🏒 Location: Rogers Forum - Abbotsford, BC
🎟️ Dates and Times: Saturday, October 17th, 7:00 PM PT, and Sunday October 18th, 4:00 PM PT
🖥️ Join the Discussion: Discord
🎥 Watch Live: FloHockey.TV
🎧 Listen Live: theeagle1069.com

This weekend's FLIGHT PLAN is brought to you by the always awesome u/ErsoRoot subbing in for our OG u/E_lluminate.

CV Firebirds are coming into this game at 2-1-2 after losing their last 2 games, including a 4-0 loss against Henderson on Wednesday, but we won't dwell on that game too much as we look forward to this weekend's games against Abbotsford.

SPECIAL TEAMS NEED TO RISE UP

The Firebirds came into Wednesday’s game against Henderson with a strong special teams record, sitting at 38.9% on the PP and a PK of 89.5%. But nothing went right for the Firebirds, starting with a hooking call against Alexis Bernier midway into the 1^st. From there, it was penalty after penalty, with 9 infractions and 24 PIM served by the Birds, and HSK racking up 10 calls for a total of 26 PIM. If you take out the four 5-minute majors, that’s half the game being played by special teams.

Henderson capitalized on the player differential and put up 4 goals, while the always-impressive Carl Lindbom turned away every one of the Firebirds’ attempts. Adding insult to injury, each of HSK’s goals came from opportunities that resulted from CV penalties. The Silver Knights scored three power play goals in the first two periods, and the final goal in the third came from a short-handed penalty shot after Tyson Jugnauth took down Joe Fleming on a breakaway.  

I won’t rub more salt in the wound, but if we can’t stay out of the box, we need our special teams to step up and take charge of the situation.

ALWAYS FORWARD AND ONWARD

This weekend the Firebirds are up north facing the Abbotsford Canucks, including some of our favorite former Firebirds, Kole Lind and Jimmy Schuldt. I don’t have to remind the Firebirds Faithful that these two can be a pain to play against!   

It’s ABB’s home opener, so you know they will be hungry for a win. The Canucks lost their first two games to Calgary, but fared better against Colorado, coming away with three points after a shootout loss followed by a 4-3 win. They haven’t played since Sunday, so they could be rested or rusty. From the Canucks' social media, it looks like the team has been keeping busy this week volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and serving customers at Tim Horton's.

Firebirds have dominated Abbotsford over the last 5 years with a 19(W)-4(L)-0(OTL)-1(SOL) record against the Canucks and last season went 7-0-0-0. So this is the game to really take advantage, especially since the Canucks are currently 1-2-0-1 holding down the bottom of the division to start off the season. Even though we have a winning history against the Canucks, this is not a game to take your mind off and try to coast.

Abbotsford’s top line of Lind, Braden Cootes, and Trey Fix-Wolansky, is their biggest threat.  That line scored two of ABB’s four goals on Sunday against Colorado, with Cootes & Lind later combining for the GWG on the power play. Cootes, a former Seattle Thunderbird, is already showing breakout potential. He was Vancouver's 1st round pick in 2025, drafted 15th overall, behind Seattle's Jake O'Brien, selected 8th that year. The Canucks are also averaging 32.25 SOG per game, compared to the Firebirds’ average of 26.8, with only 17 and 26 SOGs in their most recent games.

Here are the keys on how the Firebirds can win these games.

1. Stay out of the box.

Coachella Valley has been shorthanded 25 times in 5 games (5.0 per night), and the penalty kill is 80.0% (20th in the AHL). On the road it drops to 70.0% (3 of 10 killed), though that sample size is small. The team averages 16.6 PIM per game compared to Abbotsford’s 9.8, and the extremes were 29 PIM against Ontario on Oct 2 and 24 at Henderson on Oct 14. Dragicevic (22 PIM, 2 majors), Olofsson (10) and Hayden (9) are the biggest contributors. Abbotsford’s power play is only 14.3% (21st), so the bigger cost of penalties is lost time and momentum.

