Author: Daniel Lavender

Scouting

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy
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It’s an old photo – but boy does it some up the recent run for the Rockford IceHogs. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Rockford IceHogs enter tonight’s game with an overall record of 33-28-5-4 (75 points). They trail the Milwaukee Admirals by six points for third place in the Midwest Division. With their recent run of 3-6-0-1 (7 points) in their last ten games – the IceHogs have fallen to ninth in the Western Conference. They are on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

When you think back to where this downward trend begins for the IceHogs you can look back to exactly ten games ago: 3/7/14, in Milwaukee, losing 8-3. The very next night: 3/8/14, in Rockford against Milwaukee, losing 6-2. They then had six full days to rest up and prepare for another clash against the Admirals. The result: 3/14/14, in Milwaukee, losing 6-5 in a shootout.

In the last ten games the IceHogs have a goal differential of -19 (29 GF, 48 GA) from open play. They have also allowed 16 goals purely from the power-play – out of 43 kill opportunities.

So… an IceHogs team that is in a rut, angry, and desperate. What’s the worse that could happen?

Yeah…

Coming into tonight’s contest the IceHogs leading scorer is defenseman Adam Clendening. The 21-year old New York native has the second most points scored by a d-man in the AHL this season: 56 points (12 goals, 44 assists). The top scoring defenseman in the AHL remains to be T.J. Brennan of the Toronto Marlies with 66 points (22 goals, 44 assists).

Clendening is tied for the team lead in points when it comes to the head-to-head against the Admirals. He has 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) in nine games. The bloke he is tied with is Jeremy Morin who has 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in nine games.

That name provides a crucial point when it comes to tonight’s game: Morin is currently up with the Chicago Blackhawks. To me, he has been the most lethal player in the season match up. He just seemed to generate confidence and downhill skating for the IceHogs whenever he was on the ice. With him out, Mark McNeill (3 goals, 4 assists) and Garret Ross (1 goal, 6 assists) are the top forward scorers against the Admirals this season.

The other forwards to keep watch of in tonight’s game are Alex Broadhurst and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Both bring great pace and creativity to the IceHogs roster. The two have a combined 56 assists this season. Without Morin – they could be the real spark plugs to lookout for.

The goalies for the IceHogs are Kent Simpson and Jason LaBarbera. Both are having rough stretches since the month of March – especially Simpson.

In the month of March: Simpson played four games, allowed 20 goals, won one game, had a 5.71 GAA, and a 0.841 SV%. In April he has played in two games (one in relief, one getting yanked from a start), no decisions, a 6.09 GAA, and a ludicrous 0.556 SV% (4 goals from 9 shots).

LaBarbera, as hinted by getting pulled in his last start, isn’t having it that easy either. I would say though – it’s still better than the stretch for Simpson. LaBarbera played seven games in March, won three and lost four, had a 3.49 GAA, and a 0.889 SV%. In April he has played twice, lost both games (extending his current run to three-straight defeats), has a 3.90 GAA, and a 0.815 SV%.

The Milwaukee Admirals enter this game with a record of 34-23-6-7 (81 points). They are third in the Midwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference.

While the Amtrak Rivalry against the Chicago Wolves has been a bit of a mess this season for the Admirals, 3-4-2-1 (9 points from ten games), the series against the IceHogs has looked much much better.

Nov. 1 vs. Rockford: W, 4-2
Nov. 27 @ Rockford: L, 2-1 (OT)
Dec. 21 @ Rockford: W, 3-1
Jan. 24 vs. Rockford: W, 3-2
Jan. 25 @ Rockford: L, 2-1
Jan. 26 vs. Rockford: L, 4-3 (OT)
Feb. 22 @ Rockford: L, 4-1
Mar. 7 vs. Rockford: W, 8-3
Mar. 8 @ Rockford: W, 6-2
Mar. 14 vs. Rockford: W, 6-5 (SO)

The Admirals are 6-2-2-0 (14 points) against the IceHogs in ten games this season. These next two games for them, tonight at home and Friday in Rockford, are the final meetings between the two this season.

I had the opportunity yesterday to trek into morning practice and talk with the likes of Dean Evason, Joe Piskula, Mikko Vainonen, and Francis Wathier. You can listen and read up on all that happened then right here: Chatterbox, Vol. 29.

