MONDAY FEATURE: Simpson's Selfless Switch

CLEVELAND, Ohio - To be a captain in the American Hockey League (AHL) doesn't necessarily mean that he must lead the team in scoring, or even be the first call-up option at his position by their respective NHL affiliate.

In a league loaded with first, second and third year pros with varying levels of pro experience, a captain in the AHL is by and large an on-ice extension of the coaching staff - a bridge between the players on the team and the staff responsible for molding the players to get them ready for the NHL.

A captain in the AHL is typically a veteran player with plenty of pro experience under his belt in all types of situations at the AHL level.

For the Cleveland Monsters, ninth year pro Dillon Simpson more than fits the bill as he approaches his 500th pro game later this month - a feat he can accomplish as soon as the team's March 16 game at home against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

While a quick glance at Simpson's stat line - a goal and an assist in 25 games - might lead one to question his value to the team, it's clear from speaking to head coach Trent Vogelhuber and his Monsters' teammates that they're in admiration of the professionalism Simpson has shown this season - one in which Simpson, a left-handed shooting defensemen, has been stepping up and playing at the forward position for not just the last few games but for the entirety of the 2022-23 season up until last week.

"His reads, his smartness is why he's even able to do that in the first place," Vogelhuber said of Simpson switching from defense to forward, and now back to defense. "It's rare for a player to be able to jump from one position to the next and play, and then go back. So that's a testament to his just hockey IQ. And obviously his willingness to do whatever it takes to help to help our team."

"It's a huge testament to who he is, right?" Monsters defenseman and alternate captain Billy Sweezey said of Simpson, adding, "His willingness to kind of fluctuate between positions - we always joke with him that he's a flex player - but I think it's great," he added. "[From] a leadership standpoint, he's been around for a long time, played in both leagues, and it's just been great for me personally [to have him to learn from]. He's a team first guy, and he'll do anything for the team. And Those are the guys at the end of the day that you want on the ice with you, even if they're not in their normal position."

With the rash of injuries the Columbus Blue Jackets had at the forward position to begin the year, the forward depth in Cleveland got razor thin but the team had 10 healthy defensemen. It was Simpson who stepped up to play at the forward position, though Vogelhuber admitted it was a situation that lasted much longer than Simpson and everyone had hoped for.

"I don't even know if you can say I'm a defenseman anymore," Simpson said with a laugh to InsideAHLHockey.com after Friday's Monsters practice in Strongville, Ohio, explaining this past weekend's games against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins would be his second and third games playing on the blueline this season.

"It's been a whirlwind. I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help the team whether it's playing wing, center, [defense], whatever," Simpson said.

In fact, Simpson admitted he began playing at forward for the Monsters dating back to the tail end of last season.

"It's been a long time. I think my last game [playing as a defenseman] was almost a year ago, officially," he added.

Entering this weekend's outdoor game at FirstEnergy Stadium, Simpson's experience paid dividends once again because not only was this his fourth time playing in an outdoor in his hockey playing career - it also ended up being the fourth outdoor game he played in that had its start time delayed due to weather as increased sun damage to the playing surface leading up to the scheduled 1 p.m. ET puck drop caused a five-hour delay with a post 6:00 p.m. ET start time.

"[From] a leadership standpoint, he's been around for a long time, played in both leagues, and it's just been great for me personally [to have him to learn from]," Sweezey said, reaffirming, "He's a team first guy, and he'll do anything for the team. Those are the guys, at the end of the day, that you want on the ice with you - even if they're not in their normal position."