Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's lineup will look a bit different for its fourth game of the season on Saturday afternoon against the Bears.
On Friday, Pittsburgh recalled three of Wilkes-Barre's top performers -- forwards Josh Currie, Jordy Bellerive, and goaltender Emil Larmi -- and re-assigned forwards Anthony Angello and Freddy Gaudreau and goaltender Max Lagace from the taxi squad, so those players can finally get some playing time in.
Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest said that Pittsburgh consults with both Wilkes-Barre's coaching staff and the development staff to determine the best course of action when making changes to the taxi squad makeup like this.
"We just try to do what's best for Pittsburgh, and what's going to work best for particular players," he said. "We make our decisions based on multiple factors. We feel like, for this one, the guys coming down just haven't played in a long time. For them to be at their best, they need to get some games. Hopefully in the next little bit here, they can get their motors going and get into game-mode here."
For Angello, Gaudreau, and Lagace, it'll be their first actual game action in almost a full year.
"I for sure felt fortunate to still be on the ice since mid-December," Gaudreau said. "The hockey world has a lot of guys, especially younger guys, who can't play hockey because their league is shut down and stuff. I was already happy to be practicing, but to be able to play games is just another step. I'm really looking forward to it."
"I'm really excited, I haven't played a game since March 3," Angello said. "I've had a lot of time, almost a year to do training and small-group stuff and skill work, so I'm excited to get back on the ice with 10 guys and play more of a physical game."
Angello said that over the long offseason he focused a lot on his lower-body strength, core strength, and just total-body conditioning. On the ice, he focused more on his skills in tight areas.
The taxi squad situation this year presents interesting challenges. Going this long without playing a game is a challenge. But so is not getting in full practices. In a normal, full practice drill players get to experience reading and reacting off of nine other skaters on the ice, replicating a game-like scenario. Not with the taxi squad, though.
Taxi squad players are permitted to practice with the active NHL roster players, but many teams -- Pittsburgh included -- keep the taxi squad separate in the event that there is a COVID situation, so those players are still available to serve as backups. There is, of course, overlap, like when the injured NHL players practice with the taxi squad, or when taxi squad players like Kevin Czuczman take part in the NHL practice.
"Sometimes we have more guys, whether it's injured guys or stuff like that practicing with us, which helps," Gaudreau said. "It can bring the compete level a little higher, because we can do 2-on-1s, or 2-on-2s, little games sometimes. ... The most amount of players I've been on the ice with in the past month or so was sometimes five, and that was exciting when we were five."
For the most part, it's a tiny group. Players can get in a lot of skill work, but they're not getting in reps that could keep their timing game-ready.
"I think it'll be an adjustment at first," Angello said of his timing. "Hopefully it's like riding a bike, just pick up right where we left off."
"I think I need to be easy on myself," Gaudreau said of his expectations for tomorrow. "You want to do well, but the reality is it's been close to a year that I haven't played. ... I'm not trying to anticipate things too much, I'm trying to vision myself feeling good on the ice."
Wilkes-Barre has a lot of new faces this year, Gaudreau included.
"I think it's amazing here," he said. "The setup here is great, the people here are great, the players are great. I think there's a lot of balance, a lot of good people too. It's for sure exciting to be a part of this organization."
Angello is one of the few returning players, and is getting to know his new teammates.
"I think it's a lot of eager, young guys," he said of the team's identity. "Even in practice today, a lot of guys were moving, everyone is hooting and hollering, they're excited to be at the rink. I feel like I was in their shoes, and I still consider myself kind of a younger guy. On this team, I'm kind of looked at as an older guy. It makes playing fun, everyone enjoys coming to the rink."
At 24, Angello isn't exactly a veteran, but he is one of the guys on the team with NHL experience after playing eight games in Pittsburgh and being around the NHL team for practices even longer. He'll be looked to as more of a leader on such a young team.
