The Nashville Predators have activated defenseman Petter Granberg off injured reserve and sent him on conditioning assignment to the Milwaukee Admirals.
Like all conditioning assignments the max amount of time Granberg can be with the Admirals at the AHL level is fourteen consecutive days. Today included, it would mean Granberg has until December 22nd. That can allow for up to seven games with the Admirals should he immediately be introduced to the lineup tonight when the Admirals play on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Nashville, Tenn. (December 9, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Wednesday that the club has activated defenseman Petter Granberg from the non-roster list and sent him on a conditioning assignment to Milwaukee (AHL). Granberg was claimed on waivers on Nov. 22.
Granberg, 23 (8/27/92), has yet to suit up in 2015-16 due to offseason surgery, but has eight NHL games to his credit with the Maple Leafs (0 pts, 6 penalty minutes) and 126 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies (3g-19a-22pts, 58 penalty minutes) since his first North American professional season in 2013-14. Prior to crossing the Atlantic, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound blueliner split time between Skelleftea’s Swedish Hockey League and Junior League teams, winning an SHL title in 2013, and earning silver medals in 2011 and 2012.
Toronto’s fourth selection, 116th overall (fourth round), in the 2010 Entry Draft, Granberg helped team Sweden win the 2013 World Championship (along with Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok) and the 2012 World Junior Championship (along with Predators forward Filip Forsberg), as well as earning a silver medal at the 2010 World Under-18 Championship.
Granberg was acquired by the Predators off of waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs towards the end of November. It was a curious move then. It was a curious move now. The Predators had Victor Bartley and Anthony Bitetto on their roster at the time they claimed Granberg off waivers but have since put Bartley through waivers and assigned him to the Admirals. When all resets, and Granberg returns following his conditioning assignment, the Predators should be back in a position where they have two extra defensemen in their ranks.
To this point in his career, Granberg has mainly played at the AHL level with the Toronto Marlies in his North American pro playing career: 126 games, 22 points (3 goals, 19 assists), 58 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus rating of +33. He has 8 games of NHL experience as well as 74 games played for Skellefteå in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). When he suits up for the first time as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals he will be wearing the #5.
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The Grand Rapids Griffins are currently the hottest team in the AHL. Can the Milwaukee Admirals return the favor and snap their winning-streak with a road win? (Photo Credit: Mark Newman)
The last time the Milwaukee Admirals faced the Grand Rapids Griffins it was an all-around bad time. The Admirals franchise record ten-game winning streak came to a thunderous halt with a 6-0 shutout loss on home ice. Were the Admirals feeling the impact of copious amounts of Thanksgiving tryptophan? Was the roster too thinned out? Or were the Griffins simply that much better on the night? Let’s re-watch some of the game highlights and analyze.
~When Last We Met~
In the first period, the Griffins limited the Admirals to only four shots on goal while registering ten shots with two beating Marek Mazanec in net. The Griffins really took the game straight to the Admirals from the opening face-off. The won the draw, tilted the ice through their puck control, smooth and crisp passing, and their goals solid reflections of an Admirals team playing frozen stiff.
Andy Miele going coast-to-coast? Great individual effort and an even better finish but he should never have been able to carry the puck in so far where he is one-on-one with Mazanec.
Admirals on the penalty kill? It’s been so much better than the early few games of the season but the puck watching that not only let Eric Tangradi have a free shot on the back post setup but, even worse, get a follow up chance after messing up his initial effort and then scoring from it was simply unacceptable. Kristian Näkyvä was too committed to playing tight on Miele that he left his assignment to the left side of Mazanec, Tangradi, all alone. Puck pressure is a great thing. It’s part of what has been making the Admirals attacking mentality on the penalty kill so good as of late. Switching off mentally once the puck has passed off is an issue and it means there is space on the ice where there shouldn’t be. A team as sharp as Grand Rapids isn’t going to miss exploiting that.
For me, that was a major root problem of the Admirals night in general. They were caught out puck watching. Offensively, the Admirals were being shoved to the outside to fire deep perimeter shots and that allowed for an easy night in net for Jared Coreau. The Griffins were then turning defense into offense and their offense poured it on until the absolute final seconds of the game.