2. Make the power play count.

Abbotsford has been shorthanded only 13 times in 4 games (3.25 per night) and has the 4th-best PK at 92.3% (1 goal allowed). Chances will be limited, so the Firebirds have to convert them. They’re 7-for-25 (28.0%, 3rd in the AHL), with Nyman at 3 PPG and Jugnauth at 5 PPA. Getting the Jugnauth-to-Nyman connection going is the clearest path.

3. Score first and close out the lead.

Both of the Firebirds’ OT losses were 1-goal games. They’re 0-0-2-0 when leading after the first period but 2-0-1-0 when leading after two. The Canucks are 0-1-0-0 when trailing after the first and 0-1-0-0 when trailing after the second. Abbotsford has also scored no more than 1 goal in any first period this season, while Coachella Valley scored 3 in the first against Ontario on Oct 2. A fast start would put pressure on a team that hasn’t yet won from behind.

4. Shut down a thin Canucks attack.

Abbotsford has scored just 11 goals (2.75 per game), and five players account for all of them: Ty Mueller (4), Braeden Cootes (2), Kole Lind (2), Jimmy Schuldt (2) and Vilmer Alriksson (1). Mueller is on a 4-game goal streak, scoring on 28.6% of his 14 shots, and Fix-Wolansky has 4 assists. Taking away that top line forces the Canucks to find offense elsewhere.

5. Goaltending has to hold up.

Coachella Valley’s team save percentage is .885 and its GAA is 3.55. Abbotsford is nearly identical at .887 and 3.43, so whichever goalie stands tall could decide this. Östman (.928, 2.42) has been much sturdier than Kokko (.851, 4.32). The Firebirds face about 31 shots per game, so the defense needs to limit high-danger chances in front of whoever starts.

6. Get the depth going.

Scoring is top-heavy. Jugnauth, Nyman and Firkus have 22 of the team’s points. Rehkopf has 11 shots with no points, Hayden has 13 shots at a 7.7% shooting rate, and Roed is -4. Any of them breaking through would take pressure off the top line.

Bottom line: 

The Firebirds can win if they stay disciplined, take advantage of their few power plays, and score first. History is on their side, with a 7-1-0-0 record against Abbotsford last season and 11-1-0-0 in their last five seasons at Rogers Forum.

Additionally, the Firebirds will be missing Alternate Captain Ty Nelson after getting the call up to the Kraken. With Nelson missing, the Firebirds will be losing Nelson, they have called up Charlie Wright from Kansas City Mavericks. The defense will need to step up with Nelson gone, and take advantage of the opportunity to show what they got without a key defensemen on the team.

Canucks have signed defender Andre Anania, from the ECHL's Allen Americans, to a PTO. No other roster changes for Abbotsford have been mentioned at the time of posting.

TONIGHT'S LINEUP LAB

Inside the Rink has the below -- but still lists Nelson as playing on the top D pair. We'll post an update as soon as we get one.

Nyman — Mølgaard — Firkus
Šalé — Morrison — Hayden
Roed — Miettinen — Stephens
Villeneuve — Evers — Rehkopf

Olofsson — Nelson
Jugnauth — Dragicevic
Price — Bernier

Kokko / Östman

And if you haven't checked out Beneath the Waves weekly Firebirds show, you can catch it here: Heat Check Episode 2 — Firebirds Are Red Hot!

Drop your score predictions, first Firebirds goal scorers, goalie guesses, preferred line combinations, and how many scrums will involve Lindy.

LET'S GO BIRDS. 

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🏒 Location: Acrisure Arena- Palm Desert CA

🎟️ Time: 3:00 PM PDT 

🖥️ Join the Discussion: Discord

🎥 Watch Live: FloHockey.TV

🎧 Listen Live: theeagle1069.com

Apparently the AHL looked at the entire Pacific Division and decided what everyone really wanted was more Ontario.

So here we are. For the third time in the first four games, the Firebirds hold the Reigns.

At this point I'm beginning to recognize their families.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...

The Firebirds beat San Diego 6-3, which means they have now scored six goals in back-to-back games.

San Diego actually led 1-0 after the first period, then Coachella Valley scored four times in the second and twice more in the third. Mitchell Stephens, Jani Nyman, Eduard Šalé and J.R. Avon all scored, while Logan Morrison returned to the lineup and immediately scored twice. Julius Miettinen picked up his first two professional points, and Nikke Kokko stopped 31 of 34 for his 40th career AHL win.

