Adam Pardy will wear the #6 for the Milwaukee Admirals this season. (Photo Credit: Daniel Lavender)
To avoid getting swept away by all this flooding rain here in Southeastern Wisconsin today I trekked down to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena to get a look at practice. At last night’s Milwaukee Admirals season ticket holder event the latest edition, Adam Pardy, was on-hand but today the team put together a comprehensive run of drills that show just how the team should look this weekend.
The noticeable absentee at practice this morning was defenseman Jaynen Rissling. He appears to have been assigned by the Admirals to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) but there is nothing official about that as of yet.
Looking at how the defense stacks up now that Pardy is here it looks as though the Admirals are elevating Jimmy Oligny to the top pairing with Petter Granberg while stationing the veteran Pardy alongside Alex Carrier. The pairing of Trevor Murphy and Jack Dougherty remains untouched. Jonathan Diaby did take part in a few line rushes as a right-side option to Pardy but was mainly left to work in certain set piece drills.
Now that the forward depth is a bit thinned out the group is looking pretty cemented until the likes of Harry Zolnierczyk and/or Austin Watson return. As it is it means Justin Kirkland claiming a center role with Frédérick Gaudreau bouncing out to the wing. Matt White, who sat out the Admirals opening three games as a healthy scratch, will be the opposite winger to Gaudreau with Vladislav Kamenev centering the line. All lines seem to gel really well and have a lot to like when you consider each lines skill sets. It will be interesting to watch how they work out at game speed this weekend during the three-in-three: in Iowa on Friday night, at home against Iowa Saturday night, and in Rockford late Sunday afternoon.
After practice I wanted to hear from Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason about Monday’s trade. I also wanted to hear from the man himself, Pardy, of what his reaction to the trade was and what he knew of the organization. Plus, little fan fair was really made of the pro debut of Kirkland a week ago because it took place in Cincinnati followed by his AHL debut last Saturday which happened on the road. So, I finally chatted with him on how the debuts went. Here were the conversations post-practice from today:
If Anthony Bitetto’s injury means having Matt Irwin gone for a significant amount of time how do you view the current look of the Milwaukee Admirals defense?
(Photo Credit: Dan Hickling // Olean Times Herald)
I’ve taken the time to digest Monday’s news because it came in a few waves: (1) There was a trade in the AHL? (2) There was a trade in the AHL this early into a season? (3) The Milwaukee Admirals were the driving force of that trade? It’s been awhile since something such as this has happened and the last time I can remember it going down was the swap of Kevin Henderson and Francis Wathier back during the 2013-14 season. That wasn’t even a trade, though, it was a loan swap deal between the Admirals and Texas Stars that worked like a trade. Even then, when was that semi-trade completed? In early-March heading towards the playoff push. The acquisition of Adam Pardy by the Admirals comes just four-games into the season.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
On the surface the Admirals gave away a depth option at forward in Eric Robinson and two players, Teddy Doherty and Brandon Whitney, who were likely not seeing time in the AHL under their banner at all this season due to the numbers above them. Even Robinson was nestled behind the likes of Mike Liambas, Matt White, and Justin Kirkland for a spot to play in Milwaukee this season. It took a mass food poisoning incident for the Nashville Predators for Robinson to get a game with the Admirals this past weekend. Now with all three stationed with the Springfield Falcons organization the path to playing AHL level hockey routinely becomes a lot easier. This was depth for experience with the depth really being Robinson as the one closest to match Pardy’s value.
So in steps Pardy to the Admirals defense. Now what? Well, this is where I find things get pretty fun because -basically- this veteran defensive backing has been a sore spot for the Admirals in the past that wasn’t ultimately addressed until the later go of things in the past. This is just from the Dean Evason Era of the Admirals Era alone: 2015-16, the Predators helped the Admirals by acquiring three experienced defenseman in Patrick Mullen, Stefan Elliott, and Corey Potter. 2014-15, the Admirals bring back Scott Ford on loan from the South Carolina Stingrays. 2012-13, the Predators acquire Scott Ford and Joe Piskula less than ten-days apart in the month of February.
