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The Wranglers, who begin their ECHL season October 23 at the Orleans Arena, have been a model franchise. They own a league record three consecutive 100-point seasons. They have Glen Gulutzan, who has been named the league’s top coach. They compiled a 47-13 mark last season, advanced through three playoff rounds and jumped from nearly 5,000 fans per game last year to almost 7,000 for the last series.

No, they don’t have a championship, but that’s not the only way to measure a team. From October until April, at least, this club wins. The Wranglers are there, deep in the playoffs, almost every year. Last season, they came within two games of winning the Kelly Cup.

“It was a great season,” Gulutzan said. “I would just have loved to go that final step.”

Gulutzan embodies the franchise’s success. The ECHL, year by year, is driven by top coaching. All teams are allowed only four veterans, ensuring that no team can form a dynasty.

It’s the coach who must develop young talent, preach a defensive style and have them adapt to it. Building from the goalie out, they stress a successful system. And then the top players leave.

The Wranglers lost five of their eight defensemen and two superb goalies last year. Some went to Europe. Some went to the AHL. One retired. So now, like every year, the rebuilding begins.

At least the Wranglers kept Peter Ferraro.

Las Vegas’s leading scorer had 35 goals and 39 assists last year. He gave the team, normally known for blue-collar hard work, some offensive explosion.

“The team we had last year did not work as hard as some of the others,” Gulutzan said. “But, it was more dangerous.

 “We evolved a little bit offensively. It was great to have the offensive talent, but of course you still need the mix.”

That mix includes intestinal fortitude.

The Wranglers endure an insane travel schedule, hitting outposts like Victoria, British Columbia and Alaska, just within their division. Phoenix and Utah are considered the closest travel sites.

There are 10-hour bus rides and long plane flights. A team starting its season in October must fight off the temptation to lose focus.

“The guys do manage to stay focused and hungry because it is a new dynamic for most of them,” Gulutzan said. “They have shoes to fill. We put pressure on our teams to produce. They know that expectations are high in Las Vegas. We start from the blueprint and mold these players into what we want them to do. They get behind it because they want to move up.”
 
Minor-league hockey is the essence of insecurity. Players have no guaranteed deal beyond this year. They have a timetable to expand beyond this level or find other work. In the midst of this is a long, exciting hockey season.

Then come the playoffs, which Las Vegas hung around to enjoy last year.

“We got on a little bit of a roll,” Gulutzan said. “Having a tough opening series with Stockton helped prepare us for Alaska. We got the early jump on a really good team, and that carried us through the series. Once you get that far, you get a little confident, and that showed up when we played Utah. We just couldn’t get through that final series.”

Las Vegas opens against Ontario at the Orleans Arena. It will be interesting to see if the post-season momentum carries over into attendance.

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.

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