Anderson leads Wolves into 21st season
The Chicago Wolves are coming off a 100-point season in the American Hockey League.
But there's nothing wrong with thinking bigger. Or a few other things.
"I think we're faster than last year," said head coach John Anderson, who is entering the second year of his second stint behind the Wolves bench. "Throughout the lineup, we're deeper. I've got five lines out there. It's good in the sense that we feel comfortable playing everybody out there. It's bad in the sense that I can't play everybody."
The Wolves open their 21st season this weekend with games Saturday and Sunday against Charlotte at the Allstate Arena. The Wolves finished first in the AHL's Midwest Division last season and were knocked out in the Western Conference semifinals by Toronto.
For the second straight season, the Wolves are an affiliate of the NHL's St. Louis Blues - an arrangement that seems to be working for both sides, given the short distance between the two cities.
The Wolves' top line should be fun to watch, with Pat Cannone centering between left wing John McCarthy and right wing Ty Rattie, one of the Blues' second-round draft picks in 2011. Rattie last year scored 31 goals in 72 regular-season games in Chicago.
"A goal scorer, that's what he does," Anderson said. "He's a very coachable kid. You ask him to do stuff, and he does it. But he's not a prima donna. He blocks shots. The very first game I saw him play, in Traverse City, he gave the puck away in his own zone, and he had to dive across and block it. He understood that he made a mistake, and he was going to fix it."
The Wolves have become a Chicago mainstay in and of themselves, but there also is a Blackhawks presence on the club. Defenseman Brent Sopel, a member of the Hawks' 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team, went to camp with the Wolves and has signed with the team.
Checking center Colin Fraser, a Stanley Cup veteran with the Hawks and Kings, also is with the Wolves.
"If I go back to my American League days with Rockford and playing against the Wolves, they're a top-notch organization, the best in the American League," Fraser said. "This summer, when it looked like I was going to sign a two-way deal, I was hoping to get in the NHL with the Blues, but as a backup plan, to be here in Chicago. I was lucky enough that they wanted me.
"From a leadership standpoint, I have the experience, and I've been around. I'm one of those 'old' guys who has some stories or has some (advice) about how to be a professional. With that being said, I've still got to be hungry myself. We all want to play in the NHL."
Anderson guided the Wolves to four championships - two in the old International Hockey League and two in the AHL - during his first term in Chicago. And Chicago remained a special spot for him even as he coached in the NHL from 2008-13.
"I always kept my house here," he said. "My kids married girls from here, so this is really my home. I really never left. Wonderful neighbors. I feel fortunate to be back, quite honestly."