Was it hair-pullingly frustrating to watch Louis-Marc Aubry scoring with 0.6 seconds left in regulation? Yes. Wouldn’t you want the Admirals playing with that same sixty-minute commitment level? Yes. You have to anticipate a Griffins team that is polished enough to punish Admirals mistakes and not stop even when a white flag is up in the air. The Admirals need to be bringing that same level of competitiveness with them and even more so a game that will limit mistakes and turnovers. The Griffins will be getting their chances enough as it is. To sit back, puck watch, or play half-hearted offense that flips the ice back into the Griffins’ favor isn’t going to result in anything other than what happened in Milwaukee after Thanksgiving. The more detailed the Admirals can play the better their chances will be at bagging points out of this game.
~The Road So Far~
The Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 10-8-0-1 (21 points). Their 0.553 points percentage has them in fifth place of the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference.
That doesn’t sound all that great now does it? Here’s the catch: the Griffins are currently on an eight-game winning streak.
After such a rough start to the season the Griffins are back to playing their traditional style. They’re an experienced, well-rounded, polished hockey team that has been playing solid defense during this winning streak: outscoring teams 33-12 in eight games and going 91.4% (32/35) on the penalty kill.
Interestingly enough, it isn’t entirely as if the Griffins are blowing teams clean out of the water. The scoreline total over those last eight-games will bring out the whites in your eyes but so will the fact they’ve been outshot 266-244 during this winning-streak. The last game they played they won 4-1 despite the Lake Erie Monsters outshooting them 42-17. It’s almost bizarre but when you think of the Griffins scoring chances it ends up coming down to quality over quantity.
Can the Milwaukee Admirals return the favor by snapping the Grand Rapids Griffins winning-streak with a solid road performance? What did you think happened to the Admirals during the first game this season against the Griffins? Is this current setup with PTO contracted players and Cincinnati call-ups better suited to playing a more defensive styled game to match up against the Griffins than if the Admirals had a full-slate of offensive guns at their disposal?
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Here is Joe Pendenza and his new biggest fan reminding us all why hockey and people are so great. Thanks to all fans in attendance last night for your contributions to the Teddy Bear Toss. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
There’s plenty to like from last night’s Milwaukee Admirals 5-2 (Video Highlights) win against the Texas Stars. The offense contributed on even strength, power-play, and even shorthanded on the penalty kill. The final five minutes of regulation was a showcase for the defense not allowing a Stars goal despite so much time with empty net and extra attacker – even more so once the Admirals then were in late penalty kill mode, as well. In net, Marek Mazanec was almost a quiet hero… almost.
Above all the point of emphasis comes down to this weekend’s games really being team victories. The Admirals are playing so strong as a team and doing it while so many names are either up with the Nashville Predators or out with injury. The perfect example of how things have clicked can probably be pointed to the likes of Joe Pendenza, Vinny Saponari, Matt White, and Zach Budish all stepping in and immediately playing as if they’ve been around this whole season. It’s a credit to the players buying into what the coaching staff is preaching and quite simply the coaching staff in general making sure everyone is remaining focused throughout this number crunch with the roster being so thin.
Last season when the Admirals really started struggling it came with the loss of Miikka Salomäki for the season and Brendan Leipsic via trade. The roster started changing around and so many I think never really settled into a groove or place of comfort. The results screamed consistent inconsistency. I feel as if that’s been a point of emphasis to avoid falling into the same trap this season for both coaches and players. Don’t worry about who is and isn’t here. Know that you’re here right now, battle, compete, and contribute offensively and defensively. That’s what I’m seeing from the Admirals lately and it’s refreshing seeing no matter who is hurt, called up, reassigned, sent to Siberia and never heard from again, or scratched that a group of players take the ice for puck drop and play as a team.
Looking ahead to this coming week is slightly refreshing to find a set of road games on the horizon. The Admirals have basically played the last nine-games in their own backyard: eight-games at home and one on the road via a quick bus trip back and forth to face the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night. It’s not that the Admirals have played poorly these last nine-games. They’ve pulled in a record of 7-2-0-0 during that time. At this point in time, with the roster thinned out and lots of different players around, it almost gives them a time to get together and know one-another more off the ice. The chemistry this past weekend was good between lots of different players in lines they aren’t used to being in. Allow for some fun to be had as a team away from the rink and I have to imagine the team gets stronger as a result of more time being spent together.