The bigger story, though, is special teams.

Coachella Valley went 2-for-5 on the power play and killed all four San Diego opportunities. Through three games, the Firebirds are now 7-for-13 on the power play — 53.85% — and 86.7% on the kill.

No, a 54% power play is not sustainable.

Please stop asking reasonable questions. I'm having fun.

OUR DEAR FRIENDS FROM ONTARIO

The season series so far:

October 2: Ontario wins 6-5 in overtime. Boo.
October 3: Coachella Valley goes to Ontario's home opener and wins 6-2.

Ontario hasn't played since.

The Firebirds have, and they come into today 2-0-1-0 with 17 goals in three games. Ontario is 1-1-0-0 with eight goals in two.

And here's the matchup stat I can't stop looking at:

Firebirds power play: 53.85%
Ontario penalty kill: 37.5%

Tiny sample size? Absolutely.

Still funny? Also absolutely.

If you're Andrew Lord, today's pregame speech probably contains the phrase:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STAY OUT OF THE BOX.

THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER

Through three games:

Jani Nyman — 6G, 1A, 7 points
Jagger Firkus — 2G, 5A, 7 points
Tyson Jugnauth — 0G, 7A, 7 points

Nyman has six goals in three games. If he maintains that pace for the full season, he will score 144.

I have checked the mathematics and determined that this is definitely going to happen.

Jugnauth, meanwhile, has decided that scoring himself is beneath him and is simply arranging goals for everyone else. Seven assists in three games. He's DoorDash, and he's delivering apples.

And Morrison is back too. The Firebirds scored 11 goals in their first two games without last year's leading scorer, then he returned Friday and scored twice.

That's where this starts getting interesting. There are a lot of different ways this roster can hurt you. Speaking of which:

DAY'S LINEUP LABORATORY

Inside the Rink projects:

Avon — Morrison — Firkus
Šalé — Mølgaard — Nyman
Roed — Miettinen — Hayden
Rehkopf — Evers — Stephens

Olofsson — Nelson
Jugnauth — Hammell
Price — Dragicevic

Östman / Kokko

Perfectly reasonable.

Which is why I'm changing it.

If I had the whiteboard today:

MY PROPOSAL:

Rehkopf — Morrison — Firkus
Šalé — Mølgaard — Nyman
Roed — Stephens — Hayden
Avon — Miettinen — Evers

Same defense, and I'd give Östman the net after Kokko played Friday.

The idea behind the first line is simple: give Rehkopf a real offensive opportunity. Morrison distributes, Firkus creates, Rehkopf brings size and finishing ability. If we're going to find out what he can do, I'd rather do it next to two players who can actually get him the puck.

I wouldn't touch Šalé-Mølgaard-Nyman. Nyman has six goals. Whatever ritual produced this should remain undisturbed.

Roed-Stephens-Hayden gives you a veteran, physical line that can handle defensive-zone work without turning into three guys trying to win every shift along the wall. And Avon-Miettinen-Evers becomes a gigantic fourth line with enough skill that calling it a fourth line feels a little insulting.

Would Laxdal actually run these exact combinations?

Probably not.

Would I like to see them for ten minutes so I can determine whether I am secretly a hockey genius?

Obviously.

Tell me what I've ruined.

A SERIOUS ONE: JACOB MELANSON

We got some genuinely frightening news yesterday about former Firebird Jacob Melanson.

Melanson was injured during Seattle's opener against Calgary. The Kraken initially called it an upper-body injury, but they have now disclosed the diagnosis: an anterior mediastinal hematoma with a vascular pseudoaneurysm.

In plain English, he has bleeding in the front portion of his chest along with an injury to a blood vessel that has allowed blood to collect outside the normal vessel wall.

Oof.

A pseudoaneurysm is not the same thing as the classic aneurysm people usually picture. It generally occurs when the wall of a blood vessel is damaged and blood leaks through the defect but is temporarily contained by surrounding tissue. Depending on the vessel involved and how the injury behaves, treatment can range from observation and repeat imaging to endovascular repair or surgery. (Thank you to Google for providing this- if its wrong, don't @ me.)

