St. John’s Icecaps legacy leads to NHL playoffs
Putting aside the fact a Canadian team will inch closer to the Stanley Cup final with a Montreal-winnipeg series victory, this North Division tangle should draw plenty of interest from hockey fans in this corner of the country.
With the minor league history of these two teams, centered in St. John’s, there is an interesting twist, based on the former St. John’s Icecaps.
The Icecaps arrived in St. John’s in 2011-12 as the American Hockey League affiliate of the Jets when Winnipeg relocated from Atlanta.
The Icecaps went all the way to the conference final that season. St. John’s lost to the Norfolk Admirals.
A number of players from that Admirals squad now comprise the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Icecaps lasted four years under the Jets’ reign, and that is when Montreal came into the picture in St. John’s.
After four years in the capital city, the Jets, following a trend sweeping across the NHL, wanted their minor league affiliate closer to home, in this case the same city.
The Icecaps then became the AHL’S Manitoba Moose.
The Canadiens AHL team had been housed in Hamilton, Ont.
However, Montreal was building a new rink in nearby Laval, Que., with the grand plan being the Canadiens farm club playing in Laval. With an opportunity to join the Ontario Hockey League junior circuit, the owner of the Hamilton franchise opted to move the AHL team to St. John’s for the short term. The Canadiens lasted two years as the parent club for the Icecaps.
In this upcoming Montrealwinnipeg Stanley Cup playoff series, a total of six players will be dressing who also had experience as Icecaps.
Those players include goaltenders goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, who was an AHL all-star during his last year in St. John’s; Eric Comrie, currently Winnipeg’s third goalie, also, played a bit for the Icecaps; and, Montreal’s spare goalie, Charlie Lindgren was outstanding as a Canadiens prospect, playing in St. John’s.
Also getting their pro start with the Icecaps were Adam Lowry and Josh Morrissey, who were pivotal players in the Icecaps’ 2015 Calder Cup run.
Winnipeg star Mark Scheifele also played for a brief period of time during those 2015 playoffs.
One other player currently playing in these Stanley Cup playoffs, Ben Chiarot, should have an asterisk next to his name. That is because Chiarot, who has been exceptional for the Canadiens, played four seasons as an Icecap while under contract with the Jets.
Behind the scenes Winnipeg Assistant General Manager Craig Heisinger was the GM of those Icecap teams under the Jets. Brad Andrews, was the Director of Hockey Operations for the Icecaps, a position he currently holds for the Moose. Vincent Riendeau was hockey ops director for the Icecaps during Montreal’s tenure. He is currently the Director of Goalie Development for the Canadiens.
Just shows how even the big game can be a small world sometimes.