Syracuse Crunch’s Blue Collar Play Paying Dividends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are in a good position to make the playoffs for the 2023-24 season, and the same can be said for their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. After their 4-1 victory over the Rochester Amerks on Wednesday (Dec. 27), the Crunch are in second place in the AHL’s North Division. The Crunch continue to succeed in the AHL, even though the Lightning’s prospect pool is at the bottom of most expert rankings.

Many were concerned that the Crunch would not duplicate last season’s success in qualifying for the playoffs after the Lightning called up 2022-23 leading scorer and AHL first-team selection Alex Barre-Boulet; he has appeared to find a regular spot on their roster. However, first-year head coach Joel Boucher has been able to develop a group of players to work hard on all aspects of the game, and this blue-collar approach has paid off so far in the 2023-24 season.

Crunch’s Veteran Depth

If you look at a list of the top scorers in the AHL, you would have to go down the list a bit to find the first Syracuse Crunch player. The Lightning’s 2020 second-round pick, Gage Gonclaves, is their leading scorer with 29 points. But looking at the rest of the scoring leaders, one sees a group bunched closely together in the point totals. Felix Robert is the team leader in goals, and the 24-year-old has been considered one of the AHL’s best middle-six forwards over the last three seasons. Robert and Goncalves represent the high compete level that has been instrumental in putting the Crunch in playoff contention.

Having a quality organization as its parent club, the Crunch has been able to get and retain quality players, such as Daniel Walcott, the Crunch’s leader in career games played in Syracuse. In the offseason, the 29-year-old re-signed with the Crunch, saying he decided to stay in Syracuse because “They always find a way to bring in great people, great players, players that are good people first before their hockey talent.” Reuniting with Bouchard, who was his coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has also paid dividends on the score sheet, as Walcott has nine goals this campaign, just four off the AHL career-best that he established last season.

Organization Free-Agent Signings

After trading away many top draft picks to keep the team competing for a Stanley Cup, the Lightning have had to work extra hard in signing free agents to maintain solid depth in the organization….