The Nashville Predators are going back to the goaltending rodeo from earlier this season. Marek Mazanec has been recalled and will be joining the Predators tonight. Meanwhile, Juuse Saros has been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals. This roster move comes on a day in which the Predators and Admirals will both be doing battle against the Detroit Red Wings organization. The Admirals face the Grand Rapids Griffins on the road at 6:00 PM CST tonight.
Mazanec started his season with the Predators and made 4 appearances and 2 starts where he had a 4.72 goals against average and 0.839 save percentage. It seemed that his move down to the Admirals back on 12/14/16 was a permanent move down to the AHL. He spent the AHL All-Star break, this past week, clearing out his Nashville apartment (interview). With the Admirals he has logged 23 starts, has won 12 games, and has a 2.61 goals against average, 0.910 save percentage, and 3 shutouts.
Saros is returning to the AHL by no means of poor performance. He’s actually done better statistically in the NHL this season. For the Predators he has made 10 starts while holding a 1.79 goals against average and 0.941 save percentage. On 12/30/16, Saros earned his first career NHL shutout while stopping 25/25 shots on goal against the St. Louis Blues. With the Admirals this season Saros has made 13 starts, won 11 games, and has a 1.76 goals against average, 0.938 save percentage, with a shutout.
“Why, let’s all just hug it out eh?” (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
If there were ever a team that truly resonated with the title for our pre-game story feature it would be the Grand Rapids Griffins. They are, and have been, the enemy for years upon years now. It isn’t red mist level hatred with a history of bad blood or brawls. It is simply a rivalry bred of competitive superiority.
That’s what is ahead for the Milwaukee Admirals today. They are currently back in second place in the Central Division standings thanks in part to a win last night paired with a regulation loss from the Chicago Wolves. Who beat the Wolves? The Griffins did and did so 5-2 on the road in Chicago last night.
For the Admirals to really start to knuckle down en route for a strong playoff push they need to start making headway on the Griffins and get this awful mentality of “we can’t win in the Van Andel Arena” out of the system. The Admirals last win in Grand Rapids came over two years ago back on January 31st in a 4-0 shutout with Magnus Hellberg between the pipes. If you include last season’s playoffs the Admirals have lost ten straight games in the Van Andel Arena. It’s about time that skid stops.
The Griffins enter this game with a record of 29-12-1-2 (61 points, 0.693 points percentage). That has them not only atop the Central Division but the entire Western Conference. Only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (0.750) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0.705) have better records in the entire league.
While it would be nice to see the Admirals break this run of misery playing inside the Van Andel Arena -if it is done- it won’t come easy. The Griffins have a home record of 16-6-0-2 (0.708 points percentage) which is fourth best in the AHL this season. At home the Griffins average 3.42 goals per game while allowing 2.33 goals against per game as well as only taking 6.79 penalty minutes per game. Their power-play at home is the third best in the AHL (26.7%). Their penalty kill at home ranks eighth best in the AHL (86.2%). They are a highly detailed, composed, and explosive team in their own barn.
A major storyline coming into tonight could come in the form of the Griffins goaltender of choice. Tonight’s projected starter appears set to be Jimmy Howard who is in on a conditioning assignment from the Detroit Red Wings. Howard last played on 12/20/16 on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning and has been out due to a lower-body injury. Should Howard get the start it would be his first taste of AHL hockey since the 2008-09 season. His last AHL game was in the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs on 5/9/09 against the Manitoba Moose. His last game against the Admirals was on 2/10/09 and saw him stop 24/28 shots on goal in a road loss.
Comparing these Griffins and Admirals offensively you will quickly find some distance separating the two. The Griffins have three players with 30 points or more (Ben Street, Matt Lorito, and Tomas Nosek). The Admirals have… none. The Griffins have seven players who have scored double digit goals so far this season. The Admirals have… Pontus Åberg and Trevor Smith.
I do take solace in this tidbit of news that happened on Thursday. Louis-Marc Aubrey was released of his AHL contract with the Griffins and signed with Eisbären Berlin. Aubrey was a really well-rounded forward who always appeared to play his best hockey against the Admirals. Last season he scored a head-to-head best 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist) from 8 games. Auf Wiedersehen, Aubrey.
