Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Every team in the American Hockey League must face a major change.
It’s just that the Chicago Wolves had a big change and some came this season.
After one season continued outside the NHL organization, the Wolves and the Carolina Hurricanes returned to each other with a three-year agreement that was announced in May 2024. It was an agreement that both sides needed to happen: Chicago finished 31st in the AHL’s 32nd team in the AHL. 2023-24 when the Hurricanes were forced to go without a development-related organization, they instead spread their hopes around various competitions.
The NHL-AHL alliances are a symbiotic relationship. The two sides met again, and the Hurricanes dominated AHL club hockey action.
“We’re excited to re-establish our AHL partnership with Chicago, and we’re thankful we could find a solution that worked for both clubs,” said the Hurricanes’ then-president and general manager. Don Waddell said in the announcement accompanying the new agreement. “Many of our prospects have already had success with Wolves, individually and as a team, and we are delighted to have found a stable place for them to develop.”
That previous success was highlighted by the 2022 Calder Cup championship. Pyotr Kochetkov, Jalen Chatfield, Jack Drury, Seth Jarvis again Stefan Noesen all were key contributors at various points with the Wolves before moving on to NHL roles.
One of Carolina’s first steps after last May’s reunion involved delivering Cam Abbott as the new coach in Chicago. Abbott spent parts of seven seasons in that role with Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League, where he was the circuit’s head coach in 2021-22 and won the Champions Hockey League title.
With a deep pool of prospects that need time to develop, the Hurricanes have made their youth a priority in filling out their AHL roster. The protector Joakim Ryan returned to the Carolina organization following three seasons in the SHL. Austin Wagner (178 NHL games) earned an AHL contract with a strong training camp and started the season. Tyson Jost started the season with Chicago but has spent most of the past two months with the Hurricanes.
So any success Wolves might have this season has to be largely driven by hope. Development is at the forefront, after all. But a slow start can make sticking to a schedule uncomfortable, and a 3-7-1-0 record out of the gate has tested the organization’s confidence.
In mid-November, the storms slowly turned. Damage to Frederik Andersen led to the signing of the two-time Calder Cup champion Dustin Tokarski in depth, and Tokarski’s game pushed quickly Spencer Martin to Wolves, where he is currently dealing with a 20-year-old rookie Ruslan Khazheyev.
But mostly it has been patience. Chicago is 14-4-1-0 since that low point in mid-November, including nine wins in 10 games. They moved up to third place in the Central Division, one point behind second place Texas.
Martin has thrived with the Wolves, going 8-2-1 with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. And for a team with some unique but little offensive talent, Chicago’s double play has been able to limit opponents’ chances; their 25.5 shots against per game are the second fewest in the AHL. The penalty kill went on a recent streak of 22-for-23. Of course, even better than a strong penalty kill is the ability to stay out of penalty trouble, and the Wolves’ 10.3 penalty minutes per game are the third fewest in the league.
Five of Wolves’ top six scorers are 23 or under; sixth in that group, Juha Jaaskahe came from Finland this season and made his NHL debut last week. Rookie Scott Morrow tied for the AHL lead among defensemen with nine goals, scoring his second hat trick of the season in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Rockford. Former Hurricanes starter Ryan Suzuki leads the team with 23 points. Combine donations from Justin Robidas, Bradley Nadeau again Noel Gunlerand the Wolves are out of those early season struggles. It just took time, something that is always important in player development.
Now comes their next test, with six of their next eight contests on the road. Rookies Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorum are back from representing their countries at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, and are ready to return to their usual spots on Abbott’s roster.
Last Saturday’s shutout of Rockford left Martin impressed.
“It was,” he said afterward, “some of the best hockey I’ve ever seen us play.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
