Corridor Cross Checks: Noel Ohgren fitting in very nicely with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

CEDAR RAPIDS - The names just roll off his tongue.

There’s Nicklas Backstrom, Gabriel Landeskog and Jesper Bratt. There’s Rickard Rackell, Niklas Kronwall and Johnny Oduya.

“A bunch of others, too,” Noel Ohgren said Monday afternoon.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward has had the good fortune of meeting and at times working out with those above named well-known National Hockey League players and retired NHL players from Sweden.

Ohgren’s father, Andreas, is a longtime personal trainer back there and has worked with many college and pro hockey guys over the years.

“You see how those people are, humble guys,” Ohgren said. “Great players but an even better person. You learn a lot from them. Thanks to my dad for that more than anything else, letting us meet them.”

Ohgren could be on his way to becoming one of them some day. The 18-year-old winger has made a big impact with the RoughRiders since they acquired him in a trade earlier this season with the Fargo Force.

Playing on the team’s top forward line with Daniel Astapovich and Amine Hajibi, Ohgren has five goals and eight assists in 14 games. He describes himself as a “playmaker who competes hard.”

“It’s been nothing but great here,” Ohgren said. “From the first day I came here, everyone has been welcoming to me. Same with the coaches. It just feels like a great spot for me to be ... I like it here a lot.

“I feel like I’m playing good. I’m playing with good players: Asta and Hajibi, we play good together. Good chemistry. Just keep it going and hopefully score some more goals.”

Ohgren decided to come to North America this season because he wants to eventually play college hockey. He broke a finger in Fargo’s first game this USHL season and wasn’t getting much ice time after returning, so he asked to be moved to another team.

Though they didn’t get to see each other because of their hectic hockey schedules, he and his older brother Liam were both in the state of Iowa for a bit. Liam Ohgren was a first-round draft pick of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild in 2022 and had been playing for its top farm team in Des Moines (the Iowa Wild) before being recalled last month to Saint Paul.

He has a goal and two assists in 16 games for Minnesota.

“We didn’t really have much time to see each other, but we talk every single day,” Noel Ohgren said. “We have a great relationship. I was pumped when he was called up, probably more excited than he was, honestly. It’s super fun to see him up there in the NHL. I’m so happy for him. Hopefully he’ll stay up there. It’d be fun to see him in the playoffs, too.”

Noel said his brother is his biggest hockey influence, someone whom he tries to mimic, especially as far as work ethic.

“Great big brother, great hockey player, great role model for me,” he said.

“Noel plays the way that we want to play,” RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson said. “He plays his tail off, he’s gritty, has a tenacity to him, is relentless. And he’s able to contribute offensively. He’s got a great personality. You add all of that together, we’re thrilled about him. He just plays our brand of hockey.”

The RoughRiders continue to play well and could be a tough out come playoff time. They dropped another tough one Friday night at home to Western Conference-leading Lincoln, 6-5.

Grant Young had a pair of goals for C.R. Daniel Astapovich’s goal with 6:52 left gave the Riders a 4-3 lead, but Lincoln scored three straight goals after that, including an empty netter with under a minute to go.

Cedar Rapids bounced back Saturday night with a 4-2 win at ImOn Ice Arena over Fargo. Heath Nelson had a hat trick for the RoughRiders, the third goal coming via empty net with 42 seconds left.

The Riders play Wednesday night at Dubuque and Friday night at Green Bay. They are in solid shape for sixth place and the final available playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 37 standings points, on a 17-19-1-2 record.

Chicago is in seventh place in the conference with 27 points. Green Bay is fifth with 45, Dubuque in first with 55.

Iowa Heartlanders

The ECHL club remains in good shape playoff wise after a 1-1-1 weekend at home against Kalamazoo.

The Heartlanders lost an old-time hockeyish 7-6 game Friday night at Xtream Arena in a shootout. Kalamazoo won the shootout, 1-0.

Captain Yuki Miura had a pair of goals in the game for Iowa. Four players had two assists each.

The Wings then put up six goals Saturday night to dominate the Heartlanders, 6-1. Gavin Hain had Iowa’s lone goal.

But Iowa showed a tremendous amount of resiliency Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 victory. Defenseman Zeteny Hadobas scored his first ECHL goal for the Heartlanders, with Miura, Zach Dubinsky and fan favorite Nico Blachman also scoring.

Iowa is 23-14-4-3 for 53 standings points, those placing it in a second-place tie in the ECHL Central Division with Fort Wayne. Toledo leads the way with 63 points, Bloomington is fourth with 43 points and Indy fifth with 41.

The top four teams in the division clinch spots in the Kelly Cup playoffs. By the way, the Heartlanders can credit their playoff position by being 11-1-4-3 in one-goal games this season.

They play Wednesday night at Cincinnati and Friday and Saturday nights at Kalamazoo.

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