The biggest unknown right now is that Seattle has not said which blood vessel is involved, and that makes any precise prognosis impossible.

So is his season over?

Maybe. But nobody has said that yet.

The Kraken have listed him as out indefinitely and say he will be monitored through a “gradual progression to return to hockey.” Clearly this isn't a normal short-term hockey injury, but Seattle is still publicly talking about a return to play.

Could something like this become career-threatening if it doesn't heal properly or doctors aren't comfortable clearing him for repeated contact? Yes.

Do we have any reason right now to say his career is over? No.

Melanson is only 23. He worked his way from Coachella Valley into a real NHL role, became one of Seattle's most physical players, and just signed a new three-year contract.

Hopefully we see #63 throwing himself into people again.

But hockey can wait.

First he needs to heal enough that getting hit in the chest by another 200-pound professional athlete is no longer an objectively terrible idea.

Get well, Melly.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO SEE

1. DON'T TURN THIS INTO OPENING NIGHT AGAIN

We already know Ontario can score. The first game became a track meet and the Birds gave up the tying goal late before losing in overtime.

Fun hockey.

Bad blood pressure.

Control the puck and make Ontario defend instead of trading chaos for chaos.

2. KEEP FEEDING THE POWER PLAY

No, it won't stay above 50%.

But until somebody stops it, keep going.

Move the puck quickly, get Nyman into shooting position, let Jugnauth distribute, and force Ontario to decide whether to collapse toward the net or respect the point.

If the Reign want to take penalties, that sounds like a Reign problem.

3. KEEP BUILDING GOOD THIRD PERIODS

Friday was 3-3 late in the second.

The Firebirds scored with 18 seconds left, then extended the lead and shut San Diego out in the third.

That's what good teams do.

Not every night is going to be 6-2. Eventually you have to protect a one-goal lead in the final ten minutes.

I want to see whether this young team keeps showing that kind of maturity.

Drop your score prediction, first Firebirds goal, goalie prediction, your preferred line combinations, and whatever completely irresponsible conclusions you've drawn from three games.

And somebody explain why my Rehkopf-Morrison-Firkus line is either brilliant or grounds for immediately revoking my hockey GDT privileges.

LET'S GO FIREBIRDS.

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🏒 Location: Acrisure Arena- Palm Desert CA

🎟️ Time: 7:00 PM PT 

🖥️ Join the Discussion: Discord

🎥 Watch Live: FloHockey.TV

🎧 Listen Live: theeagle1069.com

Before we discuss tonight's opponent, I believe we owe the Ontario Reign a moment of solemn reflection after what happened at their home opener last Saturday.

...

Okay, that's enough.

For those who missed it, Ontario bumbled into Acrisure on Opening Night, escaped with a 6-5 overtime win, and presumably went home feeling pretty good about themselves.

Twenty-four hours later, the Firebirds walked into Toyota Arena for Ontario's home opener and beat them 6-2.

This brings me tremendous joy.

And this wasn't some greasy 6-2 game where a bunch of weird bounces inflated the score.

The Birds actually showed up.

• Jani Nyman scored his first career AHL hat trick.
• Jagger Firkus scored twice (despite the 'stache).
• Tyson Jugnauth had four assists, setting a Firebirds regular-season franchise record.
• Victor Östman stopped 28 of 30.
• The Firebirds went 3-for-4 on the power play.
• Ontario went 0-for-4.

Same number of power-play opportunities. One team scored three times. The other scored zero.

And perhaps my favorite part came afterward, when Reign coach Andrew Lord was asked what gave Ontario so much trouble:

“Their first-step quickness is elite ... some of the best in the division.”

That is the Firebirds we know and love. Not the biggest, not the most physical, but by Fuego, they will beat you to the end of the ice. They're quick to loose pucks, quick changing direction, quick through the neutral zone and very good at using little cuts and reversals to keep possession alive.

Ontario had trouble getting bodies on them.

And once the Reign started chasing?

The Birds absolutely cooked them.

