Tucson Roadrunners forward Hudson Elynuik came back strong after injuries limited him last year.
And Wednesday, he’s coming home.
Tucson (5-1-0-0) takes its four-game winning streak to Calgary, where it will face the AHL newcomer Wranglers (2-4-0-0) in a two-game set. The teams will play Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Friday at noon.
Elynuik, a Calgary native, will have friends and family in a couple boxes at the Scotiabank Saddledome, also home to the Wranglers’ parent team, the NHL’s Flames.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Elynuik said. “This summer when I found out Calgary was having a team, I looked at the schedule and I was really excited for this day. I think they get really good fans and I hope they bring a lot of energy, and we’re really looking forward to these next two games against them.”
The AHL’s Stockton Heat, fresh off a Pacific Division championship, announced during the offseason that they were moving to Calgary to be closer to the parent club. The team rebranded as the Wranglers, a nod to both the city’s Western heritage and its former junior hockey team of the same name.
It’s been an impressive start to the season for Elynuik, who has two points already this season after finishing the 2021-22 season with just nine points. Injuries were to blame: He cracked his tibia to start the season, then reinjured it in his first game back. He played just 22 games during his first season with the Roadrunners, scoring three goals and notching six assists.
“That’s not an easy injury to come back from,” Roadrunners coach Steve Potvin said.
Tucson’s coaching staff challenged the 6-foot-5-inch Elynuik to improve his conditioning during the offeason.
Hudson Elynuik has reason to smile after a hot start to the 2022-23 hockey season.
As a result, “he’s come in this season with a little bit of an edge and some maturity,” Potvin said. “He’s a big guy that can really influence the game with physical play and sometimes when you’re that big and you play that physical and with that much energy you don’t expect them to be able to make the next play, but he’s one of those guys that has soft hands and he can make the next play.”
The 25-year-old Elynuik said he’s thankful to get to play hockey after being shelved for most of last season.
“It was hard,” he said. “It’s a part of the game, though; injuries happen, you learn from it, you work on yourself as a person. There’s a lot of things that go into it but you gotta look at the positive side and just be thankful you’re okay and I can continue playing the game. I just worked hard this summer, and I’m just trying to have a good season here.”
