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Toledo goalie John Lethemon defends the goal during the Toledo Walleye practice at the Huntington Center in Toledo on Oct. 9.
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Chemistry in camp: Walleye look to bond before season opener on Saturday

THE BLADE/KURT STEISS

Chemistry in camp: Walleye look to bond before season opener on Saturday

With the season opener for the Toledo Walleye now just days away, the new-look group continues to go full speed to create chemistry in camp.

The Walleye open their 14th season Saturday at Kalamazoo. First-year coach Pat Mikesch must pare down his roster by the ECHL deadline on Wednesday.

“There's a feeling-out process on both sides, but it comes quickly — when we have to make tough decisions and find out which players are going to be the final pieces of the puzzle to start,” Mikesch said.

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The Walleye have gone full speed during the initial days of training camp as Mikesch and his staff decide who can handle operating his up-tempo style.

“I can just talk about playing fast, but we have to get used to handling pucks at that speed and controlling it and learn how to defend,” Mikesch said. “There'll be a lot of teaching opportunities.”

The Walleye's home opener is set for Nov. 3 against Reading.

Two players, goaltender John Lethemon and forward Brandon Hawkins, are especially eager to start the regular season while coming off stellar campaigns in 2022-23. Both Michigan natives landed spots on the All-ECHL first team.

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Lethemon battled back from a career-threatening blood clot that resulted in the removal of a rib during the summer leading into last season. Lethemon made a remarkably successful recovery, losing just one game in regulation, and earned the ECHL's goaltender of the year award.

Lethemon, a 26-year-old native of Northville, Mich., finished second in the ECHL with a 1.99 goals-against average in his first season in Toledo. The Michigan State University graduate finished with an 18-1-3 record.

“We’ve got to be ready to go right from the get-go,” Lethemon said. “It's full go. It's the regular season. There's no waiting around. We want to start the season off running. That all starts with training camp.”

Hawkins, who is in his third year with the Walleye. set a franchise record for goals scored in a season with 39 last year. His 18-game point streak from Feb. 11 to March 31 also established a franchise record.

“It's all about bringing the team together,” said Hawkins, a 29-year-old from Macomb, Mich. “Then we can get on a roll, get in a groove, and go from there. So the big goal is to get the team together and have that cohesion. Everybody is meshing together, so that'll be big.”

Of the 20 players that were on the team's opening-day roster submitted to the league last October, only four are back: Hawkins, fellow forwards Conlan Keenan and Sam Craggs, and goalie Rylan Parenteau.

Craggs, a Bowling Green State University product, had 20 points in 60 games last season.

“The practices have been fast and upbeat,” Craggs said. “We're all laughing and having a good time.”

Goalies Lethemon and Jan Bednar joined the Walleye later last season along with forwards Pat McGrath, Trenton Bliss, Kirill Tyutyayev, and defensemen Thomas Farrell, Jake Willets, Riley McCourt, and Adrien Beraldo.

Currently, Toledo's American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich., has only assigned three players to the Walleye: Lethemon, Bednar, and Bliss.

ECHL teams can carry a maximum of 21 players for the first 30 days of the regular-season active roster, not counting players on injured reserve. Teams must submit their season-opening roster by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

“We're going to have some tough decisions to make, finalizing what that roster is going to be for opening night,” Mikesch said. “So we've got to take advantage of getting to know these players and getting feedback from other players and seeing what they're feeling in the locker room, as well.”

Mikesch said he was excited to see film of the team's two preseason games. The Walleye lost 3-2 in a shootout at home to Kalamazoo on Friday and then fell 4-3 in overtime at Kalamazoo on Saturday. Lethemon had 21 saves and gave up two goals (1.79 goals-against average) on Friday. Bednar gave up four goals and made 28 saves (3.62 GAA) on Saturday.

Tyutyayev and Bliss each had a team-high two points in the two preseason games. Nine other players recorded at least one point.

The Walleye play just two games over the first two weeks of the regular season, including a Oct. 27 road game at rival Fort Wayne. Toledo then hosts Reading on Friday, Nov. 3, and Indy on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Huntington Center.

“We have a nice opening couple of weeks,” Mikesch said. “As much as I wish we weren't playing just one game the first two weekends, it gives us the opportunity to really put the structure in on how to play without the puck and how to play fast. And so we have to practice it that way.”

First Published October 16, 2023, 9:53 p.m.

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Toledo goalie John Lethemon defends the goal during the Toledo Walleye practice at the Huntington Center in Toledo on Oct. 9.  (THE BLADE/KURT STEISS)  Buy Image
Players wait their turn in a drill during the Toledo Walleye practice at the Huntington Center in Toledo on Oct. 9.  (THE BLADE/KURT STEISS)  Buy Image
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