Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Taking a break is a fun thing to do this time of year.
Get too little rest and even the best teams will eventually start to underperform and collapse at the worst possible times. Too much recovery time, and the precision and crisp play required to push for a long stretch into the Calder Cup playoffs could quickly disappear.
The Cleveland Monsters have been out for more than a week since their 2-1 triple overtime win over Syracuse in the North Conference semifinal series on May 3. The Toronto Marlies don’t open their next round of games until Thursday when they visit Rocket Arena.
Getting to the conference finals isn’t always pretty. Cleveland lost five straight games at the end of March, and while their bid for a playoff spot was never really seriously threatened, the slump certainly added some pressure toward the end of the season. They managed to right themselves, finishing the regular season with a 4-1-0-2 record, clinching third place in the division and meeting a Crunch team that was in contention for the division title until the final week.
Cleveland had just one win at home in the conference semifinal series, but they managed two overtime wins on the way to promotion.
So, it’s been a busy, demanding, stressful period for the Monsters, which means this extended break could come at the right time. It’s also an interesting time for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization as a whole, and that energy certainly extends to Cleveland.
columbus head coach Rick Bowness Made strong and pointed comments about his players at the end of the season, quite emphatic that he wanted a better organizational culture. Bowness’ coaching career began in 1982 as a player-coach with the AHL’s Sherbrooke Jets, and when someone like him speaks, it resonates strongly throughout the hockey world. His 21-11-5 record since taking over in Columbus in January only reinforced his message, and the Blue Jackets announced he would return for the 2026-27 season.
Organizational culture change often originates at the AHL level. After all, instilling those cultural values in a first- or second-year player is different than having to replace a veteran. Cleveland, starting with the head coach Trent Vogelhuberis a key part of this effort. Vogelhuber, an Ohio native, has been a member of the organization for most of the past 20 years since being drafted by the Blue Jackets in 2007. He won the Calder Cup as a player with the Monsters in 2016 and rejoined the club as an assistant coach in 2018 before taking over as head coach in 2022.
jet leggings, Kirill Marchenko, Jack Christiansen and Denton Matechuk The Blue Jackets’ development under Cleveland Vogel-Hubert has made headlines. Luca del Bel Beluz, Michael Pitiya and Luca Pinelli All have spent time at their parent club this season. Colorado’s Nick Blankenbergbuffalo Josh Dunn and florida Daniel Tarasov Has become a regular in other National Hockey League (NHL) games.
To put it mildly, there are a lot of moving parts in this organization right now, and it’s the job of an AHL head coach to manage those changing elements.
Like many AHL head coaches, Vogelhuber places a heavy emphasis on the concepts of construction and process. The six-month regular season provides practice time and 72 games reinforces these goals. Come playoff time, a team’s habits must become second nature to be successful. After Syracuse clinched the series, Vogelhuber reflected on a rough weekend in March when the Monsters lost to the Crunch 6-2, 6-3.
“It was a humbling weekend,” Vogelhuber recalled. “I remember we talked after that, ‘This is a team we’re going to play, this is a team we’ve got to beat, and we’re going to spend the remaining month of the season getting ready for this.'”
“There’s definitely been ups and downs since then. But I’m so proud of them. Proud of them for continuing to get better, continuing to trust me and continuing to fight.”
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
