Chicago Wolves fall short in Calder Cup Finals after surprise run
Toronto ended Chicago’s 4-3 Game 5 rally in Toronto, but Felix Unger Sorum’s 66-point season and Finals surge left Carolina with a clearer look at its future.
Chicago’s bid for a sixth league championship ended the same way this Finals felt for most of the week, one play short. The Wolves scored first and built a 2-0 lead in Game 5 at Coca-Cola Coliseum, but Toronto answered with four straight goals and held on for a 4-3 win that closed out the Calder Cup Finals 4-1.
The loss did not erase what Chicago had already done. The Wolves reached the Finals for the third time in eight seasons, entered the playoffs as the Central Division’s No. 2 seed at 30-19-8-6, and had already punched a postseason ticket on March 29 for the 15th playoff appearance in franchise history. They knocked off top-seeded Grand Rapids in five games, then survived Colorado in a seven-game Western Conference Final after falling behind 3-2 in the series.
That comeback against the Eagles was the hinge point of the run, and it came after Chicago lost Cayden Primeau in Game 5 of the conference final. Amir Miftakhov answered by winning both Games 6 and 7, keeping the Wolves alive long enough to get to Toronto. The Finals, though, turned on one more stretch of missed chances and late pressure, with Chicago unable to protect the early lead it needed to force the series back to Rosemont, Illinois.
The clearest reason this roster mattered to Carolina was the young core. Felix Unger Sorum put up 66 points in 72 regular-season games, tying him for sixth in AHL scoring and third in assists, then delivered two goals and an assist in Chicago’s Game 4 overtime win and added two goals and an assist again in the Game 5 loss. Bradly Nadeau finished his second AHL season with 27 goals, 29 assists and 56 points in 52 games, then added 17 points in 21 playoff games. Justin Robidas followed with 23 goals, 37 assists and 60 points in 58 games, plus 16 postseason points in 21 games.
The blue line also gave Carolina reason to pay attention. Domenick Fensore reached 35 points in 60 games, Joel Nystrom had already earned a four-year extension in December, and Charles Alexis Legault returned from a hand injury and scored his first NHL goal. With Spiros Anastas installed as interim head coach on Dec. 12, 2025, the Wolves now leave the spring with something bigger than a near miss: a young, NHL-relevant group and a summer that will decide how much of this run turns into Carolina’s next wave.
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