Ryan Suzuki’s excellent adventure

February 05, 2025

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‘It’s all coming together’

It’s no wonder Ryan Suzuki was seeing stars at the end of a whirlwind few days.

On Monday night in Palm Desert, Calif., the Wolves forward capped off a crazy period of time by appearing in his first AHL All-Star Challenge and helping the Central Division take the title.

Suzuki’s three-assist effort over the course of the challenge—which was a night after the 23-year-old participated in the All-Star Skills Competition—came just five days after he made his NHL debut with the Carolina Hurricanes.

On Thursday afternoon, Suzuki got the call that he was to report to Carolina where the Hurricanes were set to face the Chicago Blackhawks. With only five hours until puck drop, he scrambled to get to the airport.

“At first when I got the call I was really excited to get down there,” Suzuki said. “Then the excitement turned to worry because I only had around an hour to get to the airport and get on the plane. The plane got delayed so I was freaking out a little bit on the tarmac but I ended up getting there and getting my rookie lap, which is a pretty cool experience.”

Suzuki went on to see six minutes, 12 seconds of ice time over eight shifts against the Blackhawks and finished with a plus-1 plus-minus rating. Two nights later, he was on the ice for 10 shifts, totaling 6:59 when the Hurricanes took on the Los Angeles Kings.

The London, Ont., native has had a myriad of injury setbacks since Carolina selected him in the first round (28^th overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, but Suzuki’s determination to reach the highest level of hockey never wavered.

“The last couple of years injuries have kind of held me back,” said Suzuki, who became the final first-round pick of the ’19 draft class to make his NHL debut. “It’s always tough just hopping in halfway into a season and getting going right away. This year, I came into the year healthy and obviously started the year off well. I think it’s all coming together a little bit. I’m just happy to be fully healthy and going.”

With six goals and a team-leading 24 assists in 38 games with the Wolves, Suzuki was named an AHL All-Star along with teammate Scott Morrow (who didn’t participate in All-Star festivities after being recalled by the Hurricanes on Monday).

Despite the hectic travel schedule, Suzuki relished the experience—especially seeing old friends and making new ones.

“You get to see guys you play against every night and see them as a person instead of a hockey player,” Suzuki said following Monday’s All-Star Challenge. “On the other side, you get to see guys you don’t get to see throughout the year. It’s nice to see old friends and old teammates and meet some new guys. It was a fun all-around weekend. It was an honor to be selected to it.”

It also allowed Suzuki to showcase his skills to North America—and learn some new ones.

“Everyone here is a great player,” he said. “You get to observe and some of the skills these guys have are pretty cool to see. You can take some of their skills and add them to your toolbox. It was cool to be around those guys and get to know them.”

A HEALTHY NICK SWANEY IS WIELDING A HOT STICK

The early part of the season didn’t go according to plan for Nick Swaney.

The veteran forward twice missed month-long periods of action due to injuries. But the 27-year-old is finally healthy and his offensive production has ramped up to show for it.

In his first 12 games of the season, Swaney recorded one assist while he recovered first from a concussion that was followed by a broken finger. Over the last 10 games, the Lakeville, Minn., native has five goals and six assists.

“This league is a really hard league and you go through ups and downs, whether it’s injuries or not scoring,” Swaney said. “As long as you can stay positive and even-keeled you know good things are going to happen eventually. You just have to play the right way.”

Swaney’s production has come at an opportune time for a Wolves roster that has been in flux due to injuries and recalls to the Hurricanes.

“Whatever I can do to help and contribute to this team and this lineup is awesome and I’m going to do that every single night that I can,” Swaney said. “Coming into this season I had something to prove and then I got hurt a couple of times and I kind of got out of that rhythm. I’m getting into that rhythm again of just playing hockey—it’s what I love to do and being able to do it is something special. I’m making the most of every opportunity I get.”

IMPACT PLAY OF THE WEEK

After a scintillating rush up ice from teammate Ronan Seeley, Sahil Panwar notched his first goal in a Wolves uniform with a shot that beat Manitoba Moose netminder Kaapo Kahkonen during the first period of Saturday night’s game at Allstate Arena.

 

C.D.E. COLLISION CENTERS’ COLLISIONS OF THE WEEK

During Friday night’s game in Rockford, Wolves forward Nikita Pavlychev drilled the IceHogs’ Colin Felix into the boards. Teammate Austin Wagner followed up with a crunching hit on Rockford’s Wyatt Kaiser.

 

SAVE OF THE WEEK

Dustin Tokarski didn’t face a shot during the first 8 minutes, 3 seconds of Friday night’s game in Rockford, but the Wolves goaltender came up big on the IceHogs’ first attempt, a breakaway by Brett Seney.

Weekly rewind (3-0-0-0)

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29

Wolves 3, Moose 1: Nick Swaney, Ryan Suzuki and Justin Robidas scored as the Wolves skated to their second consecutive win and third triumph in their last four games.

FRIDAY, JAN. 31

Wolves 3, IceHogs 2: Bradly Nadeau scored twice, Domenick Fensore had a goal and Nick Swaney chipped in two assists in the Wolves’ final road game before the All-Star break.

SATURDAY, FEB. 1

Wolves 6, Moose 0: Bradly Nadeau and Sahil Panwar each scored twice while Austin Wagner and Noel Gunler also tallied to lift the Wolves. Justin Robidas chipped in with two assists

First Star of the Week

Where we stand

23-16-2-0, fourth in the Central Division.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE