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.
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 July 25th at 1:35pm CT)
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.
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.
These players have confirmed contracts signed outside of the Hurricanes/Wolves organization.
* – 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.”
These players remain unsigned and may or may not return to the Chicago Wolves for the 2022-23 season.
(Special thanks to CapFriendly and Elite Prospects for all the contract terms and definitions for this offseason player tracker!)
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