The Admirals next opponent should be one that will have extra incentive to play hard against. When the Admirals last played the Grand Rapids Griffins they put an end to the franchise record ten-game winning streak with a massive thud. The Griffins won 6-0 in Milwaukee. Right now the Griffins are resurgent and playing like, well, the Griffins. After such a awful start to their season they’re currently on an eight-game winning streak. How sweet would it be to return the favor by snapping a lengthy winning streak with a road win?
Beyond that, this coming weekend will be the Admirals first games played in Manitoba since a Thursday/Saturday double-dip during the 2010-11 season. The Admirals lost that first game 3-0 but came back to win 3-2 in overtime the next time out. You know it’s been awhile when one of the goal scorers, Scott Ford, is now an assistant coach behind the bench. This season, for as terrible as the Moose have played, they’ve had the better of the Admirals in both games played in Milwaukee. This week is setting up to be a revenge tour and, if the Admirals can get past the Griffins on Wednesday, it could be quite an enjoyable time in Admirals-land by the time they get back to Milwaukee next week Tuesday.
After last night’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Frédérick Gaudreau, the PTO signing duo of White and Budish, as well as noted goal scorer Jimmy Oligny. Here is what they had to say following last night’s win over the Texas Stars.
Comments on the comments? Are you surprised by the Milwaukee Admirals performances lately with the roster as thin as it is? How much better can this team actually be once bodies start getting healthy throughout the Nashville Predators organization?
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Pretty chill for your first career AHL goal, eh? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-2 against the Texas Stars Sunday evening at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The extra bodies in camp right now did the Admirals proud. Matt White scored his first career goals as an AHL hockey player in his second career game and Joe Pendenza added a shorthandeder that went down as the game-winning goal.
“I think it says a lot about our depth,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “[Matt White, Zach Budish, and Vinny Saponari] are good players but, as important, they’re good people. They buy into the team game.”
In his second career game of AHL hockey Matt White scored a goal for the Milwaukee Admirals that sent 1,588 teddy bears flying over the glass. That set a new record for an Admirals teddy bear toss. Zach Budish sent White loose off a set up pass on the right wing blue line. White maintained a shooting posture the entire way in on goal before snapping a wrister high over the blocker of Jack Campbell to record his first career AHL goal after having scored sixty career goals at the ECHL level.
“It was an adjustment for me,” said Matt White of joining the Milwaukee Admirals from the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. “I didn’t want to mess anything up because the team been having a lot of success. I just tried to fit in where I can and, luckily, the first shot went in.”
Perhaps the Admirals were still lagging mentally after helping clean up all those teddy bears when the Stars raced down and scored 1:40 of ice time after the teddy bear toss goal. Stephen Johns fought off a check along the right wing boards from Kevin Fiala to throw a puck towards Marek Mazanec that saw a redirect by Curtis McKenzie sneak past the near post glove side for his third goal of the season.
In the second period it looked as if Pontus Åberg had the Admirals back out in front. A puck went in and out of the goal, the players celebrated, but the goal light remained off. After a quick review it was determined the puck hit off the far-side right wing post and clattered out of the net.
It had to have been less than a minute before the Admirals scored a goal that needed to review process. The Admirals triangulated bodies around two Stars backcheckers and the play finished with a lovely one-two between White and Félix Girard. White was in the right wing, Conor Allen joined the rush on the left wing, and Girard as trailing ever so slightly behind the puck carrier White. After getting the pass back, Girard waited, saw the one-timer for White getting geared up, and gave him the dish to allow for White’s second goal of the game to be scored.
“[Matt White] played real well,” said Evason. “The goals are obvious and evident but he did so many little things right. Getting pucks out, no turnovers, just competing.”
Then penalty trouble caught up with the Admirals. Max Reinhart was called for a hooking minor and, on the penalty kill, Girard was called for a holding penalty whilst aggressively fighting for a puck in neutral ice. Vladislav Kamenev won the five-on-three faceoff but Victor Bartley’s clearing attempt hit off of Jason Dickinson and sent a skipping puck towards Mazanec’s goal mouth. Call it plain bad luck but that puck skipped cleanly back to Matej Stransky on the glove side of Mazanec for a tap in and his sixth goal of the season.