Expectations for tonight’s game against the Grand Rapids Griffins? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do in order to buck the trend of bad games and results inside the Van Andel Arena? And, serious question, would tonight of all night’s be a good time to finally rotate Jonas Gunnarsson between the pipes?
The Milwaukee Admirals 4-3 overtime win last night over the Rockford IceHogs was a hot mess. In truth, there was far more bad than there actually was good. Here is the catch and the most gleaming aspect of last night’s game. The really good teams win despite the fact they didn’t play their best hockey. The Admirals did that last night and never found themselves trailing in the process. It wasn’t a great game, for many reasons, but the Admirals stuck together and found a way to get the result.
There are numerous topics that I could plunge into after a game such as that. Allow me to tackle the one that rattled my head the most though which was the officiating. Normally I step back and don’t want to step on toes as far as finger wagging the men in stripes in concerned -but- last night was astronomically bad.
This face-off likely never happened with these two players taking the draw. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The game took two hours and forty-one minutes to play. The Admirals have played two shootout games shootouts this season that took as long or less to play. They even had a shootout that went a full three rounds that ended just a minute longer. I get that there were some tempers and post-whistle scrums here and there. It is a rivalry. I get that. But the amount of putzing about to figure out what is happening over who gets penalized for what and for how long and under what circumstance was mind numbingly aggravating last night. Yes, IceHogs head coach Ted Dent is a known knucklehead who probably said one or all seven of George Carlin’s favorite words to get himself a game misconduct, but even I can get an idea as to why he’d have called over the officials -twice in the first period- to make sense of what’s going on.
If all that took place last night happened under the context of a three man officiating crew having to put a stopper on an ever building powder keg? I’d get it a little bit. There were some scrums here and there that better needed containing and shutting up sooner. But it was a four man officiating crew. As much as I loved the Trevor Murphy vs. Ville Pokka fight do yourself a favor, watch it again, and tell me how the officials handled that situation. It looked like aliens who had just descended upon the Earth and weren’t sure how to introduce themselves to the natives.
Funnily enough, as so happened, Murphy and Pokka were assessed game misconducts under the “secondary altercation” guideline of the AHL rule book (46.7). That rule dictates that: “a game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player who is assessed a major penalty for fighting after the original altercation has started.” Considering it happened rather organically with the pile up and was, not just geographically, the more central scrap taking place I don’t know how justified that implementation of the rule was or if it was the officials way of dismissing players rather than having a legitimate secondary altercation with either or the two players later in the game resulting in a second fighting major and a game misconduct for doing such – an unlikely circumstance as for Murphy that was his second pro fight and first of the season and it was Pokka’s first ever recorded fighting major in his career via Hockey Fights.
That, by a long shot, was hanging over my head as the game went on. If the play on the ice for either the Admirals or IceHogs felt directionless I suppose it would be fitting because there was hardly ever a chance for the two sides to get consistent runs of play without a whistle. Stop. Start. Stop. Stop. Wait, was that penalty correct or not? Start again.
While there are notes to be had of the Admirals more poor efforts on the night, passing – passing out of shots, it is hard to not admire four things that went right.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Frédérick Gaudreau goes right to the net – scores a goal. Gaudreau goes right to the net on the Admirals extended five-on-three power-play – collects a rebound and scores a second goal. Gaudreau swoops down the right wing and, failed pass or not, he puts a puck towards the front of the net – and scores a goal off the leg of the defending Carl Dahlström and records a hat trick. And, let’s not let one Québec native have all the fun, Alex Carrier goes to the net in overtime – and scores the game-winning goal off of a rebound from a Pontus Åberg shot. The Admirals do have plenty of skill. But when this team is at its best it is when they are playing a simple game that sees pucks cleared out their defensive zone, playing with pace North-South, and going right to the net. All that skill is useless when wild one against three dekes are attempted through traffic and the puck gets turned over. Where the Admirals were at their worst last night was puck possession and retention. They didn’t have that puck often or long. Fortunately, in a few moments when they were rolling forward, they were rewarded when the simple and direct approach to the net was applied. For the Admirals less often seems to yield so much more with their skill set.