The big news that followed all of the fun at practice came in the return of Colton Sissons to the Admirals following a month long stay in Nashville. In his latest stint he recorded his first career NHL goal and played thirteen games. He may have been a healthy scratch in the Predators last game – but I expect him to hit the ground running tonight.

Though Sissons has missed out on AHL playing time, and therefore the team lead in scoring, it is worth pointing out his points per game is tied for the team best in that respect: 0.73 Pt/G. The man he is tied with, Taylor Beck, has played in four more games than him. In fifty-six games, the 20-year old first year pro has 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) – including 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in nine games against the IceHogs.

Scott Darling has started in net for the Admirals in their last three games. In those games he has won twice, has a 0.98 GAA, 0.964 SV%, and a shutout. The last time Darling made three consecutive starts for the Admirals: 12/29/13, @ Iowa: W, 4-0… 1/3/13, @ Lake Erie: L, 4-2… 1/4/14, Jan. 4 @ Lake Erie: L, 6-1.

Should we see Marek Mazanec – it will be his first game played since a 3-1 defeat to the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Ads final game of March. In the month he played in eight games, won five, had a 2.87 GAA, and a less than ideal 0.886 SV%. However, he did break his run of allowing 2 goals or more on 3/26/14 @ Rochester when the Admirals won 3-1.

What shall we expect tonight for the Admirals? What sort of IceHogs team will the Ads be playing against tonight? How do you think Colton Sissons will fair in his return to the Ads lineup? Should Scott Darling make his fourth consecutive start or should Marek Mazanec get a game ahead of this weekend’s three-in-three?

Chatterbox, News

The Chatterbox, Vol. 29
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The newest member of the Milwaukee Admirals, Mikko Vainonen, chills out with fellow Finn Joonas Jarvinen during today’s practice.

This morning’s practice at the BMO Harris Bradley Center provided a pretty good look into tomorrow night. There was a new addition to the Admirals today at practice along with a few absentees. Let’s dive into the ins and outs of today’s practice.

The first thing that took me awhile to figure out was – who is the guy wearing the #12 helmet? As it turns out, Mikko Vainonen has officially joined the Admirals following the Kingston Frontenacs elimination from the OHL playoffs. Kingston lost in overtime of game seven against Peterborough last week.

Vainonen was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. The 19-year old from Helsinki, Finland played two seasons of junior hockey with Kingston: 112 games, 40 points (8 goals, 32 assists), and 115 penalty minutes. In the recent seven game playoff series against Peterborough he scored 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) and had 8 penalty minutes. Prior to playing junior hockey in North America he played 8 games with HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League.

The list of players not at today’s practice went as follows: Scott Ford (injury), Mark Van Guilder (injury), Scott Valentine (injury), and Michael Young (released from ATO).

Ford took a nasty hit in Saturday’s game in Chicago. First impressions suggested he had an issue with his right leg. As the Sheriff pointed out on Twitter he also received some pretty good patch work done to his face.

Van Guilder is still resting up from a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day according to head coach Dean Evason. As for Valentine, I kind of sort of forgot to ask about his status and availability so I made my own conclusion.

Young was released from his ATO today and may well be joining a new team in the AHL this week. He played his first career game as a professional hockey player when the Admirals played in Toronto. Unfortunately he was injured in that exact same game. His release, and injuries to Ford and Valentine, does mean defensemen such as Jonathan Diaby, Kirill Gotovets, and the newbie Vainonen all have a shot at playing their first professional game tomorrow night.

These are how the forward lines looked this morning:

Forsberg-Salomaki-Cehlin
Watson-Wathier-Beck
Saponari-Pimm-Pendenza
Liambas-Tousignant-Rask

After practice was all finished up I chatted with Dean Evason, Joe Piskula, Mikko Vainonen, and Francis Wathier. Here is what everyone had to say ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the Rockford IceHogs.

Continue reading “The Chatterbox, Vol. 29” →

News

Roundtable Off Day: Question of the Day
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Jake Allen has owned the Milwaukee Admirals this season. Would you want to face him and the Amtrak Rivals in the opening round of the playoffs? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

Hello Roundtable. I’m hoping to have a relaxing Sunday today -but- want to ask you all a question that I’ve had in mind a lot in recent weeks.

