Lone Wolves: AHL Chicago To Go Independent

The Chicago Wolves have earned a reputation in the American Hockey League for being fiercely independent. Even when affiliated with an NHL team, the Wolves have maintained a philosophy that general manager Wendell Young is not shy about.

“One of the criteria being affiliated with the Chicago Wolves (is) to develop AND challenge for the Calder Cup.”

Now, AHL Chicago can wholeheartedly stick to that mantra with no outside interference.

It was announced Wednesday on The Jeff Marek Show (and later published by Scott Powers of The Athletic) that the Wolves were going to head the independent route after this season, cutting ties with the Carolina Hurricanes after their three-year affiliation agreement expired.

“It was just an accumulation of things over time,” stated Young. “We just felt that it was time to run the team that we agreed on the way to run it. If you look at our track record, we’ve put a lot of players in the NHL, so we know how to develop. We do know how to develop, but we want to win at the same time, and I think we do a great job at that balancing act. That’s how we see it, and I think their philosophy has changed.”

It will be the first time an AHL team has gone without an NHL affiliate since the Worchester IceCats in 1994-95.

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Venturing out into 2023-24 without an NHL team to supply prospects is an eyebrow-raising decision. But, as the Wolves’ GM spoke with Full Press Hockey on Wednesday, he addressed concerns and questions that have arisen since the initial announcement.

Full Press: Being without a parent team in North American hockey is quite unprecedented these days. Did you seek out an NHL team whose affiliation was expiring before settling on the decision to go independent?

Wendell Young: We inquired and did our due diligence to see if there were any teams available that could accommodate this. There’s no affiliations available, so it was our choice to become independent.

FP: Does this mean that the Wolves won’t have an official ECHL affiliation next season?

Young: No, we can have an ECHL affiliate. We’re not sure what’s going on for next year; this is relatively new for the organization. I think we’ll need an ECHL affiliate because we’re going to need depth to draw from.

FP: Has there been strategizing over how to navigate the 260-game vet rule? Any chance you try and petition for an exemption or expansion of that rule?

Young: Nope, not at all. We know we basically have six vets that are exempt, and we’ll go from there. I don’t think we’re going to need help. There’s enough players out there, enough players that come out of their entry-level deals and don’t get qualified or free agents and whatnot. 

It’s been a lot of years and a lot of time that we haven’t had the full complement of veterans in our line-up because we usually don’t usually get to the back number, anyway. I’m very comfortable with what we had. We develop our players that are coming out of juniors & college and guys coming off their entry-level deals, and I think we can accomplish that.

FP: Did you keep your finger on the pulse of players overseas due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Did that factor into the organization’s decision to go independent?

Young: No, not at all. The European situation played into why. I literally sent an email out to the agents just to inform them that we were going independent. I know free agency season is not open, but I wanted to make sure players didn’t sign in Europe that had a chance and a platform to play with the Chicago Wolves.

FP: Any other pipelines you’ve got your eye on to fill out this roster for next season?

Young: There’s a lot of guys that need a platform to show what they have, whether it’s not getting a chance in the American League or guys coming back from Europe. (There is) a lot of different avenues that we’ll look at. For some guys, they’ll have an opportunity to play, because they have a platform to show what they have. There won’t be a mandate that all the prospects and first rounders have to play. It’s whoever’s best will play. 

We’ll give a platform so they can show themselves to the NHL. There’s some guys that maybe have ran their course in the NHL and just want a good place to play. We’re going to try everything. We’ll look around. There’s no one that we’re not going to overlook because we’re going to turn every stone.

The Wolves are currently on the outside looking in regarding the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. With six games remaining against five division foes, Chicago’s 69 points put them just two points back from in-state rival Rockford. Sean O’Brien’s Playoff Probabilities (updated Tuesday, April 4) have the Wolves at a 23.3% chance of making the postseason.