Episode #109: Wolves GM Wendell Young

The Calder Farmstead AHL Podcast

On the latest edition of The Calder Farmstead, C.C. and Sean bring back Chicago Wolves General Manager Wendell Young for questions about Wolves roster moves, standard GM FAQ's, skaters he's played with, and some more general inquiries!
Wendell Young Intro (4:13)
Roster Movement:
-The departure of Ryan Warsofsky and hiring of Brock Sheahan as Wolves HC (5:39)
-What happened to Dominik Bokk (7:23) and Tarmo Reunanen (10:21)?
-What happened with the Hurricanes affiliation? What was the process like? (12:22)
General Manger Frequently Asked Questions:
-What are some reasons an AHL team's affiliation changes? (15:24)
-In the 13 years as GM, how has the AHL (and what it takes to be a successful GM) changed? (18:52)
-Trading NHL-contracted players versus AHL-contracted players? (20:50)
-The explanation of future considerations in a trade (22:21)
-The details of professional try-outs and amateur try-outs (24:09)
-The timing of signing announcements (26:12)
-Veteran players opting to go to Europe (28:27)
-Veteran players bouncing around the AHL season after season (31:05)
As a player:
-Differences between playing in the AHL versus the IHL (36:37)
-Differences between you playing in the minors versus players present-day (39:01)
Played with or worked with as GM:
-Current Chicago Wolves Assistant Coach Bob Nardella (41:30)
-Former AHL assistant and head coach Gord Dineen (43:51)
-Former NY Islanders franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro (45:51)
-Hockey Hall of Famer Al MacInnis (49:16)
-The forever unretired future Hockey Hall of Famer, Jaromir Jagr (52:03)
-The Savior of Pittsburgh, Mario Lemieux (53:43)
In General:
-Which trophy in your collection means the most to you? (58:07)
-After 20 years and another Calder Cup added to your collection, what motivates you to keep on going? (1:01:49)
-Starting up in 1994, how did the Wolves directly compete against the Blackhawks and succeed? (1:03:49)