WOLVES GEARING UP FOR 2024-25 SEASON OPENER

October 09, 2024

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TAKING THE ICE

With the 2024-25 American Hockey League season about to get underway, the Wolves are hard at work in training camp.

Under the leadership of new head coach Cam Abbott, players are rounding out their games with an eye on the season opener against the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday night at Allstate Arena.

“I’ve been pleased with the approach from everybody so far, including some of the guys who went through some pretty tough practices last week (with the Carolina Hurricanes),” said Cam Abbott, who was named the 14^th head coach in Wolves history on June 20. “We’re going to have a lot of competition for spots for this group and so far, so good. Everybody is here for a reason—they belong here.”

The Wolves will be thrown right into the fire, facing an Admirals team that captured the Central Division crown last season five times in the first nine games of the ’24-25 campaign. Included in that same stretch are two games against the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears in Pennsylvania.

“I see it as a great challenge for our group,” Abbott said. “All of our nonconference games this season are against division winners from last season except for Bakersfield and that’s a good team as well.

“Looking at some of the rosters in the Central Division, it’s going to be very competitive and it’s going to challenge us,” he continued. “That’s great. I’m excited to get to work with this group of men and this staff. We have to make sure we have humbleness. Some things we might be naïve about but at the same time we have a lot of good hockey players in this group. We’ll be ready to go.”

Prior to joining the Wolves, the 40-year-old Abbott served as head coach of Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League from 2017-23. Does he personally have any nerves about coaching his first AHL game?

“Early on there were some but I’m bringing that excitement and positive energy to it,” Abbott said. “There might be a time nerves hit but nerves mean you care so I’ll be ready for them.”

HAPPY CAMPERS

Training camp will break following Friday’s practice. Here’s a look at the current 2024 Wolves Training Camp roster:

Forwards

Ryan Suzuki, Noel Gunler, Danny Katic, Nick Swaney, Felix Unger Sorum, Nikita Pavlychev, Austin Wagner, Dominic Franco, Skyler Brind’Amour, Josiah Slavin, Sahil Panwar, Juha Jaaska, Gleb Trikozov, Bradly Nadeau, Justin Robidas.

Defensemen

Domenick Fensore, Bryce Montgomery, Charles-Alexis Legault, Ronan Seeley, Joakim Ryan, Ty Smith, Aleksi Heimosalmi, Scott Morrow.

Goaltenders

Yaniv Perets, Spencer Martin, Ruslan Khazheyev.

FRESH START

One of the elder statesmen of the Wolves this season should be Nick Swaney, who spent the past three-plus seasons with the Iowa Wild.

The 27-year-old forward inked a one-year AHL contract with the Wolves on Aug. 2 and will look to reset his career after missing all but seven games with the Wild last season with a back injury.

“It was a frustrating year not being able to play very many games,” said Swaney, who added that he is fully recovered following surgery in February. “I got over that hurdle as this summer was kind of a reset for me. I got my body healthy and at the same time pushed myself a little bit training-wise and skating so that coming into this season I’m fully ready. I’m very excited going into this season and really looking forward to it.”

The Lakeville, Minn., native was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round (209^th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and had 36 goals and 36 assists in 123 games with the Iowa Wild from 2020-23.

Now, Swaney is thrilled to be with the Wolves.

“Right away when I talked to Chicago it seemed like a very good fit,” Swaney said. “My agent and I sat down and talked about it and we thought it was going to be a really good opportunity. The coaching staff, the way the system is played in Carolina translates to down here and I think fits my game very well.”

How does he describe his game?

“Playing with speed,” Swaney said. “When I move my legs and get into the dirty areas good things happen for me. If I do that, I make players better around me and that hopefully helps the team win.”

Near the conclusion of the ’22-23 season, Swaney made his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild in a game against the Nashville Predators and despite last season’s setback, he continues to yearn to again reach the NHL.

“Everybody growing up their goal is to play in the NHL,” Swaney said. “I got that taste a couple of years ago and obviously being hurt last year I just want to show that I’m the same player that can get back to that level. I’ve got a little bit of that extra motivation inside me to go out there and prove it every single night. When I do that, it’s going to help the team win.”

While with the Wolves, Swaney said he has the desire to call on his experience and become a leader—on and off the ice.

“I hope so,” he said. “If you look at all the prospects down here I think we should have a young but very skilled and motivated group this year. For me, it’s my fourth year as a pro and I think I can provide that leadership role. I know what it takes to win at this level. It’s a very hard league and you have to bring it every single game. I can lead by example.”

By the way, Swaney’s lone goal with the Iowa Wild last season came against the Wolves on Oct. 25 in Iowa. It was the game-winner for Iowa.

“Power-play goal,” Swaney said with a chuckle. “I remember coming off the back wall and finding the rebound. Hopefully, I can do that a lot more in Iowa’s building but this time I can score on them.”

OCTOBER SCHEDULE