So, for as scrappy or sloppy as last night’s game was, the Admirals did find recipe enough for success tonight when the face the Grand Rapids Griffins: defense first, keep it simple, and get pucks and bodies to the net. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.
After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Gaudreau and Carrier just prior to the duo getting packed up and ready for an overnight bus ride to Grand Rapids. These were last night’s post-game interviews with a bonus in the form of a pre-game chat that I had with former Admiral turned IceHog Michael Latta.
Comments on the comments? What did you think of all of last night’s stoppages and penalty calls? Was the game pacing unnecessarily flubbed up or did the officials manage the forest fire that is the Admirals/IceHogs rivalry well?
The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-3 in overtime against the Rockford IceHogs at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday night.
Despite a Frédérick Gaudreau hat trick the Admirals found themselves allowing a late equalizer that forced overtime tonight. The Admirals didn’t even need a line change as a hard shot by Pontus Åberg fell flat for Alex Carrier to score his second overtime game-winner of the season.
It would take the Admirals only fifty-nine seconds to get out in front tonight. Mac Carruth made a terrible judgement call to sprawl out of his net for a loose puck. He didn’t make the cover and Justin Florek quickly passed to Vladislav Kamenev who dinked towards Frédérick Gaudreau at the doorstep where no goaltender was to be found.
The IceHogs would equalize midway through the first period under controversial circumstances. It appeared that Trevor Murphy had won a footrace down the right wing that should have seen hybrid icing called. The officials instead let play continue and, in a matter of seconds, Nolan Valleau scored his second goal of the season from a slap shot off the right wing circle.
Post-whistle drama would occur only eight seconds after the controversial Valleau goal. Viktor Svedberg not only tied up Derek Army but started throwing fists at the turtling opponent. Svedberg was given four minutes for roughing and a misconduct while Army was handed two minutes for roughing. Things didn’t seem to sit well with the IceHogs bench, for some reason, and that escalated their problems further as they earned a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Admirals were give a full two minutes to operate on the five-on-three power-play. Their setup was short and sweet. Murphy cranked a slap shot to the net and Carruth did all he could to trap it – Murphy’s shots just have too much on it. The resulting battle for the rebound saw Florek and Gaudreau fighting for the second and third chance opportunity and Gaudreau would cash in with the power-play goal and his second tally of the first period to push his season total to eight.
After more bad blood banter on the ice it seemed that IceHogs head coach Ted Dent had seen enough for one night. He was assessed a game misconduct following the completion of the first period.
In the second period the IceHogs drew a full five-on-three power-play of their own following a lengthy shift in attack. It would serve to equalize for them as Brandon Mashinter worked off the left wing circle and passed through the three man triangle of the Admirals to the low right wing for a one-timer by Spencer Abbott. The backdoor shot would have needed a miracle to be stopped. Abbott picked up his tenth goal of the season to make it a 2-2 game.
As the horn sounded to end the second period there was some carry over from the face-off that saw Justin Kirkland take a swipe at Michael Latta. With bodies gathering together Murphy found himself a dance partner in the fight department in fellow defenseman Ville Pokka. It was a decisive victory for Murphy in the scrap as he landed some seriously hard rights to the face of Pokka. I’d call that a 10-8 in the fight card.
It felt that for all the penalties and all the stoppages that the flow of tonight’s game was working against the Admirals. As the third period was spiraling down it seemed that the Admirals weren’t generating much attacking pressure on Carruth in goal.
Yet, hockey can be a silly sport at times and all it can take sometimes is to just get the puck towards the net. Gaudreau was gliding down the right wing when he attempted to pass opposite wing for Kamenev when the puck bounced off of Carl Dahlström’s leg and past Carruth to give Gaudreau his second career AHL hat trick – both of which have come against the IceHogs in Milwaukee during the month of February. It pushed Gaudreau’s season goal tally from six to nine.
With time expiring the IceHogs brought Carruth to the bench for the extra attacker with 1:28 remaining in regulation. They managed to get a breakthrough with 56.8 seconds remaining as a shot from the right point by Michael Latta caught a piece of traffic on the way to Mazanec and allowed Abbott to score from a second chance opportunity and earn his second goal of the night and eleventh of the season.
