Each week, AHL writer Patrick Williams takes you around the AHL with notable news, notes, analysis and more. This week, Williams examines the early-season struggles for the Utica Comets and Ontario Reign, a veteran scorer joining the Rockford IceHogs and a potential continuation of the goalie carousel in Belleville.
Utica Comets Still Searching For First Win
Perhaps a 5-0 loss at home to Syracuse on opening night signaled difficulties on the horizon for the Utica Comets. If not, a 4-1 setback a night later to Rochester had to spark concern.
The Comets dropped a pair of 4-3 decisions in last weekend’s home-and home set with Laval. Along with a pair of road losses to Belleville and Toronto, it all adds up to an 0-6-0-0 start for the Comets. Utica remains the only team in the AHL still in search of its first win.
It’s only October, but Utica runs the risk of this early slide growing into something much more threatening to their season. After the Comets missed the Calder Cup Playoff cut last season, they had come into this season needing to re-establish themselves. They have seen what a skid like this can do to a season after going through a 16-game stretch in 2023-24 in which they only picked up four wins. They managed to keep themselves in playoff contention well into April, but they ended up falling five points short and going home early.
And key pieces of that 2023-24 team are no longer in Utica. Veteran forward Justin Dowling has been called up to the New Jersey Devils after playing Utica’s first six games. Graeme Clarke’s 25 goals went to the Minnesota Wild in a deal for Adam Beckman, who began this season injured and just made his season debut this past weekend. Xavier Parent is another absence up front; he has yet to play this season after a 45-point campaign placed him third in team scoring. Forward Kyle Criscuolo (Charlotte) along with blueliners Robbie Russo (Tucson), and Tyler Wotherspoon (Laval) all departed. So did defenseman Michael Vukojevic, who took a Liiga deal at just 23 years old. In net, Akira Schmid (Henderson) and Erik Kallgren (SHL) are gone.
And look who is back on Utica’s schedule this week – Laval. After Wednesday’s road rematch with the Rocket, the Comets are back home for a two-game visit from the Amerks on Friday and Saturday.
Belleville Senators Goalie Carousel May Continue
Stability in net has sometimes been a challenge for the Belleville Senators.
With the parent Ottawa Senators having been in search of goaltending answers in recent seasons, those issues have found their way down to Belleville. In 2022-23, the B-Sens cycled through 10 different goaltenders. Last season brought more normalcy with just four names in net.
But the early season had brought another ominous look. Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg are still trying to get on track in Ottawa. Belleville incumbent Mads Sogaard has not played since leaving the team’s home game against Syracuse on Oct. 20 with an undisclosed injury. Leevi Merilainen is still trying to establish himself at the AHL level. Kevin Mandolese had been dealt to Colorado in the offseason. Ottawa had brought two-time Calder Cup champion Dustin Tokarski to training camp on a professional tryout; the 35-year-old had spent last season with Rochester, but he did not stick with the Ottawa organization.
Given that picture, the organization ran a very real risk of having to turn to on-the-job auditions in Belleville as they had done two years ago.
So instead Ottawa management turned to Malcolm Subban for help, inking the 30-year-old to a one-year AHL deal to open this week. Like many AHL veteran netminders, Subban had encountered a difficult job market this past summer and had to take a tryout opportunity with Grand Rapids. But this is a goaltender with 206 games of AHL experience with Providence, Rockford, Rochester, Springfield, and Cleveland to go with another 87 games at the NHL level. And Subban has had recent success, too, having taken Rochester to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023.
The move brings Subban back to the city where he played for its former OHL club, the Belleville Bulls as did his brothers P.K. and Jordan. But it also eases some of the burden on Merilainen. It also means that rookie Michael Simpson, who won back-to-back OHL titles with London, can go to the ECHL and play there rather than having to take on too much too soon in Belleville.
Penalty Trouble Biting Ontario Reign
“It’s pretty much the same movie that we saw the other day.”
That is how Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm described a 5-1 home loss to Henderson last Sunday afternoon via the club website. Two nights earlier, the Reign had been handled by Coachella Valley, 5-2. At 1-4-0-0, the Reign are last in the Pacific Division.
Ontario surrendered nine power-play opportunities to Henderson in that loss. Moreover, the Reign power play is just 1-for-24 (4.2 percent) so far this season.
They’ll see more of the Silver Knights this weekend as well. They visit Henderson on Friday before the Silver Knights are back at Toyota Arena the following night.
Rockford IceHogs Add Veteran Scorer
It was a little more than two years ago that Gerry Mayhew had seemed to be close to breaking through as full-time NHL forward.
Always someone who could produce, Mayhew had earned a promotion from Lehigh Valley during the 2021-22 season and eventually finished with 11 goals in 40 NHL games split between Philadelphia and Anaheim. That summer he took a two-year contract with Florida. However, he never did see action with the Panthers, spending the next two campaigns in Charlotte. And then this summer he went without a contract as the months passed along, training camp arrived, and then opening night came and went.
It wasn’t as if Mayhew’s play had dropped off since that extended NHL time. His 24 goals had tied him for the Charlotte team lead in 2022-23. Last season he had another productive output in which he finished with 19-18-37 in 68 games. Finally the phone rang for the 31-year-old Mayhew. The Rockford IceHogs had an AHL contract on offer, and Mayhew took it. The AHL’s most valuable player in 2019-20 with Iowa, this is a player who rang up 39 goals in 49 games for the Wild that season.
The IceHogs are 2-3-0-0 after taking a weekend road split against Manitoba and have a road date with the red-hot Grand Rapids Griffins Friday. Also, Rockford will be part of FloHockey’s AHL Game of the Week, streamed for free on social platforms Saturday night against rival Chicago Wolves.
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