Editor’s note: New PHN Staff Writer Mark McGlothlen joins us to provide coverage of the Kalamazoo Wings for the 2022-23 season. Today, Mark shares with us his outlook of the new season.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A new era will be ushered in at Wings Event Center this Saturday night as the Kalamazoo Wings kick off the 2022-23 season against the Indy Fuel.
As the K-Wings embark on their 48th season of professional hockey, they will be led by new head coach, Joel Martin.
Martin, 40, was named as the 21st head coach following the departure of longtime coach, Nick Bootland. Bootland, who was named as an assistant coach for the Hershey Bears of the AHL, led the K-Wings for 13-seasons.
No stranger to Kalamazoo, Martin spent the past three seasons as the assistant coach under Bootland. Prior to that, Martin spent 15-years as a goaltender, playing in several leagues, including the CHL, AHL, UHL and ECHL. Nine of those seasons were spent in Kalamazoo, where Martin won a championship in 2006.
During his tenure with the K-Wings, Martin shattered several records. Martin is the K-Wings leader in career games played (422), saves (12,310), shutouts (21) and minutes played (24,755).
Martin was also inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame on January 18th, 2022.
Assisting Martin behind the bench is a trio of new faces and one very familiar one to K-Wings fans.
Kohl Schultz was named as the Assistant Coach. Schultz, 31, spent last season with the AHL Stockton Heat as their video coach. Schultz also served as an assistant coach (2019-21) and interim head coach (2019-20) of the Kansas City Mavericks.
Cody Lindhorst, 32, comes to Kalamazoo as the Head Athletic Trainer following a seven year stint in the same capacity with the Rapid City Rush. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Lindhorst as he is a native of Traverse City, Michigan and attended Central Michigan University. Lindhorst replaces Scott Allison, who spent 16 seasons with the K-Wings.
Austin Dykstra will be taking over the role of equipment manager, replacing Mitch MacLeod, who is now the equipment manager with the AHL Cleveland Monsters, an affiliate of the K-Wings.
Rounding out the new hires is Ben Wilson, who will serve as the video coach. Wilson, recently retired from hockey after playing for 11 seasons, played seven with the K-Wings from 2013-20.
The K-Wings finished with a 36-35-1-0 record last season, failing to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Looking to turn things around, Martin has brought back several players from last season while mixing in some new, exciting players to the team.
Returning to the K-Wings are forwards Justin Taylor, Raymond Brice, Anthony Collins, Max Humitz, Matheson Iacopelli, Logan Lambdin and Tanner Nagel. Erik Bradford, who played for the team last year, signed with the Cleveland Monsters during the off-season, has been loaned to the K-Wings.
Returning defenseman are Tyler Rockwell, Collin Saccoman, Justin Murray, Jeremy Masella, Ryan Cook and Olivier LeBlanc, who was reassigned to the K-Wings from Cleveland.
Newcomers include forwards Shaw Boomhower, Daniel D’Amico, Mason McCarty, Coale Norris and Brandon Saigeon and defenseman Anthony Florentino, Joe Masonius, Chad Nychuk and Josh Victor.
Goaltenders are Trevor Gorsuch and newcomer Hunter Vorva.
Longtime K-Wing, Justin Taylor is excited for the season to start and is looking forward to a fresh perspective from not only the new faces behind the bench, but also on the ice.
“I think the changes are a good thing,” Taylor said. “The staff this year is super diligent and hard working.”
“I think the coaching staff did a great job bringing back some familiar faces and adding some new ones,” Taylor continued.  “I think the familiar and new faces show what type of team we are focusing on being. Our back end has some big bodies that play well into our system. We have some smooth skating and skilled players as well to anchor our d-core. Up front we combined similar traits with grit and skill. There are a lot of players that are trying to prove their value as players. It makes for an exciting season.”
After being a teammate of Martin and then playing under him as an assistant coach, Taylor is ready for the next step.
“Marty, doesn’t settle for a casual effort or pace. He wants everything you have, all the time, which is no different than when he was a player,” Taylor said. “I am excited to play for him.”
The Wings open the 2022-23 season against the Indy Fuel at Wings Event Center, Saturday night at 6:00 PM EDT.
Contact the writer: Mark.McGlothlen@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.