regular season games. He saw action in six playoff games after spending some time trying to help the Carolina Hurricanes in their push for the Cup. In those six games, Kochetkov (aka Koochie) had a 5-1 record with a 1.65 GAA and .950 sv%. Oh, and he had a shutout in the Calder Cup Final. No big deal . . .
So, the Chicago Wolves are still in good hands, but there is definitely a lot of roster turnover heading into 2022-23. If we learned anything from 2021-22, they’ll find a way to make it work.
Let’s take a look at how the Chicago Wolves Roster is shaping up for 2022-23 season.
(List accurate as of September 22nd at 1:00pm CT)
RETURNING PLAYERS
These players remain under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, have received an extension from the Hurricanes, or have agreed to an AHL contract with the Wolves.
Forwards
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Jack Drury (Entering second year of three-year ELC with Hurricanes)
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Ryan Suzuki (Entering second year of three-year ELC with Hurricanes)
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Jamieson Rees (Entering second year of three-year ELC with Hurricanes)
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Stefan Noesen (Signed two-year extension with Hurricanes on July 12)
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Noel Gunler (Entering first year of three-year ELC with Hurricanes; played 11 regular season games and 10 playoff games with the Wolves)
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Vasili Ponomarev (Entering first year of three-year ELC with Hurricanes; played 11 regular season games and 18 playoff games with the Wolves)
- Stelio Mattheos (Signed one-year contract with Hurricanes on July 25)
- Ivan Lodnia (Re-signed one-year AHL contract on July 28)
- Max Lajoie (Re-signed one-year, two-way NHL contract on August 8)
Defensemen
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Jalen Chatfield (Signed two-year contract extension with Hurricanes on January 21; entering the first year)
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Cavan Fitzgerald (Entering final year of two-year contract with Hurricanes)
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Griffin Mendel (Signed AHL contract on July 16)
Goaltenders
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Pyotr Kochetkov (Entering final year of two-year ELC with Hurricanes)
NEW ADDITIONS
These players have signed NHL/AHL contracts coming from other teams or have recently signed an ELC with the Hurricanes and spent 2021-22 in a different league.
Forwards
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Malte Stromwall (Signed one-year contract with Hurricanes)
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Mackenzie MacEachern (Signed one-year contract with Hurricanes)
- Lane Pederson (Signed one-year contract with Hurricanes)
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Blake Murray (Signed three-year ELC with Hurricanes on May 24, 2021; spent 21-22 in ECHL, entering second year)
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Tuukka Tieksola (Signed three-year ELC* with Hurricanes on May 14, 2021; spent 21-22 in Liiga, entering second year)
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Alexander Pashin (Signed three-year ELC with Hurricanes on May 2)
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Ville Koivunen (Signed three-year ELC* with Hurricanes on August 15, 2021; spent 21-22 in Liiga, currently loaned to Kärpät in Liiga for 22-23)
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Joseph LaBate (Signed AHL contract on July 18)
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Josh Melnick (Signed AHL contract on July 18)
- Ryan Dzingel (Signed one-year contract with Hurricanes)
- Eric Cooley (Signed AHL contract on July 26)
Defensemen
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Ronan Seeley (Signed three-year ELC with Hurricanes on September 24, 2021; spent 21-22 in WHL, entering first year)
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Aleksi Heimosalmi (Signed three-year ELC with Hurricanes on August 15, 2021; spent 21-22 in Liiga, currently loaned to Ässät for 22-23)
- William Lagesson (Signed one-year contract with the Hurricanes)
- David Farrance (Signed AHL contract on July 26)
Goaltenders
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Zach Sawchenko (Signed one-year contract with Hurricanes)
- Cale Morris (Signed AHL contract on July 26)
DEPARTURES
These players have confirmed contracts signed outside of the Hurricanes/Wolves organization.
Forwards
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Dominik Bokk (In final year of three-year contract*, but is playing for Löwen Frankfurt in the DEL2 on loan)
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Stephen Harper (Düsseldorfer EG/DEL)
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Josh Leivo (St. Louis, 1-year contract)
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Kyle Marino (Henderson/AHL)
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Richard Pánik (Was on loan from the New York Islanders)
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Andrew Poturalski (Seattle, 2-year contract)
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Spencer Smallman (Colorado, 2-year contract)
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Dave Gust (Rockford/AHL)
- C.J. Smith (New York Rangers, 1-year contract)
- Sam Miletic (Östersunds IK/HockeyAllsvenskan)
- David Cotton (Coachella Valley/AHL)
Defensemen
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Daniel Brickley (Västerviks IK/HockeyAllsvenskan)
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Éric Gélinas (SC Bern/NL)
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Josh Jacobs (Colorado, 1-year contract)
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Tarmo Reunanen (Lukko/Liiga, Hurricanes retain NHL rights)
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Jesper Sellgren (Luleå HF/SHL, Hurricanes retain NHL rights)
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Artyom Serikov (Spartak Moskva/KHL)
- Joey Keane (Spartak Moskva/KHL)
- Chris Bigras (Barys Nur-Sultan/KHL)
- Eric Williams (Norfolk/ECHL)
Goaltenders
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Alex Lyon (Florida, 1-year contract)
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Eetu Makiniemi (San Jose, 1-year contract)
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Beck Warm (Rochester/AHL)
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Dylan Wells (Rockford/AHL)
- Jack LaFontaine (Syracuse/AHL)
* – Contract includes European Assignment Clause, detailed in Article 11 – 11.19 of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement — “The SPC of any Player may contain a clause that provides that, in the event his NHL Club Loans the Player to a club outside the NHL, during the period of such Loan, the Player shall have the option to be Loaned to a club of his choice outside North America.”
(Special thanks to CapFriendly and Elite Prospects for all the contract terms and definitions for this offseason player tracker!)
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Other 2022 AHL Off Season Trackers :
Pacific
Central
North
Atlantic
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