Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Every American Hockey League team must deal with considerable change.
It’s just that the Chicago Wolves had considerable change and then some coming into this season.
After one season going without an NHL affiliation, the Wolves and Carolina Hurricanes got back together with a three-year agreement announced in May 2024. It was a deal that both sides needed to make happen: Chicago finished 31st in the 32-team AHL in 2023-24 while the Hurricanes had been forced to go without a true development affiliate, instead scattering their prospects across a variety of leagues.
NHL-AHL affiliations are symbiotic relationships. Both sides reunited, with the Hurricanes taking control of the club’s AHL hockey operations.
“We’re excited to re-establish our AHL affiliation with Chicago, and thankful that we could find a solution which worked for both clubs,” then-Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said in the announcement accompanying the new deal. “Many of our prospects have already had success with the Wolves, both individually and as a team, and we’re happy to have secured a consistent environment for their development.”
That previous success was highlighted by a Calder Cup championship in 2022. Pyotr Kochetkov, Jalen Chatfield, Jack Drury, Seth Jarvis and Stefan Noesen were all key contributors at different points with the Wolves before advancing to NHL roles.
One of Carolina’s first moves after last May’s reunion involved bringing in Cam Abbott as the new head coach in Chicago. Abbott had spent parts of seven seasons in that same role with Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League, where he was that circuit’s top coach in 2021-22 and won the Champions Hockey League title.
With a deep pool of prospects needing development time, the Hurricanes made their youth a priority in filling out their AHL roster. Defenseman Joakim Ryan returned to the Carolina organization following three seasons in the SHL. Austin Wagner (178 NHL games) earned an AHL deal with a strong training camp and start to the season. Tyson Jost began the season with Chicago but has spent most of the past two months with the Hurricanes.
So any success the Wolves might have this season would have to be largely driven by the prospects. Development is paramount, after all. But a slow start can make sticking to the plan uncomfortable, and a 3-7-1-0 record out of the gate tested the organization’s confidence.
In mid-November, the Hurricanes pivoted a bit. An injury to Frederik Andersen led to the signing of two-time Calder Cup champion Dustin Tokarski for depth, and Tokarski’s play soon pushed Spencer Martin to the Wolves, where he is currently teaming with 20-year-old rookie Ruslan Khazheyev.
But mostly it has been patience. Chicago is 14-4-1-0 since that low point in mid-November, including a recent stretch of nine wins in 10 games. They have climbed to third place in the Central Division, one point back of second-place Texas.
Martin has excelled with the Wolves, going 8-2-1 with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. And for a team that has some exceptional but young offensive skill, Chicago’s two-way play has been able to limit opponents’ chances; their 25.5 shots-against per game are second-fewest in the AHL. The penalty kill went on a recent 22-for-23 stretch. Of course, even better than a strong penalty kill is an ability to stay out of penalty trouble, and the Wolves’ 10.3 penalty minutes per game are the third-fewest in the league.
Five of the Wolves’ top six scorers are 23 or younger; the sixth in that group, Juha Jaaska, came over from Finland this season and made his NHL debut last week. Rookie Scott Morrow is tied for the AHL lead among defensemen with nine goals, potting his second hat trick of the season in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Rockford. Former Hurricanes first-rounder Ryan Suzuki leads the team with 23 points. Mix in contributions from Justin Robidas, Bradly Nadeau and Noel Gunler, and the Wolves have come out of those early-season struggles. It just took a bit of time, something that is always critical in player development.
Now comes their next test, with six of their next eight contests on the road. Rookies Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorum are back from representing their countries at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, and they are ready to return to their regular spots in Abbott’s lineup.
Last Saturday’s shutout against Rockford left Martin impressed.
“It was,” he said afterwards, “some of the best hockey I’ve seen us play.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
