Chicago — His smile gave away more than his words. Yes, Boris Valabik confirmed, he did see more ice time in his brief stint with the NHL's Thrashers than he currently does with the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

"Which was nice," Valabik admitted, the morning before a recent Wolves minor-league playoff game. "I'm not going to lie and say if I was playing more here, I'd be complaining. But I'm not complaining."

Some people are. Valabik is the Thrashers best defensive prospect, yet loses playing time to minor-league veterans who have little chance of helping the Thrashers in the future.

While the team's top minor-league affiliate cruises through another AHL playoff run, the Thrashers season has been over for weeks, partly because of an inability to develop a large core of homegrown talent. So, with the Wolves so focused on winning, playing a different system than the Thrashers, hiring their own coaches and players, it leads to a question. Is that a problem?

At the end of this season, the Thrashers roster consisted of only two players who spent an entire season playing with the Wolves: defenseman Garnet Exelby and goalie Kari Lehtonen.

It only helped build the case against the Chicago arrangement.

"I think when people come and say stuff like that, I don't know if they have all the facts," said Wolves general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. "There are 13 [non-playoff] teams in the AHL with NHL prospects that aren't getting a chance to learn what it's like to set foot in an overtime playoff game in the American Hockey League. I don't want them learning that in the NHL. That's development, that's part of learning."

And there's no denying Chicago teaches players how to win. They are perennial AHL contenders, with an owner in Don Levin so passionate, he sometimes charters a plane during rough roadtrips if he thinks it'll help win a game. He also pays the entire salary of choice minor-league veterans and the portion of others, to help the Wolves win —saving the Thrashers money.

They're the only AHL team with a full television contract and have a general manager in Cheveldayoff hockey insiders see as a sure-fire future NHL GM.

The practice facility is NHL-level with video stations for the players to analyze their performances and an experienced coaching staff focused on individual development.

"I've been on some NHL teams and this [setup] is close if not better," said Wolves defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski, who played 18 games for the Thrashers this season. "There's a tradition of winning and they don't accept anything less."

They've won league championships in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Head coach John Anderson, who hopes to be a candidate for the Thrashers vacant head job, has over 500 minor-league wins.

They're title contenders again this year.

So what's the problem?

Some would say this: It's a Friday night, and the Wolves are playing Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Admirals, the Nashville Predators affiliate. They've recently signed three of the Thrashers top prospects — Angelo Esposito, Spencer Machacek and Riley Holzapfel. Earlier in the day, Esposito shared his aspirations of playing next season with the Thrashers. But on this night, all three elite prospects are in dress clothes watching from the stands. Healthy scratches.

Center Bryan Little, who the Thrashers envision as a top-two line center next season, couldn't crack the Wolves first power play unit.

Defensively, Valabik shared ice time with veterans like Kwiatkowski and Brian Fahey.

And the Wolves on-ice systems weren't exactly similar to the Thrashers.

The Wolves won the game, and won four of their first six playoff games. In those six games, Esposito, Machacek and Holzapfel didn't see the ice and the Wolves released Esposito from his contract on Wednesday.

"This is pro hockey, this is not junior, this is not college," Cheveldayoff said. "[Prospects] need to understand that it is a competition here. You hit the ground running. You have to push yourself to get past these other guys."

Other guys like 36-year-old forward Steve Martins, 32-year-old center Jason Krog and the 31-year-old Kwiatkowski. All are key players playing crucial minutes in what could be another Wolves championship run.

Ten NHL teams own their AHL affiliates, removing any temptation to overstress winning at the expense of gaining experience for younger prospects.

The Detroit Red Wings changed their agreement with AHL affiliate Grand Rapids, and now hire and fire their minor-league coaches. Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill estimates that 90 percent of NHL teams operate that way.

The Thrashers don't.

"All I can say is that we have a very good relationship and we try to do the very best for what [the Thrashers] are trying to do," Anderson said. "And we give it our all. Whatever happens to the players afterward, that is so out of our control. When he's here, he's taught discipline, how to pay the price, systems, and he's taught how to act like a professional. All things that will help them."

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell is also quick to defend the Wolves.

Players like Colin Stuart, Jordan LaVallee and Kevin Doell didn't look out of place in the NHL after call-ups from Chicago this season. Waddell also reminds critics that, historically, the best Thrashers prospects — Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley and most recently Tobias Enstrom, skipped the AHL altogether. If they played for the Wolves, this wouldn't be an issue, he says.

It didn't bother Waddell that Esposito, a key piece in the Marian Hossa deal, didn't play in the playoffs.

"It's not fair, who do you take out?" Waddell asked. "This whole thing is a team, to pull guys out because you have a young guy here is unfair to the team."

Waddell said he tracks the ice time of all Thrashers prospects and Thrashers assistant general manager Larry Simmons spends as much time during the hockey season in Chicago as he does Atlanta.

Neither takes issue with the handling of their prospects.

While the Red Wings, might have changed their AHL relationship, Waddell said he has no plans to change. He points out that Grand Rapids didn't make the AHL playoffs this season.

Round two started Thursday for the Wolves and 20-year-old Thrashers prospect Ondrej Pavelec will be getting more valuable playoff experience in goal.

By comparison, any Red Wings goalie prospect, Waddell said, is watching Detroit from the stands since his AHL season is over.

Detroit has been to the playoffs 17 straight seasons, including winning three Stanley Cups in that span. The fact that they are a contender again this season, built on homegrown talent, probably helps ease the pain of missing the AHL playoffs.

"[Chicago] is in the playoffs, we'd love to be in the [AHL] playoffs too," Nill said. "It's a fine line. We're all looking for the right mix all the time."