The game needed overtime and thankfully the Admirals had the ice tilted directly from the face-off. The puck was pinned deep and when Pontus Åberg ripped a shot from the right wing the rebound off the pads of Carruth and fell kindly for Alex Carrier to deliver his second game-winning overtime goal of the season.
To put it bluntly, much like the length of this game recap, this game was long. There were a combined ninety-two penalty minutes tonight with four game misconducts called. This was the first of eight games against the IceHogs for the rest of the season. It sort of sets a tone of what to expect from here on out.
Next on tap for the Admirals is an overnight bus trip to Grand Rapids where the group looks to earn their first win in the Van Andel Arena since 1/31/15. Including last year’s playoff series the Admirals have lost their last ten straight on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals went on the AHL All-Star break there were a few moves made in the organization. The Admirals released Shawn O’Donnell from his PTO Contract. Petter Granberg was activated from injured reserve by the Nashville Predators and assigned to the Admirals. Jonathan Diaby was then reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL where he quickly rejoined with O’Donnell. The Predators this afternoon then placed Mike Ribeiro on waivers. Tonight’s line combinations: Fiala-Smith-Åberg, Florek-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Richard-Kirkland-White, Liambas-Army-Payerl, Oligny-Carrier, Murphy-Granberg, O’Brien-Dougherty. Scratches included Adam Pardy (upper-body) and Rick Pinkston (healthy).
What were your thoughts on tonight? Has there ever been a truly boring game between the Admirals and IceHogs? Does playing such a sloppy game ahead of a showdown against the Grand Rapids Griffins set a bad tone for tomorrow night?
The Rockford IceHogs have only played the Milwaukee Admirals four times this season and tonight marks just their second trip to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. It feels bizarre to say that considering it is already February but all that means is that they’ll be a near constant in the upcoming schedule just as the Chicago Wolves had been the previous two months.
It is a welcome sight for an Admirals group looking to get on a run. The Admirals are 3-0-0-1 against the IceHogs this season with the lone loss coming the night of the “Food Poisoning” game for the Nashville Predators that saw several key figures go up from the Admirals with random plugs into the roster including Mark Visentin in net – who was great that night.
Of the Admirals wins over the IceHogs this season only one came from a narrow margin. That was a shootout win in Rockford that featured goals from Frédérick Gaudreau and Vladislav Kamenev in the final five-minutes of regulation to force overtime. The other games saw wins of 7-3 and 5-2. That last scoreline came at the top of the 2017 side of the calendar in the first match-up in Milwaukee. The leading scorer in the season series is Matt White who has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 4 games.
The IceHogs enter this game with a record of 14-23-5-3 (36 points, 0.400 points percentage). They aren’t just dead last in the Central Division. They aren’t just dead last in the Western Conference. They are the worst team in the entire AHL based on points percentage, points earned, and fewest wins. Only the Rochester Americans (24) and Hartford Wolf Pack (24) have more regulation losses in the league this season than the IceHogs (23) and that can change tonight.
In discussions I’ve had with Chicago Blackhawks fans, because we have those around Southeastern Wisconsin, I get the sense that the reason for the sheer -bad, bad, awful- effort of the IceHogs this season comes in not so much who is there as much as it is who isn’t there anymore: Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tanner Kero, and Nick Schmaltz. That is a lot of NHL/AHL fringe talent that is up with the Blackhawks out of necessity right now. Add to the fact that last year’s security blanket in net Michael Leighton signed elsewhere in the off-season and you have a hodgepodge group that deliver plenty of disappointment.
I feel very much that this year’s IceHogs are last year’s Chicago Wolves. When you see the roster it is still capable of being really good. There just has to be something between the ears not firing right. They have quality veteran leadership players: Jake Dowell, Spencer Abbott, Brandon Mashinter, and Pierre-Cédric Labrie. They still have some youngsters that are exciting: Tyler Motte, Mark McNeill, Ville Pokka, and Carl Dahlström. And depth style players to fill in gaps: Sam Carrick, Christopher DeSousa, and Jeremy Langlois. I can see a stumble here and there, like the Admirals the last two months, but how are the IceHogs as bad as this? It begs questioning.