The Admirals already have Matt Irwin. He has shown extremely well in the first four games of the season and it is with that in mind that he was brought up to the Predators during their West Coast road swing that kicks-off tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Irwin not being with the Admirals would leave a void in which your elder statesman on the defensive side of the puck would be 24-year old Petter Granberg. After him? 23-year old Jimmy Oligny. With all due respect to Jonathan Diaby and Jaynen Rissling it doesn’t take much to see precisely why a trade like this was needed and hugely beneficial.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Should Irwin’s stay topside be a lengthy one, if say Anthony Bitetto‘s injury be very long-term, then it shows the smarts of the Predators brass to have a guy such as Irwin on standby as the veteran go-to guy at the AHL level in the event of just such an injury prognosis. If Irwin returns quicker than you can say “West Coast trip is the location where Points Percentage in the AHL originates from” than we go back to where the Admirals were not too long ago but with an added veteran defenseman in Pardy right there with him. Irwin and Pardy have a combined 493 games of NHL experience. That means a ton to a locker room and defensive nucleus that is very young. The Admirals have a sophomore in Trevor Murphy and two first-year pros in Jack Dougherty and Alex Carrier past the not-so-veteran other veterans in Granberg and Oligny. Knowledge gets to be passed down. Traits, both on and off the ice, get to be learned from. Having another body in the mix willing to be a leader and a role player isn’t just nice – it’s a long-term asset that can pay of in ways other players in the locker room can display in the future.
If Irwin arrives back while Pardy is here the numbers crunch will now unfold defensively much the same way the forwards group has felt out of the gate. You know that Irwin, Pardy, Granberg, and Oligny are locked in. So who fills the last two spots between Murphy, Dougherty, and Carrier? In Evason’s coaching philosophy that worked well last season, having three right-shots paired with three left-shots, it becomes murky having Murphy on his weak side out on the left. Yet, as the sophomore, he’s the favored option and likely would be kicked out to the right side. Dougherty or Carrier becomes the next question. The following question after that gets answered is what do you do with the odd man out? As a first year pro time is better spent playing and learning, like Justin Kirkland recently, than sitting on the outside looking in as a healthy scratch. It’s all a bit of a dilemma. But the sort of one made by having too much of a good thing.
What will Adam Pardy’s addition to the Milwaukee Admirals mean for the likes of the young guns on defense? Who are the odd-men out in this situation and was this a move that you felt needed to be made?
Well, this is a shocking turn of events. The Milwaukee Admirals have made a trade with the Springfield Falcons organization to acquire veteran defenseman Adam Pardy in exchange for Eric Robinson, Teddy Doherty, and Brandon Whitney. This move comes in a day where the Nashville Predators called up the Admirals previous veteran defenseman Matt Irwin.
Press Release via Milwaukee Admirals:
Milwaukee, WI—The Milwaukee Admirals announced today that the team has acquired defenseman Adam Pardy from the Springfield Thunderbirds in exchange for forward Eric Robinson, defenseman Teddy Doherty, and goalie Brandon Whitney.
Pardy, 32, brings over 300 games of NHL experience to the Admirals, having split the 2015-16 campaign between the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets. In total he has played in 338 NHL games with the Oilers, Jets, Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, and Calgary Flames, scoring four goals, dishing out 48 assists and accumulating 263 penalty minutes.
A native of Bonavista, NL, Pardy has played 185 games in the AHL with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, Quad City Flames, Texas Stars, Rochester Americans, and St. John’s IceCaps. He has nine career AHL goals and 30 assists for 39 points to go along with 178 penalty minutes.
This move is a shock given just how young the season is. The Admirals depart with a well thought of forward in Robinson, a first-year pro defenseman in Doherty, and a less than stellar goaltending prospect in Whitney who at this point in the season has almost been a ghost by not being invited to Admirals or the Cincinnati Cyclones pre-season training camps. That’s what the Admirals lost today. What the Admirals do gain is a well respected hard nosed veteran defenseman in Pardy that has logged 338 career games in the NHL as well as 183 career games at the AHL level.