The Stransky goal came instantly off the faceoff of the five-on-three Stars power-play which left plenty of time for more damage to be done. As the Admirals would see things they would be the aggressors. Reinhart entered the attacking zone down the left wing waiting for a trailing player he could drop off to. Joe Pendenza worked his way into position, received the drop pass, waited on his shot, and burned Campbell for a shorthanded goal and his first goal scored in the AHL this season.
The Admirals extended their lead in the third period off a power-play goal from Frédérick Gaudreau. The slap shot by Gaudreau taken in the high slot was so high powered not many people on the ice knew if the shot went in or not. The puck flew in and out of the net like a lightning strike. It took video review to determine the shot did indeed beat Campbell for Gaudreau’s sixth goal of the season and fourth coming on the power-play.
Jimmy Oligny is generally known for his gritty defensive work. I’ll assume the planets aligned much like the traffic out in front of Campbell’s sight line in net because, when Oligny threw a wrister on net, the Stars netminder never saw it. It’s the first goal of the season for Oligny and only his second scored in seventy-four professional games played.
“It doesn’t happen often so I don’t know,” smiled Jimmy Oligny. “It’s almost weird for me to score a goal. It’s nice. It feels good but, at the same time, it’s not my job. It feels good to score a goal every once and a while.”
With more than five minutes left in regulation the Stars went empty net and brought the extra attacker on while trailing by three-goals. With 1:14 remaining in regulation Kristian Näkyvä was called for slashing but the Stars, for all that extra attacker time, got nothing from it. The Admirals finished it off with a 5-2 final score.
Ramblings: This morning Stevie Moses was unveiled by SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s KHL after having penned a one-year contract. Moses was placed on unconditional waivers Thursday by the Nashville Predators. Today’s line combinations were: Fiala-Gaudreau-Payerl, Åberg-Kamenev-Saponari, Pendenza-Reinhart-Görtz, White-Girard-Budish, Näkyvä-Aronson, Allen-Oligny, Bartley-Murphy. Early in the third period, Vladislav Kamenev made a sliding defensive play to break up a scoring chance for Justin Dowling. As Dowling tripped up on Kamenev his knee spiked down on the back of Kamenev’s head. Kamenev was down for a bit, skated off the ice under his own power with Admirals head trainer Doug Agnew with him, and both headed back to the locker room. Kamenev did return to the game.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? Were you impressed by the Admirals PTO signed players or do are you beginning to appreciate just how much quality Girard can possess at center?
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Stevie Moses looks thrilled to not be playing North American hockey anymore. (Photo Credit: SKA.ru)
Well, that didn’t take long. Only four days removed from the first report of Stevie Moses being placed on unconditional waivers by the Nashville Predators had he has officially been unveiled by his brand new team in Russia’s KHL, SKA St. Petersburg, after signing a new one-year contract.
Moses’ new team is currently 37 games into the 2015-16 KHL playing season and sitting in second place in the Western Conference’s Bobrov Division behind his former team Jokerit. When he played in the KHL last season he set a league record by scoring 36 goals in a single season. With a fair bit of the KHL season already off the calendar it’s safe to assume that’s not happening again. I would say though that him going from the Milwaukee Admirals to a line with Ilya Kovalchuk on his opposite wing would probably have him bursting with joy considering the swift nature of his exit from North American pro hockey.
Vladislav Kamenev played a really strong game last night including picking up his sixth goal of the season. Does he have more in the tank for the Texas Stars? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
I typically love reaching out to Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey when the Milwaukee Admirals play against the Texas Stars. Unfortunately, I just simply forgot to reach out ahead of time. The most we could talk was him tweeting this and me tweeting back. Next time when we’re in Texas I’ll reach out in advance.
~Texas~
The Texas Stars haven’t played since Wednesday night at home when they that an 11-goal thrill ride against the Rockford IceHogs that ended with a 6-5 (Video Highlights) overtime loss for the Stars. Do yourself a favor and watch those game highlights because I don’t think I can express how wacky that game was. There were some brilliant goals and some others that were just outrageously awful that had no right to ever be scored but still were. It also provides a nice backdrop on this afternoon’s game because that’s the game that has festered in the Stars’ minds since Wednesday night. Can’t be a good feeling.