Perhaps a spark plug is needed for the IceHogs to get things firing right. Enter former-Admiral forward Michael Latta who was recently acquired from the Los Angeles Kings organization in exchange for defenseman Cameron Schilling.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Latta logged 122 career games as a member of the Admirals while producing 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) and 286 penalty minutes. He infamously came out of the penalty box without wearing a jersey during the bench clearing brawl that took place on April Fools’ Day 2012. He was traded the next season in a deal that saw Filip Forsberg acquired from the Washington Capitals. He was in their organization up until this season when he signed a two-way deal with the Kings where he had been in the AHL as a member of the Ontario Reign for the whole of this season until the mid-season trade made him a member of the IceHogs. He has played 3 games and produced an assist since joining the IceHogs. He had 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 29 games with the Reign this season with a plus/minus rating of +4 and 67 penalty minutes. Expect to see him chatting at neutral ice during pre-game skate with former best pal with the Admirals Mike Liambas.
Expectations for tonight’s game? How will the All-Star break play with tonight’s game: slow and sloppy or refreshed and fast? Considering how often these two teams will be playing for the rest of the season do you feel some message sending across both sides could happen in tonight’s game? What are the odds of a Liambas vs. Latta fight?
Rick Pinkston’s finishing move is an homage to Jake “The Snake” Roberts. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The AHL All-Star break is officially over. This afternoon the Milwaukee Admirals were back practicing and did so today at the MSOE Kern Center. They will be returning to game action this weekend with the Rockford IceHogs tomorrow night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and then on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday.
As bodies took to the ice there was a noticeable absentee. Jonathan Diaby was officially reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones. He has played 5 games at the ECHL level this season and has 3 assists with a plus/minus rating of +2 and 6 penalty minutes. For the Admirals in the AHL Diaby has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 21 games with a plus/minus rating of +1 and 30 penalty minutes.
Diaby’s absence likely comes due to the return of Petter Granberg to the Admirals defensive ranks. The line combinations with the big Swede returning looked as follows:
Rick Pinkston was rotating here and there alongside Jack Dougherty. It is most likely he will be a healthy scratch in the current roster structure. As far as line rushes went today, I must say, the group of Anthony Richard–Justin Kirkland–Matt White looked really good. And, in general, practice today looked much looser and the players much more relaxed.
If you followed me chatting about practice on Twitter you will have wondered what was up with Alex Carrier starting practice off in a clunker red helmet and having to do push-ups. Was it All-Star hazing? Nope, he simply forgot his helmet and they grabbed on from the MSOE staff around the rink until his bucket could be retrieved.
In net, Marek Mazanec and Jonas Gunnarsson shared time in net during the mix of various drills. It is becoming all that more impressive seeing Mazanec looking very sharp and composed to shooters. It feels like the times of him being jumpy or in a scramble is pretty much gone. He stays really square to shooters. For the team to be looking to get back on a run he’ll be central to doing that if he can continue to stay as locked in as he has since returning to Milwaukee full-time.
Injury Update. I’ve noticed him around the team lately but Adam Pardy is still considered out long-term due to an upper-body injury. He is healing up well and has been contributing with the Admirals as a borderline coach as he continues to make strides for a return by the end of the season. He also had a fantastic interview with Aaron Sims this morning that is well worth watching via Facebook. Pardy might be one of the best interviews I think we’ve had here in Milwaukee. I could listen to that guy talk hockey and tell stories all day. He is a good one.
After practice I had the opportunity to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also spoke with Pinkston, Carrier, and Mazanec per fan requests. Here were today’s interviews.
Comments on the comments? Do you feel that the All-Star break came at the right time for the Milwaukee Admirals? How good will it be for the schedule to shake back out with more home games as the Admirals look ahead for the second half of the regular season?
The Nashville Predators have activated defenseman Petter Granberg from injured reserve and assigned him to the Milwaukee Admirals. Granberg last played with the Predators in the middle of January when they played on the road against the Colorado Avalanche. He had been out due to injury since.
Granberg has split time between the NHL and AHL this season but the majority has been spent with the Admirals. He had played 18 games in the AHL opposed to 10 games in the NHL with the Predators. His return to game readiness will be a welcome addition to an Admirals group that could benefit from the defense first style defenseman as that’s been the issue lately for the team. It also allows the Admirals to return back to head coach Dean Evason‘s preferred method of three left handed shots and three right handed shots being grouped together on defense.