SO... WHAT'S ON THE MENU TONIGHT?

Tonight we introduce the San Diego Gulls to the grill, because apparently this year's schedule was designed around determining which species of bird is most capable of violence. (Seriously, what's with all the birds in this division?)

And, interestingly, these teams arrive with identical records:

San Diego: 1-0-1-0 — 3 points
Coachella Valley: 1-0-1-0 — 3 points

San Diego opened its season by beating San Jose 5-1, then lost the rematch 5-4 in overtime.

So: two games each. Three points each. Lots of goals.

This should be good.

THE BIRDS ARE CURRENTLY ON FIRE

The early-season leaderboard is hilarious:

Jani Nyman — 5 goals, 6 points
Jagger Firkus — 6 points
Tyson Jugnauth — 6 assists, 6 points
Gustav Olofsson — +4

That's after two games.

Please understand that I am exercising enormous restraint by not extrapolating these numbers across the entire season.

More absurdly, the Firebirds' power play currently sits at:

62.5%

Five power-play goals on eight opportunities.

Obviously completely sustainable. Nothing unusual happening here. We should expect roughly two goals every time someone on the opposing team accidentally clears the puck over the glass.

Science.

More seriously, five power-play goals in two games is what gets me really excited about this season. This team has enough skill on the back end to make opponents pay for collapsing too aggressively. Jugnauth already has six assists, and Ontario learned very quickly what happens when you give these guys room to move the puck.

The penalty kill is sitting at 81.8% overall and went a perfect 4-for-4 Saturday.

If there's one early identity emerging, it's this:

Coachella Valley can punish mistakes.

That is a wonderful trait for an AHL team.

TONIGHT'S PROJECTED FIREBIRDS

Inside the Rink has these as the projected lines:

Avon — Mølgaard — Firkus
Sale — Miettinen — Nyman
Roed — Stephens — Hayden
Rehkopf — Evers — Villeneuve

Olofsson — Nelson
Jugnauth — Hammell
Price — Dragicevic

Kokko
Östman

These are just projected, so please direct all complaints about lineup inaccuracies toward someone other than me.

But if this holds, I like the balance.

That Sale-Miettinen-Nyman line intrigues me. Nyman obviously has the nuclear launch codes right now, Mieters brings the size, and Sale gives that line a second offensive threat instead of simply constructing an elaborate support system around Jani Nyman shooting the puck.

Meanwhile Avon-Mølgaard-Firkus has a nice combination of retrieval, speed and creativity.

And the defensive pairings continue to give Tyson Jugnauth room to Tyson Jugnauth, which seems like a wise organizational strategy at the moment.

ABOUT THESE GULLS

Do not mistake San Diego for an easy two points.

This is a young Ducks development team with real prospects on it.

Their opening roster contains 10 Anaheim draft picks, with a big group of players 23 and younger. Roger McQueen, Anaheim's 10th overall pick in 2025, is here. So is 2024 first-round defenseman Stian Solberg.

And Solberg has started the season extremely well:

2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, +4.

As a reminder, this kid is a defenseman.

So perhaps don't allow that man to wander unnoticed toward anything resembling shooting position.

San Diego also has Sean Farrell, Anton Wahlberg, Nathan Gaucher, Yegor Sidorov and several other legitimate prospects. This isn't an AHL roster full of replacement-level veterans hoping to survive until April. There's talent here.

San Diego's own assistant coach Steve McCarthy said of tonight's game:

“Coachella is probably going to be our biggest challenge so far.”

Correct.

Gold star, Steve.

AND THEN THERE'S THEIR GOALIE

There is one particularly important name on the San Diego roster:

Laurent Brossoit.

Yes.

That Laurent Brossoit.

Brossoit won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. The guy has 141 NHL games under his belt and nearly 200 more in the AHL. Anaheim waived him for assignment at the end of camp, and now San Diego has an NHL-veteran goaltender playing behind its prospects.

God I miss Driedger. But I digress.

Brossoit started the opener against San Jose.

He stopped 29 of 30 shots.

If Brossoit gets the net again tonight (which he undoubtedly will), the Firebirds need to resist the temptation to look for the perfect shot.

