Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The North Division champion Cleveland Monsters have been out for a week.
At the time, the Belleville Senators and Toronto Marlies were playing in a best-of-three playoff series.
Today, one of those clubs will earn the right to face the Monsters in the semifinals. Game 3 at CAA Arena in Belleville is scheduled for this afternoon (3 ET, AHLTV).
With the Columbus Blue Jackets out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Cleveland's roster was bolstered by the return of no less than eight players in the final weekend of the regular season, a team highlighted by its leading scorer. Trey Fix-Wolanskyprotector David Jiricek and the goalkeeper Jet Greaves.
James Malatesta, Luca Del Belluz, Nick Blankenburg, Mikael Pythiaagain Malcolm Subban they returned to the lineup as the Monsters swept a three-game road stretch in less than 48 hours last weekend to clinch the franchise's first division title.
Luca Pinelli, who turned 19 this month, has also joined Cleveland; The fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft scored 48 goals for Ottawa in the Ontario Hockey League this season.
So while the end-of-season recall for the Blue Jackets was a time to leave an impression on the organization, so was the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs, Cleveland's first appearance in the postseason since 2019. Columbus is in the market for a new general manager after that. Jarmo Kekalainen he was released from his duties in February, and spots on the NHL roster could open up for training camp in September.
Monsters is the head coach Trent Vogelhuber he played on Cleveland's championship team in 2016, a run that was instrumental in moving the players forward Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Josh Anderson, Sonny Milano, Anton Forsberg again Joonas Korpisalo in NHL activities. Vogelhuber made sure to stress to his returning players how important this spring will be.
“I know a lot of people I've talked to are excited to be back in Cleveland and play in the playoffs,” Vogelhuber said.
Vogelhuber also recognizes that playing the final weeks of the regular season in Columbus is a much different task than competing in the Calder Cup in Cleveland. Roles vary. Do the same with workloads. And the AHL playoffs provide little time to return to game action. The series against either Belleville or Toronto will be a best-of-five series starting Wednesday; they should be ready to go.
“I think that's really it – the idea and the understanding of how hard and desperate you have to be,” Vogelhuber explained. “Then we communicate our expectations to individuals in terms of roles and the team with what we need. It's definitely a challenge, and I'm starting to go through it (as a coach).”
Vogelhuber also has to deal with those players who were once with the Monsters on the floor and may now see their minutes cut or be removed from the roster entirely. Those players need to stay fit.
“Your list is not set in stone,” Vogelhuber said. “All the decisions we make from this point forward are the ones we feel as a coaching staff give our team a better chance to win.
“I think it's a good message for our team, for other young people, that nothing is a given here at this time of year.”
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has covered the American Hockey League for nearly two decades at outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM ! Sports, and most recently was the host of The Hockey News On The 'A' podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league's top scorer in 2016.
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