The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye are the Red Wings’ AA hockey affiliate, but Toledo operates mostly independently, in no small part because the ECHL is both salary-capped and containing teams whose rosters bubble and boil with tumultuous change over the course of the regular season.
Players come and go with fast and furious frequency as they bounce up and down the minor league ladders, get injured, and sometimes sign elsewhere for more money.
As such, Toledo Walleye coach Pat Mikesch is as much a general manager and architect of a team whose roster is always changing. This evening, the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe speaks with coach Mikesch regarding his attempts to build a successful roster after the Walleye lost in the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Final to Trois-Rivieres:
Fresh off a trip to the Kelly Cup Finals, Mikesch said the expectation for a franchise that has reached the conference finals in four straight playoff appearances is to reload.
“It’s motivation to put another group together that gives us an opportunity to be playing at that time of the year again,” said Mikesch, who will be entering his third season at the helm. “I like that it’s a young group and it’s a talented group.”
Two-time ECHL MVP forward Brandon Hawkins is the returning cornerstone piece for a roster that has a dozen players back from last year’s team that fell to Trois-Rivieres in the championship finals.
“I like the way it’s taking shape,” Hawkins said. “We have some grit and some skill. It’s a different look to the team but in a good way.”
Among the returning forwards are Hawkins, Sam Craggs, Conlan Keenan, Darian Pilon, Will Hillman, Colby Ambrosio, and Nolan Moyle.
“We know how much goes into it and how much of a grind it is, so we want to make sure we’re doing in the offseason gives ourselves a chance to be as competitive as we were a year ago,” Mikesch said.
Defensemen Brendon Michaelian, Colin Swoyer, Dylan Moulton, Jed Pietila, and Bobby Russell also have re-signed.
“You want guys who’ve won important games and have played in important series,” he said. “And then you want to make sure you’re replacing pieces that you lost and players who fit what we need. There are a lot of great players out there, and that is why our league is so competitive. But it’s just finding the right ones for us.”
Continued, with this nugget:
The Walleye coach said he expects to add at least one more forward and one more defenseman down the road. The Grand Rapids Griffins, Toledo’s AHL partner, also are expected to once again sent down a couple of prospects — including one or two goaltenders.
I’m guessing that Carter Gylander will end up being the Walleye’s starting goaltender.