Minor League Check-In: Chicago & Norfolk

RALEIGH, NC. - At this point the Canes are past the quarter mark in their schedule and before you know it they'll be at the midway point.
That's hockey season after all though, isn't it? At times it feels as if it is never-ending enjoyment and others you feel like you blink and it's gone.
With that being said, the
emergence into the Carolina lineup of recent recalls
Jalen Chatfield and Max Lajoie provides us another reason to take a look at the organization's umbrella, specifically their American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL affiliates.

We caught up with both Ryan Warsofsky and Rod Taylor, head coaches of the respective clubs, to learn more about their teams.

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The Chicago Wolves

The Wolves currently pace the AHL's Central Division with a record of 14-4-1-1.
Captain Andrew Poturalski has been the guiding force thus far this season, sitting second in the league with his 24 points in 20 games. Not far behind him, teammate C.J. Smith is fifth with his 21 points in the same amount of contests.
"They've been really important for us," began Warsofsky, who is in his third year of leading the Hurricanes top developmental club. "The experience of playing in this league helps, they have NHL experience, they've been around a long time and they know what you need to bring each and every night. They've carried us at times and they've showed our younger players how you need to play with the puck, but more importantly how you need to play without the puck."

One of the younger players that fits in that group is Canes 2018 second round draft pick Jack Drury. After two strong years at Harvard University, the 21-year-old made the jump pro last year, playing in Sweden due to his collegiate team not having a season. This year his new adventure has been his first year playing professionally in North America.
"He's learning the North American pro style," Warsofsky said of Drury. "He's just a mature player with a high hockey IQ. He's very smart. I know he's a rookie but it's really hard to put him in that column with his experience and the way he plays. He's had a good transition, he knows the things he needs to work on and improve and we're just taking it day-by-day."
Drury is not the only first-year Wolves player catching attention, as goaltender Eetu Makiniemi has shown no signs of struggle in making his transition to the North American game either. Carolina's 2017 draft selection is 7-2-1 in his opening season with Chicago, posting a .923 save percentage.
"I've been pleasantly surprised with Eetu. Sometimes there's an adjustment period for the young goaltenders but he's coming from a good league in Finland where he had a really good season last year," Warsofsky continued. "I think the rookie tournament really helped, you can tell he's got confidence and he's very mature in the way he approaches the game. He's similar to Jack in the sense that, yeah, they're rookies, but they don't act like rookies. They go about their business on the ice and off the ice. Maki has a plan of how he wants to play and he's been very good for us. He's been detailed and he approaches it with a really good mindset."

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The Norfolk Admirals

The club's ECHL affiliate is right in the mix in a very tightly contested South Division, carrying a record of 10-8-0-1 at the moment, just two points away from a share of first place.
Having played 12 of their first 17 games away from Norfolk Scope Arena, the team's made it count when they have had the chance for some home cooking, going 6-1 in seven contests.
Like Rod Brind'Amour and Ryan Warsofsky in Chicago, Admirals Head Coach Rod Taylor is proud of what his group has provided to this point, specifically in terms of their culture.
"Our biggest thing is that we play together. It's been a team game," Taylor opened with. "It's not one guy or five guys carrying us or having great games, it's all 18 of them playing for one another. Everybody has a role."
Faced with some adversity in the early going, the team has battled through injuries, recalls and the aforementioned road-heavy schedule to stay right in the mix. Don't try and sell those as excuses to the Admirals Hall of Famer-turned coach though.
"Yeah, we are in the thick of things in the division, but we've also let a few games slip on us," Taylor remarked, hoping his team can take a step forward in those situations over the next portion of their schedule. "Even though we're in an alright position, we could be in a better spot with a little bit more push. We let a few games go in the beginning and the beginning of the year is when you want to steal those points. Now we're going to start to get into the point of the season where teams are more prepared and they're going to start coming at you a bit more. It's going to get tougher and tougher to win those games."

So, how do the Admirals climb up in the pack as they inch closer to the midway point of their schedule?
Taylor's hopeful that the team can provide some assistance in front of Canes 22-year-old undrafted free agent signee Beck Warm. The second-year pro has been dazzling, currently ranking fourth among all ECHL goaltenders with his .932 save percentage.
"I'm a big believer that we need to take care of our own end first. The goals will come, I know we have struggled there at times and we have made mistakes, but we have to come back [defensively] hard. We have to pick up guys, we have to get back with purpose so we're not giving up the easy goals. That's important. We've gotten better, but we can keep getting better."

For more information, news and notes on the Chicago Wolves,
click here
. To get to know more about the Norfolk Admirals,
visit their website here
.
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