Despite most Milwaukee Admirals players skating with the rival Chicago Wolves this season, we’re continuing with our weekly musings in 2021. This season’s edition is similar to last with added notes on other Nashville Predators prospects and quotes from Wolves staff and players.
Chicago opened their season with three wins over Rockford and Grand Rapids. They’ll host Grand Rapids tomorrow and travel to Rockford next Tuesday.
Weekly Stats
Explore: Nashville’s AHL/ECHL Prospects
Game Recaps
February 5 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
After giving up a power-play goal to open their season, the Wolves handled the rest of Friday’s contest with ease. Tommy Novak opened the scoring—including Philip Tomasino’s first professional point—and Seth Jarvis and Cavan Fitzgerald added two more for a 3-1 victory. The Wolves went 1-for-4 on the power play; Antoine Bibeau stopped 22 of 23 shots.
February 6 @ Rockford IceHogs
Play was a bit sloppy and sluggish to start Saturday’s game, unsurprising for an afternoon contest after a Friday night game. Rockford got out to a two-goal lead before Seth Jarvis and Cavan Fitzgerald answered for Chicago. The Wolves surrendered three power-play goals but completed the comeback to win 5-4 with other goals from Tanner Jeannot, Rem Pitlick, and Jamieson Rees.
February 9 vs. Rockford IceHogs
Seth Jarvis stayed hot with his third goal in as many games to open the scoring, and Chicago dominated play until a second-period dust-up between Max Lajoie and Andrei Altybarmakyan. Rockford added just one goal on the ensuing five-minute power play, then Chicago exploded with Philip Tomasino and Rem Pitlick adding two goals each to give the Wolves a 3-0 season start.
Players of the Week
Tommy Novak: Novak seems to have picked up right where he left off last season. The high-scoring rookie pro didn’t look out of place as he played big minutes for the Wolves over the weekend, scoring one goal and three points in three games. [RK]
Philip Tomasino: If the weekend started as the “Seth Jarvis Show,” it ended as the “Philip Tomasino Show.” The 2019 first-round pick notched two assists on Friday and Saturday then added a third assist and his first two professional goals yesterday against Rockford. [ED]
Notes and Quotes
- Tucson Roadrunners: The Coyotes’ affiliate opened with two wins against the San Jose Barracuda this weekend. Michael Carcone skated on the team’s second line and scored two primary points, including one goal. Josh Wilkins, skating on the fourth line, added a primary assist, too.
- Cleveland Monsters: Brandon Fortunato and the Monsters’ opening weekend games were postponed due to COVID-19. They’ll now open their season this Friday against the Rochester Americans.
- It’s excellent to see Tanner Jeannot and Alexandre Carrier wearing “A’s” for the Wolves this season.
- Patrick Harper finally found himself in the lineup yesterday after being scratched for the season’s first two games. Unfortunately, a middle frame filled with penalty-killing limited his ice time, but head coach Ryan Warsofsky added, “He made some nice plays off the rush, he’s got some good hockey sense, and he isn’t afraid to go to the dangerous areas for being a small guy…”
- Coach Warsofsky seems to have found one forward duo he’ll keep together: Rem Pitlick and Jamieson Rees have skated together in all three games (Stelio Mattheos rotated in for Anthony Richard yesterday) and have generated some solid chemistry.
- The Wolves have one power-play unit that will be must-watch hockey this season. The top unit features four first-round picks: Philip Tomasino, Seth Jarvis, Dominik Bokk, and Ryan Suzuki. The Wolves have rotated defenders in that fifth spot.
- Rem Pitlick has been featured heavily on the penalty kill and capitalized yesterday, scoring a shorthanded breakaway goal. Coach Warsofsky, when touching on how versatile a player he is, noted, “it’s another tool for his toolbox.”
- Jeremy Davies has looked good, including a big game on Tuesday where he skated alongside Alexandre Carrier, and in all situations. He’ll likely lead Wolves defenders in shots this season.
- Alexandre Carrier seems to have mastered most aspects of the AHL game (aside from the defensive lapse here and there), but he may be too bland—on and off the puck—to provide any new dimension to Nashville’s blue line.
- When asked about his whirlwind of a 2020-21 season, Philip Tomasino noted that his constant practice reps against all sorts of competition—including at the World Juniors and in Nashville—has helped with his ability to take advantage of plays at the AHL level./
All statistics are courtesy of eliteprospects.com, theahl.com, or hand-tracked myself.