Key Hartford Wolf Pack storylines ahead of 2026-27 AHL season

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Key Hartford Wolf Pack storylines ahead of 2026-27 AHL season

Key Hartford Wolf Pack storylines ahead of 2026-27 AHL season

Jim Cerny · Forever Blueshirts

Sat, Oct 3, 2026 ·

6 min read

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Set to embark on their 30th season in the American Hockey League, the Hartford Wolf Pack enter 2026-27 with an upbeat vibe after a slew of changes to the roster and coaching staff.

After Hartford finished last in the the overall AHL standings a year ago, their parent club in the NHL, the New York Rangers, set about overhauling things this past summer. Most notably, Grant Potulny was fired as coach, replaced by Jay Leach , a veteran of the pro game at both the NHL and AHL levels. And the roster overhaul includes exciting additions like top prospects Liam Greentree and Cole Beaudoin , as well as veterans Taylor Raddysh , Urho Vaakanainen , and Glenn Gawdin .

There wasn't much of an AHL training camp nor a single preseason game for this 29-man Hartford roster , so Leach said earlier in the week that "it doesn't look pretty" on the ice just yet. But the Wolf Pack must pull it together quickly, since they open the season with a back-to-back set this weekend in Lehigh Valley on Saturday and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday.

That said, let's get down to business.

Top storylines for Hartford Wolf Pack in 2026-27 AHL season

NHL: Preseason-New York Islanders at New York Rangers — Liam Greentree — Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Impressive group of kids

The Rangers are loading Hartford up with a bunch of their most prized prospects, fueling the excitement around the Wolf Pack heading into the season. Six of the top-10 Rangers prospects in our Forever Blueshirts ranking are on Hartford's roster, including five playing their rookie pro seasons.

The list is topped by a pair of 2024 first-round draft picks the Rangers acquired in separate trades. Greentree (No. 2 in our ranking) came over from the Los Angeles Kings in the Artemi Panarin trade last February. And Beaudoin (No. 4) arrived July 1 after the Rangers acquired him from the Utah Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck trade.

Each 20-year-old starred previously in the OHL and had an excellent first training camp with the Rangers. Greentree, a winger, and Beaudoin, a center, should be given the chance to play top-six roles and in every important game situation to grow their games.

Defenseman Drew Fortescue (No. 5) played nine games with the Rangers late last season after finishing his junior year at Boston College, and held his own. The 21-year-old can only benefit by playing major minutes with Hartford, further expanding New York's growing organizational depth at the defense position.

Forwards Nathan Aspinall (No. 8) and Jacob Battaglia (No. 9) were teammates last season with Flint, and each 20-year-old should be a big contributor with Hartford in 2026-27. Aspinall played five games with Hartford on an ATO at the end of 2024-25, and then finished second in the OHL scoring race last season with a career-high 94 points (33 goals, 61 assists).

One downer is that 22-year-old forward Adam Sykora (No. 6) is out 4-5 months with a lower-body injury sustained in the Rangers preseason. His experience, buoyant personality, leadership, and growing skill set will be missed by the Wolf Pack.

Keep an eye on towering 6-foot-7 center Dylan Roobroeck . The 22-year-old just had a solid training camp with the Rangers, and led Hartford with 20 goals two years ago.

Improved veteran depth

NHL: New York Rangers at Anaheim Ducks — Urho Vaakanainen — Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Three players who began the 2025-26 season on the Rangers roster start out this season with Hartford, speaking to improved organizational depth. Raddysh can play anywhere up and down Hartford's lineup; Vaakanainen will be a top-four staple on defense; and Juuso Parssinen should be in the top-six mix with the ability to play center or on the wing. Defenseman Vincent Iorio , a two-time Calder Cup winner with Hershey in the AHL, played for the Rangers, San Jose Sharks, and Washington Capitals last season.

The veteran core also includes returnees Anton Blidh and Justin Dowling at forward, and newcomers Marc Del Gaizo and Dennis Cholowski on defense, with AHL vet Gawdin up front. On many levels, this is a very good group of veterans, a step up from previous years in Hartford.

That Leach coached Blidh and Vaakanainen previously at Providence in the Boston Bruins organization is only a plus for the entire team, as far as messaging, expectations, and new systems.

The Leach effect

Leach was an NHL assistant with the Bruins the previous two seasons and before that held the same role with the Seattle Kraken. He also coached previously in the AHL with Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He's also played in the NHL and AHL.

His experience demands immediate respect. As does the championship-winning experience of associate coach Bob Woods and first-year assistant John Stevens, a Calder Cup winner during his playing days.

Leach said this week that his on-ice goals are to get the Wolf Pack to "play faster" and also raise their "competitiveness." He added that he likes the mix of high-end younger players hungry to reach the NHL, and veterans equally as motivated to return to the NHL.

"He's a guy with a lot of energy … and he sees everyone, whether your the 13th forward or the first power-play guy. He sees you, and I think that's important," Blidh explained this week . "It feels like we're all here together as a team."

Winning matters

It's most important that the high-end prospects gain experience at the pro level and take strides in their individual and collective development this season at Hartford. And further building up the depth chart with improved and improving minor league players is also a key goal this season with the Wolf Pack.

But winning matters, too. Not only for the loyal Wolf Pack fan base, but for the organization. Management types will tell you that winning at any level has a carryover effect. It's a big part of developing players and prospects.

There may not be a playoff mandate after missing out on the postseason the past seasons under Potulny, but there's no question that the Rangers want Hartford back in the hunt this season.

Greentree, for one, certainly has the right attitude.

"I want to win games, so I'm going to bring a lot of grittiness, I'm going to get to dirty areas, win puck battles. I'm going to be a big body out there, hit guys, that's kind of the thing I'll do," Greentree explained . "I'm not scared to fight or anything like that, so I just want to be a reliable guy that the coaches can depend on … yeah, just try and go out and win games."

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