Should the Admirals avoid gaining the fifth overall playoff seed in the Western Conference with the threat of a first round match up against the Chicago Wolves?

It seems like the Admirals have been planted in the Midwest Division (third place) and Western Conference (sixth place) for a solid month now. With the teams in front of them hardly changing up much – it seems as if those potential opening round opponents become fairly clear.

If the season ended today, the Admirals would play against the Toronto Marlies in a three versus six match up. In the past five years the Ads have dominated that head-to-head: 8-2-1-1 (18 points from twelve games). This season they swept the Marlies: Jan. 21 vs. Toronto: W, 3-2… Mar. 22 @ Toronto: W, 5-1.

While the Marlies have seven more wins and points than the Admirals – they also have a full 292 more penalty minutes too. Only one team in the entire league has been shorthanded more often, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (388), than the Marlies (349). With that in mind they have the tenth ranked penalty kill in the AHL with a 83.7 PK% and the Admirals have four power-play goals against them in just two games this season.

Now, let’s think about that other option should the Admirals jump the Abbotsford Heat for fifth place in the Western Conference: the Wolves.

With the exception of last night, which ended 4-1 in the Wolves favor, every game has been a white knuckle ride to the finish. The Amtrak Rivalry has seen nine of its ten games be decided by one-goal. Not to mention, the Wolves are 7-0-1-2 (17 points) against the Admirals this season. They have yet to be defeated in regulation by the Admirals this season. You would have to go back to the final game of last season when the Ads won 3-0 over the Peoria Rivermen (who effectively became the current iteration of these Wolves) behind Magnus Hellberg‘s 20-save shutout.

Jake Allen will be a massive hurdle for anyone to really face come playoff season – but he would hit the Admirals hard should they meet again in the playoffs. He has played in eight of the ten games against Milwaukee this season and won six of them. He has a 1.69 GAA, 0.933 SV%, and a shutout.

The Admirals best netminder in this meeting? You guessed it, Scott Darling: two games, one win, 0.97 GAA, 0.967 SV%, and one shutout. Marek Mazanec, another candidate for the net in the playoffs, has faced the Wolves twice and lost both times: 3.22 GAA and a 0.889 SV%.

When it comes to the skaters and the eye-twitchy state known as plus/minus – the Admirals have twelve players with either a positive or even rating versus the Wolves who have twenty-eight. As for the negatives, the Ads have fourteen players with minus ratings against only three for the Wolves. Taylor Beck and Bryan Rodney are a combined -19 against the Wolves this season.

While the playoff reinforcements would certainly help… Colton Sissons 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists), Calle Jarnkrok 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist) against the Wolves… it is still a four-five match up that I think would go against the Admirals as opposed to the current playoff rankings.

Pro: you know what you’re getting against the Wolves having played them so much this month and the entire season. Con: you know what you’re getting against the Wolves having played them so much this month and the entire season.

Interesting thought. Something that is still rather out of the Admirals control as far as how other teams shape out the playoff seeds as the season creeps to a halt. If I could simply pick and choose opponents as to where the Admirals are hovering – I like exactly where we are right now.

What do you think about the potential opening playoff match up? Should the Admirals be playing for the sixth seed or pushing for the fifth seed? How would the Amtrak Rivalry pan out in an opening round series?

Game Recaps

Amtrak Rivalry Keeps Going The Way of the Wolves, Ads lose 4-1
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This is Jake Allen. He’s pretty good. And tonight he picked up his league leading thirtieth win of the season. (Photo Credit: Ross Bonander)

The Admirals lost 4-1 against the Chicago Wolves Saturday night in Rosemont. This game was level after two periods of play – but the Wolves with a power-play goal and two empty netters finished off the Ads in the third period.

This was the first game in the Amtrak Rivalry this season that didn’t finish as a one goal game. It did however continue the Wolves run of not dropping a point against the Admirals. The Wolves are now 7-0-1-2 (17 points) this season against the Ads. The win also clinched a playoff spot for the Wolves.

