Patrick WilliamsFeatures Writer for TheAHL.com
NHL teams looking for their chance to play meaningful games come March, April and beyond.
A key part of that process involves the adjustment and restructuring that takes place leading up to the NHL trade deadline. Front offices have both short-term and long-term decisions that will affect operations at both the NHL and AHL levels.
Notably, a player must have been on an AHL roster when the NHL’s trade deadline arrived on Friday to be eligible to be sent to the AHL for the rest of the regular season or the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds, who have undergone dramatic turnarounds since back-to-back trips to the Calder Cup Finals in 2023 and 2024, know that fact. With the parent Seattle Kraken riding many draft classes at the professional levels, the Firebirds took that youth.
Players love the second year forward Jagger Firkus have dominated the Firebirds as they try to make the Calder Cup Playoffs again. The AHL All-Star got a taste of the postseason last year, but even for a young power forward the step up to the AHL was a significant jump. While the Firebirds fell in the semifinals, Firkus had three assists in six playoff games.
Firkus had a 126-point regular season in 2023-24 with Moose Jaw in the Western Hockey League before scoring 32 more points in 20 playoff games.
But for him, the rookie defender Tyson Jugnauth and the rest of Seattle’s growing group of prospects, it’s imperative that the Firebirds, a team on the cusp of a stretch-drive, extend their playoff run to four seasons.
“Every day it seems like you’re in a different place in the situation,” Firkus said.
Amidst the Coachella Valley’s daily push for the playoffs is what happened in Seattle. All kinds of activity – real and in the form of endless rumors – surrounds the Kraken organization this week. With Seattle bidding to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, anything the front office does — or doesn’t do — could have a big impact on the Firebirds’ head coach. Derek Laxdal and his players.
As it stands, Seattle’s organizational depth chart has gone through some changes recently at the AHL level. Protector of the Firebirds Gustav Olofssonwho had an AHL contract, signed an NHL deal for the rest of the season. A promising prospect to wait for Nikke Kokko he is back from injury. First year Firebird forward Oscar Fisker Mølgaard he is back representing Denmark at the Olympics. Again Yes Kartyewaived last week by the Kraken, was claimed by the New York Rangers before being assigned to the Coachella Valley.
Led by Firkus once Logan Morrison with 49 points each, the Firebirds enter the weekend fifth in the Pacific Division; the top seven teams will enter the postseason. But the team has lost five of its past seven games, including a 5-1 decision at Henderson on Wednesday night, and is just five points behind eighth-place Tucson.
So it’s tough. It is quite strong.
The Firebirds are back in action this weekend, hosting Calgary on Saturday and Sunday. Then it’s a home-and-home with Ontario starting next week.
Focus hockey, one-goal games, lane defense, and backcourt play are at the fore. The work done so far this season has set the Firebirds up for a run until the end of the regular season. Above all, the player must be responsible in defense to get those key minutes.
“You want to take a big step where your coach trusts you,” said Firkus. “It was a big leap for me this year.”
Firkus first came to the organization as a second-round pick in 2022. It was the Kraken’s second draft class after joining the NHL as an expansion team. It’s been a long road for Firkus, but he and his young team have shown tremendous growth. The coming weeks are an opportunity for some of that. An extended postseason run won’t hurt, either.
“It’s a small group that wants to grow together,” said Firkus. “We want to learn together, and I think that’s the best part about our team, that we’re all willing to learn.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
