“Let’s play.”
Calgary Wranglers head coach Mitch Love is ready to chase a Calder Cup.
Love, who has won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s top coach in each of his first two seasons in the league, has had enough practice and waiting. His Wranglers, the AHL’s regular-season champion, have not played since a 3-2 win in Abbotsford on Apr. 15.
Calgary meets the Canucks again tonight, this time at Scotiabank Saddledome for Game 1 of the Pacific Division semifinals. Love intends to use the lessons learned a year ago, when the Flames’ affiliate in Stockton reached the Western Conference Finals, to spur another Calder Cup run this spring.
“This has been a long lay-off for us,” Love said. “We have a little bit of experience with it from last year. So the guys that returned to us have been good in a sense of leading the rest of the guys that maybe haven’t gone through this.”
To that end, Love mapped out a schedule to manage the 11-day break between games. The team took time off before easing back into on-ice workouts. From there, Love has steadily ramped up the practice intensity to lead into Game 1.
“If you’re a team that looks at going deep in the playoffs,” Love said, “you’ve got to get your injuries healed. “You’ve got to stay healthy. You’ve got to get your rest, not just physically, but mentally, after a long regular season.”
The Wranglers have not played on home ice since a 5-1 win against Henderson on Mar. 31. Between the six-game road trip that ended the regular season and this long break, the Wranglers will have gone 26 days without a home game going into tonight’s match-up.
But having three games against Abbotsford to close the regular season was a beneficial break, Love believes. The Wranglers won eight of the 12 meetings between the clubs overall, but the Canucks took two of those final three.
“We’re excited to match up,” Love said. “They played us real hard the last three regular-season games. It was a real good test for our team in terms of what a brand of playoff hockey would look like. We’ve just got to try to go and execute on our game and see what happens.
“They’re well-schooled in terms of the way they need to play the game. They play with a lot of pace. They’re competitive. They’ve got some players over there that have won, and good goaltending. We see it as a very good challenge for us.
“Now it’s time to play. The guys are getting antsy. We’re just excited to get the puck dropped here at home.”
Every Calder Cup contender needs contributors to step forward come the postseason, and the Colorado Eagles have gotten that from forward Cedric Paré and defenseman Sam Malinski.
Both players helped the Eagles to sweep Ontario in a best-of-three first-round series and set up a date with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Game 1 of the teams’ Pacific Division semifinal showdown is set for tonight at Colorado.
Malinski, 24, signed a two-year entry-level contract with the parent Colorado Avalanche and joined the Eagles on a tryout deal. After three seasons at Cornell University, he has taken quickly to the AHL, churning out five points (three goals, two assists) in his first seven regular-season contests followed by four assists in the two games against the Reign.
Malinski has focused on improving his footwork and been rewarded with a regular role by Eagles head coach Greg Cronin.
“There’s definitely been a bit of an adjustment, especially on the defensive side of the puck,” said Malinski, who took First Team All-ECAC honors for the second consecutive season after producing 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 34 games with Cornell in 2022-23.
Also 24, Paré came to the Eagles mid-year, signing a pro tryout on Nov. 29 after starting the season with Belleville and Wheeling (ECHL) and then inking a full AHL contract on Jan. 26. The third-year pro and former Boston Bruins draft pick has found his fit with Colorado; after providing 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 42 regular-season games, Paré has three goals and an assist in his first two Calder Cup Playoff contests.
Paré worked at earning Cronin’s trust through the season, and has been used on a top line with veterans Alex Galchenyuk and Charles Hudon as well as on the power play.
“I [got] confident the last two weeks at the end of the season playing on the top-six,” Paré said. “[The coaches are] really honest. I like that. They told me what to work on, and I worked on it, so I’m grateful for that.”
The Firebirds, who finished second overall in the AHL in the regular season, are the next challenge for Colorado.
“This is the most fun time of the year and something we’ve all looked forward to,” Malinski said.
― Patrick Williams