Get traffic in front of him.

Make him deal with rebounds.

Make him move laterally.

Don't let him track the puck- put bodies in front of the net.

YOUR STAT OF THE DAY

The Firebirds went 6-2-0-0 against San Diego last season.

Over the last five seasons, Coachella Valley's head-to-head record against the Gulls is:

23-4-3-2.

San Diego's corresponding record against us is 9-17-6-0.

I'm not saying we own the Gulls.

I am simply presenting publicly available land records.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO SEE TONIGHT

1. MAKE THEM CHASE

Andrew Lord accidentally wrote our scouting report for us.

That first-step quickness caused Ontario enormous problems.

Don't abandon it.

Get San Diego moving laterally, reverse the puck, attack gaps, and force their young defensemen to make repeated decisions at speed.

2. STAY OUT OF THE DAMN BOX

Yes, the penalty kill was excellent Saturday.

Let's not do that again though.

San Diego's power play is already 2-for-6, so they're perfectly capable of punishing stupid penalties themselves.

I'd much rather watch Nyman shoot pucks at their goalie than watch Hayden explain to an official why what he just did was technically permissible under the Geneva Convention.

3. DO NOT LET UP

This may actually be my biggest one.

The Birds looked great Saturday.

Now prove that's what this team is, rather than merely what this team looked like for one night.

Good teams don't just have impressive wins.

They stack them.

____

Drop your score prediction, first Firebirds goal, goalie guess, completely irrational two-game-season hot take, and any complaints you would like formally lodged against the projected lines below.

LET'S GO BIRDS.

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Hey Firebird Friends! We had some requests following our interview with Gino and Grant to add more Firebirds content to our Podcast, so we thought we'd spin it off into it's own show! We'd love it if you joined us and tossed any feedback you had! Thanks! Go Birds!

This weekend we saw blockbuster performances from Jani Nyman, Jagger Firkus and Tyson Jugnauth. we can also expect them to be very well defended after their performances this weekend.

no big deal - we know our roster is loaded with talent. who do you think will have a star moment this weekend?

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I’ve never been to a Firebirds home game. I was curious, what do they use as a goal song and victory song?

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...give us all a break!! You have a mic, you don't have to yell!!! Our poor ears are bleeding.

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🏒 Location: Acrisure Arena- Palm Desert CA

🎟️ Time: 7:00 PM PST 

🖥️ Join the Discussion: Discord

🎥 Watch Live: FloHockey.TV

🎧 Listen Live: theeagle1069.com

FIREBIRDS HOCKEY IS OFFICIALLY BACK.

And there couldn't be a better opponent.

Ontario finished last season 47-20-3-2 with 99 points and the Pacific Division title. The Birds finished 41-25-6-0 with 88 points. Ontario had our number during much of the regular season.

And then the playoffs happened.

Coachella Valley sent the division champs home in five games.

Welcome back, friends. It's time for Firebirds Hockey.

First: a little business from the mothership

Before we descend into AHL degeneracy, we need to talk about what Seattle did last night.

Kraken 6. Flames 1.

In Calgary. In Calgary's final home opener at the Saddledome. Seattle went up 3-0 in the first period and essentially spent the rest of the evening asking the Flames whether they wanted to reconsider their career choices.

But the best part for us?

Our Fireboys were all over it.

Ryan Winterton: assist.
Shane Wright: assist.
Ryker Evans: assist.
Joey Daccord: 24 saves AND an assist.

That is what this organization is supposed to be.

We watch these guys grind through bus trips, Wednesday nights against Bakersfield, hard-won playoff series, healthy scratches, call-ups and send-downs because this is the road to Seattle.

LFG.

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THE BIG LEAGUES.

The AHL begins tonight, and I am extremely bullish on this Firebirds team.

Logan Morrison is back after leading the Birds with 61 points and 29 goals last season. Tyson Jugnauth returns after leading the club with 36 assists. Ty Nelson put up 35 points from the blue line. Gustav Olofsson was +28. Victor Östman and Nikke Kokko are both back in net.

Oh, and after years of my completely unbiased lobbying campaign:

CAPTAIN JOHN HAYDEN.

