Manitoba Moose Playoff Practice Report

The Moose have been off since they concluded their 2022-23 regular season with an OT loss to the Wolves in Chicago on Sunday, April 16th. They have quite a bit of time between now and the start of their series with the Admirals as the AHL has a play-in round which is a best of three that starts this week. As a result Manitoba and Milwaukee don’t get underway until Friday, April 28th.

Practice notes:

Few notable things. One was Declan Chisholm, who has been out exactly one month with a high-ankle sprain, was skating in a yellow, non-contact uniform. He was moving quite well all things considered. Secondly, Kristian Reichel was not on the ice at practice. Lastly, Jets 2021 3rd rounder Dmitry Kuzmin was participating in his first practice after being reassigned by the Jets from Flint of the OHL. He’s wearing number 23 for those who are curious.

Couple of other notes is that Carson Golder, who signed an ATO with Manitoba on April 13th as a forward, was wearing the red of a defenceman today. I was told that he was a D man in the WHL who switched to the wing. Also newly signed (to a PTO) netminder Joe Murdaca didn’t take part in the practice.

Health news:

In speaking with Moose bench boss Mark Morrison he indicated that Declan Chisholm participated in almost all of the drills today in practice except the battle/box out drill. Said they will do some scrimmages later this week and they hope to see him in those.

The news wasn’t as good for Kristian Reichel who left the 7-5 win over the Stars just 14 seconds into the game which began the final regular season road trip back on April 11th. He clipped skates with a Texas player and landed hard on his shoulder. Morrison, without revealing what was ailing Reichel, said it was worse than what they thought and that it is not a day-to-day injury. Said the organization has to make a decision whether he continues to play or not this season but that it was still up in the air. Tough news for the hard-working winger who had his most productive season as a pro scoring nine goals and adding 15 assists for 24 points in 61 games.

Whiteout excitement:

Leon Gawanke and Alex Limoges spoke this AM about the Winnipeg Whiteout and how much they are looking forward to it. Leon said he’s excited to see the Whiteout Street Party. Alex said watching it from afar he was jealous of it and is looking forward to experiencing it.

Player availability:

Up next:

The Moose are off tomorrow and will return to practice on Friday.