The Stars record is surprisingly non-reflective of the team that currently leads the AHL in goals scored this season. They’re 12-8-1-1 (26 points) with a points percentage of 0.591 which sees them third in the Pacific Division and sixth in the Western Conference. They have produced 89 goals as a team this season. The next three teams closest to them in that department are: Toronto Marlies (87 goals)… Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (74 goals)… and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (72 goals).
You might assume they must be scoring plenty of goals from the power-play then, right? Wrong. The Stars actually trail the Admirals power-play entering today’s game: Stars, 17 goals forced from 97 power-play chances (17.5% – ranked thirteenth in the AHL)… Admirals, 19 goals forced from 98 power-play chances (19.4% – ninth best in the AHL).
~Who What Now?~
The Stars leading scorer also happens to be the top scoring rookie in the AHL this season, Devin Shore. Although he did log 19 games worth of AHL time last season he is still considered a rookie. I must say though his 24 points (15 goals, 9 assists) in 20 games doesn’t really scream rookie to me. He’s been tremendous this season and already has more goals than he did in his last full-collegiate playing season at the University of Maine.
Shore is then followed up by a splendiferous amount of double digit points scorers. How many? The Stars have eleven players with 10 points or more of offense – all of which will be active for today’s game. To put that in perspective the Admirals have seven players with 10 points or more and six of those players will be at the rink for the game.
In net, the Stars currently have Jack Campbell and John Muse as their goaltending options. Campbell started the year banged up but has been leaned on a fair bit since returning to the Stars roster in the second week of November. He has a 3-3-1-0 record from seven starts with a rough 4.10 goals against average and 0.871 save percentage to go with it. Muse on the other hand has a much better 5-1-0-1 record from nine appearances with a 2.71 goals against average and 0.915 save percentage.
Expectations for this afternoon’s game? Curious, how do you think the Milwaukee Admirals Sunday afternoon attendance will be with no Green Bay Packers to cheer on? Do you think it would be smart or dangerous for the Admirals to roll Juuse Saros for a two games in two days spell after so much time out of action?
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The Chicago Wolves don’t instantly publish game photos like most AHL teams. So here is Juuse Saros’ blue steel. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Milwaukee Admirals won 3-2 in a shootout on the road against the Chicago Wolves Saturday night at the Allstate Arena.
The Wolves rallied back from a 2-0 Admirals lead in the third period that forced overtime and then a shootout. Kevin Fiala scored the lone shotout attempt and Juuse Saros capped off his brilliant night in net by denying all shootout chances from the Wolves. Saros has now won his last eight starts in net for the Admirals.
This game had a very slow, patient, start with both teams treating the game like a chess match. As the tempo ramped up the penalties started accumulating and it set up the Admirals for a power-play goal in the first period. Frédérick Gaudreau made a fantastic individual play to split the Wolves defense and head off on a breakaway from the blue line. His attempt to go forehand to backhand wasn’t successful but the puck fell loose to Vladislav Kamenev on the right wing post for a tap in and his sixth goal of the season.
In the second period, following a tripping minor by Max Görtz, a clock malfunction went unnoticed by the on-ice officials. Play was stopped when Görtz was released early from the penalty box and then a lengthy delay came and went with no changes to the official clock despite twelve seconds of game-time being played until the whistle sounded. Additionally, Görtz was handed a penalty that clocked it for 2:08 extra to his tripping minor that he was already serving. It was cringe-worthy to watch unfold and thankfully the Admirals penalty kill made it through the unnecessarily extended time they had to work.
Then a thing called karma appeared midway through the sandwich stanza. The Admirals extended their lead through an outstanding passing play that saw Kevin Fiala flick a pass over to the left wing as he was racing up towards the blue line on a keep in. Conor Allen secured Fiala’s pass and then it was tic-tac-toe between Allen, Gaudreau, and the eventual goal scorer all alone at the left wing side of the net Adam Payerl for his fourth goal of the season.
The third period became a scrap fest that saw its share of penalties but mostly an onslaught of Wolves offense. With four-on-four action the Wolves ended Juuse Saros’ shutout bid with a Ty Rattie feed from behind the net getting smacked home by Jeremy Welsh in the low right wing circle for his sixth of the season.
Kristian Näkyvä was called for a tripping minor with 4:43 remaining in regulation. On the ensuing power-play the Wolves were able to equalize the game at 2-2. André Benoît’s point shot got past the net front defenseman Jimmy Oligny but took a redirect by Jordan Caron right behind him to beat Saros for his fifth goal of the season. The Wolves outshot the Admirals 17-4 in the third period.
