Calgary Wranglers look to snuff out Firebirds in Pacific Division Final

In its first year in Calgary, the Flames' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate club is looking to build off of what has already been a historic season.

The Calgary Wranglers kick off the Pacific Division Final against the Coachella Valley Firebirds Thursday evening at the Saddledome in what promises to be a nail-biter of a series.

After winning the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the top regular season team in the AHL, the Wranglers enjoyed a bye in the first round of post-season play.

The club went on to take down the Abbotsford Canucks in four games, all three of which were decided by a single goal.

Now, it's time for the Wranglers to face their biggest challenge yet.

The Coachella Valley Firebirds come into the series on the heels of a 5-0 win in Game 5 against the Colorado Eagles to keep their season alive and punch their ticket to round three.

Coachella, the minor league affiliate team of the Seattle Kraken, also finished second place in the AHL regular season standings – just three points behind the Wranglers.

Led by former Vancouver Canucks' second-round draft pick Kole Lind and Max McCormick up front, the Firebirds boast a roster that can put opposing teams on their heels.

Lind leads the AHL with eleven points through eight playoff games, while Firebirds' blueliner, and Calgary native, Ryker Evans has more points than any other defenceman in the league this post-season.

The first two games are in Calgary, with the following three - if necessary - scheduled for Coachella Valley, which forward Ben Jones said shouldn't be too big an issue.

"Doesn't really matter what building you're in," Jones said, in an interview with CTV News. "Obviously, we're going to try to feed off the momentum of the crowd out here and being home is great.

"It's obviously preferred," Jones added, "but the way that it's set up is two-three and our goal is to for sure take these two at home and if that doesn't happen, it's not the end of the world.

"We'll keep fighting and battling until it's over."

Another player that hockey fans will keep a close eye on is centre Shane Wright – one of the top prospects in all of hockey.

Once projected to go first overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Wright slipped to pick number four, where he was picked up by the Kraken.

After finishing his Ontario Hockey League career with 197 points in 141 games and winning a gold medal as the captain of Team Canada's 2023 World Junior squad, the 19-year-old pivot has had a slow start in his first AHL playoffs, tallying three points through eight games.

Still, he can change a series for his club at any given moment.

That is if he can find a way to beat the Wranglers' stud goaltender Dustin Wolf.

Wolf was recently awarded the Les Cunningham Award as the most valuable player in the AHL for his outstanding performance between the pipes.

It likely won't be long until the 22-year-old netminder finds himself tending an NHL net, but for now, he has his sights set on taking down the Firebirds.

After a hard-fought battle against Abbotsford, the Wranglers will look to get the jump of the Firebirds in game one at the Saddledome Thursday night.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. MT.

With files from Glenn Campbell