The Ice Wolves Den Anton Malyshev in the #PHNSpotlight

Anton may be from Moscow, but he didn’t grow up there. “I was in Russia until I was 5, then my family moved to Latvia. The land there is so much greener than New Mexico and everyone is so close because the population is only 2 million people. Hockey is very good there, so many rinks and so many teams. I looked up to Pavel Datsyuk growing up, he’s a pretty skilled guy. I always watched his highlights when I was younger, I try to play like him, smart and quick.”

Ice Wolves Head Coach Kyle McKenzie says the veteran players are key to helping kids like Malyshev adapt, “You have to get them familiar with the system and it’s big with our returning core and leaders in the room to make it easy for the new guys to get adjusted.” McKenzie continued, “I saw Anton in Boston last year at a Prep School showcase, he played for Northwood Prep last season and he really impressed me. Getting two goals from him Sunday is massive. I think he’s going to go off now, the flood gates are going to open.”

Malyshev says playing last season in Northwood helped him prepare for being so far from home, “It was hard at first last year going to high school in New York my Senior year. I missed my family, but I think I adapted well so now it’s fine. Albuquerque is pretty different than New York though. The fans are pretty sweet, it’s my first time feeling kind of famous, I never gave my autograph signature before so that’s kind of cool.”

Both Ice Wolves opened the season with losses, but both recovered with back to back wins to open the season. Both teams also took home Star of the Week honors. NA3HL Goaltender Josh Middleton pitched a pair of shutouts Saturday and Sunday, facing a total of 102 shots over the weekend. For the NAHL Ice Wolves, Andy Earl tallied 5 points on the weekend earning top Star honors.

The NAHL Ice Wolves remain home this weekend taking on the Oklahoma Warriors on Friday and Saturday night before they head to Blaine, MN for the annual Showcase. Puck drop both nights is 6:30. The NA3HL squad heads to Tulsa this weekend to take on the Oilers.