Calder Cup Finals Preview

This week, the Greenville Road Warriors and San Jose Barracuda will begin their battle in the 2019 Calder Cup finals. On first glance, the teams could not be more different. The defending champion Barracuda, a top seed coming into the playoffs were favored to represent the Western conference in the playoffs. On the other hand, the Road Warriors meandered their way through the majority of the season, needing a late surge in the final twenty games of the season to secure the number four seed coming out of the Atlantic division. The Barracuda are built on a solid prospect pipeline and are led by players 25 and under like Scott Laughton, Travis Dermott, Jack Roslovic and goaltender Antoine Bibeau. While the Road Warriors are relying on key contributions from veterans like Josh Jooris, Jack Skille, Jacob Josephson and Andre Benoit. The Road Warriors have relied on solid 5-on-5 play, despite a struggling powerplay to reach the finals, whereas the Barracuda have combined dominant special teams play and a deep forward group that can hold their own at even strength to breeze through the first three rounds of the playoffs.

 If you look closely enough however, you can spot the similarities as well. This is a matchup that pits the 2017 Calder Cup Champions against the 2018 Calder Cup champions. In fact, the matchup features two GMs who have yet to lose an AHL playoff series in their entire EHE careers, both sitting at 7-0 coming into the finals. Payeur came into the league, early in the 2017 season and took his then AHL affiliate the Springfield Falcons to the Promised Land on the back of a heroic performance from goaltender Anders Lindback. After an offseason move to Greenville, the Road Warriors would go on to miss the playoffs the following season. As a rookie GM Kyle Phillips would take over the San Jose franchise and lead the 2018 Barracuda to the Calder Cup championship on the back of goaltender…Anders Lindback.

There is also a direct link between the teams’ most important playoff performers. On March 18, 2019 in order the kick start each of their respective seasons, Payeur and Phillips made a trade. Greenville would send defenceman Ryan Sproul to San Jose in exchange for winger Riley Barber. The move worked out for both clubs. Riley Barber leads the playoffs in goals with 10, having found incredible chemistry with Logan Brown. Sproul leads the Barracuda in points, and quarterbacks a powerplay that has been lights out.

The final similarity lies with Jack Roslovic, acquired as a prospect by Payeur through a Jeff Carter trade with the New York Rangers in 2017. The team would then go on to lose Roslovic’s rights in the offseason, failing to offer him an ELC in what Payeur would call “the biggest fuck up of my career”. The move allowed Roslovic to become a UFA and subsequently signed a record breaking contract with San Jose.

One of the biggest question marks coming into the series will be who the Road Warriors plan on using in net. Marcus Hogberg became the team’s starting goalie towards the end of the regular season and heading into the playoffs, supplanting veteran (and general good name haver) Andrew Hammond with stellar play. Hogberg played well and won the first playoff series, overthrowing the top seeded Charlotte Checkers but faltered in the next round. The team needed Hammond to step in and take over the series to defeat the Wolf Pack. Hammond would do most of the work to win the Eastern Conference finals but Hogberg did start the series clincher in game 6 and played well. Greenville head coach Peter Horachek would not comment on who he plans to start for game 1 of the finals.

For the Barracuda the key to victory lies with its depth.  Asked for comment Phillips added “All of our guys just need to play to their ability, in whatever role they’re given. There’s plenty of talent on our roster, so nobody needs to take over the series. If everyone just does they’re job, I think we’ll get the result we want.” Phillips went on to point out that the two teams did not get to meet during the regular season and so he expects there to be an initial “feeling out period” in the early going of the series.

Both GMs mentioned that they have been in contact privately and have congratulated the other on an impressive season and to wish each other the best of luck…but not too much luck

*Article header courtesy of Kyle Phillips