Talking Pack: What's the Story?

Welcome to Talking Pack, a weekly offseason column about the Hartford Wolf Pack, exclusively at Blueshirt Banter. Every week, we'll catch you up on what's going on with the Rangers' AHL affiliate as they prepare for their 30th season in the fall.

For the Hartford Wolf Pack, it's been a very long summer. The 2025-26 season ended in April with a last-place finish, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. The turnover both on the ice and behind the bench only made the summer feel longer.

However, the wait is almost over. Tomorrow marks the first day of fall, signaling the return of hockey. The New York Rangers are in preseason action tonight in a game that will feature both Wolf Pack alumni and players who could find themselves in the Connecticut capital in the coming weeks. The Wolf Pack will follow with their season opener on October 3 and their home opener a week later on October 10. The long wait for Hartford hockey is nearly over.

As the Wolf Pack gear up for their 30th season, there's a lot of interest around the club. The revamped coaching staff and exciting core of prospects could help turn them from the AHL's worst team in 2025-26 to one of it's best in 2026-27. Today, we'll look at four Wolf Pack storylines that you should follow this season.

1) How Do the Rookies Perform?

As we've mentioned before in this column, the Wolf Pack saw a lot of roster turnover this offseason. Key veterans like defensive stalwart Connor Mackey and 30-goal scorer Trey Fix-Wolansky departed the team via free agency this summer.

However, the Wolf Pack were okay with this, thanks in part to a large class of incoming rookies. Up front, the Wolf Pack anticipate having forwards Nathan Aspinall, Jacob Battaglia, Cole Beaudoin, Liam Greentree, and Brody Lamb, with only Aspinall (five games, 2024-25) and Lamb (15 games, 2025-26) having prior professional experience.

On the blue line, the Wolf Pack could add both Alberts Smits and Drew Fortescue to their roster. Smits was the fifth overall pick in June's NHL entry draft, while Fortescue turned pro at the end of last season and appeared in nine games with the Rangers.

There's a lot of talent in this group, with Smits, Beaudoin, and Greentree all being former first round draft picks. Whether or not they can translate it to the professional game is yet to be seen. Greentree was one of the standouts in the annual Rookie Series games against the prospects from the Philadelphia Flyers, but the general consensus was that this group will need to grow in the AHL.

If some of these players can quickly adapt to the pro game and replace some of the talent that left Hartford over the summer, the Wolf Pack will be in good position to have a bounce-back season.