The Colorado Eagles will compete in their first Western Conference Championship since joining the American Hockey League. They’ll face the Chicago Wolves, the farm team for the Carolina Hurricanes. The Wolves are 5-1 in the Western Conference Finals series, and have won three Calder Cup championships.
AHL Calder Cup Bracket
This is a best-of-seven series. Because Loveland and Chicago are over 300 miles apart, the series will be split 2–3–2. The Eagles host the first two games and the last two games, as needed.
The Chicago Wolves
It’s interesting to note the rankings of the AHL Western Conference going into the playoffs. The Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) led the AHL for most of the year, putting up record-breaking win/loss numbers through the first half of their season. They won first place, topping both conference and division standings. Chicago finished second in the Central Division. But looking at the Western Conference as a whole, nearly half of the Pacific Division finished between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
2025–26 AHL Western Conference Standings
Chicago went 4–2–2–2 against Grand Rapids in the regular season. But when it came time for the Central Division Finals, the Chicago Wolves won their best-of-five series in four one-goal games. The Griffins outshot Chicago 120–70 in the last three games of the series but only managed a single victory.
The points leaders for the Wolves through the Calder Cup Playoffs are Ryan Suzuki, Felix Unger Sörum, Bradley Nadeau, Cal Foote, and Justin Robidas.
Chicago Wolves points leaders in 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs
Regarding Cal Foote — yes, he is the son of former Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote. Ryan Suzuki is the younger brother of Montréal Canadien’s center Nick Suzuki. This team also includes Rod Brind’Amour‘s son Skyler.
But make no mistake, goaltender Cayden Primeau, a 2017 seventh-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, won this series. It’s because of Primeau that Chicago didn’t buckle under the Griffin’s barrage of shots on goal. In the Calder Cup Playoffs, Primeau has a GAA of 2.31 and a save percentage of .924.
The Colorado Eagles
The Eagles played Chicago four times this season, in two back-to-back series in February. This four-game series mirrors the Chicago/Grand Rapids series I discussed above. In those four games, the Eagles went 1–1–2–0. Two of those three losses were against Primeau, and in both cases, the Eagles outshot the Wolves but lost anyway.
However, in that series, goaltending wasn’t the only takeaway. Penalties were also a huge issue.
— February 6, 5–4 OT loss: Colorado outplayed the Wolves all night and outshot them 43-18. Unfortunately, they also gave up two power-play goals, allowing Chicago to tie the game and eventually win in overtime.
— February 14, 3–2 OT loss: The Eagles led for fifty-eight minutes of this game. But a penalty with only 3:32 left in the third period gave Chicago their game-tying goal, and another penalty committed in overtime handed Chicago the victory.
— February 15, 3–2 loss: The Wolves’ second-period game-tying goal also came on the power play.
That’s four power play goals allowed in those three games, one in overtime to win the game. There was also a fourth goal that was one-hundred percent the result of a barely expired power play. And in those same three games, the Eagles had zero power-play goals of their own despite having eleven opportunities. Considering these three losses were all one-point games, a single power-play goal could have changed the outcome significantly.
That was then, this is now
When the Eagles played Chicago in February, Trent Miner was out with an injury. The games were split between Kyle Keyser and Isak Posch. But in the Western Conference Finals, the Eagles will have Miner in net. He’s has been outstanding through the playoffs. When ranked by GAA, his 1.26 is the best in the league among playoff goalies. When ranked by save percentage, he comes in third in the AHL at .947.
And unlike back in February, the Eagles have been very good throughout the playoffs at not taking unnecessary penalties. Even with teams like Coachella trying to goad them into fights endlessly, the Eagles rarely took the bait. Given how chippy the other four games against Chicago were, I fully expect the Wolves to follow this same pattern, trying to annoy the Eagles into costly penalties. The Eagles will need to maintain discipline throughout this series, just as they’ve done in previous series.
The Eagles’ power play during the playoffs has been inconsistent. Through the first two rounds, their power play was hitting at roughly 26 percent. But in round three against the Coachella Valley Firebirds (SEA), the Eagles only scored once in eleven power-play chances.
The Wolves power play through the playoffs is firing at 21.2 percent. But Eagles penalty kill has been outstanding at 95.2 percent. I will not be surprised if specialty teams end up being the deciding factor in this series.
The Eagles’ point leaders through the playoffs are Ivan Ivan, Tristen Nielsen, Alex Barré-Boulet, T.J. Tynan, and Chase Bradley.
Colorado Eagles points leaders in 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs
Eagles captain Jayson Megna has been out of action since taking a puck to the face in the last game of round two. Megna is not expected to return in this series, although he could return for the Calder Cup Finals if the Eagles get that far. Defenseman Jack Ahcan also missed the entire Pacific Division title series because he was called up to play with the Colorado Avalanche. He’s a huge part of this Eagles team, and having him back for the Western Conference Finals will be an enormous boost for Colorado.
Takeaways
This is going to be a battle. I expect Primeau to frustrate the Eagles at every turn, but I think Miner is the stronger goalie overall. If he’s on his game, things should work out in Colorado’s favor. I also expect the Wolves to play chippy. Much like through the first three rounds, the Eagles’ success will depend on their ability to stay calm and disciplined. Their penalty kill has been excellent. If the Eagles’ power play can return to form, they should be able to beat the Wolves.
Up Next
The schedule for the AHL Western Conference Final is as follows:
P2-Colorado Eagles [COL] vs. C2-Chicago Wolves [CAR]
Game 1 – Thu., May 28 – Chicago at Colorado, 9:05
Game 2 – Sat., May 30 – Chicago at Colorado, 8:05
Game 3 – Tue., June 2 – Colorado at Chicago, 8:00
Game 4 – Wed., June 3 – Colorado at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 5 – Fri., June 5 – Colorado at Chicago, 8:00
*Game 6 – Sun., June 7 – Chicago at Colorado, 8:05
*Game 7 – Mon., June 8 – Chicago at Colorado, 9:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream all games.
