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When the Calder Cup Playoffs get tough, how will a young team handle what confronts them?
Youth and development headline the AHL regular season. But when the Calder Cup Playoffs show up each April, veterans and their experience take over as they so often do at every level of the sport.
Plenty of dominant regular-season clubs led by top prospects have faded once the postseason arrived. The Hershey Bears of 2023 and 2024 had ample experience. So did the Abbotsford Canucks last year. When the games got tighter and increasingly difficult as each playoff round came and went, players who had been through past tests put those lessons to work and made the necessary adjustments. Artūrs Šilovs had starred in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and led Latvia to a medal at the IIHF World Championship before he took Abbotsford to a title. Hershey’s stubborn adversary and 2023 and 2024 Calder Cup finalists, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, had Joey Daccord and Chris Driedger backstopping them.
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So when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins started this week facing a decidedly difficult predicament, the situation provided an opportunity to learn some things – good or bad – about just what defines this team. They went into Monday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Marlies in a real bind. They had lost back-to-back one-goal decisions at home to begin the series, including a remarkably fluky overtime decider last Friday night. Lose Game 3 to the time-tested Marlies, and this series quite possibly would have been headed toward a sweep.
But these Penguins are different.
For one, they barely have anything resembling age in their line-up.
Defenseman Sebastian Aho is 30 years old. Forward Boko Imama, who has been in and out of the line-up this postseason, is 29. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is 27, but he missed time this postseason. At 26, Aidan McDonough brings age, but he has just 139 regular-season games to his name and missed the Charlotte Checkers’ entire postseason run last year. There’s 22-year-old Sergei Murashov anchoring them in net. Harrison Brunicke (20) and Owen Pickering (22) take key blueline roles. Atley Calvert, Gabe Klassen, Ville Koivunen, and Rutger McGroarty up front? They’re all 22. Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes top out at 23. Bill Zonnon joined the team after the first round following the completion of his QMJHL season; he’s just 19. Mikhail Ilyin, 21, came to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late in the regular season from the KHL and has had to jump into the AHL without any adjustment time for play style, language, and the other challenges that can confront incoming players.
And it’s this youth leading the way for head coach Kirk MacDonald and his team.
They fell behind 1-0 in the first period. But McDonough answered 2:23 later on the power play. And then Zonnon gave the Penguins a second-period lead. Toronto got a late second-period goal, but the Penguins regrouped in the second intermission before stacking back-to-back goals from Calvert and Koivunen.
Toronto likes to play an agitating game to great effect, but the Penguins mostly stayed away from any of those distractions and allowed just three power-play opportunities. Murashov excelled, bouncing back from a few shaky moments in the first two games to finish with 36 stops.
It was the sort of maturity that has allowed the Penguins to go 4-1 on the road this postseason. That performance has followed the team posting the AHL’s second-best regular-season road record at 25-7-3-1. This team can handle setbacks, difficult road environments, and in an almost must-win game, they take those circumstances and handle them.
And now it’s down to a much more manageable 2-1 series hole going into Game 3 at Coca-Coliseum on Wednesday night. Even just getting a split would send the Penguins back home for Game 6.
The regular season served up six months of lessons for Pittsburgh Penguins management and exactly what they have on hand with their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton roster. The Calder Cup Playoffs started April 30 for the Penguins. The calendar has moved into June now. Keep winning, and the Penguins could be going until it’s pushing July.
It has been a long season, but in some ways it’s just starting for this bunch. More lessons are ahead.
The AHL is streaming globally on FloHockey. Watch every single game from the regular season through the Calder Cup Playoffs, as well as key events like the AHL All-Star Classic and the AHL Outdoor Classic. Subscribe to FloHockey today so you never miss a moment. All games will be available on FloHockey.tv or via the FloSports mobile and connected TV apps.
The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL, minor-league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don't miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.
FloHockey is the streaming home to some of the best hockey leagues in North America, including the ECHL and more. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more hockey.
Continue reading...
