When thinking of who would be the top performing member of the Milwaukee Admirals in the opening month of the season you’re met with reminders of how very little actual consistent play was produced. The team’s record of 2-4-1-0 (5 points) basically drives that message home but, individually, pretty much the same can be said.

So, who was the Admirals most consistent and reliable performer in a poor opening month? When thinking about how everyone played I kept coming back to one man and that man is Félix Girard.

What’s funny is, if you were to simply looking along the stats of the Admirals you probably end up looking clean past Girard. And I understand that. He hasn’t scored a single point of offense in the Admirals opening seven games. What you are missing when overlooking him purely based on stats is that he is probably the only Admirals forward from game one to game seven that has looked sharp. He’s done solid work on the lower lines for the Admirals, works his butt off shift after shift game after game, has been a great penalty killer, and is probably unlucky to not have actually produced offensive numbers considering his partnership with Frédérick Gaudreau has been so good. Whether it’s winning faceoffs in the defensive zone, getting the Admirals out of an offensive rut by getting the cycling game working in the attacking zone to tilt the ice, it has been Girard really doing a lot of very positive grunt work that has shined out of several less than stellar individual performances from more high profile talents that were expected to hit the ice and steal the show. Girard isn’t a Kevin Fiala type who can dangle through a defense and score a spectacular goal but he’s a table-setter for other forwards to follow up his shift with a work rate that is equal to what he’s delivering. Unfortunately not many have done such so far. And I think that’s what makes Girard’s work stand out even more.

There are of course other options for the statistically inclined: Colton Sissons, 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists)… Vladislav Kamenev, 4 points (4 goals, 0 assists)… and Viktor Arvidsson, 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and 15 shots on goal in 3 games. In a not so statistical option, an Admirable Mention if you will, Jimmy Oligny was also quite good in October and probably the best defenseman in the opening month.

~Admiral of the Month Award~

October: Félix Girard

Who do you feel was the Milwaukee Admirals top performer during the month of October? Was it Girard, Sissons, Kamenev, Oligny, or someone else?

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