The last time these two met a puck didn’t cross the goal line until the bottom of round one in the shootout. Tonight it took only 2:06 of ice time. Pat Cannone was stationed on the left wing faceoff circle and saw Jani Hakanpaa racing in from the point. He teed him up perfectly and Hakanpaa beat Scott Darling for his fourth goal of the season.

In the second period the Admirals were able to equalize thanks to the pace of Joonas Rask. The play all starts with e Scott Valentine clearance attempt from the Ads defensive zone. It chipped down the ice and towards Jake Allen. Rask hustled all the way through neutral ice, around Hakanpaa, and took the puck forehand to backhand past Allen for his fourth goal of the season.

Then a major missed opportunity. While throwing the puck out of the Ads zone, Scott Ford was leveled into the boards by Eric Selleck. Ford remained down after the hit and favored his right leg. Selleck was given a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct.

With a full five minutes worth of nonstop “score at will” power-play in the bank – the Admirals hardly sustained any pressure in attack. If anything, it was the Wolves penalty kill that forced Darling into making multiple saves from quality scoring chances. It was a power-play that looked as sloppy as sloppy gets without getting burned for poor passes. The Ads were fortunate to not concede a shorthanded goal – something they had done three times to the Wolves prior to this game.

After a too many men on the ice penalty from the Admirals – the Wolves scored their second power-play goal against the Ads from their forty-first chance this season. Derek Nesbitt’s slap shot from the right wing evaded a screen by Adam Cracknell and trickled through the legs of Darling and past the goal line. It was Nesbitt’s first goal as a member of the Wolves since joining from San Antonio Rampage – he has twelve goes overall this season.

Thoughts from tonight’s game? What was the issue tonight with the Admirals power-play? Was the lack of a power-play goal from the five minute major for boarding the difference maker tonight?

Blender, Chatterbox, News, Scouting

The Blender, Vol. 6
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Taylor Beck has been hitting plenty of posts of late. That wasn’t the case last night as he scored twice in the Milwaukee Admirals 4-1 victory over the Iowa Wild. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Admirals won 4-1 last night over the Iowa Wild. The nail in the coffin came from Filip Forsberg‘s late second period power-play goal. Things seemed rather tight and along the walls up until then. Enter the third period – and away went the Wild’s composure.

Mathieu Tousignant might chirp up a storm during the course of a game. He can play an equally agitating game for his speed and strength on the ice – hounding puck carriers or just cycling a forecheck. He also doesn’t shy away from finishing off his checks. And it was just that which blew the lid off of Brad Winchester last night.

The incident between those two seemed to get up the nose of Curt Gogol. With only 1:09 remaining in the game, and Tousignant on the ice, Gogol sought him out and attempted to sucker him as the puck was actually in the Wild’s attacking end. Tousignant seemed like he instantly hit the deck once he saw Gogol’s stick come flying up around his face – and did get out of the game without further incident. Meanwhile, Gogol was handed an instigating minor, a fighting major, and a game misconduct for instigating.

This was somewhat reminiscent of the Admirals 9-1 victory over the Wild when Corbin Baldwin was a human torpedo on the ice – and really, for the way he was acting on the ice, made the game seem secondary from the perspective of the Wild. Credit where credit is due, at least Baldwin asked Mike Liambas to fight rather than take matters into his own hands and do his team massive damage by taking unnecessary penalties in the process.

Those two moments left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth at the end of this game. Still, you can take it as a positive that the Admirals maintained composure and let the Wild shoot their foot right off. As you’ll hear Tousignant say – they took huge penalties in that last period and it put the game to bed.

~The Chatterbox~

After the game I spoke with Dean Evason, Scott Darling, Taylor Beck, Joe Pendenza, and Mathieu Tousignant. This is what everyone had to say after the win against the Iowa Wild.

Continue reading “The Blender, Vol. 6” →

Game Recaps, News

Admirals Keep Pounding Iowa, win 4-1
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Mike Liambas doing Mike Liambas-y things like putting Corbin Baldwin in his place. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Admirals won 4-1 against the Iowa Wild Friday night. It is the Ads seventh win from nine contests against the Wild this season. Taylor Beck scored two goals in front of another calm performance in net by Scott Darling – who picked up his twelfth win of the season.

