By With the season inching closer, training camp for the Aberdeen Wings continues as they prepare for a new season.
Aberdeen opens play Wednesday, Sept. 16 against the Corpus Christi IceRays at the North American Hockey League Showcase in Blaine, Minn.
The Wings got their first taste of competition Sept. 6, earning a 4-2 victory over Bismarck in a scrimmage at the Odde Ice Center. The format consisted of four 25-minute periods, with one group of players switching out for another after two sessions.
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Winning a scrimmage while still evaluating players and determining the roster is no indication of the season to come, but Aberdeen coach Scott Langer was pleased with his team’s performance.
“It was good to see our guys compete and execute against another team,” he said. “It’s important to make some mistakes in competition in order to improve our game.”
Langer
At the start of the week, the Wings had 32 players in camp, but Lager hoped to have his roster set by the end of the week. So far, he likes what he’s seen in camp and practices.
“Guys that we expected to show up in good shape did,” Langer said after the scrimmage. “We’re only 10 practices in, but some of the things we’ve tried to open their eyes to and expose them to, they’ve seen and have begun to learn and adjust, so that’s a positive. If they can be a Wing, they’ll be a Wing. If not, we always try to find them a spot with another team.”
Aberdeen returns eight players from a squad that finished second in the Central Division last season. Compare that to double-digit returners for the other teams in the division, and the Central is going to be a dogfight. Langer believes it’s the toughest division in the NAHL
“It’s a good group of eight,” he said, referring to the returning players. “Obviously, you want to bring back more because the other teams in our division right now are bringing back a lot of players. Even the team that was within a goal of winning the Robertson Cup (Austin) basically brings back its entire team, believe it or not, so it’s going to be a highly competitive division again.”
Wings players, coach have NHL ties
Three Wings have close ties to the National Hockey League. Two, forward Isak Holmstrom and defenseman Lucas Lidstrom, have fathers who played together for the Detroit Red Wings.
“They’re both really skilled hockey players,” Langer said. “They were born in the United States and played some hockey here before heading back to their (native country of) Sweden to play. It’ll be a different game for them. It’s a smaller rink here and it will take some adjustments, but they’re too talented not to pick it up.”
Kyle Dumba
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The other member or the organization who has a connection to the NHL is new goaltending coach Kyle Dumba. His brother, Matt, played 10 seasons with the Minnesota Wild before signing with the Arizona Coyotes as a free agent this offseason.
“Kyle’s a hard-working guy,” Langer said. “He’s a young coach that wants to be a professional goalie coach, and we were very fortunate to add him after Josh Aycock had stepped down, so just very lucky we were able to bring him in.”
Goaltending a focus for Wings heading into 2023-24 season
In addition to replacing long-time goalie coach Aycock, Aberdeen also needs two new goaltenders as Cole Moore and Geno Pichora do not return.
Consistency between the pipes wasn’t up to the standards of a Langer-coached team last season.
“’Moresy’ was overworked last year because Pichora got injured early in the season,” Langer said. “I think with what (Moore) had to deal with, he was pretty good. Look, people are used to the (Matt) Vernons and (Jake) Sibels in our locker room, and when you don’t have that type of caliber it obviously shows.”
This season, Langer will count on two new goalies to push each other to get better.
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“We have two good goalies coming in,” Langer said. “(Gage) Stewart and (Adam) Dybal. Dybal is a young ’05 who is a high-end goaltender coming over from the Czech Republic. You do a lot of recruiting to put all the pieces in place, but it comes down to the players and what they’re willing to do.”
Young defensive unit will need to learn quickly
An area that has traditionally been a strong point for the Wings, defense, lacks experience and veteran presence this season. But, Langer said, there’s no shortage of talent.
“We are kind of young back there right now,” Langer said. “But we are more skilled, for sure. We’re not as old as we’d like to be, and the guys here will have to mature quickly because of the pace of the game. They’re coming from places where they played at a certain speed, but it’s certainly not the NAHL. If we have to add a few pieces here and there we will, but, again, we’re up against some clubs with a lot of returning hockey players.”
Could a team in Watertown join NAHL Central?
The Central is now the only NAHL division with six teams. The other three divisions have at least eight.
That could change in the not-distant future. Watertown has invested $36 million in a new arena with two sheets of ice. Talks between the NAHL and Watertown have been confirmed, though there’s been no formal announcement or timetable set.
“Obviously, they have built a facility, and there are people interested in (an NAHL team),” Langer said. “I don’t know where that situation is at. I mean, it would be great for us. To have a partner like that — an hour away — you’re up and back on weeknights, you can play home-and-homes. I think it’s going to happen. I think (Watertown) wants it to happen. I just don’t, as far as the vetting process, know how it will play out yet.”
The Wings traveled to Sioux Falls for a scrimmage against the Stampede, a team in the United States Hockey League, on Thursday, Sept. 7. Now, the games start to count.
Aberdeen’s schedule at the NAHL Showcase follows.
- Wednesday, Sept. 13: vs. Corpus Christi, 4:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 14: vs. Lone Star, 11:15 a.m.
- Friday, Sept. 15: vs. Johnstown, 7:15 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 16: vs. Minnesota, 2:45 p.m.
The Wings first home games will be Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23 against Bismarck. They both start at 7:15 p.m. at Odde Ice Center.
Robb Garofalo is a veteran sports reporter who worked in TV on the East Coast before moving to Aberdeen. He's now The Aberdeen Insider's full-time sports reporter.