Revisiting the Chicago Wolves Roster

 

Forwards

Ryan Suzuki – Top 6 center. Will get power play and penalty kill time. A BIG season upcoming for Suzuki and he will get every chance to make a big impact.

Justin Robidas – My guess for the 3rd line center. Undersized but high level of compete and offensive game. Dominated ECHL before getting hurt and he’ll be a force in the AHL.

Eric Robinson – The perfect 13th forward in the NHL/AHL all-star. Going to be a veteran presence that this very young Wolves team will need.

Gleb Trikozov – Besides having the best name here, Gleb is going to be a monster. 50-foot offensive player, power play specialist. Debut season but he’ll put up some points.

Juha Jaaska – Going to be completely honest, I almost forgot that Jaaska had signed. Reminds me very much of the Malte Stromwall signing from the 2022/23 season.

Josiah Slavin – The kind of nepotism that makes you happy. Versatile forward who has played in each position on offense.

Felix Unger Sorum – Half of the “probably too good for the AHL” prospect tandem. Felix is going to be electric for the Wolves in their top 6 and power play (he has experience being the QB).

Jackson Blake – The other half of the “probably too good for the AHL” prospect tandem. Blake is going to be the other top 6 right winger alongside FUS and he’s going to be a force on the power play.

Noel Gunler – The Swedish sniper is back in Chicago for round two. Should be a much nicer go-round this time. Even if he plays lower in the lineup, he should have a consistent role on the power play.

Tyson Jost – The other top 6 center/13th forward. It really does pain me to classify Tyson Jost as a veteran presence but most of this Wolves roster is making debuts or is under the age of 22.

No disrespect to Dominic Franco, Danny Katic, Sahil Panwar, Nikita Pavlychev, and Nick Swaney but I, outside of Franco, have never seen them play. I would classify this group as the 4th liners/extra forwards who might also spend some time with the Bloomington Bison.

Bradly Nadeau? – The question mark is because I truly think that Nadeau is shoehorned into the 2nd line left wing role for the Hurricanes, but I don’t think a stint in the AHL is out of the question during the season. Maybe they rotate Nadeau, Blake, and Unger Sorum to see who sticks?

Line Prediction

Line one: Robinson-Jost-Unger Sorum
Line two: Trikozov-Suzuki-Blake
Line three: Jaaska-Robidas-Gunler
Line four: Franco-Slavin-Katic/Panwar/Pavlychev
As a common sense reminder, this is just one person’s opinion. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the lines but this is what I would estimate to be close to something you see on opening night. Maybe Trikozov comes down a line to balance not playing a line of younger guys. Maybe Slavin is the 3rd center instead of Robidas.

 

Defense

Scott Morrow – 20 minutes a night. Power play quarterback. That’s all I ask.

Joakim Ryan – Top 4 AHL defenseman.

Riley Stillman – AHL defenseman.

Ty Smith – AHL beast. Consistent, calming presence that should be a stalwart on this defense.

Ronan Seeley – Welcome to “bottom pairing rotation” fellas. I’d bet most of the guys from here on down will play bottom-pairing minutes but rotate in and out of the lineup to keep players fresh and happy.

Anttoni Honka – With him playing in Finland last year and with how many players there are on the depth chart that could be in front of him, I wouldn’t be shocked if he stays in Finland on loan.

Aleksi Heimosalmi – My big bet is that Heimosalmi sticks as the 2nd pairing right-handed defenseman. It’s hard to come by players that skate as good as him and his two-way game has improved to a point to where he can play strong minutes.

Domenick Fensore – If the power play ever needs a refresh, insert Fensore because it’s worked in the past. Unfortunately for him, Ryan, Stillman, and Smith is a hard mountain to climb.

Charles-Alexis Legault – Look, I think Legault’s game is amazing. At the same point, the competition for playing time, especially on the right side of the defense, is incredibly tough. He’ll probably be part of that bottom pairing rotation and maybe get some time in Bloomington for more playing time.

Bryce Montgomery – Probably will spend a lot of time with the Bison in Bloomington this year but there is almost a 100% chance he will get an AHL debut this year, if not more. His game really developed last year.

Pair Prediction

Pair one – Ryan-Morrow
Pair two – Smith-Heimosalmi
Pair three – Stillman/Fensore/Seeley-Legault/Montgomery/Honka?
Calm little 10-man group. Wouldn’t be shocked to see some of the younger guys on the bottom pairing rotation spend time with the Bison.

 

Goalies

Spencer Martin – Welcome to Zach Sawchenko/Alex Lyon/Antoine Bibeau territory, Spencer Martin. The 3rd NHL goalie that will be the workhorse starter in Chicago to stay ready in case an NHL guy goes down (which will happen).

Ruslan Khazheyev – I’ve heard the need for a Pyotr Kochetkov replacement since it seems like this is the graduation year for him to full-time NHL goalie. I would like to introduce the masses to “Mount Russia”, Ruslan Khazheyev. The 6’4 goalie who has a fiery personality on the ice and an endearing personality off the ice has dominated the MHL since the 2021/22 season and now, he is taking his talents to Chicago.

Yaniv Perets – Ain’t it something, a goalie getting their NHL debut before their AHL debut? Well, Perets will most certainly get his AHL debut this year but might end up spending time with the Bison if he doesn’t end up beating out Khazheyev.

Patrik Hamrla? – When doing research for this, I quickly figured out that AHL teams run through goalies like hot water. With Hamrla not having a contract currently with a team, why not give him an AHL/ECHL deal and have him rotate in Bloomington and be an available backup?

I was not aware of certain CHL rules so I would expect (please understand I could still be wrong) that Jakub Vondras will be back with the Sudbury Wolves.

Goalie Rotation

True Starter: Spencer Martin
Backup: Ruslan Khazheyev/Yaniv Perets

The biggest story in the crease will be Khazheyev’s development. Here’s hoping he can keep up that MHL success in the AHL. I am going to temper some expectations, including my own, as he might not be as good as Kochetkov was when he came to North America. In PK’s case, he had KHL experience. With Khazheyev, he played (1) game at a level higher than the MHL. I think Khazheyev will be good, but maybe not right out of the gate.

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