I feel the biggest question for me right now is why was this move made? Is it a sign that perhaps Anthony Bitetto is going to be out for a massive stretch of the season or the entire season and Irwin’s recall is more aimed at that purpose with the reactionary trade here today to fill his void in Milwaukee? There is really not an answer to that question. Not today.
Reactions to today’s trade? Was this a good decision by the organization to add another veteran defenseman to the mix? Does Adam Pardy’s style of hockey really lend itself to the Predators/Laviolette style of “defenseman joining the rush” hockey?
It’s beginning to look a lot like home. (Photo Credit: Daniel Lavender)
This morning I had the opportunity to get a look at the Milwaukee Admirals practicing on the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena ice. Simply put, it has me extremely excited to see and hear what that place is going to be like come the home opener this Saturday.
Before going anywhere into just how practice looked it is worth mentioning there was a roster move that took place by the time I arrived at the new barn. The Nashville Predators recalled defenseman Matt Irwin from the Admirals ahead of their upcoming California road trip.
That of course means a shake up of the Admirals defense is in order. Funnily enough though the team hardly ran man 2-D drills in today’s practice so there aren’t exactly defensive pairings as of yet. The forwards group did see a twist as far as line combinations are concerned.
All three names that were returned to the Admirals from the Predators yesterday were on-hand for today’s practice. Trevor Smith went right back in to his familiar line with Pontus Åberg and Justin Florek. Frédérick Gaudreau on the other hand shifted out of being center and out on the wing of Vladislav Kamenev who also saw the inclusion of Matt White enter the fray. Meanwhile Juuse Saros returned and did typical Saros-like things.
I had the chance to speak with all three who played in Nashville that are back here in Milwaukee about the wild weekend they had. I also caught up with Admirals head coach Dean Evason. Here is what they all had to say following practice today at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Hype is a gift and a curse. There isn’t hype without a particular reason to get excited over a prospect. And, naturally, with the right amount of hype the ingredients can exist for that hype to never be met. Juuse Saros is a goaltending prospect that entered the North American pro hockey scene a year ago with a whirlwind of hype behind him and has been showing time and time again that the hype comes with great reason: he’s brilliant.
The long term planning that takes place in the organization can really come in waves when it comes to forwards or defenseman. As for goaltending you only have so many in play at a given time before you kick one out and look for a successor to join that prospect talent pool. Having a Pekka Rinne atop that totem pole is fantastic, because it is, but even he in his draft class wasn’t the first goaltender selected by the Predators. Of the eleven draft picks the Predators had in the 2004 NHL Draft the team selected Kyle Moir in the fifth round as their fourth selection while Rinne was drafted in the eighth round as the tenth selection. One of those two turned out to be a franchise building block. And the other was named Kyle.
With a goaltender in Rinne the Predators have had stability between the pipes for what is now the ninth season where he’s expected to be “the man” in net. That isn’t a luxury a lot of teams get to say. And when looking at the Predators draft history at the goaltending position ever since Rinne’s draft year – you kind of understand why.
Obviously the latter of the names are your current wee-nippers in the early stages of their developmental process but for much of the rest it is long done and dusted. And out of the names above who actually truly manifested into something the likes of a Rinne or to be his battery-mate in Nashville? The closest two would be Lindbäck and Mazanec. The rest just never really went to plan – or are hoping to be on the path to.
It’s this long and twisty path that gets us to the present and a present in which Rinne is a soon to be 34-year old. How many more seasons does he have in the tank where he is the reliable and dependable option as “the man” in net? It is that such question that makes Saros and his arrival all the more exciting.
