The Milwaukee Admirals are set to face their Amtrak Rivals at 10:30 AM CST on Wednesday morning. Ahead of the Chicago Wolves arriving to town the Admirals returned to practice today at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena twenty-four hours prior to the first School Day Game of the 2017-18 season.
When the rosters in the AHL switch from one season to the next it can be amusing to see those who cross enemy lines within the same division. Lately, it has been fascinating to see the exodus from the Rockford IceHogs to the Milwaukee Admirals. In the last three years there have been three players making the leap: Cody Bass (2015-16), Mike Liambas (2016-17), and Pierre-Cédric Labrie (2017-18). For Liambas it was a one-year pit stop around time with the Admirals. For Bass he was a one and done guy within the Chicago Blackhawks organization. But Labrie was competing against the Admirals with the IceHogs the last three seasons. It hasn’t taken him long to blend into Milwaukee.
Last season, I wanted fan requests to determine who and when players of your choice would be heard from in Fifteen. It worked a treat. We heard from several different people and had a lot of laughs. There was just one problem: the most requested player and most frequently referred to as the funniest player Admirals teammates had played with, Harry Zolnierczyk, was recalled by the Nashville Predators moments after being named Admiral of the Month last December and Milwaukee didn’t see him again. That’s the bad news. The good news? Harry Z re-signed with the Predators before the start of the 2017-18 season.
If you’re a fan of the Milwaukee Admirals you had a double-dose of bad times yesterday. The Admirals, for whatever the reasons might be, still can’t solve the Grand Rapids Griffins or finding ways to win in the Van Andel Arena. The moment that the Admirals blew a third period lead and lost 2-1 the secondary blow came as the Nashville Predators made a trade that involved Vladislav Kamenev, Samuel Girard, and a second round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Admirals fans aren’t going to see Kyle Turris. There are no additional pieces entering the mix to replace the production of Kamenev or future work by Girard on defense. That is life in the AHL. Players arrive. Players leave. And, when they leave, the season continues and it’s on the coaching staff and remaining players to fill the gaps created by a parent club.
It stings now. It might take some time to work through new roles. But where there is a vacancy in a role as big as Kamenev was contributing in there are players getting the chance to fight for and contribute that much more than they already were.
Continue reading “Life Post-Kamenev: Where Do The Admirals Go Next?”
The Nashville Predators have made a trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators that sees pieces flying between the three organizations. The Predators will be receiving Kyle Turris. The Senators will be receiving Matt Duchene. And the Avalanche will be receiving Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev, and a second round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft from Nashville and Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, and a first and third round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. The Predators have quickly signed Turris to a six-year contract extension worth $36 million.
Continue reading “Vladislav Kamenev & Samuel Girard Traded to Colorado”
The Milwaukee Admirals lost 2-1 on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Van Andel Arena on Sunday afternoon.
There were similarities to the Admirals and Griffins first encounter on Wednesday night. More than anything this was a carbon copy of last Sunday in Chicago. The Admirals were holding to a 1-0 lead into the third period before conceding a pair of power-play goals. It spoiled a great effort in net for Matt O’Connor and continued the whacky winning ways of the Griffins over the Admirals.
Welp, this game doesn’t need a whole lot of back-story. The Milwaukee Admirals and Grand Rapids Griffins met on Wednesday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. That game was considered by head coach Dean Evason as one of their worst games of the season and the result, a 6-3 loss, frankly could have been worse than it was. The Griffins blitzed through a lethargic Admirals team and outworked them consistently. Today is a chance to return the favor in Grand Rapids.
The Milwaukee Admirals won 3-1 against the Rockford IceHogs at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday night.
After dropping two straight games. After not looking themselves on Wednesday night on home ice against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Tonight the Admirals played a strong defensive game, headlined again by a strong performance by Anders Lindbäck, and returned to winning ways.
“It’s one of our best games certainly this year,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “We’ve played some good hockey but what we really like is it backs up one of our worst game of the year. We responded really well. Everything that we talked about the other night against Grand Rapids was completely opposite tonight.”
The Milwaukee Admirals enter tonight’s game off of what was easily their worst performance of the season. They were soundly beaten 6-3 by the Grand Rapids Griffins at the UW-Milwaukee Pather Arena on Wednesday night and that was the follow-up effort after a 2-1 loss on the road against the Chicago Wolves. The Admirals could use a good result to rebound tonight as they will be traveling to Grand Rapids for a Sunday afternoon tilt. Their chance to do that comes in the form of an opponent that they have already seen three times – the Rockford IceHogs.
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