By Jason Karnosky
There is a buzz in the Brew City about hockey this fall, as Milwaukee gets set to start the 2024-25 AHL season.
The Admirals are enjoying a sustained run of success and achievement over the past few seasons, playing under the guidance of head coach Karl Taylor. Milwaukee is coming off two straight conference finals appearances for the first time in team history. The Admirals also won the Central Division regular season title and captured their second straight divisional playoff crown last spring. The only thing missing over the past few seasons has been a trip to the Calder Cup finals.
Milwaukee will feature another strong squad this season—a team capable of winning the franchise’s second ever Calder Cup. Coaches, staff, and players can feel the positive energy surrounding this squad as the Admirals’ 2024-25 campaign is set to begin on Friday in Grand Rapids.
“A lot of our guys are back, and for some of our guys it has been a couple of years in a row of losing to Coachella Valley in the Conference finals,” Admirals forward Cal O’Reilly said. “We’ve got so close to a Calder Cup final, so that eats at us even a little bit more and is motivation for us to try to get back there again. Especially at this stage in my career, that is a driving factor for why I’m back.”
Certainly, there is some excitement in Milwaukee for the return of one of the Admirals top prospects, forward Zach L’Heureux. In 2023-24, the Montreal native led all Admirals rookies, and finished second on his team in scoring, with 19 goals and 48 points. In addition, the agitating forward racked up a stunning 197 minutes in penalties.
L’Heureux found another gear in the playoffs, racking up 10 goals and 15 points in Milwaukee’s 15 postseason contests. The 21-year-old will be joined by many familiar faces on offense, including the sniping Finn Joakim Kemell and power forward Reid Schaefer.
The talented Ozzie Wiesblatt is also back in Milwaukee after a loan from the San Jose Sharks organization late last season. This summer it became a full-fledged change of scenery for the 22-year-old, 2020 Sharks first-round pick after Weisblatt was traded to Nashville for Egov Afanasyev.
Other newcomers that the Admirals added up front include veterans Kieffer Bellows, Vinny Hinostroza, and Jake Lucchini. Isaac Ratcliffe joined Milwaukee’s roster this week for his second stint with the Admirals.
“We’ve had some injuries coming out of camp as some of our depth got injured, and (meanwhile) Isaac Ratcliffe was in Detroit on a tryout and did very well there,” Taylor said. “(General manager) Scott Nichol and I talked about a couple of different guys we could add, but Scott was able to get it done and bring in Isaac. For us Isaac is not a depth guy, but a really good player, who is big, strong, and very skilled. He’s excited to be back here in Milwaukee and he knows how we operate.”
Ratcliffe played in 21 games for the Admirals during the 2022-23 season, plus 10 more playoff games. During that time, the London, Ontario native was nearly a point-a-game player. That was by far Ratcliffe’s best production as a professional, and it is no wonder why the 2017 Philadelphia Flyers second-round draft choice feels right at home in another city famous for its beer production.
“I’ve always loved playing in Milwaukee, and I’ve always wanted to come back here, so I was really excited for this opportunity,” said Ratcliffe, who played for the independent Chicago Wolves last season. “I’ve always said that Milwaukee is one of the best places where I’ve ever played hockey.”
Veteran forwards Anthony Angello and Cal O’Reilly are also back in fold. At 38 years old, O’Reilly is likely to be the oldest player in the AHL this season. But the Toronto native showed he had plenty left in the tank during 2023-24, scoring 10 goals and 30 points as he helped lead Milwaukee reach the conference finals.
O’Reilly has already enjoyed a couple of milestones this fall, prior to the season. On his 38th birthday, he and his wife Terra welcomed their fourth child. Eight days earlier, Cal played an entire NHL preseason game on the same line as younger brother Ryan O’Reilly, one of the NHL’s top two-way centers.
“Ryan and I have been on the same team a few times in our career, but to play together for a full game on the same line was pretty special for both of us,” Cal O’Reilly said. “It was fun, and we had a couple of good chances together. Even if it was just an exhibition game, to put on an NHL jersey together with my brother was just awesome.”
Behind Milwaukee’s deep offense is a steady blue line that will be anchored by captain Kevin Gravel, fellow veteran Marc Del Gaizo, who was one of the last cuts from Nashville’s training camp, and the talented 24-year-old Swede Adam Wilsby.
This will be Gravel’s third season in Milwaukee, and the Kingsford, Michigan native’s second straight season wearing the Admirals captain’s “C”.
“It is great to be back in Milwaukee, and there is a lot of excitement for the whole organization at both levels,” Gravel said. “Nashville and Milwaukee had a great summer. But now it is time to get back to work and to go have a good year.”
Ryan Ufko is a notable rookie back on the Admirals blue line after an impressive professional debut. After playing a full college season at Massachusetts, Ufko played in all 15 postseason games for Milwaukee last spring, scoring a goal and racking up 10 points.
“It was a real advantage for me with Nashville’s training camp to have been able to come in last year, and to get in some games and go on a playoff run,” said Ufko, who also dressed for nine regular season AHL contests. “It is definitely beneficial now for the start of the season here in Milwaukee to have that pro experience under my belt.”
During the summer talented prospect Yaroslav Askarov moved on to the San Jose organization, while veteran goaltender Troy Grosenick signed with the Minnesota Wild. That means Milwaukee will turn the page to a new three-man group in goal. Veteran Matt Murray, rookie Ethan Haider, and Swedish prospect Magnus Chrona are all likely to get starts for the Admirals this season.
The 26-year-old Murray comes to Milwaukee from the Dallas Stars organization, where he played in at least 31 games each of the last two years for Central Division rival Texas. The St. Albert, Alberta native also played in four games for Dallas.
“I’m very excited to be in Milwaukee,” Murray said. “There is a culture of excellence both here in Milwaukee and in Nashville, and it is evident that they want to win every game they play. Milwaukee plays an in-your-face style. That’s a huge piece of the game here, and it is a big part of their success. I’m excited to get going and to be a part of it.”
Haider was Nashville’s 2019 fifth-round selection and will be making his professional debut after finishing a four-your college career at Clarkson and Connecticut. Meanwhile, Chrona comes to Milwaukee after spending the majority of last season with the San Jose Barracuda. The 24-year-old also got into nine games with the NHL’s Sharks.
While Milwaukee is eager to play games that matter, the Admirals will start with a hornets’ nest for its season opener in Grand Rapids. The Griffins were last year’s Central Division runner up and are a squad that not only ended Milwaukee’s record breaking 19-game win streak, but also pushed Milwaukee to the brink during their postseason series.
“Grand Rapids is going to have a bullseye on us coming out of the gate, with us being fortunate to win Game 5 last year,” Taylor said. “They are going to be a really good team, but with us winning the Central Division last year, there are going to be no easy games for us. We are going to be seeing the other team’s “A” games every night.”
