The center is making the transition from Quebec Major Junior Hockey to the American Hockey League.
Springfield Falcons rookie Michael Chaput, right, picked up a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win over the Devils in Albany, N.Y., Wednesday.
SPRINGFIELD – As the Springfield Falcons continue to soar in the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, more of their players emerge from the background and into the spotlight.
One such is Michael Chaput, a 20-year-old rookie center from Montreal. Since making the sometimes-difficult jump from Canadian junior hockey into the AHL, he has shown steady progress.
Much of that went unnoticed in the early going. However, since NHL callups resulted in changes of Springfield’s offensive alignments, Chaput has been getting quality playing time with team captain Ryan Craig and Tomas Kubalik as his wings. They constitute a hard-hitting line, with good size.
In the Springfield club’s 4-2 victory at Albany on Wednesday, the 6-foot-2, 192-pound Chaput had a goal and two assists.
He and his teammates will be back at it Friday as they host the Worcester Sharks in the Springfield club’s last home game before the AHL’s All-Star break. The Falcons play at Hartford on Saturday, then won’t see action until a home game against Syracuse next Friday.
“The coaches are trusting me more and more,” Chaput said, “and I am trying to play hard and bring energy to the offense.”
He came to the Falcons after a stellar 2011-12 season with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His team lost in the league playoffs, but qualified for the Memorial Cup – then won it.
“We just got on a good run,” he said of Shawinigan’s victory in Canada’s junior showcase. He certainly helped, posting four goals and 12 points in 11 games. He earned both the leading scorer and most valuable player awards in Cup play.
“The AHL is different than junior – the players are bigger, faster and they make plays quicker. You have to know your position, and be smart about learning to adjust,” he said.
The Falcons head into the weekend on a six-game winning streak which has boosted their division lead to 14 points. It’s the franchise’s longest streak since March 1998, when the team won nine in a row.
“We’re on a good roll, but there’s still a lot of hockey left, so we just have to try to be consistent, game by game,” said the Falcons’ All-Star goaltender, Curtis McElhinney.
The Falcons haven’t lost since a 4-3 overtime game at Worcester on Jan. 11. It’s just the opposite for the Sharks. They have gone into an 0-4-0-1 tailspin since beating the Falcons. Over that stretch, the Worcester club has scored six goals and gone 0 for 17 on the power play.
ICE CHIPS: Springfield has a two-point lead over Binghamton in the Eastern Conference ... With 44 points in 40 games, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault of the Falcons leads active AHL players in scoring. The overall lead still belongs to Jordan Eberle, who had 51 points in 34 games before his promotion from Oklahoma City to Edmonton at the end of the NHL lockout ... In order to get defenseman Pat Cullity more playing time, the Falcons returned him to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. He’s a Tewksbury native who played four years at the University of Vermont ... Chaput said he has been on skates most of his life, “Probably since the age of two” ... Center Cody Bass continue to make progress in his rehab from injury, but isn’t ready yet for a return to action ... The Falcons won’t be seeing Chad Kolarik when they play the Connecticut Whale on Saturday. He was traded Thursday by the Whale’s parent New York Rangers to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ben Ferriro.