Reign Practice 2/3 – Frk’s Return To Grand Rapids + Kings Transactions, Time Travel

Hey, Insiders! Good afternoon from Grand Rapids, Michigan!

The Reign were on the ice earlier today at Van Andel Arena, the home of the Grand Rapids Griffins, for a practice prior to this weekend’s two game series. Following a day off the ice for travel on Wednesday, today’s skate was focused on cleaning up the team’s rushes, both on offense and defense, as well as some special teams work before a matchup with a team Ontario has not seen this season.

“We wanted to clean up a few things after the last game,” Chris Hajt said today. “We’re playing a team that’s going to come out and compete and we’ve got to be ready to break the puck out under pressure. It was a good pace, got them up and down the rink after a travel day and a day off when you don’t necessarily feel the best and get your body back to where you need it to be going into tomorrow.”

Joining the group today were five players who were recently assigned to Ontario by the LA Kings, meeting the team in West Michigan after the affiliate defeated the Red Wings in Detroit on Wednesday night. Forward Rasmus Kupari, who has played 37 NHL games with the Kings this season, joined the Reign roster for the first time during the 2021-22 regular season. A year ago, Kupari posted 23 points in 32 games with Ontario and this season has nine points with three goals and six assists with LA.

The Reign also bulked up on defense, with Jacob Moverare, Austin Strand and Christian Wolanin all assigned to Ontario. Moverare and Strand were in the lineup for the Kings in their last two contests, both wins, while Wolanin didn’t see any action during this particular recall but has played in seven games with LA and nine for Ontario.

Goaltender Jacob Ingham was also reassigned to the Reign. Ontario had two corresponding moves as well, reassigning goaltender Lukas Parik to Rapid City in the ECHL and releasing defender Marcus McIvor from a PTO agreement.

After the flurry of transactions, here’s how the Reign looked today in Grand Rapids –

Anderson-Dolan – Tynan – Frk
Vilardi – Turcotte – Fagemo
Madden – Kupari – Thomas
Wagner – Sutter – Dudas
Burke – Tkachev – Sodergran
Doty – Johnson

Gaunce – Spence
Moverare – Grans
Wolanin – Strand
Kasastul

Villalta / Ingham

Absent from the trip is defender Markus Phillips, who sustained an injury during the team’s most recent game on Monday in an 8-5 win over San Jose at Toyota Arena. It’s a tough break for Phillips, who posted his first-career multi-point game with a pair of assists in the victory. Fortunately for the Reign, the addition of Moverare, Strand and Wolanin will not leave them short on defensive options.

Reign are on the ice for practice today in Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena! pic.twitter.com/oQeYaPVIL1

— Jared Shafran (@ShafReign) February 3, 2022

Notes –

Frk’s Return
The trip to Grand Rapids is a return for forward Martin Frk to a city he called home earlier in his career when he suited up for 227 games with the Griffins during parts of five seasons from 2013-19. Van Andel Arena is filled with memories for Frk, including the clinching Game 6 of the 2017 Calder Cup where he assisted on a game-tying strike for the Griffins before firing home the championship-winning goal on a shot from the right point.

Frk said that being on the other side of the hallway will be a change, having never been inside the visiting locker room before.

“It’s definitely a different feeling,” Frk said. “I was here for so long and it’s probably going to be emotional a little bit tomorrow for me but I’m excited for it as well.”

Coming back to see the city is something Frk called “a treat”, as the Reign don’t have the opportunity to travel away from the west coast often.

“It was home for me and for my now wife,” Frk said. “We really enjoyed this place, this whole city, this arena and coming here is a little bit heartbreaking that I’m on the opposite bench now but it’s just special and I’m obviously really happy we have this trip to play Grand Rapids. It’s going to be a treat.”

The rest of the Ontario roster is well-aware of what the trip means to Frk and his return to a place where he helped bring a championship has been talked about throughout the locker room.

“Guys know what Marty means to our team and what he’s like as a person,” said Hajt. “We’re very happy to be coming back here to his old stomping grounds where he had success and has won and hopefully we play really well for him in his return.”

It’s also a place where Frk can give a restaurant recommendation. For dinner last night he decided to return to a restaurant that his linemate TJ Tynan is also familiar with, Rockwell Republic on Division Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids.

“There’s quite a lot of them it’s hard to pick but I went with the one place Tynan likes,” Frk said. “It has a really good mix of everything, and a lot of the guys went there as well so it was nice to see everyone go there and they all liked it so I’m glad I didn’t disappoint them.”

Ras-Time
For Kupari, who hadn’t seen game action with the Kings since posting an assist against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 18, returning to the Reign will give him a chance to get back into the swing of playing big minutes.

“Rasmus has played in the NHL for a while and his speed and ability to play at pace is a huge component of his game,” Hajt said.

He’ll join a group of forwards that have been finding success all season, as Ontario leads the AHL in average goals per game (4.09).

“We look forward to having that type of north-south game where he can use his speed and drive opponents back and be a threat offensively, but also have that ability to play in his own end,” added Hajt. “He’s a responsible two-way player that will get some penalty kill time, possibly power play and play in situations where he can thrive and use his gifts, which is his size and his speed.”

If Kupari does see time on the power play, the only question would be… who does he replace? The Reign man-advantage unit is also the top group in the league at 27.7%, maybe the biggest key to the team’s consistent success this season.

Time Travel
This week’s trip to Grand Rapids is the first time the Reign have ventured outside of the Pacific Division and into another time zone. With Michigan on Eastern Standard Time, this weekend’s games will both begin at 4 p.m. PST. Making a quick adjustment between time zones is something the Ontario coaching staff has been focused on, which is an opportunity for them to mimic the type of travel NHL players go through on a week-to-week basis.

“You don’t get to do it very often,” said Hajt. “Last year we didn’t really get to travel so that will be neat for us to experience time changes and an important part of being a pro is being able to perform when you have that time change. The Kings do it all the time and it’s kind of a taste of that for our group which will be important.”

The Reign had an early morning flight Wednesday from Los Angeles, which arrived in Grand Rapids in the afternoon. After completing the trip, the team had the rest of the day off to get settled and enjoy some down time.

“It’s an adjustment.,” Hajt said today. “Going into a three-hour time change and traveling a full day is important for our players and staff to understand what that’s like. Hopefully if we’re fortunate enough to play in the playoffs this year and have an opportunity to come out east here, you’re going to have to make those adjustments to your schedule and be able to perform and play well as an individual and a team.”

The Reign are slated to hold a morning skate tomorrow prior to the series opener on Friday night. We’ll have a preview with other things to focus on prior to the two-game weekend here on LAKI!