Vegas Golden Knights: Chicago Wolves’ Playoff run vital for young guns

The Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, moved another step closer to advancing through to the Calder Cup Final after beating the San Diego Gulls 5-2 on Saturday night.

The Wolves have now taken a 3-2 series lead in the Calder Cup Conference Final with Game 6 scheduled for Monday night in Chicago. It is a series that will hold plenty of interest for the Vegas Golden Knights.

There are a host of young studs currently plying their trade for the Wolves who are standing on the precipice of making the leap to the NHL with the Golden Knights sooner rather than later.

Nic Hague, Zach Whitecloud and Cody Glass are among Vegas’ highest-rated prospects currently in the farm system and all three are expected to be given the opportunity to compete for roster spots in the big league once training camp opens.

The AHL, as we know, is a playground for young studs to be able to showcase their talents and learn their craft before making the jump to the majors, while it also acts as a graveyard for veterans who no longer have what it takes to compete at the NHL level on a consistent basis.

It is a feeder league at the end of the day and the grind of the regular season isn’t always realistic preparation for what is to come at the next level.

However, the intensity racks up in the AHL postseason and the Golden Knights front office will no doubt be keeping a keen eye on how their prospects handle the pressure and the vast array of emotions of a deep playoff run.

And, so far, it has all been positive for the likes of Hague, Whitecloud and Glass who have made their mark on the playoffs for the Wolves and particularly this series.

Take Glass for example. Already a part of the history books having been the first-ever draft pick in franchise history for the Vegas Golden Knights, the forward is proving night in and night out why scouts think he has what it takes to be a star in the majors.

After spending the majority of the year with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL, where he put up 15 goals and 54 assists for 69 points in just 38 games, Glass joined the Wolves just in time for their postseason campaign and he has been lights out so far.

Glass, who also tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in five games for Canada at the World Junior Championships, put up five points in just six games for Chicago down the stretch of the regular season.

He’s carried that fine form and momentum into the postseason having come up clutch for the Wolves when it matters most, including two overtime game-winners.

Glass has six goals and five assists for 11 points in 16 Calder Cup Playoffs games, and he’s also displayed his toughness after bouncing back from a scary-looking hit in Game 3 of the AHL Western Conference Finals. He returned in the same game and hasn’t looked back, posting a goal and an assist in the Game 4 victory against San Diego.

Glass is Vegas’ No.1 rated prospect and he will have a genuine shot at earning a spot on the Golden Knights roster for 2019-20 in training camp, especially if he continues to play with the level of maturity that he has so far during Chicago’s postseason run.

Hague, a hulking defenseman at 6’6″ and 214 lb, looks every inch a bruising NHL blueliner in the making and he, like Glass, has been impressive in the Playoffs for the Wolves.

In 16 games played, Hague has three goals and five assists for eight points and a plus/minus rating of +3.

Hague could be in line for an early promotion to the NHL given that the Knights could lose both Deryk Engelland and Colin Miller this offseason, and the 20-year-old has shown so far that he can certainly handle high-pressure situations.

Whitecloud has stood out too with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 16 games, while Daniel Carr, although probably still a year or two away from cracking the big leagues, has been an offensive weapon for the Wolves with five goals and five assists for 10 points, including two power play tucks. He was also named the AHL’s MVP after potting 30 goals and 41 assists for 71 points in only 52 regular season games.

Whether or not the Chicago Wolves go all the way and lift the Calder Cup, this deep run will act as an invaluable learning curve for the team’s core of high-end prospects and stand them in good stead for the next step in their careers.

If that is indeed in the NHL in 2019-20 then the Vegas Golden Knights will feel comfortable giving ice time to young studs that they know have now had to produce big moments when the chips are down.

Every single game in the NHL has something at stake and, for the likes of Hague, Whitecloud and Glass, they’ve been given a brief taste of that during this Calder Cup run with the Wolves. They are learning to play in high-pressure situations with everything on the line on a night-to-night basis and that learning curve should have them all well-prepared to be able to make that leap to the NHL with the Golden Knights.