(Photo Credit: Hämeen Sanomat)
In the off-season of 2015 it became clear that Saros was getting ready for his first pro season in North America. The question then was simple. Who is the odd-man out: Hellberg or Mazanec? That answer became Hellberg who the Predators traded to the New York Rangers and Saros had his spot opened up to play in the AHL as a 20-year old rookie. He entered having already played two full-seasons of pro hockey in his native Finland with HPK where he logged 91 games. As an 18-year old rookie in SM-Liiga for HPK he threw down a 1.76 goals against average and 0.923 save percentage in 44 games – as an 18-year old. That is where the hype train started and, with him and his hype effectively giving Hellberg the boot, the expectations of the 2015-16 season were incredibly high.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
When I met Saros that opening Training Camp in Milwaukee ahead of last season it became very clear that he was in fact a special sort of player and person. Similar to Colton Sissons when he arrived out of Kelowna you just didn’t get the feeling like Saros’ age was what it was for how he conducts himself. His professionalism off the ice translates to the ice. And his high level work ethic made the transition from Europe to North America look seamless. In his first season in North America as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL he split the deck with Mazanec in terms of starts. Both goaltenders had 38 starts, each. The two pushed one another incredibly hard to get time in net and that friendly rivalry meant for sharp seasons for all parties.
When it comes to European to North American transitions, especially at the AHL level, I get to see a lot of kinks and mistakes made. It makes sense to see that though. The rink is smaller. The game is faster. And, especially in net, the placement of rebounds and teams shooting to setup for rebound opportunities isn’t so much what you see in the European style game. Everyone can go through the process differently but the adjustment period exists whether it be fast, slow, or never adjusting to it at all.
So, with that in mind, let’s look at the last three goalies that the Admirals have featured as European goaltenders making their North American debuts at the AHL level: Hellberg, Mazanec, and Saros.
Hellberg’s debut season was rather remarkable, especially the end to his 2012-13 AHL season, but the minutes played and volume of wins favor Saros as a guy who was leaned on and responded. And that’s coming from him when he was 20-years old – a year younger than Hellberg and Mazanec’s AHL rookie season.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
What impressed me more than anything you’d find simply by the numbers a season ago for Saros was his reliability. Never once did he look phased or overwhelmed by the North American pro style game. If the adaptation process existed for him it was a matter of a blink and it was over. He looked and played the part of, well, his counterpart last season -Mazanec- who had already logged three pro seasons with the Admirals to get to that point in his developmental process. Saros didn’t have a gaffe such as Hellberg’s rookie season letting in a shot that was aimed as a dump in for a line change that turned into a goal. Saros didn’t have episodes of deer in headlights that Mazanec would have in spurts in his first two pro seasons. Saros didn’t have any of that. He looked, played, and acted as if he had done it all before when in fact it was his first rodeo.
(Photo Credit: Sarah Fuqua)
When Saros received the call to get his NHL debut last season for the Predators he didn’t get the result he would have liked. The team lost 4-1 to the Buffalo Sabres while Saros stopped 20/23 with the Sabres cashing in twice on a power-play stemming from a major penalty. The result didn’t go his way but the experience was taken in. The rush of the NHL debut ended. And then came a certain food poisoning outbreak that allowed for Saros to get a second crack at it all over again this past Saturday. All he did was stop 34/35 shots on goal against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and, surprise-surprise, look comfortable while doing it en route to his first career NHL win.
Nothing actually surprises me anymore when it comes to Saros. When he’s tabbed as the goaltender for an Admirals game, even as early as mid-way through last season, there was a calmness in the air knowing he was the last line of defense on the night. He’s 21-years old right now and still very much absorbing a ton that the North American game has to offer. It’s never mattered that he’s less than six-feet tall because his game preparation, compete level, and lateral quickness more than account for any issue that size might have. The further he gets pushed up the ladder the faster the game is going to get. His ability to adapt quickly, as evidenced Saturday night in Nashville, shows just why the hype is what it is for him.
It’s not all that clear how the Predators play Saros in the 2017-18 season but the objective for this year is. He is the Admirals anchor this season. He will log a ton of games, minutes, high-pressure situations, and get a chance to be “the man” for a team looking to win a Calder Cup for the first time since 2004. The amount of experience that can be absorbed and learned from this season for Saros is going to be important to take in. Because it might just set him on the path that another Finnish netminder took right out of Milwaukee.
