The Calder Cup Playoffs are underway, and with that comes plenty of storylines, so let's dive into them
It was easy to write the Springfield Thunderbirds off. They didn't have a good team and dug themselves into a hole too tough to climb out of. That was the story of the Thunderbirds 2025-26 season and applied to their series against the Charlotte Checkers, where they lost the first game and trailed at some point in all three games.
Yet, the Thunderbirds battled back. It’s a credit to the buy-in the players and the team have in Steve Ott’s system, something that took time but has made them a team that can go up against anyone. It’s also a credit to the adjustment Ott has made to get the Thunderbirds into playoff condition, where they can beat a team like the Checkers or any juggernaut in the American Hockey League.
Springfield’s Series Comeback is an Embodiment of their Season
The truth is that the Thunderbirds aren’t a good team. The St. Louis Blues don’t have a great farm system and haven’t provided them with a surplus of prospects like most AHL teams. Then things got worse when Colten Ellis, their starting goaltender from 2024-25, was claimed off waivers days before the season began. The results were reflected in how the team played early on in the season. The Thunderbirds were a chaotic team without a clear direction and sat in last place in the Atlantic Division.
That said, the Thunderbirds didn’t give up, and the first change made was a change behind the bench. Steve Konowalchuk was fired, and Ott was hired to fix things up. The longtime NHL assistant head coach had the Thunderbirds playing with structure on both ends, from limiting easy scoring chances to moving the puck up the ice with a purpose. It allowed the team to sneak into the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Atlantic Division.
Along with the system change came the mindset shift as the players bought into Ott’s urge to play playoff hockey. It’s why the Thunderbirds weren’t rattled when they lost Game One to the Checkers 8-1, a loss that made it look like the series was over. It’s why they were unfazed when they were trailing 1-0 heading into the third period of Game Three as they battled back to win 2-1 in overtime and take the series.
The Thunderbirds face the Providence Bruins next. The Bruins finished the season with the best record in the AHL and are the favorites to win the Calder Cup. That said, the Thunderbirds have proven that they can’t be counted out, at least not yet.
Gold, Johnson & Spezza join the GM Chat
Last week’s column featured a fair assessment of Ryan Martin as a potential NHL GM. The Hartford Wolf Pack GM and New York Rangers assistant is in hot demand, interviewing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Nashville Predators (the Maple Leafs already notified him that he's out of the running but he’s still in the running for the Predators job). Martin is not the only AHL GM that teams are interested in.
This week, a handful of GMs were mentioned in this hiring cycle, including Evan Gold, Ryan Johnson, and Jason Spezza. So, let’s look at their prospects for an NHL job.
Evan Gold - The Providence Bruins GM is turning a lot of heads because of the team he helped build. The Bruins AHL team has been great for a while but this season was a historic one, and it’s a credit in part to his ability to add the right veteran pieces to get them over the hump. The only question is
Ryan Johnson - Like Manny Malhotra, the Abbotsford Canucks GM didn’t improve his outlook this season, which was a rough one for the AHL and NHL teams. Instead, it’s the job he did the previous season, building the Canucks into a Calder Cup winner. The most likely spot for Johnson is in Vancouver if they want to hire internally, especially with Patrick Allvin out and Jim Rutherford looking for a successor.
Jason Spezza - He’s the GM on the rise and was recently mentioned on 32 Thoughts The Podcast. The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins are one of the best teams in the AHL, and some will credit that to Kyle Dubas but many will look at how Spezza oversaw the team and got it to overachieve for the second year in a row. The catch is that Spezza won’t take a position this offseason, as the reports suggest he’s not interested in doing so. However, as Dubas mentors him, it’s a matter of time before that happens.
It’s sometimes harder to coach in the AHL than it is in the NHL, mostly because of the turnover. The same is true for a GM as they must report to the NHL team, the ECHL team, and an AHL team that is looking to win and develop the prospects. It’s why the GMs in this league are set up to have success at the next level.
Quick Hits
Because the Thunderbirds won their series, the Hershey Bears will face the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. It’s one of the best rivalries in the league and an hour and a half drive on the I-81 for both teams (two hours if there’s traffic, which might be the case). The Bears are starting to find their identity and elite goaltending to win in the playoffs. The Penguins have had it from the start of the season. So, expect a well-coached series between the two Pennsylvania teams that goes the distance.
The Rochester Americans and Toronto Marlies had a back-and-forth three-game set. The Marlies coming out on top ends the Amerks' run and Don Stevens’ broadcasting career, but it sets up a Toronto-against-Laval playoff matchup. Two rivals at the NHL level will have their AHL teams going at it in what should be a great series.
An interesting note on the Amerks-Marlies series, especially the way it ended, was how both coaches utilized their benches and managed ice time. The Amerks turned to their stars in the final minutes and double-shifted them with hopes of tying the game. The Marlies kept their players fresh and rotated all four lines to close out the game. It’s something Derek King did to secure both wins for the Bears against the Bridgeport Islanders, and King noted after Game Two that he likes to roll all four lines to keep the flow of the game going.
The Henderson Silver Knights defeated the San Jose Barracuda in a short two-game series. The bigger story is how their best scorer, Rafael Lavoie, became an unstoppable force in the offensive zone. He scored three goals in the two games, 30 goals in 45 regular-season games, and 20 goals in his last 20 games.
This is the week when the Calder Cup Playoffs really get underway. Every team is either beginning or in the middle of a five-game series, setting up for an exciting few weeks ahead.