Quicker Monsters hungry for playoffs

Somewhere along the way last season, developing players for the Blue Jackets took precedence over winning for the Monsters, and by the time Monsters coach John Madden realized it, it was too late to save the season.

The Monsters, 2016 Calder Cup champions, missed the 2017 playoffs by one point. They lost the final game of the season, 1-0, to Manitoba. Had they tied the Moose in regulation and still lost in overtime, they would have earned the right to defend their championship as the eighth seed in the AHL West.

Ultimately, Madden’s mission is to develop players for the Blue Jackets, the Monsters’ parent club. But as the team was winding up practice Oct. 5 in Strongsville for their season opener at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 vs. Rockford at Quicken Loans Arena, Monsters general manager Bill Zito said the best way to do that is to make winning a priority at this level.

“It’s a little bit of a chicken and egg,” Zito said. “You can put development in front of winning, but isn’t winning really development?

“We want to educate, teach, enable and provide support to help the players be the best players they can be and challenge them by expecting them to win. We’re very lucky. We have a lot of riches. We have a lot of depth this year. So the challenge is going to be perform. Win. I think if the players do what they need to do to win the hockey game, there is no better development.”

Zito is the Blue Jackets’ assistant general manager as well as the Monsters’ general manager, so he has a vested interest in the success of both teams.

Monsters from last season now playing for the Blue Jackets include left wing Sonny Milano, center Zac Dalpe, and left wing Markus Hannikainen. Former Monsters goalie Joonas Korpisalo is backing up Sergei Bobrovsky again.

Brad Thiessen, the backup goalie most of last season, will be the regular goaltender this season after the Blue Jackets traded Anton Forsberg to the Blackhawks in the offseason.

“Thiessen is going to play a significant role,” Zito said. “He’s sort of been our anchor. If you want to look to what we’re preaching to the young guys, look at that guy. He doesn’t play for two months, he steps in, and he’s wonderful. He’s gracious with his teammates. He’s helpful. That’s what we want our young guys to emulate.”

Justin Scott, Jordan Maletta, Nick Moutrey and Alex Broadhurst are key players back from last year’s Monsters team. A key addition includes defenseman Cameron Gaunce, who played 12 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Center Carter Camper, a Rocky River native, was playing for Hershey in 2016 when the Monsters beat the Bears in the Calder Cup finals and is now with the Monsters.

“There’s a real focus on special teams,” Coach John Madden said. “We have a bunch of different guys that will be on the power play that have some real strengths. My job is to put them in position where they can succeed the most.

“There was a big emphasis put on conditioning. I think we’re going to be a much quicker team. We have a lot more skill. We’re really deep. I think it’s going to be tough for guys to get in the lineup and stay in the lineup because we have a number of guys that can play any position. We have high expectations.”

This is the third season for the Monsters’ affiliation with Columbus.