“We talked tonight about the games we’ve played against Iowa and they’re always intense games as this one was,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “We knew that they didn’t have their full lineup. They had ATOs and PTOs. They outworked us for a lot of that hockey game. We were very fortunate to come away with that win.”

After a solid forecheck by the Wild, the Admirals cleared the zone and looked for a line change – all except for Taylor Beck. Once he had the puck on his tape Beck was attempting to drive deep into the zone while the Ads line change took place behind him. He carried on with speed through the right wing and roofed a wrist shot over the blocker of Johan Gustafsson to get the game’s opener and his fifteenth goal of the season.

In the second period the Admirals extended their advantage with a power-play goal from Francis Wathier. The play was all set up with patience from Vinny Saponari in the left wing faceoff circle. Saponari slowly creeped in on goal, gave a look towards Gustafsson, but passed to the opposite wing for a one-timer by Wathier that blasted the net for his eighth goal of the season – and his third since joining the Admirals from the Texas Stars.

The Wild finally solved Scott Darling – only taking three games and 155:41 worth of ice time to do so. The Admirals were working hard in attack and the Wild’s puck clearance went deep into the defensive zone. The puck had some bounce to it and it trapped the Admirals on the walls as they tried to regain control. Zach Phillips eventually took advantage of the bad bounces and scored his twelfth goal of the season to get the Wild on the board for the first time against Darling all season.

Then we had a scrap between Mike Liambas and Corbin Baldwin. It was the third time the two have dropped the gloves against each other this season – and this one was a marathon. Liambas was chirping Baldwin the entire bout and each landed some hard shots. I call this one even in my fight card. Give them both tens for round number three.

Patrick Cehlin earned a late penalty with 1:58 remaining in the second period after a surge to the net. For the second time in the frame the Ads cashed in from the power-play – and again benefited from a patient primary assist. Bryan Rodney and Beck were working the point and it was Beck that kept the attention of everyone as he worked towards the net. He passed over to a wide open Filip Forsberg who had an even more wide open net to shoot on. It was Forsberg’s twelfth goal of the season – half of which have come from the power-play.

“Filip’s goal at the end with ten seconds left was huge going into the dressing room and into the third period,” said Taylor Beck of the team’s power-play tonight. “The power-play has been working for us lately and hopefully it continues.”

Beck picked up his second goal of the game in the third period to make it a 4-1 game. The puck flicked off of Wathier’s skate in front of the net a came out towards center point to Rodney. The veteran d-man pushed on to Beck for a one-timer – resulting in goal number sixteen of his season.

It’s also worth noting as the third period dragged on so did Iowa tempers. Former-Admiral Brad Winchester must have had enough of the Tousignant chatter and snapped. He tried to engage him, Tousignant declined, and Winchester gave him a two handed slash low before trying to get after him. It ended Winchester’s night and gave the Admirals a four-minute power-play.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Mathieu Tousignant after the game. “That’s a little bit of my game. I need to get under the other team’s skin. That’s what I did tonight.”

Things didn’t end there either. With 1:09 remaining in the game Curt Gogol attempted to sucker punch Tousignant from behind – and actually tosses his stick up at him after missing. This created a small scrum with the end result being seventeen minutes worth of penalties assessed against Gogol. Hey, he got his wish by getting out of the game early right?

“They took two huge penalties against me in the third and that put the game away I think,” said Tousignant.

Darling, who had Tuesday’s thirty-six save shutout against the Chicago Wolves, responded with another victory tonight. He stopped twenty-three of twenty-four shots on goal en route to his twelfth win of the season. In his last five starts he has now won four of them – with the lone loss coming in a shootout against the Utica Comets.

Ramblings: Joonas Jarvinen returned to the lineup tonight after missing thirteen games due to an upper body injury. His last game was played on 2/28/14 against these very same Iowa Wild – he scored two goals and had nine penalty minutes. Mark Van Guilder missed tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. With his start tonight for the Milwaukee Admirals – Joe Pendenza made his professional hockey debut.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Who stood out the most for you in this game? Did you like the team’s lack of response to the Wild’s late game tactics?

