The Chicago Wolves kicked off their 2021 training camp with a practice and a scrimmage Monday morning at the Wolves Training Facility in Hoffman Estates.
After spending two weeks working at the Carolina Hurricanes preseason camp, second-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky and assistants Patrick Dwyer and Bob Nardella opened with 32 players on the Wolves’ training camp roster as they ramped up preparations for Chicago’s 28th season opener. The Wolves host the Rockford IceHogs at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16, at Allstate Arena, presented by Turtle Wax.
“It’s a different feel than last year,” Warsofsky said. “We have a bigger camp and we have two exhibition games, so we’re looking forward to getting our eyes on some guys that we brought in that may surprise us. But from Day 1, we’ve got to get going here on how we need to play.”
The Wolves, who have won four of the last five Central Division titles, built their current training-camp roster in three ways.
Over the weekend, the Hurricanes loaned 12 players to the Wolves as part of their NHL-AHL partnership: Forwards Dominik Bokk, David Cotton, Max Letunov, Stelio Mattheos, Sam Miletic, Blake Murray, Andrew Poturalski and Spencer Smallman; defensemen Cavan Fitzgerald and Jesper Sellgren and goaltenders Eetu Makiniemi and Beck Warm. The Hurricanes also loaned defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Josh Jacobs to the Wolves after Monday’s session.
Bokk, Cotton, Mattheos, Smallman, Fitzgerald and Warm played for the Wolves last year while Poturalski paced the American Hockey League in scoring with 9 goals and 34 assists in 44 games for the San Diego Gulls.
The Wolves signed six players to Standard Professional Contracts (SPC) during the offseason: Forwards David Gust, Stephen Harper and Kyle Marino, defensemen Daniel Brickley and Artyom Serikov and goaltender Dylan Wells.
The Wolves also extended camp invitations to 14 non-roster professionals: Forwards Matt Boudens, Terry Broadhurst, Greg Carey, Noah Corson, Darien Craighead, Cedric Lacroix, Frankie Melton, Brent Pedersen and Drake Rymsha; defensemen Luke Green, Clark Hiebert, Carter Robertson and Jordan Schneider and goaltender Mason McDonald.
Chicago will meet the Milwaukee Admirals for two exhibition games as part of this week’s camp. The Wolves travel to Panther Arena for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Oct. 7, in Milwaukee, then host the Admirals for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Wolves Training Facility. For the latter game, tickets are $8 and can be purchased here. In accordance with the Cook County Department of Public Health’s mandate, everyone over 2 years of age must wear a mask inside the arena.
The Wolves will play 38 games at Allstate Arena as part of the 2021-22 regular season. To learn more about the Wolves’ customized ticket plans — everything from 10-voucher Flex Packs to Alpha Wolf season-ticket packages to tailor-made group outings — contact a Wolves ticket representative here or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
