Admirals head coach Karl Taylor could nearly dress two full lineups with the ever-growing roster that he has at hand.
Between players reassigned by the Nashville Predators at the end of the NHL regular season and additions from elsewhere, the Milwaukee roster is a crowded one. The Admirals have four goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 18 forwards on hand going into the best-of-five Central Division Finals against Texas.
It has been – and will continue to be – Taylor’s mandate to manage those 32 players, keep them fresh, and make changes if and when needed.
“We have a lot of good players here, and we’re going to move players in and out as we feel what is the best lineup on any given day to win a game,” Taylor said Tuesday after practice. “That’s a difficult thing. We recognize that. They have to stay as ready as possible so that if they do get an opportunity, they can grab it.”
Fedor Svechkov spent most of this season with Nashville, only playing 13 regular-season games for the Admirals. But the 22-year-old forward came back to Milwaukee ready to compete for the Calder Cup. The 2021 first-round draft pick delivered the overtime winner to eliminate Rockford in Game 5 on Sunday.
Svechkov, Marc Del Gaizo, Spencer Stastney and Kieffer Bellows all returned from Nashville at the end of the regular season to bolster the Admirals.
“The guys are invested,” Taylor continued. “Your play cannot be perfect all the time. We’re okay with that. It’s the investment and the mindset… Everyone who’s returned from Nashville, all the new players we’ve brought in during the season, you can see the celebration [after Game 5].”
Those players welcomed a chance for another Calder Cup pursuit. The Admirals have gone to the Western Conference Finals in each of the past two years.
Said Svechkov, “It’s so much fun to be a part of this team. We have character.”
Going deep into the Calder Cup Playoffs means summer-like weather in many stops on the AHL circuit.
Based in Cedar Park, Tex., just outside of Austin, the Stars are accustomed to the heat and humidity that develops as spring moves onward. So are the crowds that fill H-E-B Center as they did last Friday when the Stars closed out Grand Rapids with a sweep in their best-of-five Central Division Semifinal series. Temperatures are expected to approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas this week.
Cameron Hughes, who scored the series-winning goal in double overtime to eliminate the Griffins, is used to the sunshine having played into mid-June with Coachella Valley the last two years. He is also used to loud, rambunctious home crowds cheering him and his teammates on.
Hughes and his teammates hope for more of the same against Milwaukee.
“You really feel that energy, for sure,” forward Jack Becker said. “It’s amplified quite a bit, and it’s awesome. We’re thankful for the support, and hopefully we keep providing the energy together.”
AHL rookie of the year Justin Hryckowian, who turned in three assists in Game 3 against Grand Rapids, predicted more of that Texas-style support this series.
“I think they’re going to be loud,” he said. “They’re going to be excited. We can’t wait to play in front of them. They were unreal the other night, and I just think it’s going to keep growing as we keep going here.”
― with files from Patrick Williams