Hayden wears the C. Olofsson, Morrison, Mitchell Stephens and Ty Nelson get the A's.

That is a very good leadership group for a roster that remains loaded with young Seattle prospects.

We get another year of Morrison, Firkus, Nyman, Rehkopf, Sale, Villeneuve, Jugnauth, Nelson, Price and company developing together.

And yes, unfortunately, early indications are that Jagger Firkus has retained possession of his mustache.

The organization has once again declined to take meaningful action.

The Kaplan Situation

Inside the Rink's preview currently shows both Devin Kaplan and David Goyette on the Firebirds opening roster, which is impossible unless we've introduced hockey's first custody-sharing arrangement.

Goyette was traded to Philadelphia yesterday for Kaplan and is reporting to Lehigh Valley. Kaplan is coming the other direction.

Personally, I wouldn't be shocked if Kaplan watches one before jumping straight into Derick Laxdal's system. He literally joined the organization yesterday.

But if they throw him over the boards tonight?

WELCOME TO THE DESERT, DEVIN. THAT GUY IN THE OTHER JERSEY HATES YOU NOW. FIGURE IT OUT.

So where do the Birds actually stand?

The preseason consensus is: it's always sunny in California.

Inside the Rink has Coachella Valley finishing first in the Pacific, followed by Colorado, Bakersfield and Ontario. League-wide, the serious preseason names include Hershey, Laval, Texas, Grand Rapids, defending champion Toronto, Charlotte, Colorado and our Birds. Toronto, remember, beat Chicago in five to win the Calder Cup last June.

My thoughts going into tonight:

1. Coachella Valley — Deep, skilled, experienced enough to know how to survive playoff hockey, but still young enough that several players could make major jumps simultaneously. Morrison/Nyman/Rehkopf/Firkus/OFM up front with Nelson/Jugnauth/Olofsson behind them is a legitimate Calder Cup winning team. The biggest variable is the same one every good AHL affiliate faces: how many of these guys Seattle steals from us.
2. Colorado — The team I trust least emotionally and respect most competitively. They ended our season last year, Trent Miner gives them high-end goaltending, and they're going to be annoying again. Plan accordingly.
3. Ontario — I'm a little higher on them than some preseason projections. Chromiak is back after 28 goals and 56 points, Portillo went 18-7-3 with a .907, and guys like Pinelli, Ziemmer and Carter George give them upside. They won this division last year. They didn't suddenly forget how to play hockey because we ruined their spring.
4. Bakersfield — Quinn Hutson alone makes them dangerous after a 30-goal, 63-point rookie season. I don't know that I'd put them ahead of Ontario yet, but they're absolutely capable of living in the top four.
5. San Jose — My sneaky “this could get irritating” team. They added Alex Barré-Boulet, who scored 70 points last season, to an already interesting young group. Don't sleep on the Barracuda.

After that I have Henderson, San Diego, Tucson, Abbotsford and Calgary, with enough AHL roster churn that somebody will inevitably make this paragraph look ridiculous by Christmas.

Tonight's assignment

Ontario beat us 2-1 in a shootout five days ago, scoring the tying goal with 1.3 seconds remaining.

That's annoying.

Let's not do that again.

On the bright side, preseason doesn't count. Right? RIGHT?

Rules for tonight: Make Portillo work. Let the boys play. Stay out of stupid penalty trouble. Get Morrison involved early. Let Jugnauth attack. Let Captain Hayden introduce people to the boards.

And remember what we saw from Seattle last night.

Wright. Winterton. Evans. Daccord.

The boys know they've got something to fight towards.

Season Five starts now.

LET'S. GO. BIRDS.

Drop your score predictions, first-goal picks, irrational preseason takes, complaints about the lines, and whatever other nonsense we have been saving up all summer. Especially Ontario's stupid new jerseys. I get the throwback theme, but really? Not a good look.

HOCKEY IS BACK.

P.S. Tomorrow's game (in Ontario) is steaming live on Youtube. Check it out here.

P.P.S. What do you think of the new game day app?

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A third AHL Level Kraken-Flyer trade in our short history. Excited to see what Kaplan brings to the team