In Rochester, the kids really are all right

Between Devon Levi, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosén, and Ryan Johnson the next wave was already strong, but with Noah Östlund and Anton Wahlberg on hand, they're even better.

Anton Wahlberg scores 1:01 into the Rochester Americans Game 1 matchup against the Syracuse Crunch. Rochester won 3-2. (Photo: Rochester Americans)

The AHL Calder Cup Playoffs are always a fascinating time. You’ve got teams that are a mix of wily and haggard veterans, hopeful prospects, and then the other prospects who just arrived either back from the NHL, from their junior or college teams, or out of Europe.

Every time you think you know a team, there are new wrinkles mixed into the makeup of a roster all throughout the lineup.

The way attention has been paid to the Rochester Americans since Kevyn Adams and Jason Karmanos took over not just building out their well of young talent but also putting a veteran group together to make sure it all weaves together cohesively, the results have been brilliant.

Advancing to the playoffs has become a regular, and expected, occurrence and last season saw a very young team advance to the Eastern Conference Final. That team was highlighted by then 18-year-old Jiri Kulich dazzling with his shot and power play acumen. A seemingly undersized Isak Rosén showed skill, smarts, and incredible resilience to take blows from the heaviest hitters from opponents and just keep going.

Two seasons ago, it was JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn who starred for Rochester in taking them to the postseason even though some tough lessons were learned by all after falling short in the playoffs.

This season, it’s no different. Some of the names are the same. Kulich and Rosén are helping to lead the attack once again. Rosén was co-leader in scoring with Mason Jobst posting 50 points. Kulich led the way in goals with 27 and was right behind Jobst and Rosén with 45 points. But wait, there’s more.

Devon Levi spent most of the second half of the season in Rochester and it turned out to be a very good thing for himself and certainly for the Americans.

Levi went 16-6-4 in 26 games with a .927 save percentage. He finished with the second best save percentage in the AHL behind Hershey’s Hunter Shepard who posted a .929. Considering the vast difference in styles between Hershey and Rochester, it highlights just how good he’s been and had to be.

When you add 20-year-old Östlund and 18-year-old Wahlberg, both fresh over from the Swedish Hockey League and both of them make an impact in Game 1 of the playoffs (along with Rosén who had the game-winner), it’s showing that the mix of veteran know-how and high-end youthful talent makes things work.

“There’s a reason they got drafted where they got drafted, but they’re young,” Americans coach Seth Appert said after Game 1 against Syracuse. “As young as we are, that made us a lot younger, right? Certainly, that’s where you lean a lot more on Jobst and Mersch and (Brandon) Biro and guys like that, some of the guys that have some experience in our lineup right now.

“But they offer us talent, they offer us competitiveness. They’re both very, very competitive players. They’re not a physically ready to be physically demanding players right now. But I thought Wahlberg has really embraced the physicality in North America.”