The Hockey News: On The 'A': Recent Episodes
The Hockey News
Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams give deep insights into the AHL. They break down all the news around the league and the young guys gunning for the NHL.
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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 Check out the full episode and subscribe on your preferred platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast with Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams: - The Coachella Valley Firebirds are up 2-1 over the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup final. Jacob and Patrick recap the beginning of the series while Patrick tells us about what he saw in Coachella Valley. - AHL alumni took center stage in the Stanley Cup final. A whopping 24 of 25 players to play for the Vegas Golden Knights in the final have played in the AHL before. - Who could be the next Jonathan Marchessault? The undrafted winger — who worked his way up from an AHL contract out of junior — won the Conn Smythe for the NHL's playoff MVP. Jacob lists two players that could end up becoming the next late-blooming gem for an NHL team. - The Chicago Wolves hired Bob Nardella as their new coach. The former assistant coach will run the bench for the AHL's first independently run team since 1994-95, which Patrick discusses at length on the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Calder Cup was first awarded in 1937. One year later, the Hershey Bears joined the league, and they've won 11 Calder Cup championships since. They now take on the newest AHL team in the anticipated final round of the 2022-23 playoffs, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Jacob Stoller and Patrick Williams preview the series on this episode of The Hockey News On The 'A' Podcast. They also discuss Greg Cronin becoming the new coach of the Anaheim Ducks and the AHL's first-ever all-prospects team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices