Milwaukee Admirals add reinforcements, open Calder Cup playoffs against Manitoba

Milwaukee did not enter the Calder Cup Playoffs as a mystery team. It entered with a roster built on familiarity, a fifth straight postseason berth, and enough Nashville-connected reinforcements to make scouting the Admirals feel like chasing a moving target.

That mattered immediately against Manitoba, where Milwaukee opened a best-of-three series on the road at Canada Life Centre and showed exactly how dangerous continuity can be in April. The Admirals had spent the season using 16 rookies, yet they still reached the field of 23 teams leaguewide. By the time the series began, the lineup included returning Predators pipeline names Zach L’Heureux, Reid Schaefer, Joakim Kemell, Ryan Ufko and captain Kevin Gravel, plus Brady Martin, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, after his OHL playoff run ended. That mix gave Karl Taylor something every playoff coach wants: players who already knew each other’s timing.

Taylor called the season “crazy,” but Milwaukee still had earned the right to play in the playoffs. The first evidence came in Game 1 on April 22, when the Admirals beat Manitoba 4-1 behind Matt Murray’s 42 saves. Martin scored his first professional goal on a setup from L’Heureux and Tanner Molendyk, a play that captured the edge Milwaukee was hoping to bring into the series. The goal came from more than talent. It came from recognition, with L’Heureux finding Martin in the kind of sequence that only develops when a club keeps reassembling the same pieces.

Manitoba answered in Game 2 on April 24, getting a late winner from David Gustafsson with 42.6 seconds left to escape with a 2-1 victory and force a deciding game. Ryan Ufko had given Milwaukee a spark earlier with a shorthanded goal early in the second period, another reminder that Milwaukee’s reinforcements were not just bodies. They were matchup pieces.

Game 3 on April 26 turned into a goaltending duel Milwaukee almost stole back. Domenic DiVincentiis stopped 31 shots and finished the series with 50 saves on 52 shots across his two starts as Manitoba won 2-1 and advanced to the Central Division semifinals. Jake Lucchini scored Milwaukee’s only goal, with assists from Jordan Oesterle and Schaefer, but the Admirals could not find a second breakthrough. The loss also marked Milwaukee’s ninth winner-take-all game under Taylor since 2019.

Manitoba’s series win was its first since 2018, but the bigger takeaway was Milwaukee’s same old problem in the best possible way for opponents: the Admirals keep reloading without losing their shape. That blend of veterans, rookies and late-season arrivals is why Milwaukee remains one of the league’s toughest playoff reads.