With rough seas and rotating crew, Milwaukee Admirals stay the course toward AHL playoffs

Turnover is typical in the American Hockey League, with injuries inevitable and call-ups the primary purpose of the league.But even against that backdrop, 2024-25 has been a topsy-turvy season for the Milwaukee Admirals.Of the top 20 scorers from the team that played in the Western Conference finals, just four are on the same list a year later.

Only nine of those 20 remain in the Nashville Predators organization and two of them are finished for the year with injuries.Even in the course of this season the turnover is stark.

Just 12 of the 20 players on the active roster for the fourth game are with the team with four games left.

And still, the Admirals are fighting for a division championship with a week and a half to go.Weve had a lot of turnover, so the season has been trying to find our game and figuring out what weve got and who weve got, defenseman Kevin Gravel, the Admirals captain, said last week.

Maybe we get a few guys back (for the playoffs), but for the most part this is our team.

So now its just about building our game and making sure were ready to go when Game 1 rolls around, wherever that is, whenever that is.Weve done a really good job here the second half of the year of improving as a team and meshing as a team on and off the ice.

So its been a fun year, and its only going to get more fun.A weekend sweep in Texas left the Admirals 35-21-5-6 and pulled them into a tie with the Stars for the Central Division lead.

Texas has five games remaining before the playoffs while Milwaukee plays Wednesday at Iowa and then at home Saturday against Chicago, Sunday against Rockford and April 18 against Chicago.This is not the same team that won a pair of playoff series last May.

Two of the top five scorers from last season are gone Egor Afanasyev (to Russia) and Mark Jankowski (to Carolina) and two others have spent the bulk of the season with Nashville Zach LHeureux and Fedor Svechkov.

Of the seven defensemen who played at least half the games in 2023-24, only Gravel and Jake Livingston have again this season.

In goal, Matt Murray and Magnus Chrona replaced Yaroslav Askarov and Troy Grosenick.To take the roster comparison one step further, among players who were on the ice for half the games two seasons ago, only Gravel has done so again.Theres been a lot of guys that have gone up to Nashville and played well for Nashville, and thats what you want to see, Gravel said.

You want to have guys get opportunities and when those opportunities come to play well, and they have.So yeah, weve had a lot of turnover down here, but the coaching staff and the guys that have been here have done a good job of setting the culture here.

And no matter whos here the expectations really dont change.The Predators and Admirals have restocked on the fly through various means, including trades for Grigori Denisenko, Mark Friedman, Ondrej Pavel and Jesse Ylonen, the waiver claim of Chase De Leo and free-agent signing of Mequon native Anders Bjork.While the newcomers havent replaced the offensive output of the likes of Vinny Hinostroza who remains the fifth-leading scorer even though hes been in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild since December theyve been crucial in keeping the ship afloat.As a fan of the sport, I dont think people realize ...

they just expect the team to go out and perform, but theres so many moving parts on a day-to-day basis, De Leo said, pointing out that even the equipment staff has worked hard to accommodate all the newcomers.Youre just trying to adapt as fast as possible.

That being said, you dont want to come in too hot and overstep.

A locker room, they jell together over the span of a year.

But its exciting to join a new group (and) a little nerve wracking as well.De Leo likened an arrival to a different team in an unfamiliar city to being the new kid in school.This is my third team this year, so I've had to kind of overcome the fear of walking into a new group of men, said De Leo, who after nine AHL seasons started 2024-25 in Russia and came to Milwaukee via Switzerland.Honestly, the hockey world, theres so many good people, so many nice guys that have also been through it as well.

So it definitely helps when youve got a couple new guys coming in at once, and its not just you.

Its been good.Some of the scoring load this season has fallen on 38-year-old Cal OReilly (11 goals, 33 assists), Predators free-agent pickup Jake Lucchini (18 goals, 21 assists), and Nashville prospect Ozzy Weisblatt (15 goals, 24 assists), who was added on loan last year and subsequently acquired in a trade.Murray has been a standout in goal, leading the league in save percentage (.930) and goalie wins (25) with the fourth-best goals-against average (2.15) after being mid-pack last season with Texas.To some degree, culture and acceptance of newcomers comes naturally.Even if players havent been on the same team, theyre often familiar with one another through the game or through friends who have been teammates.

Then it doesnt take a lot of effort, De Leo said.Treat others the way you want to be treated, he said.

Its the golden rule, the rule I was taught when I was 3 years old with my parents and still applies to today.At the same time, a certain amount of responsibility falls on the leadership group to integrate newcomers into the locker room and lineup.You go out of your way a little bit to make sure theyre doing OK, whether its (going) out to dinner on the road or a quick lunch ...

make sure everything's going all right and just be there, Gravel said.

If theres any questions, whether its at the rink, where to live away from the rink, or food, restaurants to eat at, anything.Ive been the new guy in a lot of teams.

Kind of found a home here a little bit, but before here I bounced around a little bit, so I know what its like.The Predators finish their regular season two days before the Admirals, and they were long ago eliminated from the playoffs.

A handful of players including Svechkov and defenseman Spencer Stastney will be eligible for the AHL playoffs and could become playoff contributors.These are all guys who have been here, whoever is coming down, if anyones coming down; they know how it works, Gravel said of maintaining chemistry.

If anyone does come down, guys are excited to play playoff hockey.

So thats what its all about.This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Admirals strong for AHL playoffs despite roster turnover.

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