The game would go to all the way to a shootout. The first shooter up would be the lone man to score. Kevin Fiala did a hard shoulder fake and sniped a forehander past Jordan Binnington on the blocker side. Saros would stop all three shootout attempts to cap off his brilliant night that saw him make thirty-seven saves and pick up his eighth consecutive win for the Admirals.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played more and more roster moves have taken place. Stevie Moses was placed on unconditional waivers by the Nashville Predators and it is presumed that he will be heading back to Russia’s KHL. The Predators assigned Cody Bass back to the Admirals. And the Admirals signed both Matt White and Zach Budish to PTO contracts. Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Gaudreau-Payerl, Åberg-Kamenev-Saponari, Pendenza-Reinhart-Görtz, White-Girard-Budish, Allen-Oligny, Bartley-Murphy, Näkyvä-Aronson. Juuse Saros started in net for his first taste of game-action in a week and first AHL start since 11/24/15. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were: Cody Bass (upper-body), Jamie Devane (upper-body), and Johan Alm (lower-body).
Reactions to this game? Were you impressed by the Admirals performance with a stretched roster? What happened in the third period that allowed this game to go into overtime in the first place?
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Mikko Vainonen (right) sits with Joonas Järvinen (left) on his first day with the Milwaukee Admirals at the tail end of the 2013-14 season. (Photo Credit: Daniel Lavender)
I’ve been politely keeping my distance from this story. For how long? Since early October. It initially brewed on Twitter… but that doesn’t make it accurate. It appeared on the ECHL Transactions page… but, as history has proven in the past, that also doesn’t make it 100% accurate. Now that so much time has elapsed that he is playing with a new team I can make a confirmation on the matter. Mikko Vainonen was placed on unconditional waivers by the Nashville Predators, cleared the waivers process, officially had his contract terminated by the organization, and signed with the Finnish club Ässät of Liiga.
The initial Twitter report cropped up only a few days after Vainonen was sent from the Admirals training camp to Cincinnati to participate in their pre-season regimen that included exhibition games. He participated in one pre-season game back on October 7th and contributed an assist in a 6-1 Cyclones victory. The very next day he would have been put on unconditional waivers. The following day he’d have cleared and had his contract terminated. Where did it all go wrong?
(Photo Credit: Aaron Bell/OHL Images)
Vainonen was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. That meant drafting him based on his performances in his native Finland with the HIFK senior and youth academy squads during the 2011-12 season. So, was Vainonen’s release due to a difficulty adjusting to the North American game? I’d say no and say it because he spent the next two seasons after the Predators drafted him with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. In other words, he had quality North American playing experience in junior hockey before he joined the AHL or ECHL ranks. He joined the Admirals at the end of his junior playing career in 2013-14 and played two games. His first full season as a pro last season saw him start the year off with the Cincinnati Cyclones before being loaned back home to Finland for the rest of the season with SaiPa of Liiga. He was back State-side and took part in training camp this pre-season. He was here in Milwaukee before being sent packing to Cincinnati. And now he has been axed by Nashville just prior to the start of this season with this season and next season of his contract being terminated.
So where did it all go wrong you ask? When answering that question look less at Vainonen and more at the competition at defenseman right now. The defensive talent pool is so deep that lifelong defenseman Jaynen Rissling is transitioning to the wing. That experiment started in Nashville’s training camp, continued to Milwaukee’s training camp, and into the regular season for the Cyclones in the ECHL. The you get players who weren’t even drafted, such as Trevor Murphy and Kristian Näkyvä, getting penned to entry level contracts by Nashville and immediately earning their place on the opening night of the regular season for the Admirals. It essentially puts Vainonen as bottom of the deck where he’ll be stuck in Cincinnati with no real hope to break through the glass ceiling that Nashville keeps making more and more dense.
There is some good and bad to this news story. The good being the obvious which is Nashville cutting Vainonen loose so he can continue his playing career elsewhere. The bad being the sloppy way in which the Predators organization handled this case. The Nashville brass should have been well aware of this reality long before pre-season camps were even a thing. He should have had his contract terminated prior to him ever needing to travel to North America once again much less traveling to Milwaukee and then Cincinnati for a pre-season game before needing to look for elsewhere for a job. The European hockey season was already up and running at the time. Delaying his playing career as they effectively did for far more than two months is harsh.
