Every AHL season brings a long and winding road, yet this past week also involved a little bit of a detour. Following American Thanksgiving (as it referred to in the hockey world), Toyota Arena in Ontario was set to host back-to-back Reign games. Instead, the rink melted and all events in the building were cancelled for about a week.
A new week brings new opportunities, though.
Coach John Wroblewski and his band of Kings prospects have traveled north for the second time this season to face the Abbotsford Cancucks on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The two teams have already squared off four times this season and through the first 10 games of the year, Abbotsford was the only team to beat Ontario… and it came in a 3-2 shootout victory.
Matty Villata is scheduled to get the start in net tonight and he’s already bagged two wins against the Canucks this season. Up front, Martin Frk and Tyler Madden each have two goals in the four games played.
Good news is on the horizon too.
MayorsManor has learned that Akil Thomas is scheduled to make his return this weekend vs. Bakersfield. In other news… right on schedule from where things stood following surgery.
One tangential note:
Update on Akil Thomas — he had surgery on both shoulders this summer, with the second one coming earlier this week. Nothing major, just cleaning up some stuff that's been bothering him since junior. Heard he's expected back in about 4 months.
Target: 🇺🇲🦃
— The Mayor | John Hoven (@mayorNHL) July 24, 2021
And don’t miss his most recent appearance on Kings Of The Podcast. It will be the best 30 minutes of your day, guaranteed.
Items discussed in this episode include:
— His surgery and recovery time
— 2021 AHL season outlook
— Getting to know coach Wrobo
— Thomas’ dream linemates
— Which Kings prospect will break out
— 2021 Rookie Faceoff tournament preview
— Nearly 40 true/false questions https://t.co/vfQRXt1M7y— The Mayor (@mayorNHL) September 15, 2021
With Doughty now back and healthy in LA, we expect one of Durzi / Clague to be returned to Ontario by Friday. If it’s Clague, note that he would first need to clear waivers before being sent back to the AHL (as he’s played more than 10 NHL games and been on the NHL roster for more than 30 days since his recall).
Additionally, Helge Grans will be departing for Team Sweden and the World Junior Championships in less than two weeks. Thus, there are several moving pieces on the Reign blueline.
ONTARIO REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. ABBOTSFORD on 11/30
Frk – Tynan – Vilardi
Johnson – Turcotte – Madden
Tkachev – JAD – Fagemo
Wagner – Sutter – Dudas
Other options include: Burke, Doty, and Sodergran
Phillips – Strand
Moverare – Spence
Gaunce – Grans
Other options include: Russell
Villalta (starter)
Sparks
Be sure to check out our all new interview with coach John Wroblewski linked below. It was an in-depth conversation about Turcotte, Vilardi, Anderson-Dolan, Strand, Grans, and a whole lot more.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm tonight in Abbotsford and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
RELATED CONTENT:
Reign Head Coach John Wroblewski joined @mayorNHL for a good conversation on the latest episode of Kings of the Podcast this week.https://t.co/Hfe1KoS7dC
— Jared Shafran (@ShafReign) November 22, 2021
Lead photo of Anderson-Dolan by MayorsManor photographer Daniel Stopani
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Hey! Akil Thomas is back just in time! He can play D while Grans is gone. LOL