"I'm not the most vocal guy," Angello said. "I'd say I'm more of a leader by example through actions and practice habits, how I carry myself and how I play. I can have a vocal side here and there when need be. I think a positive attitude, positive demeanor is very contagious. You go out there, you work hard, you play hard. Other guys see it, they want to do the same thing and not let you down. It goes from one guy to the next."
Gaudreau, 28, has 84 games of NHL experience over three seasons. He'll look to use his experience from over the years to be a versatile player for Wilkes-Barre.
"I've always prided myself in being someone a coach can count on in any situation," he said. "I started my career as a centerman, but I soon realized that it was good to be more versatile and play on the wings in order to get more opportunity, so I developed that throughout the years. Just trying to be good in whatever situations they put me in."
Forrest isn't expecting perfection from either player when they play their first games tomorrow, but he's looking forward to what they can eventually bring to the lineup.
"It's been while since they played a game," said Forrest. "I'm sure they'll be excited to play. With Ang, we've seen him here before. He's a big body, he can skate, we want him to play physical and use his shot, look to drive to the net. With Gaudreau, he's a real smart player, fast, he plays on both sides of the ice, he's all over the place. I think we're going to like what he brings to the table. But it's been a long time since they've both been in a game, they've been in Pittsburgh with the taxi squad. We're just excited to have some more enthusiasm coming into the locker room."
That enthusiasm could translate into an extra jump in their steps on the ice in these early games.
"We haven't been short on enthusiasm," Forrest said of the roster. "But for these three in particular, having been awhile in Pittsburgh, I think they're really excited to play. So they're going to come out with a lot of jump, and guys are happy to have them in the locker room. They're all good guys. We'll definitely get some energy from that."
The goal remains to get back up to Pittsburgh and get into the lineup next time. I asked both Angello and Gaudreau what the message was from Pittsburgh's coaching staff when it came to what they need to do down in Wilkes-Barre to make that happen.
"Not a specific thing," Gaudreau said. "They told me to just keep working hard, keep building on all of the little things."
"I just think all the things I did down here that got me up there to begin with," Angello said. "Playing a physical role, playing a hard, 200-foot game, having good stick detail, being hard on the puck, winning battles, hitting people, stirring the pot a little bit. Just playing with an edge, being hard to play against. That's what I did last year, that's what got me up there, that's what helped me stay there. Once I get my shot there again, I'll make sure not to let anyone down."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Defenseman Zach Trotman was taken off of Pittsburgh's IR and re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. I asked Forrest how close Trotman is to getting into a game, since this is within the 4-6 week timeframe originally provided when Trotman underwent his surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
"It's a day-to-day evaluation," he said. "A little bit back-and-forth."
• Another player who took part in Pittsburgh's training camp but hasn't played for Wilkes-Barre yet is forward Sam Miletic, who Forrest said during the AHL training camp is dealing with a "medical issue." Miletic has resumed practicing, and when I asked Forrest about his status on Friday he said that Miletic is recovering from mononucleosis.
"Milly is day-to-day," he said. "We'll re-evaluate him next week and see if we can't find a good opportunity to get him back in the lineup. Having mono can knock you out for a little bit, it takes some time to get your energy back. He's just going through that, but he's getting better and better every day.
Last season, P.O Joseph also had mono at the beginning of the year and it sidelined him for a month. He lost 15 pounds from his bout with mono, so I asked Forrest if there's any concerns with Miletic's strength too at this point.
"That's part of it," he said. "He really wants to play, and we just want to make sure we're doing it the right way. We've had that experience with P.O last year, and we know what it can do to your strength, to your overall energy. We want to make sure when Milly does return that he's got those things and he's not trying to fight back at the same time he's trying to play games. We'd like to see him closer to 100 percent so he can just get in and hit the ground running."
• Wilkes-Barre's last game was last Saturday, their first win of the season. Could this week between games hurt any momentum they may have gained from that win?
"I don't think so," Forrest said. "It is a long time in between games, but it also gives you a week to feel good about what you did in that first win, and take a look at some of the things that we need to correct and just need to get better at. You can look at it both ways there. You go into that long week of practice feeling pretty good."