Fortunately, Vainonen’s now eight-games into his new career with Ässät. He is back to playing in his native Finland. While the aspirations of a North American professional playing career aren’t necessarily over for him it sure looks to be the case after his spell with ECHL hockey being as lackluster as it was. Some players just perform better in Europe, I think. That’s not a bad thing. In the words I’m sure were expressed from Nashville to Vainonen: I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
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ALL SMILES. Zach Budish is back. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Per ECHL Transactions, the Milwaukee Admirals have signed former second round draft pick of the Nashville Predators Zach Budish to a PTO contract from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Budish’s entire professional playing career has taken place under the Predators minor league affiliate’s banner.
Budish almost needs no introduction. He has 93 games of AHL experience and all of those games have taken place with the Admirals. Even for the Cincinnati readership that became familiarized with him during his time in the organization know him well – and recently. Budish signed an ECHL contract with the Cyclones this past off-season. He has 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 19 games for the Cyclones this season.
The man with the biggest head in Milwaukee now only has one thing left to do. Recently returning face Vinny Saponari couldn’t wear his old #74 because Juuse Saros has it so he took Budish’s old #24. Will Budish get to wear his old number this weekend? My guess, knowing the equipment and business side of things, is probably not due to the fact Saponari’s uniforms have already been prepared and that’d be a lot of money and hassle over a pair of PTO signed players.
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Call me crazy but I’m actually excited that the Milwaukee Admirals are finally on the road. It’s not that the Admirals have been poor at home. They’ve been fantastic. I just feel as if playing seven straight games at home, as the Admirals just did, can lead to getting a bit too comfortable with routines and could possibly trigger some sluggish hockey on the ice. Getting up and on the road keeps the body and mind moving. And I’m hoping that ends up trickling into tonight’s game as the Admirals look to rebound from a 3-2 loss to the Manitoba Moose.
~About Last Night~
The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game following a road defeat last night against the Grand Rapids Griffins, 3-1 (Video Highlights). The Wolves scored the opening goal midway through the first period off a Jordan Caron redirect from a André Benoît slap shot from the left point. The Wolves would take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, find themselves trailing 3-1 heading into the second intermission, and that’s all she wrote. The Griffins now have a seven-game winning streak.
~Amtrak Rivals~
The Wolves overall record is 10-7-1-1 (22 points). They sit behind the Admirals in Central Division having played one less game and resting on a 0.579 points percentage.
In the last match-up between these two teams the Admirals earned their first win over the Wolves in nearly a calendar year. The Admirals won that contest 5-3 (Video Highlights). It was the first time that the Admirals put a loss against goaltender Jordan Binnington in the Amtrak Rivalry. He had won the previous eight starts straight until that game in which the Admirals pushed across 4 goals from 34 shots.
Since losing to the Admirals the Wolves have played seven-games and posted a record of 2-5-0-0. For a moment it appeared they took out all their frustrations with an 8-2 thrashing of the Moose but then, well, last night’s game happened. It’s unclear just what team the Admirals are going to get tonight. A struggling Wolves team or a frenzied and desperate playing hockey team. My guess is the latter.
~Who What Now?~
The Wolves are led in points by Pat Cannone and the aforementioned Benoît. Cannone had the best point streak in the AHL until Viktor Arvidsson turned up. Cannone had a ten game point streak and currently has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games. Benoît has 15 points (2 goals, 13 assists) in 19 games which is seventh best for scoring by a defenseman in the AHL this season. They’re led in goal scoring by Ty Rattie who has recorded 8 goals this season including 3 goals in the two-games played against the Admirals.
In net the Wolves continue doing the goaltending tandem. Pheonix Copley operated last night in the loss to the Griffins so it would make sense to see Binnington playing against a team that he’s done so well against in the past. Binnington has played in 10 games this season with a record of 6-3-0-1. He has a 2.58 goals against average and 0.906 save percentage.
What are you expecting from the Milwaukee Admirals and their stretched roster tonight? Juuse Saros last played in-game one week ago with the Nashville Predators and hasn’t played for the Admirals in twelve days: is tonight the night to get him back and going?
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