After yesterday’s chaotic happenings due to food poisoning for the Nashville Predators the process to bring some normality back into the AHL and ECHL outfits is starting to unfold. The Predators have reassigned forwards Trevor Smith and Frédérick Gaudreau to the Milwaukee Admirals. Meanwhile, the Admirals have assigned goaltender Mark Visentin back to the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Admirals have also released both Shawn O’Donnell and Dov Grumet-Morris from their PTO Contracts. O’Donnell is expected to report back with the Cyclones.
When you consider all that took place yesterday across all three tiers of the Predators organization it is rather incredible how all responded. The Predators came away with a stunning 5-1 win at home over the reigning Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Admirals fought a hard contest, battling back from down 2-0, but took away a point on the road after a 3-2 shootout loss to the Rockford IceHogs. Then the Cyclones earned their first win of the season by defeating the Wheeling Nailers 2-1 at home. For rapidly getting stretched thin the entire organization really shined last night.
UPDATE. You can now include goaltender Juuse Saros as one of the names being reassigned by the Nashville Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals.
The Milwaukee Admirals lost 3-2 in a shootout on the road against the Rockford IceHogs Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Despite all the roster activity that took place today the Admirals delivered a really inspired performance on the ice tonight. Mark Visentin made thirty-four saves in a relief start for the Admirals while Juuse Saros earned his first career NHL win for the Nashville Predators. It was a solid performance. The Admirals earn a point. They just come up short in the shootout.
After a steady first period the entertainment provided by the second period more than made up for the scoreless opening frame. Mark McNeill opened the scoring up for the IceHogs after being unleashed on a counter attack from the Admirals defensive zone. He had a full head of steam before Ville Pokka fed him the puck. McNeill’s pace burned through Matt White and Jonathan Diaby before he managed to beat Mark Visentin with a low wrister for his first goal of the season.
The IceHogs would make it a 2-0 second period lead after a bomb from Carl Dahlström. The Admirals vacated the point as a puck trickled back to Dahlström who hammered a shot first-time that buzzed through a screen and Visentin to record his first North American pro goal.
It seemed that the second tally for the IceHogs was finally enough to awake the Admirals. In a span of 1:12 the Admirals went from trailing 2-0 to being on level terms. Félix Girard scored his first of the season just twenty-one seconds after the IceHogs had made it 2-0 and did so in the middle of a scrum out in front of Lars Johansson. Before any control by the netminder could be had Girard popped past the loose puck to get the Admirals on the board and make it 2-1.
Matt White was able to level things for the Admirals fifty-one seconds after Girard’s goal to make it 2-2. White was ranging down the right wing and appeared to be getting set to pass off to his opposite wing. After dragging the puck and cutting towards the center White unleashed a wrister that wired into the top shelf past Johansson’s glove for his first goal of the season in his 2016-17 debut. White had been a healthy scratch for the Admirals in the first three-games of the season.
The game would stay deadlocked through the third period and overtime for both team’s first shootout of the 2016-17 season. The IceHogs were able to score their first chance of the shootout through Spencer Abbott. After misses by White and Anthony Richard for the Admirals, and a failed attempt by Brandon Mashinter, the chance came for McNeill to finish what he started – and he did. He beat Visentin with a wrister blocker side to give the IceHogs the 3-2 shootout win.
A tip of the cap can be given to Visentin in net for the Admirals tonight. After a slow start to his season with the Cincinnati Cyclones at the ECHL level he was given the start tonight with the Admirals amidst the chaos going on in the organization. He delivered a great performance against the team he played for a season ago by stopping 34/36 shots on goal. He and the Admirals came up short in the shootout, yes, but after what took place earlier in the day I’d say taking a hard earned point such as this is a solid result and something to build off of.