The Admirals are currently enjoying their AHL All-Star break. They return to action this Friday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena when the Rockford IceHogs turn up for the first of three meetings in the month of February. The Admirals then travel overnight to play against the Grand Rapids Griffins and the formidable Van Andel Arena on Saturday.
This morning the Milwaukee Admirals have released forward Shawn O’Donnell from his PTO Contract. He will be rejoining the Admirals’ ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones a day prior to them hosting the Rapid City Rush at the US Bank Arena.
O’Donnell first showed up to the Admirals ahead of the season during Training Camp where he was in courtesy of the Cyclones to get an AHL audition. O’Donnell impressed enough that he has made stops with the Admirals this season and he has managed to play 6 games. In that time he has been a high energy worker who also recorded a pair of fighting majors.
In the ECHL for the Cyclones, O’Donnell has produced 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games. He has a plus/minus rating of -2 and 19 penalty minutes. The Cyclones currently have a record of 18-20-4-0 (40 points, 0.476 points percentage) and are in sixth place in the South Division and eleventh in the Eastern Conference standings.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)The month of January was not a pretty one for the Milwaukee Admirals. The team put together a 6-7-0-0 record. It was the first time since the opening month of the 2015-16 season that the Admirals had a record that featured more regulation losses than wins in a month of play. The Admirals went 2-4-1-0 in October 2015. That was a team stumbling out of the starting blocks but they found their feet and never seemed to stop running. This year’s Admirals have had wild swings of change and travel. It all seemed to finally bend the team this month past its breaking point.
It is always far easier to decide Admiral of the Month when there were strings of wins or key performers showing up night in and night out. You almost can’t say that for the Admirals due to how erratic things were in January. I must say, out of all that took place and all the ups and downs, there was a constant. And that constant was in net.
Marek Mazanec started in all but a single game for the Admirals in January. He held a record of 6-6-0-0 while producing a 0.919 save percentage, 2.24 goals against average, and earning 3 shutouts. He also managed to deliver 2 assists at the start of the month which both came on the Admirals power-play. He was calm and composed in and around his net. And he has been making big strides forward with goaltending coach Dave Rook ever since rejoining the Admirals from the Nashville Predators full-time in the middle of December.
It hit home that Mazanec will be the “go-to” option for the Admirals for the rest of the season when following his last shutout he said in an on ice interview following his third shutout of the season that he’ll be spending the AHL All-Star break emptying his apartment in Nashville. It sounds very sad and everything but you’d never know it really hurt Mazanec by the way he came to the Admirals with a big smile and has been working like mad in the off chance the Predators might need his services.
Mazanec has made quantum leaps over the goaltender that was being jostled around back and forth in the first two months and a half of the season. Now that he has the opportunity to settle down, focus, and log consistent time in the net you’re seeing his play benefit and confidence soar. There were bad games for the Admirals this month that dented Mazanec’s numbers. It wasn’t down to him anywhere near as much as the defensive effort of the team let him down. This past month may have been one of the best looking and consistent runs that Mazanec has had as a member of the Admirals.
It may not be where Mazanec would have hoped to have been this season but he is making the most of his time in the AHL. It is on him to make the rest of the time this season has to offer count. His contract is up and the Predators might not exactly need a spot for him next season. He needs to get himself on other teams’ radars if that is the case and the only way to do that is to play at an incredibly high level. The Admirals can greatly benefit from him doing that. And Mazanec is certainly doing all that he can to see that happen for the team and for himself moving forward.
Other players who did stand out to me this month that deserved a mention: Jimmy Oligny has stepped up in a time where the defense has been beaten up and he is now the “seasoned veteran defenseman” at the age of 23. Pontus Åberg has been -by miles- the best and most consistent Admirals forward and is putting himself back into contention for a call-up to the NHL. Kevin Fiala made a return to the Admirals at the AHL level and has looked tremendous. And Alex Carrier, similar to Oligny but to a lesser extent, has stepped up huge for the Admirals defense when they have badly needed consistency in approach.
