The Hockey News: On The 'A'

This week on The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

- What does Pascal Vincent bring to the table as the new coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets?

- Will Cuylle is making some noise at training camp. Fresh off recording 25 goals and 45 points with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season, Cuylle is earning looks alongside top players at New York Rangers camp.

- Is Simon Edvinsson going to be back in Grand Rapids, or will he make the Detroit Red Wings' NHL roster?

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This week on The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast, Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams are joined by Tim Army, longtime coach and assistant coach in the AHL and NHL, to discuss coaching philosophy, handling the ups and downs of a season, getting through to a dressing room, what goes into a call-up, and more.

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This week on The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

- Shane Wright was granted an exemption to the NHL-CHL Player Agreement. Wright, the fourth overall pick at the 2022 draft, is now AHL eligible in the event he doesn't make the Kraken's roster out of training camp.

- Jacob reveals a proposed solution to the NHL-CHL Player Agreement that a member of an NHL front office proposed to him.

- The Hockey News Editor-in-Chief Ryan Kennedy joined the show fresh off his trip to Washington D.C. to see the NHLPA/Upper Deck player showcase. Ryan provides insight into some of the young prospects we could see in the AHL this year.

- September Sweethearts, Part 2: Jacob and Patrick isolate four defensemen — Declan Chisholm, Jake Christiansen, Trevor Carrick and Jack Rathbone — who could come out and surprise everyone at training camp. These three players may not necessarily make the team, but they could make an impression on their NHL club and vault themselves up the call-up pecking order in the process. 

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This week on The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

- They discuss the importance of winning at the AHL level. The whole Chicago Wolves fiasco has shined a light on a long-forgotten element within the NHL's development league — independent owners want to win. And it's their money on the line.

- September Sweethearts, Part 1: Jacob and Patrick isolate three forwards — Jean-Luc Foudy, Connor Zary and Cole Guttman — who could come out and surprise everyone at training camp. These three players may not necessarily make the team, but they could make an impression on their NHL club and vault themselves up the call-up pecking order in the process.

- Jacob and Patrick workshop an NHL/AHL Top Prospects Game idea, such as an AHL U-23 all-star showcase coming to life. 

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On this week's episode of The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

- The guys are joined by Chicago Wolves athletic trainer Kevin Kacer to discuss his career, what the daily life of a trainer is like, what makes hockey different, how things have changed since he started, and packing peanuts pranks. 

- They also discuss the Toronto Marlies' recent signings and give you their best starting lineup of AHLers who never became full-time NHLers.

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On this week's episode of The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

- Ryan Merkley — one of hockey's polarizing prospects in recent years — is KHL-bound. Jacob and Patrick dive into why the former first-round pick of the Sharks in 2018, struggled to cement himself as an NHL regular, let alone as a high-end AHL defenseman during the course of his entry-level contract. 

- Jacob and Patrick play an AHL-themed game of Would You Rather. The criteria was which prospect would you choose if you were starting a franchise from scratch. For forwards, it was Marco Rossi, Luke Evangelista or Lukas Reichel. Defensemen were Simon Edvinsson, David Jiricek or Simon Nemec. In net it was either Dustin Wolf, Jesper Wallstedt or Yaroslav Askarov. 

- Darren Raddysh signed a two-year, one-way deal in Tampa. Jacob and Patrick dive into how signing one of the best defensemen in the AHL last year, to a two year deal, is some shrewd work by Tampa Bay. 

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This week on The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast, Jacob Stoller brings on Sean O'Brien of the Calder Farmstead Podcast to discuss;

- Sean's analytic models. Sean recycled a point share model — originally from Hockeyreference.com — and applied it to the AHL. He explains his thought process and his goal of generating AHL analytics.

- Jacob and Sean then analyze AHL prospects that treaded upward or downward this past season, such as Jiri Kulich, Lassi Thomson and Raphael Lavoie.

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On this episode of The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

- So, how about the Chicago Wolves? Set to become the first AHL team without an NHL affiliate since 1994-95, the Wolves' roster is starting to take shape, and a lot of questions remain to be answered.

- How will the Carolina Hurricanes operate without an AHL affiliate? Prospect development is one thing, but the Canes are also short of NHL recall options in general.

- Which first-round picks from the 2023 NHL draft could we potentially see in the AHL next season?

- Shane Wright isn't AHL-eligible next season, once again. Could we still end up seeing him play some games for Coachella Valley again?

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On this episode of The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams:

The NHL Free Agent Frenzy has a lot of significance for the AHL as well. More than 70 players have earned two-way deals since July 1, and some AHLers from last year have a huge opportunity to earn a spot in the NHL on one-way contracts. Jacob and Patrick go through players who earned two-way deals for multiple years before examining 12 signees in depth.

Want to know more about one player in particular? Check out the timestamps below:

Hunter Shepard: 05:50 

Alex Nedjelkovic: 09:38

Strauss Mann: 14:30

Lucas Carlsson: 16:34

Connor Carrick: 18:55

Will Butcher: 20:48

Noel Hoefenmayer: 23:11

Mac Hollowell: 26:34 

Max Lajoie: 28:13 

Lias Andersson: 30:24

Matthew Phillips: 33:04 

Mason Morelli: 35:59

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- The Hershey Bears are Calder Cup Champions. The Washington Capitals' AHL affiliate came back from a 2-0 series deficit to win the series in seven games. Jacob and Patrick — who saw every game in person — break down the series.

- Two of Washington's recent first-round picks, Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, came up clutch in the finals.

- Seattle prospect Ryker Evans exceeded all expectations in his first year as a pro.

- Over to the AHL coaching carousel, the Henderson Silver Knights and Syracuse Crunch named new head coaches. The Grand Rapids Griffins also brought in two intriguing assistants to support newly named coach Dan Watson.

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