The Admirals first loss of the season has them at a 3-0-0-1 record dropping only a single point out of a possible eight these first four games of the season during a five-game road trip. That road trip ends next week when the Admirals face-off against the Iowa Wild on Friday. The Admirals then look to make their mark at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena the next night against the Wild. They’re then right off to Rockford that Sunday to complete the three-in-three weekend and their October slate.
Ramblings: Prior to tonight’s game a massive situation broke out regarding food poisoning for the Nashville Predators. The Predators officially recalled Frédérick Gaudreau, Austin Watson, Trevor Smith, and Harry Zolnierczyk from the Milwaukee Admirals. The Predators also recalled Juuse Saros from the Admirals under emergency conditions and placed Cody Bass on injured reserve due toan upper-body injury. The Admirals in response recalled Justin Kirkland, Eric Robinson, Jaynen Rissling, and Mark Visentin from the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). They also signed forward Shawn O’Donnell and goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris to PTO Contracts. The Admirals scratches tonight were Shawn O’Donnell (healthy), Jaynen Rissling (healthy), and Dov Grumet-Morris (healthy). By recording an assist on Félix Girard’s goal tonight Alex Carrier earned his first career point as a professional hockey player. In addition to Juuse Saros earning his first career win in the NHL tonight’s contest for the Nashville Predators also saw the NHL debut for Frédérick Gaudreau.
Thoughts on tonight’s performance? All things considered do you feel taking a point from this game is a positive result for the Admirals? Did any of the new blood out of the ECHL impress you?
Freddy Time is coming to Nashville. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
During last night’s Nashville Predators road game against the Detroit Red Wings it was apparent that a touch of the flu was tackling some players in the lineup. Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith both left the game early due to flu-like symptoms and didn’t return. As it so happens the team was stricken by food poisoning thought to be caused by a pre-game meal at the hotel. The majority of the team was impacted by the situation and it has caused a wave of roster activity today. The official word is now this: the Predators have recalled Frédérick Gaudreau, Austin Watson, Trevor Smith, Harry Zolnierczyk, and Juuse Saros from the Milwaukee Admirals.
This is the first career NHL recall for Gaudreau. And, out of all the names listed above set for recall, Gaudreau is the special story of the group. He was an undrafted talent out of the QMJHL and signed an AHL contract with the Admirals in the Summer of 2014. He flipped between the Admirals and their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones during his first pro season (2014-15) but made a huge name for himself last season. He missed last season’s regular season opener as a healthy scratch but from then on he was undeniable: 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 75 games while playing in all situations – namely a first man over the boards on the penalty kill alongside Félix Girard. Gaudreau really exploded the moment that then Admirals captain Colton Sissons was recalled to the Predators and Gaudreau stepped right into his role and outperformed Sissons at the top-line center position by producing 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 14 games during the month of December. It paved the way to him earning an NHL contract with the Predators and was followed up not too long by his selection to the AHL All-Star Game.
The rest involved with the recall are a more veteran established group – and Saros. With just the lone goaltender chosen to stick around I hazard to guess whether or not Jonas Gunnarsson is due to return and make his North American pro debut tonight for the Admirals. In the instance he isn’t? They have taken care of that by bringing Mark Visentin up from the ECHL and penning Dov Grumet-Morris to a PTO Contract.
Matt Irwin was seen in Nashville today but it sounds very much like he was swiftly en route to join the Admirals once again. It has simply been a day of chaos and flu-like symptoms all around for the food poison riddled Predators. Thankfully for the Admirals this issue should only impact tonight’s game with the next outing past tonight’s game in Rockford being next Friday.
With all the scrambling going around topside this news shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. The Nashville Predators were stricken by food poisoning last night and it should mean several Milwaukee Admirals getting recalled ahead of tonight’s game with the same being said out of the team’s ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones.
