Team eager to start season after 11 months

The Monsters haven’t played a hockey game in nearly 11 months, but a new season begins Feb. 5.

The Monsters haven’t played a hockey game in nearly 11 months, but a new season with new players begins Feb. 5 in Rockford, Ill., against the IceHogs, and the team is eager for the puck to drop.

Training camp in Strongsville opened Jan. 25, just 11 days before the season opener. Ten players are back from last season, which ended abruptly in mid-March because of the novel coronavirus. Fifteen players are new.

“There are two things we as a coaching staff notice,” Coach Mike Eaves said Feb. 1 on Zoom. “The first is the energy. The guys are so happy to be back. We’re a younger group, so that brings another level of energy to the table.

“They know they’re competing for positions on power play and penalty kill or just to be in the lineup for some of the young. The competitiveness is there. There is a great energy on the ice that’s fun to work with.”

This will be the Monsters’ sixth season as the AHL affiliate to the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets. The Monsters were last in the AHL North with a record of 24-31-5-2 when the 2019-20 season ended.

Eaves appointed Zac Dalpe captain. Justin Scott and Dillon Simpson are alternate captains. All three are among the veterans on the team. Eaves says the leadership role is important because the captains spend more time with their teammates than coaches do.

“I take huge pride and honor in that,” Dalpe, a 31-year-old center, said on Zoom. “All the time you work hard when no one is watching, and then you lead by example when there are spectators.

“It’s definitely an honor for me. It’s something I don’t take lightly or don’t take for granted. Working hard is something I always wanted to do. My parents did a good job instilling that in me.”

Along with Dalpe, Simpson and Scott, left wing Brett Gallant, right ring Kole Sherwood, center Ryan MacInnis, left wing

Stefan Matteau and right wing Trey Fix-Wolansky are among the returning veterans along with goalies Brad Thiessen and Matiss Kivlenieks.

Not surprisingly, Eaves said goaltending will be the Monsters’ strongest unit this season. Kivlenieks was 9-8-3 with Cleveland last year and figures to be the No. 1 goalie as long as he remains in Cleveland. The Blue Jackets sent him down to the Monsters on Feb. 1 so he can get more playing time.

Simpson is the only returning Monster among the six defensemen on the team.

“It’s been a long 11 months,” Simpson said. “Guys are excited to be back into it. We have a group of guys (on defense) that can all skate well. It’s been one week, but we’ve all kind of banded together.”

The Monsters open their home season at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 against the Rochester Americans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

A normal American Hockey League season starts in October and is 76 games, but with the late start because of the novel coronavirus, each team plays a 28-game schedule. The Monsters’ season ends in mid-May with a home game against Grand Rapids at 7 p.m. May 14 and a game in Grand Rapids 24 hours later.

The reduced schedule makes every game important.

“It will be like college. Every game is going to be like a six-point game,’ Eaves said. “It’s going to be different for the guys who have been pros for a long time. The practice to games ratio is flipped. We as a coaching staff are going to have to use our imagination to keep it interesting for the lads.”

The Monsters, after two seasons playing in the AHL North, are back in the Central Division for this season to reduce travel. They are scheduled to play two home games and two road games against Rockford and the Chicago Wolves, three home games and three road games vs. the Rochester Americans and the Texas Stars, plus four home games and four road games against their old nemesis, the Grand Rapids Griffins.