Youth and development headline the AHL regular season. But when the Calder Cup Playoffs show up each April, veterans and their experience take over as they so often do at every level of the sport.
Plenty of dominant regular-season clubs led by top prospects have faded once the postseason arrived. The Hershey Bears of 2023 and 2024 had ample experience. So did the Abbotsford Canucks last year. When the games got tighter and increasingly difficult as each playoff round came and went, players who had been through past tests put those lessons to work and made the necessary adjustments. Artūrs Šilovs had starred in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and led Latvia to a medal at the IIHF World Championship before he took Abbotsford to a title. Hershey’s stubborn adversary and 2023 and 2024 Calder Cup finalists, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, had Joey Daccord and Chris Driedger backstopping them.
Watch Live
2026 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs Toronto Marlies
So when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins started this week facing a decidedly difficult predicament, the situation provided an opportunity to learn some things – good or bad – about just what defines this team. They went into Monday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Marlies in a real bind. They had lost back-to-back one-goal decisions at home to begin the series, including a remarkably fluky overtime decider last Friday night. Lose Game 3 to the time-tested Marlies, and this series quite possibly would have been headed toward a sweep.
But these Penguins are different.
For one, they barely have anything resembling age in their line-up.
Defenseman Sebastian Aho is 30 years old. Forward Boko Imama, who has been in and out of the line-up this postseason, is 29. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is 27, but he missed time this postseason. At 26, Aidan McDonough brings age, but he has just 139 regular-season games to his name and missed the Charlotte Checkers’ entire postseason run last year. There’s 22-year-old Sergei Murashov anchoring them in net. Harrison Brunicke (20) and Owen Pickering (22) take key blueline roles. Atley Calvert, Gabe Klassen, Ville Koivunen, and Rutger McGroarty up front? They’re all 22. Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes top out at 23. Bill Zonnon joined the team after the first round following the completion of his QMJHL season; he’s just 19. Mikhail Ilyin, 21, came to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late in the regular season from the KHL and has had to jump into the AHL without any adjustment time for play style, language, and the other challenges that can confront incoming players.
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And it’s this youth leading the way for head coach Kirk MacDonald and his team.
They fell behind 1-0 in the first period. But McDonough answered 2:23 later on the power play. And then Zonnon gave the Penguins a second-period lead. Toronto got a late second-period goal, but the Penguins regrouped in the second intermission before stacking back-to-back goals from Calvert and Koivunen.
Toronto likes to play an agitating game to great effect, but the Penguins mostly stayed away from any of those distractions and allowed just three power-play opportunities. Murashov excelled, bouncing back from a few shaky moments in the first two games to finish with 36 stops.
It was the sort of maturity that has allowed the Penguins to go 4-1 on the road this postseason. That performance has followed the team posting the AHL’s second-best regular-season road record at 25-7-3-1. This team can handle setbacks, difficult road environments, and in an almost must-win game, they take those circumstances and handle them.
And now it’s down to a much more manageable 2-1 series hole going into Game 3 at Coca-Coliseum on Wednesday night. Even just getting a split would send the Penguins back home for Game 6.
The regular season served up six months of lessons for Pittsburgh Penguins management and exactly what they have on hand with their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton roster. The Calder Cup Playoffs started April 30 for the Penguins. The calendar has moved into June now. Keep winning, and the Penguins could be going until it’s pushing July.
It has been a long season, but in some ways it’s just starting for this bunch. More lessons are ahead.
Watch FloHockey 24/7
How To Watch The AHLThe AHL is streaming globally on FloHockey. Watch every single game from the regular season through the Calder Cup Playoffs, as well as key events like the AHL All-Star Classic and the AHL Outdoor Classic. Subscribe to FloHockey today so you never miss a moment. All games will be available on FloHockey.tv or via the FloSports mobile and connected TV apps.
NHL Prospect Coverage On FloHockey
The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL, minor-league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don't miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.
Watch the AHL, ECHL, QMJHL, OHL, And More On FloHockey
FloHockey is the streaming home to some of the best hockey leagues in North America, including the ECHL and more. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more hockey.
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