The major notable here would be Kirkland who should be expected to make his AHL and Admirals debut in tonight’s game. Kirkland was reassigned by the Admirals to the Cyclones in order to log some playing time while the numbers at forward in Milwaukee were stacked against him. He did manage to get his pro debut out of the system this past Tuesday. The Cyclones lost at home to the Toledo Walleye 5-0 in the contest but all signs pointed to an active and good performance by Kirkland in his debut.
As for what this all means for the Admirals and Predators? It’s a wait and see process right now. There have already been a number of current Admirals spotted arriving to the Bridgestone Arena ahead of the Predators game against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight: Frédérick Gaudreau, Austin Watson, and Matt Irwin. With Visentin, and especially Grumet-Morris, being brought in it would be extremely safe to say both Juuse Saros and Jonas Gunnarsson are in the group brought in to assist during Nashville’s food poison woes as well.
Great news! Mike Liambas is no longer aligned with the baddies. (Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)
With all due respect to the San Antonio Rampage and Chicago Wolves tonight’s game should be a far better barometer on how the Milwaukee Admirals stack up right now. The Rockford IceHogs had a terrific season last season that simply pitter-pattered apart towards the finish. Much has changed in the Chicago Blackhawks organization which impacts how the IceHogs now look -but- they are just as strong of a team as they were a season ago.
Some big hitters are out and moved on, yes, but I feel the IceHogs have filled back out real well. Abbott and Carrick have a combined 249 points (91 goals, 158 assists) from 385 games in their AHL careers. Having well-rounded players such as these to complement an already good veteran group. The IceHogs still have Jake Dowell, Pierre-Cédric Labrie, and received familiar names after the passed through waivers in Brandon Mashinter and Mark McNeill. It’s a very established group of players and that should make the an incredibly tough test for the AHL this season.
Where a question mark can be thrown to the IceHogs this season is in net. Leighton was marvelous for the IceHogs last season: 46 games, 28-8-5-3 record, 2.44 goals against average, 0.918 save percentage, and 5 shutouts. He is now with the Carolina Hurricanes organization where he is with the Charlotte Checkers. Stepping into his place? A tandem between first year North American pro Johansson and a familiar face in Carruth.
Johansson is a 29-year old goaltender who has logged a lengthy career in his native Sweden before making his splash to the North American scene this season with Rockford. Looking at what he accomplished last season with Frölunda HC you can get the idea just why the Blackhawks wanted to bring him in:
Johansson, has played the last three seasons with Frolunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League, posting a 56-27-0 record with 11 shutouts in 93 games. During the 2015-16 season, he recorded a league-leading 1.74 goals-against average alongside a save percentage of .927 while going 27-6-0. Johansson picked up league honors for Goalie of the Year last season as Frolunda captured the league championship. In 10 playoff games last season, Johansson recorded a 1.27 GAA with a save percentage of .934. A native of Avesta, Sweden, Johansson also played professionally in Sweden’s Allsvenskan league with Mora IK (2008-11) and VIK Vasteras HK (2011-13).
As always, the European to North American transition is a different process for all who go through it. But I often find that the biggest trouble area for those going through it come at defenseman or in net. Why? That’s where the pace and style of the game can twist and turn you inside out the most. So far, he has hit the ground running with the IceHogs: 2 games, 1-1-0-0 record, 1.52 goals against average, and a 0.946 save percentage. His first win came last night in the IceHogs’ 2-1 victory of the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Carruth? This season is really his first chance to get a long AHL run. In the Blackhawks organization he has essentially bounced around between the AHL and ECHL 50-50 in his career. He’s been decent enough when given the opportunity for the IceHogs in his career: 28 games, 10-9-2-1 record, 2.53 goals against average, 0.912 save percentage, and 3 shutouts. That stat-line still comes through sporadic playing time and while going through the AHL/ECHL roller coaster. Can he stick and push for first choice goaltender? Or will he struggle alongside a netminder going through the motions of the North American pro game for the first time? That’s the true gray area on the IceHogs season to me.
Expectations for tonight’s game? How do you feel the Admirals match-up against the IceHogs? Will the penalty minutes issue continue to be a problem for the Admirals?
Admirals Roundtable 