The Rockford IceHogs are coming down to the wire in the 2017-18 season with just 17 games remaining, currently looking from the outside of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. The blessing in front of Rockford, though, is that of those 17 remaining games. 13 are against opponents in the AHL Central Division. If the IceHogs want to get into the Calder Cup Playoffs, their destiny rests in their own hands from here on out.
IceHogs In The Driver’s Seat
Coming into Saturday’s action, the IceHogs sit in fifth-place in the Central Division with a record of 29-24-6, 64 points, and a .542 points-percentage. Rockford holds a tie-break over the Milwaukee Admirals in sixth-place, .035 percentage-points behind the Iowa Wild in fourth-place, and .043 behind the third-place Grand Rapids Griffins.
A blessing for the IceHogs is that the weekend ahead could make huge moves for them in the standings with road games against the Admirals on Saturday and against the Chicago Wolves on Sunday. Two regulation wins over the weekend could drastically alter the Central Division chase for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The mountain to climb for Rockford lies in the fact that of the 17 games remaining, 13 come against Central Division opponents. and 9 of those games are on the road. 7 of the next 10 games are all on the road against Central Division opponents for Rockford, making this stretch of March the make or break. Any lull in form for the IceHogs could doom their post-season dreams.
Reinforcements In The Lineup?
With the Chicago Blackhawks all but mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a number of usual IceHogs roster players have made moves up to the NHL to give the Blackhawks a taste of what they can bring to the team at the highest level. Players like Matthew Highmore, Erik Gustafsson, and J.F. Berube have been given extended looks late in the season and have taken away a bit from the Rockford production. Not taking away anything from the players who have taken over the reigns in their absences, but having those players would be better than not in a playoff push.
Luckily for Rockford, a few reinforcements are on their way to the roster. On March 7, the IceHogs signed defenseman Nolan Valleau to a Professional Tryout Agreement. Valleau played in 108 previous AHL games with the IceHogs during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Over those 108 games, Valleau tallied 20 points (4G, 16A) and was a minus-11.
This season, Valleau played the majority of the year with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, skating in 37 games with 30 points (8G, 22A), 10 PIM, and a plus-3 rating. He also skated in 7 games with the Chicago Wolves on a PTO before being released and signing with the IceHogs.
Also returning to the Rockford blue-line is defenseman Carl Dahlstrom, who was re-assigned on March 9. This season with the IceHogs, Dahlstrom has skated in 47 games with 23 points (3G, 20A) and was named an AHL All-Star after replacing teammate Erik Gustafsson.
In his tenure with the Blackhawks this year, Dahlstrom skated in 11 games with three assists and a was a minus-2. Dahlstrom figures to slot right back into the Rockford defensive lineup, but it will be interesting to see who will have to sit in his place.
With players like Cody Franson, Adam Clendening, Gustav Forsling, and Luc Snuggerud driving the IceHogs from the blue-line, Dahlstrom will more than likely force head coach Jeremy Colliton’s hand in sitting either rookie Darren Raddysh or veteran Viktor Svedberg.
Also keep an eye on the end of the NCAA season for a couple Blackhawks draftees as they too could sign PTO’s before season’s end. Last season, the IceHogs added players like Snuggerud, Matheson Iacopelli, and Anthony Louis once their NCAA careers came to an end. This season, look out for players like Liam Coughlin, Dennis Gilbert, Blake Hillman, Fredrik Olofsson, or Beau Starrett to potentially sign deals once their seasons come to an end.
What’s Next?
The IceHogs travel to take on the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday at the Panther Arena. Puck drop for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 6pm Central Time. After Saturday’s action, Rockford travels to Rosemont to take on the Chicago Wolves at the Allstate Arena. Sunday’s puck drop is set for 3pm Central time.