Welcome to Wolves Insider, presented by Are You Really Winning?: The weekly report that gives you an inside look at the latest Chicago Wolves news and happenings. Look for a new edition of Wolves Insider each week.
BADINKA HONORS AN ALL-TIME GREAT
About an hour drive from Chomutov, Czechia, the hometown of Wolves defenseman Dominik Badinka, is the birthplace of the best Czech hockey player of all time: Jaromir Jagr.
“(Jagr) used to practice in my hometown,” Badinka said. “When I was playing at my local youth rink in Chomutov, he and his team would skate there because they didn’t have a rink where they played. I got to see him up close for like a year so that was a dream.”
Before joining the Wolves at the end of the 2024-25 season, Badinka played overseas in the Swedish Hockey League.
There, he continued to develop his two-way game and picked up a new nickname along the way.
“In Sweden, the boys used to call me ‘Jags’ (Jagr) for some reason,” Badinka said with a laugh. “When I told the guys here, no one believed me.”
He just had to prove it.
On Nov. 1 against the Toronto Marlies at Allstate Arena, Badinka broke out his first rendition of Jagr’s trademark salute celebration after his goal.
A couple of months later, he did it again versus the Marlies, coincidentally enough.
“(Ryan Suzuki) was laughing after I scored there because we were talking about the nickname the day before and I’d do it if I got the chance,” Badinka said
The Wolves will take many more salutes through the stretch run as the 20-year-old rookie is third among Wolves blue liners with six goals.
The Wolves’ coaching staff is working with Badinka on his shielding abilities while supporting his defensive partner off the puck. Protecting the puck while using his 6-foot-4-inch frame to create space for himself around the boards will open up more scoring chances.
“Working with the coaches on the little details in my game, especially in the defensive zone, has been good,” Badinka said. “I’m happy with where my game is headed as well as the team.”
–Danny Karmin
NYSTROM LEARNING ON THE FLY
Joel Nystrom knew this season would be a major learning experience coming to North America to play for the first time.
What the Wolves defenseman didn’t know was that much of that education would be at the NHL level and then during the stretch run of the AHL season.
“This is my first year here so it’s a lot of new stuff for me,” said Nystrom, who played five seasons with Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League before joining the Wolves. “I’m getting used to it with good help from teammates and coaches.”
The Karlstad, Sweden, native began the 2025-26 campaign with the Wolves and played three games during which Nystrom registered an assist and a plus-2 plus-minus rating. When injuries struck the Hurricanes, Nystrom got the call to head to Carolina.
The 23-year-old made his NHL debut on Oct. 23 against Colorado and recorded his first NHL point with an assist against Buffalo on Nov. 8. In all, Nystrom appeared in 37 games with the Hurricanes and totaled a goal and eight assists and a plus-5 rating.
“That was a surprise for me,” Nystrom said of being recalled so early in the season. “In my mind, I wanted to start here in Chicago and do a great job and get to know how the game is, but then I got the chance and I think I played OK when I was there.”
Nystrom played well enough to earn a four-year, $4.9 million contract extension on Dec. 12, 2025 that will run through the 2029-30 season. Days after inking the deal, he returned to Chicago and was twice recalled for short stints until settling into the Wolves’ lineup.
“Going up and down can be pretty hard sometimes but I’m getting used to it more,” Nystrom said. “It’s a different style of game and I just try to be better every game.
“If I’m here, I try to play as well as I can and if I get the opportunity to play up there again, I’ll do my best up there,” he continued. “I like being here and I like being up there, too.”
Nystrom said big lessons learned in the NHL were about gap control and boxing out opponents in the defensive zone. The most important, however, was limiting mistakes.
“If you do a mistake up there the puck is going into the net often,” Nystrom said. “I’ve just tried to take what I learned up there and bring it down here. I’m working on stuff. I want to be better. I know I can play better.”
–Chris Kuc
IMPACT NETWORKING PLAY OF THE WEEK
During Sunday’s game against the Texas Stars at Allstate Arena, Wolves forward Skyler Brind’Amour evened the score late in the third period. With the clock winding down, the Wolves were on the power play and also had an extra attacker with goalie Amir Miftakhov pulled. Brind’Amour took advantage when he redirected a Felix Unger Sorum pass into the net for his 15th goal of the season.
C.D.E. COLLISION CENTERS’ COLLISIONS OF THE WEEK
Wolves defenseman Charles Alexis Legault laid the lumber on the Texas Stars’ Cameron Hughes during Sunday’s game in Rosemont.
SAVE OF THE WEEK
During Saturday’s game against Texas at Allstate Arena, Wolves forward Felix Unger Sorum made a miraculous one-handed save as he swept away an empty-net goal attempt from the Stars.
Weekly rewind (0-1-1-1)
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
Stars 4, Wolves 2: The Wolves’ three-game homestand started with a thud as they fell to the Texas Stars at Allstate Arena. Nikita Pavlychev and Viktor Neuchev had goals for Chicago in the first of back-to-back games against its Central Division rivals.
SUNDAY, MARCH 8
Stars 7, Wolves 6 (SO): Juuso Valimaki and Skyler Brind’Amour each had a goal and an assist while Bradly Nadeau, Cal Foote, Noel Gunler and Domenick Fensore scored but the Wolves could only earn one point in the standings. Ryan Suzuki and Felix Unger Sorum each chipped in three assists.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11
Wild 4, Wolves 2: Bradly Nadeau and Nikita Pavlychev scored but it wasn’t enough as the Wolves coughed up a two-goal, second-period lead to drop the finale of the homestand.
First Star of the Week
 |
NIKITA PAVLYCHEV, CThe 28-year-old native of Yaroslavl, Russia, continues to find the back of the net as the 6-foot-7-inch center produced three goals and five points in his last four games. Pavlychev has amassed a career-best 12 goals this season — tied for fourth best among all Wolves skaters. |
Where we stand
28-14-6-6, second in the Central Division.
| Date | Opponent | Time | Location | Broadcast info | Promotions |
| Friday, March 13 | Rockford | 7 p.m. | BMO Center | FloHockey | |
| Sunday, March 15 | Grand Rapids | 5 p.m. | Allstate Arena | FloHockey/FOX Chicago+ | Family Sunday, presented by Scott Credit Union |
| Tuesday, March 17 | Texas | 7 p.m. | H-E-B Center | FloHockey | |
| Wednesday, March 18 | Texas | 7 p.m. | H-E-B Center | FloHockey |
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2025-26 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
