Monsters Developing Well-Rounded Jiricek, Ahcan Shines

The first half of March has been an up and down affair for the Cleveland Monsters. They kicked the month off splitting their weekend series with the Chicago Wolves, losing 4-1 and winning 6-1. Then, the following Monday, the Monsters were able to deflate their foe the Grand Rapids Griffins by ending their 16-game point-streak with a commanding 5-3 regulation win. This was also the first time the Monsters beat the Griffins in regulation during the 2023-24 season. 

Even though Cleveland was riding high on back-to-back wins, their positive momentum screeched to a halt against the Laval Rocket, losing 4-1 and 5-2. Luckily, the Monsters faced their rivals, the Griffins, again a few days later and were able to get back on the right path with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win.  

Yet through all of this the Monsters sit in first place in the North Division. 

Difference in Play

As of late, the difference in play from night to night has been staggering. When playing a back-to-back series at home, every series since 2024 started features one game where Cleveland comes to play and another where they have a slow start. There are many reasons why this could be the case. Sometimes I think they underestimate teams that are hovering towards the bottom of the standings like Wolves and Rocket. From a consistency standpoint, those types of teams seem to be the ones that give the Monsters the most trouble. Other times I wonder if they hit these slumps and stretches of roller coaster hockey because their strong start is catching up to them. 

There are a lot of young players on the team who aren’t used to having high ice time paired with a long schedule where games happen more frequently than college and juniors. Learning how to balance that energy to sustain them all season isn’t always an easy task.  

Consistency in Leadership

One thing that has helped the Monsters along this wobbly road is the consistency of their leadership crew of Carson Meyer, Brendan Gaunce, and Billy Sweezey. On and off the stat sheet, they are making waves. Whether it’s putting up multi-point nights, laying big hits, or stripping the opponent of the puck, leadership has helped make the Monsters succeed. Also, Cleveland is lucky to have a two-way defender like Jake Christiansen and the magic man himself, Trey Fix-Wolansky. 

Here is what Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber had to say about the consistency of the Monsters leadership:

“I think  the leaders and some of the guys who’ve been around have played consistently regardless of what their production is. That’s gonna come and go. But they’ve led by example. That’s why they’re leaders. They play hard every night, the Gaunces and Carson Meyers, the Billy Sweezeys. Those guys play hard every night and play their game,” said Monsters Head Coach Vogelhuber

Next Man Up Mentality

As the season winds down, the injuries continue to pile up in Columbus causing the best on the roster to be called up to the Jackets. Currently, Fix-Wolansky, Christiansen, Gaunce, Meyer, and Mikael Pyyhtia are playing with the parent club. They also happen to be five of the six top point scorers on the squad. 

While this can seem terrifying to a farm club, the Monsters are in good hands with players like Owen Sillinger, Marcu Bjork, Hunter McKown, Justin Pearson, and Roman Ahcan. All of them have provided must needed energy and scoring power to the roster. Especially, Ahcan, who started down in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones at the beginning of the season. Every time he sets foot on AHL ice, Ahcan competes hard and brings the best game of his life. 

Here’s what Vogelhuber had to say about Ahcan:

“I think he’s the guy who got buried at the season a little bit with everybody healthy. He spent some time in Cincinnati. He’s come back and just been desperate. And, he’s played hard. He’s done all the little things, and he has the offensive skill to chip in for the bottom six when he gets the opportunity. Happy for him to have come back after the first quarter of the season or so. Right now, he’s solidified himself in that spot just because he’s important on the kill, adds physical presence, plays hard, and can chip in offensively. Good for him and good for us,” said Vogelhuber. 

David Jiricek Developing 200 foot game

The Columbus Blue Jackets assigned defender David Jiricek to  Cleveland in mid January. , He immediately made a name for himself on the stat sheet tallying three assists in his second game back with the team. Three games later, Jiricek decided to up the ante by scoring a hat trick and assisting Carson Meyer’s power play goal. As you can see, offensively, he shined fairly bright. 

On the defensive side of things, Jiricek still needed some work. For such a big guy, he struggled to push opponents out of the crease and was often stripped of the puck at the blue line. Another area he struggled with was keeping up on the rush. His skating skills weren’t quite good enough to allow for quick movements down the ice. 

However, as the weeks rolled along, Jiricek’s defensive game began to progress upwards. 

Here’s what Vogelhuber had to say about Jiricek:

“He’s rounding out a 200 foot game to be able to play the NHL for 15 years. Young teenage defenseman, itt takes 200 pro games to see what they are and to really understand. It’s a very intricate, difficult position to learn at this level and obviously at the next one. 

He’s got the offensive ability, which we never want to inhibit. But you have to round out the other areas of the game. The rush coverage.The gap control. The downlow play when the puck goes low to high in the D zone. And those areas, he’s definitely gotten better at. But,  those are the things we can work on with him a lot. And he’s starting to take steps.

His attitude is great. He’s invested. He wants to get better. Like I said he’s still got the offensive along with it which is why he’s such a highly regarded prospect,” said Vogelhuber on Jiricek.