Conference Title Defense Begins on Blue Line
Oct 5, 2022Without question, the Thunderbirds’ defensive exploits came to the forefront during the club’s magical run to the Calder Cup Finals last June. Both Charlie Lindgren and Joel Hofer made the big saves (and in Hofer’s case, big shots) when necessary, sometimes in spectacular fashion.
Lindgren’s tremendous year spring-boarded him to a three-year NHL contract in Washington. Hofer figures to be the workhorse netminder for the T-Birds, but just as importantly, almost the full complement of defensemen will be back in the fold for Springfield. Calle Rosen could begin the year in St. Louis following injuries to Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich. Yet even if Rosen does not begin his season in T-Birds red, everyone else on the blue line who saw Calder Cup Finals action will remain in the organization, including captain Tommy Cross, Tyler Tucker, Steven Santini, Brady Lyle, Matt Kessel, and Griffin Luce.
While Cross and Santini have nearly 800 AHL games of experience between them, the remaining quartet all earned immeasurable experience in their first AHL postseason.
Tucker has continued to turn heads ever since being taken in the seventh and final round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Blues. The 22-year-old rearguard wore an alternate’s “A” last season, and over his first 99 regular season games as a pro, he has posted 148 penalty minutes.
“I’m definitely a quieter (leader),” Tucker said. “I like to lead on the ice in the way I play, being physical and hard to play against. I think that’s what I do best.”
Tucker was the season-long fixture on the blue line, but it was a pair of shrewd moves by Blues management and former T-Birds general manager Kevin McDonald that took the back line to a new level come late Spring. The first was acquiring the 22-year-old Lyle from Providence on the date of the AHL trade deadline, March 28.
Lyle had been stuck on a crowded blue line with the Bruins, and by the time late March rolled around, he had largely spent his time in the press box as a healthy scratch, managing just nine points in 48 games in Providence.
“I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Lyle said when he was informed of the trade and the new opportunity with the T-Birds. “Relieved would be a good way to describe it. I started to have more fun, and it led to success personally.”
That personal success frequently came in the form of clutch moments, including a pair of game-tying goals late in regulation in the postseason. Lyle tied Laval with less than four minutes to go in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a game Springfield would win in overtime. Then, in Springfield’s first Calder Cup Finals game in 30 years, Lyle uncorked a blast in the game’s final 90 seconds that once again got the T-Birds to overtime and, in turn, gave Springfield another win.
Lyle’s Springfield tenure turned his season around, as the big-shooting D-man posted a combined 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 31 games between the regular season and postseason.
His first Blues’ training camp earned Lyle the opportunity to grow his game even further from right-handed stalwarts like Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko.
“A big thing I’ve noticed is how hard (NHL defensemen) play all the time. Obviously, their play with the puck goes without saying, but it’s the things they do away from the puck. They’re strong on their sticks and make hard plays, and they’re never really getting beaten. It’s what I want to work on, learning from them (about) their stick positioning, body positioning, and getting in passing lanes.”
Perhaps the most unexpected source of production for Springfield was the man who began his season just a half-hour’s drive up I-91 in Amherst, Matt Kessel. The UMass junior built off his 2021 National Championship to post his third consecutive season on the plus-side of the +/- rating (+9) on top of 17 points from the back line.
Despite just turning 22 the very week the Finals came to a close, Kessel provided a calm presence that is not altogether a common occurrence among rookies on the defensive side of the puck. He was a staggering +9 in his first 15 regular season contests, and then he played every single postseason game en route to the Finals, including an unforgettable first goal, the overtime game-winner in Game 1 against Chicago.
“I was grateful to be able to get 33 (AHL) games in. It was kind of like a ‘double season,’” Kessel said of his whirlwind year.
Now ready to take on a full AHL season for the first time, the young right-hander is not letting the injuries to Scandella and Perunovich alter his mindset as he continues on his journey to the NHL.
“You don’t try to think about (the injuries to other defensemen). You just focus on yourself and trying to get better. I think that’s the biggest thing – I want to continue to develop and believing in my skills. I know I can grow in places in my game, especially in the D-zone.”