While thermometers in Chicago registered a brisk 39 degrees Fahrenheit when the puck dropped at Allstate Arena on Saturday, on the ice, the Milwaukee Admirals proved to be much hotter.
Winning 10-straight since the calendar flipped to 2024, in a stretch that’s included four perfect back-to-back sets and five shutouts, the Admirals have propelled themselves into a first-place spot in the Western Conference just past the halfway point of their campaign.
So, what’s the secret of their success?
For starters, the Ads have leaned on a seasoned D-core, all but two of which - Adam Wilsby and Keaton Thompson - have some degree of NHL experience under their belts.
“It keeps them hungry,” Admirals General Manager & Predators Director of Player Development Scott Nichol said. “Even guys like Jake Livingstone, who came up to play a couple of games [with Nashville]. They get a taste of it a little bit, and it can be frustrating when they don’t get a chance or a call, but so far they’re all doing great.”
With a tight defensive group allowing the second-fewest goals in the League (95), opportunities have opened for Milwaukee’s talented forwards to show their stuff.
There’s top-six center and veteran AHLer Mark Jankowski, who leads Milwaukee with 44 points (15g-29a), 18 of which (7g-11a) came during that 10-game stretch.
There’s also surging offense from young guns like Zach L’Heureux, who’s posted 10 points (5g-5a) in his last nine, Fedor Svechkov, who’s got eight points (3g-5a) in his last 10, and Joakim Kemell, who contributed a goal on Friday in his first game since Jan. 12.
“That’s what you want to see from these young guys come Christmas time,” Nichol said. “They can kind of take a little bit more load off the veteran guys and then they start producing a little bit as they get used to the league. And so far, it's been good. The plan has been working.”
A career season from third-year pro and Ads goals-leader Egor Afanasyev hasn’t hurt Milwaukee’s success, either. In his last 11 outings, the Russian-born forward has registered 15 points (6g-9a).
“He's kind of putting it all together this year,” Nichol said. “And that's just part of the process as well. Now he's scoring, he's killing penalties, he's playing a heavy game and he's using his speed… It's hard to piece it all together and you can't piece it all together in the NHL. In the American League, you can fail, you can make mistakes, and then you can learn from them. And [Egor] is having a fantastic year.”
Of course, Milwaukee has also benefited from elite play between the pipes, courtesy of second-year pro Yaroslav Askarov.
On a nine-game winning streak of his own, a stretch that has included three shutouts and a pair of victories in back-to-back starts, Askarov is third in goals-against average (2.18), fifth in save percentage (.921) and tied for fourth in wins (16) among qualified AHL netminders.
Since being sent back to Milwaukee following his first career NHL win on Dec. 30, Askarov has allowed just 14 goals on 224 shots for a .938 save percentage and a 1.75 goals-against average through eight games.
“That's the progression of all young players, is to come up, play a few games, get a taste of it, go back down, and then just keep building off that,” Nichol said. “You take a little piece of every experience you have, whether you're a forward, a defenseman or a goalie. And our team has been really good in front of him and he looks calmer, he looks more confident and he's putting up some pretty good numbers.”
The Admirals will work for 11-straight wins and a perfect January slate when they return home to face the San Diego Gulls on Tuesday. Predators fans can catch all the action on AHLTV.