Scouting

Wild: Scouting the Enemy
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Remember when Patrick Cehlin channeled his inner Admirals/Predators fandom and dropped the gloves with Jonathon Blum? Me too! (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The Iowa Wild are entering tonight’s game with a record of 26-32-6-4 (62 points). They are at the bottom of the Midwest Division and Western Conference. The only two teams in the AHL that are worse in terms of points this season are the Portland Pirates (58 points) and  Adirondack Phantoms (56 points).

Iowa’s last game played was on Wednesday in Grand Rapids where they were beaten up 6-1. It marked the ninth time this season where they allowed five or more goals in a game. It also provided one of the most gruesome selfies you’ll see any time soon courtesy of Mitch Callahan of the Griffins. I’ll be honest – graphic – click here if you are so inclined – update from their team on his condition as well.

That loss to the Griffins was the team’s second straight loss and seventh defeat from their last ten games played. They have had a rough season – and playing the Admirals hasn’t exactly been great for them either.

Nov. 3 @ Iowa: W, 5-2
Nov. 16 @ Iowa: W, 1-0
Dec. 29 @ Iowa: W, 4-0
Jan. 6 vs. Iowa: W, 4-3 (SO)
Jan. 31 @ Iowa: W, 3-2 (OT)
Feb. 14 vs. Iowa: L, 3-1
Feb. 28 vs. Iowa: W, 9-1
Mar. 12 vs. Iowa: L, 3-2

In eight games the Admirals have gone 6-2-0-0 (12 points) against the Wild.

Scott Darling, who is freshly removed from a 36-save shutout against the Chicago Wolves on Tuesday, has played the Wild twice and shut them out each time: 65-65 in save attempts. Marek Mazanec has taken part in four games, split them in wins and losses, has a 2.49 GAA, and a 0.902 SV%.

The top two scorers of the match up are Bryan Rodney and Miikka Salomaki. Rodney has tallied 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) and Salomaki has produced 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists). Of the players in camp right now – Austin Watson has the most goals against the Wild with 4 goals from eight games… the other tied with that same total is Colton Sissons.

Meanwhile, the Wild’s top scorer in the season head-to-head with Milwaukee is former-Admiral Brad Winchester. He has played in nine games against the Admirals this season thanks to his move from Rockford to Iowa: 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in seven games with Rockford… 1 assist in two games with Iowa.

The current goaltending group for the Wild includes Johan Gustafsson and Cody Reichard.

Gustafsson has played in thirty-six games this season, has twelve wins, a 2.97 GAA, 0.906 SV%, and one shutout. He has played the most games against the Admirals for the Wild this season: six games, one win, 3.11 GAA, and a 0.884 SV%.

Reichard was signed to a PTO contract from the Orlando Solar Bears yesterday. This season he has played in twenty games in the ECHL, won thirteen games, had a 3.18 GAA, and a 0.903 SV%. He last played in the AHL when this same team was called the Houston Aeros during the 2012-13 season: seven games, three wins, 2.41 GAA, and a 0.910 SV%.

To get an additional bang for your buck to prep for today’s game – check out yesterday’s team practice round up and interviews in the Chatterbox.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Can the Admirals continue their success against the Wild? Should the Admirals play any of the new faces that were brought in recently against an opponent like the Wild?

Chatterbox, News

The Chatterbox, Vol. 28

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Today I trekked into the morning practice at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. I arrived nice and early. Admired Anthony Bitetto‘s new haircut. Then took watch for the session.

Michael Young was the first man on the ice. He hasn’t played since getting injured in his professional debut in Toronto. Then the rest of the Admirals trickled out – including the new blood: Jonathan Diaby, Kirill Gotovets, and Joe Pendenza.

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On the Admirals injury front – we had two real pleasant sights today: Simon Moser and Joonas Jarvinen were on the ice.

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Moser took part in the full practice. He was wearing the red “no contact” jersey but seemed to be in real good form. Moser is not expected to participate in game action this weekend – but is getting closer and closer to a return.

Jarvinen also took part on the full practice and, unlike Moser, he was in the typical black defenseman jersey. There still isn’t necessarily a time table for a return. And I think the amount of bodies in camp right now helps Jarvinen in the sense that there isn’t a rush to bring him back before he’s 100%. Still, great to see the big Finn back on the ice.

