For the first time this season, the Ontario Reign will see the Tucson Roadrunners when they host Arizona’s favorite hockey team Wednesday night at Toyota Arena.
Neither club has gotten off to a particularly hot start in 2024-25, with both teams hovering around .500 so far. Perhaps more concerning is the fact Ontario already has a minus-5 goal differential after their first 10 games played. And in typical AHL fashion, coach Marco Sturm hasn’t been able to ice a steady lineup over the past few weeks. While his top-6 players have been fairly stable, they’ve been shuffled around as Sturm continues to search for more productive line combinations.
Things haven’t been much different out on the blueline. Rookie Angus Booth — who Sturm was impressed with right from the beginning of camp and the Rookie Faceoff tournament that proceeded it — has surprisingly suited up for every Reign game to date. He’s largely had the same partner, yet the rest of the blueline group has seen quite a bit of change on a game-to-game basis. Much like Jim Hiller has been doing with the Kings, Sturm seems to be rotating in players like Cole Krygier depending on the matchup. Based on extras on the ice at morning skate today, it doesn’t appear that he’ll play tonight, after seeing action in the team’s last two games.
Conversely, we’re expecting rookie Jakub Dvorak to draw back in. LA’s top pick at the 2023 NHL Draft has played in half of Ontario’s games to date. Just 19 years old, the 6-foot-5 rearguard continues to adjust to life in North America and has been getting extra attention from the organization’s development staff.
Up front, Taylor Ward did not skate today, so we’re expecting him to miss another game due to injury.
The biggest change — both literally and figuratively — will come via Kaleb Lawrence. The 6-foot-6 Kings prospect was recalled for this game and is expected to make his AHL debut tonight.
After turning pro this past summer, Lawrence had been with Ontario coming out of training camp. However, with a full complement of players, Sturm had yet to play the rugged forward in a Reign game. Ironically, just before Sammy Helenius was recalled to Los Angeles, Lawrence was assigned to ECHL Greenville to get some game action under his belt. After skating in three games over the weekend, he’s back; and not a moment too soon, as Sturm was forced to use an 11+7 configuration on Sunday, as he only had 11 healthy forwards available.
While nothing is set in stone just yet, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Aatu Jamsen playing alongside Lawrence. They were on the same line for several games during camp and Sturm may look to spark some of that early chemistry again tonight.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. ROADRUNNERS
Should Sturm opt to make any key changes during pregame warm-ups, this article will be updated.
Hudon – Gawdin – Fagemo
Malott – Studnicka – Madden
Element – Pinelli – Chromiak
Jamsen – Lawrence – Doty
Moverare – Rowe
Booth – Hicketts
Dvorak – Walsh
Copley (starter)
Portillo
Other roster options include: (F) N/A (D) Krygier, Millar
Injured: (F) Ward (D) Parker-Jones
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on KCAL+, as well as on FloHockey. An audio only feed is also available on the ESPN LA app.
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