~Admiral of the Month Award~
October: Juuse Saros November: Alex Carrier December: Harry Zolnierczyk January: Marek Mazanec
Who do you feel was the top performer for the Milwaukee Admirals during the month of January? Was it Mazanec, Oligny, Åberg or someone else? Tell me who your Admiral of the Month was in the comment section below.
The Milwaukee Admirals haven’t been short of quality players drafted by the Nashville Predators over the years. You can just about view the Predators roster now and get the idea. The organization scouts and develops as well as any in the game. Even then there are very pleasant surprises to be seen up close at the American Hockey League level when seeing that process at its earliest stage.
When Colton Sissons and Juuse Saros made their arrival to Milwaukee it took some serious convincing that they were actually younger than they behaved. Both entered with such veteran-like poise and maturity from Day 1. Sissons was voted by his teammates as an alternate captain of the Admirals when he was 20-years old after playing one full-season of pro hockey. The next season his teammates would name him to be the Admirals captain. And Saros? Let’s just say that he has done so well that at 21-years old, having played 51 games in the AHL in just over one season, he is already cemented into the Predators roster behind the man he one day hopes to succeed, Pekka Rinne.
Alex Carrier doesn’t quite come across a wise old veteran in a 20-year old’s body when you chat with him or ask him how he is handling his first season as a pro hockey player. I don’t mean that as a negative, either. He speaks and acts in a way you’d imagine a kid would in realizing that he is living his dream of playing hockey for a living. His face lights up and he can’t really stop smiling about it. Considering how his first pro season has been going, who can blame him?
(Photo Credit: Sara Stathas)
At this point in time, at the AHL All-Star break, I’d pen Carrier down as the best Admirals defenseman this season without much of a second thought. He is the top scoring defenseman on the team as well as the top scoring rookie. Yet, it isn’t the offensive stats that are the real standout element to his game. It is how he looks, moves, reads, and defends the position precisely as a Predators style defenseman is groomed to play the game and he is doing it from his arrival to the pro scene. Carrier can be the happy go lucky kid off the ice but his on-ice performance screams someone who looks like they’ve been developing in Milwaukee for several years already. He was 19-years old when this season started. He joined the Admirals at the end of last season to get a look around at the pro lifestyle, meet the coaches and some of the players he would play alongside this season, but he didn’t log a game like Jack Dougherty or Aaron Irving did. He sat out, practiced a bit, and processed his eventual destination.
I always hear from players how beneficial it is to arrive at the end of the season from juniors or college and get a look around – even if they don’t play. It checks so many boxes and answers so many questions before a players can cut loose and play. It isn’t a matter of hockey questions anywhere near as much as it is day-to-day life questions or learning the pro hockey lifestyle. There is far more time spent away from the game than in it but getting the happy medium measured between the is a key that can settle a mind down.
“That was great because, when I got here this year, I wasn’t as awkward. I knew everyone, I knew the coaches, I knew the staff, the players,” said Carrier of his time spent around the Admirals following his junior playing career coming to an end. “Even if I didn’t play a game I still felt more comfortable this year.”
Even with that all making for a smoother transition to living in Milwaukee and knowing your co-workers for an upcoming season – you still have to play. Going from the junior to the professional ranks is a test of not only precision in mechanics but doing it at a far higher rate of speed. Carrier didn’t get that pro debut out of his system with the Admirals at the end of last season. Heck, even his fellow Gatineau teammate in juniors Yakov Trenin was able to get involved during the Admirals playoff series and he’s back in juniors this season. Carrier was entering his first pro games of the 2016-17 season with a clean slate and relying upon the player that he already is. It was a slow and steady tip-toe progression but it didn’t paint a picture as large as what it would become.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Where Carrier’s season started to take leaps forward came in the form of the injury bug that was hitting the Predators early in the season. Matt Irwin was the veteran defenseman option for the Predators kept in reserve down with the Admirals and he was recalled for good far sooner than I’m sure the Predators could have anticipated. When Irwin went up it left lots of gaps open with the Admirals defensively. That is where Carrier was given an early opportunity to succeed and he did. His roles expanded on special teams and showed poise across the board. Carrier’s confidence seemed to grow with more experience and his natural ability started to shine with extended playing time. That confidence didn’t stay limited to him. It spread out to his teammates when he took to the ice and clearly the coaching staff for wanting him out there more and more. He’s been anchored as a first choice style defenseman on the power-play or penalty kill ever since.
