Meanwhile in Milwaukee: Red Hot Admirals Win Six Straight

How about that hockey in Milwaukee?
Nine games into their 2022-23 campaign, the Nashville Predators American Hockey League affiliate Milwaukee Admirals are on a six-game winning streak, including a four-game road trip sweep that concluded Saturday evening in San Diego.
As a result, the Admirals - now 7-2-0 - are sitting pretty atop the Central Division standings and fifth in the league.
Put simply, things are going quite well in Milwaukee - and there are a number of reasons why.

Out With the Old, In With the New

A given for any team competing in the AHL is that one year's roster may look a good bit different than the next's, with a constant flux of players either being traded or called up to the NHL.
Still, the Admirals have taken a step above the rest this year and began their 2022-23 campaign with 16 fresh faces to show for.
With an identical number of new players joining the club as the year prior - that Ads team started 3-5-1 through their first nine - Admirals General Manager Scott Nichol says an added emphasis was placed on bonding the new teammates on and off the ice this time around.
Additionally, Nichol credits the early chemistry to a returning group of black aces, who joined the Ads during their playoff push and the team's brief four-game postseason appearance.
"We brought a lot of these guys last year at the end of the year, like [Spencer Stastney], [Adam] Wilsby, [Juuso] Parssinen and Luke Evangelista," Nichol said. "We knew we were going to be young and we knew we were going to have a lot of new guys, so they came in and they were part of our black aces group going into the playoffs… So, I think they knew what to expect to a certain degree. They're still rookies and they're still young, but I think that also helped in their process of having a good start."
These new guys are no slouches, either.
Take, for instance, offseason pickups Jordan Gross and Mark Jankowski, who were both on a point-per-game pace before being called up to join the Predators on their five-game road trip.
Gross - who notched a goal and six assists over six games with Milwaukee - was instrumental in Nashville's come-from-behind win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, netting his first and second NHL career goals in the effort.

Jankowski - who still leads the Ads in points with nine (5g-4a) - netted his first with Nashville in their 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames two nights prior.

"They've been great," Nichol said. "They had a tough start just because they went to Europe. They didn't play, but they experienced jet lag coming back and then getting sent down and trying to find a place to live in Milwaukee - they've had a busy month. And just in the last little bit they've really settled in and you see it in Gross's game - the way he delivers pucks and always looks for sticks. [He's a] really offensive-minded defenseman but he's also not bad in his own end, like he's a very smart, heady player… And then Jankowski has been really solid for us. He's probably 60 percent in the face-off circle in the American Hockey League, he's scored five goals, he's always on the score sheet and he plays the power play and penalty kill for us. So, he was one of those guys we went after for his leadership and just the experience of being in the NHL and getting a fresh start with a new organization. So, we're excited about both of them and it didn't take very long for them to get that call and they were both on the way back up to Nashville."

The Dynamic Duo

Of course, no team could hope for a six-game winning streak without the presence of a talented netminder between the pipes.
The Admirals, as it turns out, have two.
There's 25-year-old California native Devin Cooley, who's 3-0-0 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
And there's Preds No. 1 goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who's 4-2-0 with a 2.84 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in his first professional North American season.
"[Askarov] had a little bit of a slow start, he hadn't played a whole lot last year, but I think the tandem between him and Cooley has been fantastic," Nichol said. "They get along, they challenge each other. Cooley is 3-0-0, so Askarov has to earn the net and he has to practice hard. He looks at the other end of the ice and he sees Cooley battling for every drill, and that's what [Askarov] is trying to do every day."

Together, the goaltending duo has combined efforts to place Milwaukee 10th in the league and second in the Central Division in goals against (26).
It's certainly not a bad start for the young Russian netminder, and as Nichol sees it, only an early indicator of some great things to come.
"He's been good and we knew he would be good," Nichol said. "He's going to have some of his growing pains this year, but his team plays well in front of him, and he's a super likable guy with good teammates. So, he's got a bright future."

Penalties, Or the Lack Thereof

The Admirals have also had a tremendous amount of success staying out of the penalty box.
The team currently leads the league with the fewest penalty minutes at 58, a factor that has in turn afforded the group consistent opportunities to generate momentum through all four lines.
"That's uncharted territory for our group and it gives us a chance to roll all four lines," Nichol said. "Their ice time is going from 15 to 18 minutes and that's through almost everybody. So, if you look at their point production and our stats, our wins and losses, it's just that guys are fresh and they're excited and no one is getting overtaxed and they're all earning their ice time."
Despite only needing their penalty kill unit 19 times, the Ads currently have the third-best kill in the league at 89.5 percent, allowing only two power play goals against thus far.

Scoring, Scoring and More Scoring

The kill isn't the only Ads asset ranked third in the league.
Sitting closely behind the Bridgeport Islanders (40) and the Toronto Marlies (39), the Admirals have combined for a total of 35 goals on the season.
In fact, 21 players on the 23-man roster - including Askarov (1a) - have registered at least a point on the young campaign.
Much like Gross and Jankowski, the consistent production throughout the lineup gives Nashville plenty to work with whenever a phone call might need to be made.
"I think we did a nice job this year just filling out the depth of our organization and [determining] roles, like if a player goes down, what player can come and take his spot with the same identity and same kind of role," Nichol said. "And then it's just these guys playing and handling the puck, putting up points, feeling good about their game and feeling confidence with the puck so that when they do come up [to Nashville], it's not like they haven't touched the puck and they don't have any confidence. Things are going to be harder and stronger and faster and everything the NHL embodies, but they're all playing [in Milwaukee] and growing."

Room to Grow

A prime example of the growing player Nichol described is Egor Afanasyev, who was sent back down to Milwaukee at the conclusion of his third Predators training camp.
The 21-year-old forward has since tallied five points (4g-1a) through nine outings with the Admirals in his second full season with the team.

"I think the way he's been competing is probably the next level and that's really where we were at him last year," Nichol said. "Every game he's first on pucks, he's using his body, he's protecting the puck and he's using his frame… Last year, his first year, was figuring the league out, but now this year he's kind of jumped in the deep end with both feet right from rookie camp on and he's been really good. So we love his growth, love what he's doing and there's still lots of room to improve, but he's down a really good path and I think he's enjoying it. You just see it in his face and the way he plays and he's just got to keep going."
And of course, there's Philip Tomasino, who was sent down to Milwaukee following the Predators Global Series trip in one of the more surprising moves of the new season.
The 21-year-old forward, who skated in 76 contests with Nashville last season, has taken the move in stride and currently leads the Ads in goals (6) and sits tied for second in points (8) with forward John Leonard.

"It's a hard pill to swallow, because you think as a young kid that you've made it because you spent the whole year in the NHL," Nichol said. "So this year he] kind of struggled a little bit at camp, just probably trying to secure his spot, and then his confidence went down a little bit. But that's just part of being a young player… He's still a young player, he's still trying to figure his game out, but he's got a good supporting cast around him."
The Admirals will look for their seventh-straight win on Wednesday evening when they host the Chicago Wolves at UW-Milwaukee Panther Creek Arena.
You can follow all the action on
[AHLTV with a subscription
or by following the

.
Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Admirals