Hellebuyck damage, Milic recall newest hurdles for Moose

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author

Even within the good instances, the challenges come one after one other for AHL groups.

Take the Manitoba Moose, who’ve recovered from a 1-4-1-0 begin to put themselves firmly into Central Division rivalry. A 3-2 win over Chicago on Saturday afternoon prolonged their successful streak to 6 video games.

“As we’re going, we’re figuring issues out,” Moose goaltender Thomas Milic stated earlier this week.

However now the Moose have much more to determine, with the information that had the hockey world chattering on Friday. Winnipeg Jets star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Award and reigning NHL MVP, shall be out 4 to 6 weeks following arthroscopic knee surgical procedure. The Jets recalled Milic from on Friday, and he dressed for Winnipeg’s 4-3 loss to Carolina that night time, backing up starter Eric Comrie.

Milic has been an early developmental success story for the Jets group, and now the third-year professional could possibly be in line for his NHL debut quickly.

Milic was handed over twice within the NHL Draft earlier than being chosen by Winnipeg within the fifth spherical in 2023 following a standout season with Seattle within the Western Hockey League, the place he went 27-3-1 with a 2.08 goals-against common and a .932 save share and earned the league’s prime goaltender award. He was additionally MVP of the WHL playoffs, and took Canada to a gold medal on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.

However labels could be powerful to shake, not less than initially, and Milic is a modest-sized goaltender at six toes and 175 kilos.

And the AHL typically proves to be a dramatic step up in competitors for younger goaltenders, so Milic ended up splitting his first two professional seasons between the Moose and the Norfolk Admirals, their ECHL affiliate. Whereas he struggled with the Moose, a non-playoff workforce in 2024-25, he did show that he might greater than deal with the ECHL. He performed 18 video games with Norfolk and completed 11-5-2 with a 1.82 GAA and .935 save share.

Now with an opportunity to deal with a daily AHL workload with the Moose alongside fellow teen Domenic DiVincentiis, the 22-year-old Milic has allowed two targets or fewer in 5 of his previous six begins. It has added as much as a 5-2-2 document to go together with a 2.14 GAA and a .921 save share.

Milic’s departure opens extra alternative for DiVincentiis, who had a .906 save share in 28 appearances as a rookie with the Moose in 2024-25. And it permits for a return to the AHL for Isaac Poulter, a Winnipeg native who signed together with his hometown group after three seasons with the Utica Comets. Poulter had begun this season with Norfolk.

After their tough begin, Manitoba sits simply 5 factors behind first-place (and league-leading) Grand Rapids within the Central Division. They proceed their six-game homestand when Belleville visits Canada Life Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And now comes the following set of hurdles.

On the American Hockey League beat for twenty years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally at present covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a daily contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.