The ATO trio from yesterday looked rather good from what I saw today. I was impressed with Diaby. He seemed to move around real well for a 6’5″ defenseman. He has plenty of size, seems good on his skates – particularly moving backwards, and looked real comfortable already.

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Pendenza played on a line with Filip Forsberg and Patrick Cehlin today at practice. I feel like it is hard to judge him fairly when I’m seeing Forsberg toe-dragging and making the moves that he was today in practice. It somewhat took away from his line-combo work. That said, from a few drills where he worked on wing and odd-man rushes – I liked his speed. Seems to have a good burst out of that first step.

Gotovets, compared to all other Admirals d-men, really stood out because of his size. When all Ads defensemen are in their black practice gear the size of the players pop that extra bit against the ice. So, when you see a 5’11” Gotovets next to our goalies, you do kind of notice. He isn’t exactly Ryan Ellis-like with that size either. His game is not particularly about offensive flashiness. It’s about defense with him. It may be hard to gauge a player from watching him for an hour long practice – but he really appeared to keep things in front of him rather nicely. As was the case with the other new faces – I didn’t really see anything stand out as overwhelmed, flustered, jumpy, or nervous. It seemed controlled. And that I take as the real bright spot for all of them.

One player that I did not see in today’s practice was the Admirals Man of the Year, Mark Van Guilder. I didn’t ask about his absence. I didn’t get the impression that any move back to the NHL was in the cards – other then him not participating in practice. Just worth mentioning. I would assume he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow barring another recall in the next 24 hours.

When practice finished up I talked with head coach Dean Evason. I then had the chance to welcome in the new faces and hear from captain Scott Ford. Here is what all had to say following practice.

Continue reading “The Chatterbox, Vol. 28” →

News

A Day’s Worth of Roster Activity
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Paul Crowder has been reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL today. He gives way to some new blood on the Milwaukee Admirals roster. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

There are plenty of transactions to round-up. The Milwaukee Admirals added three players to ATO contracts and reassigned Paul Crowder to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Crowder has played in 4 games with the Admirals this season. He hasn’t scored a point, took one penalty for holding, and has a plus/minus rating of -2. With the Cyclones he has played in 59 games, scored 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists), has 42 penalty minutes to his name, and a plus/minus of +5.

Who are the new names to take his place on the roster? Jonathan Diaby, Kirill Gotovets, and Joe Pendenza.

Diaby was the Predators 3rd Round (64th Overall) selection in 2013 NHL Draft. He is just finishing up his time with the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL. In juniors the 19-year old defenseman played in 175 games, scored 63 points (14 goals, 49 assists), had 280 penalty minutes, and an overall plus/minus of +30.

Gotovets is a 22-year old from Belarus, drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 7th Round (183rd Overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft, and a product of Cornell University of the ECAC. In college the defenseman played 112 games, scored 19 points (3 goals, 16 assists), recorded 76 penalty minutes, and his plus/minus was +27.

Pendenza just finished his time with UMass-Lowell of H-East. The 23-year old Massachusetts native is an undrafted forward who played 152 games in college, scored 110 points (49 goals, 61 assists), had 118 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus of +36.

It is also worth mentioning that the recently added ATO signing, Tommy Veilleux, will not play with the Milwaukee Admirals this season due to lingering injuries following a season where he played alongside Diaby with Victoriaville.

What are your thoughts on all of these moves? Which new ATO signing excites you the most?

News

In Darling We Should Trust
Darling_DeepThoughts
Scott Darling hasn’t just been one of the better stories this season for the Milwaukee Admirals. He has also been their best goaltender. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

With last night’s game complete, Scott Darling surpassed the amount of games played this season by Magnus Hellberg for second on the team by Milwaukee Admirals goaltenders. Did that raise an eyebrow? Because it did with me. For someone who has had the results to the toll of Darling you would think, in a survival of the fittest sense, he should be in net more than anyone else. So why hasn’t he?

Let’s start with the cold hard fact that Darling is on a one year contract that was made with the mindset that he would be the organization’s man in Cincinnati. And, you know what, for awhile he was. Then an injury from Nashville, and an opening and injury in Milwaukee, gave him a window to exceed expectations. He has done just that.

