TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: MARCH 14TH, 2024
Mar 14, 2024The Hartford Wolf Pack are in the midst of one of their busiest road stretches of the season. The club is in a stretch in which they play seven of eight games on the road. The first three road games are complete, as the Pack arrived back home from Charlotte early on Thursday morning.
Ahead of another four-game road trip, mostly through the North Division, it’s time for another weekly edition of the blog!
Let’s get right to it, shall we?
1.) Last Friday, the parent New York Rangers made three trades ahead of the NHL trade deadline. One of the deals, with the Minnesota Wild, impacted the Wolf Pack. The Rangers sent Wolf Pack forward Turner Elson to the Wild in exchange for forward Nic Petan. Petan, who led Iowa in points with 40 at the time of the trade, joined the Wolf Pack.
2.) Petan is a nice addition to the Wolf Pack and has immediately slotted into the club’s top-six forward group. Petan notched an assist in his Wolf Pack debut at Bridgeport on March 9th and also scored in the shootout for the club that night.
Petan has 41 points on the season (12 g, 29 a) in 47 games with the Wild and Wolf Pack. Throughout his career, Petan has scored 282 points (92 g, 190 a) in 284 AHL games.
It’ll take a few games for Petan to get used to a new system and a new team. Once he gets rolling in Hartford, Petan could be a huge factor in the Wolf Pack’s push for the Calder Cup.
3.) Professional sports is a business, we all know that. Still, it’s tough to see great people leave. Turner Elson is a very good hockey player who has enjoyed a terrific career in the sport. He’s also a great person who was beloved by his teammates and coaches during his time in Hartford.
Elson played a key leadership role with the Wolf Pack and was a total class act to work with.
Last year was my first year traveling to call Wolf Pack games, and Elson could not have been more welcoming to me. I’ll always appreciate how comfortable he made me feel on the road and how part of the group he and the leadership group made me feel.
I’ll always appreciate that and wish Turner nothing but the best in Iowa.
4.) Remember, everyone, an AHL regular season is 72 games long. There will be plenty of ebbs and flows throughout the season. It’s important to not overreact positively to any winning streaks and to not overreact negatively to any losing streaks.
No team’s ship will sail through smooth seas for 72 straight games.
5.) Last season, the Rangers were quite active around the trade deadline and made numerous moves that impacted the Wolf Pack. The Pack were also active at the AHL level, making numerous AHL trades.
Following the trade deadline on March 3rd, the Wolf Pack went 1-3-1-1 over the following six games. That included a four-game losing streak.
Once the Wolf Pack found some chemistry and the new additions meshed, the team took off. The Wolf Pack won eight straight games from March 26th through April 14th, clinching a Calder Cup Playoff berth in the process.
6.) There was only one trade involving the Wolf Pack at this trade deadline, but there has been plenty of roster change.
Forwards Alex Belzile and Adam Edström have returned from the Rangers, while forwards Karl Henriksson, Anton Blidh, Bobby Trivigno, Matej Pekar, and Riley Nash have all returned from injury.
When you factor in the return of Zach Berzolla from injury on defense and the addition of Petan via trade, that’s nine new bodies into the Wolf Pack’s lineup over the last few games.
It’s going to take time for everyone to mesh and for chemistry to form.
Keep that in mind and remember last season’s similar post-deadline feeling out process.
7.) Dylan Garand made his career-high sixth consecutive start on Wednesday night in Charlotte. Garand has been playing great hockey as of late and is a huge reason why the Wolf Pack salvaged a point in their 2-1 overtime loss on Tuesday night.
Garand is 3-1-2 during these six games and has been a big reason why the Wolf Pack has maintained a top-four spot in the Atlantic Division despite all of the roster turnover over the last few months.
You’re watching a talented young goaltender take the next step in his young career.
8.) The Wolf Pack’s injury report has shrunk to three players. Currently, defensemen Ben Harpur and Connor Mackey are both out, as is goaltender Louis Domingue.
Harpur is listed as out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, while Mackey remains week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Domingue is currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
9.) It’s worth repeating that Harpur is listed as out indefinitely, not out for the season. He’s been out of the lineup since suffering an upper-body injury on November 3rd in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Harpur has been working hard in his rehab efforts and is not listed as out for the rest of the season.
10.) Congratulations to rookie forward Brett Berard, who continued his spectacular season with a hat trick on Friday night against the Providence Bruins. Berard is now up to 22 goals on the season, which leads the club.
That’s tied with Tucson’s Josh Doan for second in the AHL in goals by a rookie this season. Only Logan Stankoven of the Texas Stars has more (24).
With Berard now at the 20-goal mark, it ensures that the Wolf Pack have had a 20-goal scorer in every full season of competition in franchise history.
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.