With Irwin doing so incredibly well for the Predators the organization needed to go back to the well and get a new veteran defenseman for depth purposes. The Admirals made an AHL trade to acquire Adam Pardy from the Springfield Falcons in exchange for Eric Robinson, Teddy Doherty, and Brandon Whitney. Pardy and Carrier would be paired from Pardy’s Admirals debut and the two had immediate chemistry.
“I think our games complement each other,” said Pardy after his first weekend playing with the Admirals alongside Carrier. “He’s a good player. He is heads up and he sees plays. He makes a great first pass coming out of a zone. So, that’s what we need from both of us. And working together and playing solid positioning back there. We don’t want to get running around and he is good at that. He doesn’t panic. He’s got composure. He’s good with the puck. And he is smart. He pays attention to the details. I think it is a great pairing. I really like the kid. I’m looking forward to playing more with him.”
The confidence was already growing for Carrier. Add a veteran with such quality NHL experience such as Pardy on your left-side and he blossomed even more. In the 13 games that Carrier played after the arrival of Pardy he was producing at a point per game clip: 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists). His all-around game was looking polished and smooth. He didn’t look like someone who was the second youngest player on the Admirals roster to only Anthony Richard. He looked NHL good. And, on 1/12/17, the Predators thought he did too.
On that day, Carrier was walking to get a meal when he received a phone call from Washington D.C. that he didn’t recognize. He ignored it as a wrong number and fifteen minutes later he received a text from the same number. It was Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason who told him he was going up and to call back as soon as possible.
Carrier was able to do a little bit of what he did at the end of the 2015-16 season in Nashville. He got to take a look around. When the Predators hosted the Boston Bruins the day of his first career NHL recall he was on the ice for pre-game skate and was able to view the Bridgestone Arena in a regular season game environment for the first time.
“It felt the same as when I came [to Milwaukee] last year,” said Carrier. “I thought the thought process maybe was that. I wasn’t expecting to play. At first, when I got there, I was the seventh [defenseman]. Everyone was healthy except for [P.K. Subban]. I wasn’t expecting to play. I was there for the experience like last year.”
That night he would be a healthy scratch. The following game would see him make his NHL debut on the road against the Colorado Avalanche on 1/14/17. He would suit up once more for the next game, on the road against the Vancouver Canucks, before returning back to the Admirals in the AHL. He became the first member of the Predators 2015 NHL Draft Class to earn a recall and log a game.
“It was amazing,” Carrier said of his first experience in the NHL. “It was a dream come true for me to play my first NHL game. “I think the most exciting part, I was feeling so nervous, before the national anthem I was sitting on the bench looking.. it was sold out in Vancouver.. so I was looking around like, ‘oh my God, this is it.’ I was really thrilled about it, very nervous, but then when I got my first shift it was just another game.”
(Photo Credit: Sara Stathas)
“What is this Carrier kid up to tonight,” you ask. Why, he is playing in the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic where he acts as the lone representative for the Milwaukee Admirals. It is the first proper distinction of what could be many to come in his pro career as the Québec native continues to press forward with his mature game on the ice combined with his great work ethic and joyful “aw-shucks” nature off the ice. While so many prospects can be grinding up and down under an immense spotlight, or perhaps under no scrutiny or expectations at all, there is a charm to the way Carrier has come in as a first-year pro at 19-years old and become what he is already. He made his NHL debut effectively three-months into his pro career. He’s the Admirals top all-around defenseman. He is still only learning the game at the professional level and can fill out physically to become even stronger than he currently is.
Saros arrived with hype and expectations. He’s meeting them. Carrier didn’t seem to arrive with any and he should be slapped on the Predators radar moving forward. He has all the talent to be the type of defenseman they pride themselves on having as well as developing. This level of performance that he is showing has been him while in a very early stage of his development. Carrier is becoming the type of player in Milwaukee I enjoy kicking back and watching just to watch him play. He’s good. And he is still growing.
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