He has now played in twenty-two AHL games, won half of the games he has played in, has a 1.95 goals against average (GAA), 0.935 save percentage (SV%), and a remarkable five shutouts from eighteen starts. This is coming from a goalie that, up until this season, only played in one AHL game.

We’ve covered the story of Scott Darling previously here on the Roundtable. It’s a good one. It is something that reminds you that (A) this is a goalie that was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007 (B) the Admirals were the first team in which he ever experienced in-season goalie coach (C) he is always prepared for his surroundings to change and to roll with those punches.

Perhaps that explains his ability to sit out, step in, and produce.

Last night’s thirty-six save shutout was his first game in net since March 23rd. The team lost a shootout in Utica that night. The space between starts? Ten days. Three games. He was called up from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL on October 24, 2013. His first start occurred fifteen days and four games later. His second start with the Admirals happened eight days and three games later. It was in that game that he shutout the Iowa Wild for his first shutout and win in the AHL.

He is driven to compete. A door opened for him to make a splash at the AHL level. He’s taken it whenever he is finally presented the chance to play.

So, why not him? Let’s get cold and very blunt again.

Magnus Hellberg
Nashville Predators, 2011 NHL Draft, 2nd Round (38th Overall)

Marek Mazanec
Nashville Predators, 2012 NHL Draft, 6th Round (179th Overall)

Painfully, I could almost leave that information up there and it should speak for itself. Hellberg’s slow start and subsequent injury gave the fast track to us seeing Marek Mazanec play in more games than he has ever played in any single season prior to his first in North America.

Mazanec’s previous career high for games played in a season came with Plzeň of the Czech Extraliga in 2012-13 where he appeared in twenty-one games. This season, combined between the Predators and Admirals, he has played in fifty-two games.

While the massive work load given to Mazanec this season might be staggering – he has also shown to the Predators that he is capable or handling himself at the NHL level. With Pekka Rinne‘s injury causing a scramble in net early in the season – Maznec appeared in twenty-five games, won eight games, had a 2.80 GAA, 0.902 SV%, and earned two shutouts. He was recognized by the NHL as the Rookie of the Month in November.

As if being drafted by them in 2012 wasn’t enough he has earned his place firmly on Nashville’s radar. They want him to play games and continue to sharpen his rough edges, to settle into the North American game, and put the coaching staff’s instructions immediately to use in game situations.

And that is the biggest problem when it comes to Darling not playing more than he probably should despite the better statistical numbers. By the start of next season, Mazanec will have a weight of Nashville and Milwaukee instructed knowledge in mind and put to use – and Darling will probably be in a different organization all together.

Now, here is why I think absolutely none of that matters as it pertains to the here and now.

There are eight-games remaining in the Admirals season. The schedule ahead of them sees the following play out: two-in-two, …a Tuesday game, three-in-three, and two-in-two. How the team distributes the net in those back-to-backs will be telling as to who gets the starts in the playoffs. It’s crunch time. And it is time to give the important minutes of the season to the players who’ve done the best with the time they’ve been given. In goal, that man is not Mazanec – it is Darling.

This time last season we were on the Hellberg train plowing through the final games of the season. He started every game of a three-in-three on the last weekend of the season with the eighth seed for the Western Conference on the line. He won them all – and had back-to-back shutouts to end the season.

Where are we in the present for confidence in net the likes of Hellberg last season? Darling.

In Hellberg’s month of April last season he had a 1.81 GAA in ten games. Mazanec’s month of March heading into this time of the season, 2.87 GAA. Darling, in minimal work – seven games since February, has had a sub-2.00 GAA for every month since February: 1.67 (Feb.) … 1.95 (Mar.) … 0.00 (Apr.).

Alright, so that last 0.00 GAA comes from his shutout last night -but- is that not the start of bigger and better things? Shouldn’t the numbers and performances that back them up ascend “in the pipeline” talent? We could be set to find out when the Admirals play on Friday night against the Iowa Wild. Just as equally telling – will the man that starts on Friday start the following night against the Chicago Wolves? The watch for the would-be playoff starter in net for the Admirals is officially on.