Kristian Näkyvä scored his first pro goal in North America as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals on 12/19/15 against the Manitoba Moose at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Someone who has possibly flown under the radar for consistency sake this season has been Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Kristian Näkyvä. The 25-year old from Helsinki, Finland has yet to miss a game due to injury this season. The only five-games he has missed this season have come down to being a healthy scratch to see the likes other other defensemen get rotated into the lineup.
Näkyvä was touted as a puck moving and offensive minded defenseman when he arrived from Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in the off-season. Last season in the SHL he played 55 games and scored 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists). That hasn’t necessarily translated into the smaller North American ice. He has only produced 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) in 46 games for the Admirals this season.
While that might seem like a major blow-back the reality of the transition from Europe to North America is a hard one to take for many players crossing the pond. The heart of the defenseman position is written in the job title: defense. Näkyvä started his debut season of North American hockey in quite shaky fashion. The speed of the smaller ice surface seemed to get the best of his previous instincts. As time has gone on the Finn has looked more and more comfortable in defense while starting to let his ability to move the puck be seen in a different avenue than a score sheet might shout out. Because of a player like Näkyvä the transition game of defense to offense can really roll at a high energy pace. It’s on him to protect his own zone and float the puck up for the forwards to do the damage. Thus far, that’s been the Näkyvä experience of 2015-16. Not as flashy as expected. Not as bad as people might make out purely looking at the numbers.
~Fifteen~
Cheers to Kristian Näkyvä for taking the time to do this interview. He had ten-minutes and we hit that ballpark number perfectly! Reminder, my check list of players that you’ve suggested to hear from next on Fifteen is pretty bare. Please comment down below with more suggestions!
What’s that old expression? When the going gets tough, the tough get going? Well I suppose some of that manifested itself for the Milwaukee Admirals in last night’s 6-4 loss to the Rockford IceHogs but they were casualties to another expression: too little, too late.
From the opening puck drop to the end of the first period the IceHogs had the Admirals number. They were tearing the Admirals apart in transitional play and the first two goals scored were perfect examples of the speed in which they counter attacked. The Admirals were left scrambling and, by the time Mark McNeill added a third, the damage was done.
Last night was the first game all season that the Admirals pulled a starting goaltender from net. That’s 51 games of hockey played where the starter was a rock and saw the game through. When looking back to last season when Marek Mazanec and Magnus Hellberg split the work load they had been pulled from a start four times through the Admirals opening 51 games. It’s been amazing what the two goaltenders have been able to accomplish this season and, with that, makes last night all the more rough to see.
Juuse Saros allowed three-goals on nine-shots in 13:09 of work. The first two IceHogs goals that were scored I would say Saros was given little to no chance to make a save. The initial goal for Ryan Haggerty was a brilliant individual effort. He beat Stefan Elliott with pace down the left wing, slashed through the goal mouth, and patiently out-waited Saros to get an opening on the net to score. Saros did all that he could do – Haggerty just delivered in spectacular fashion. The second goal was a defensive breakdown that effectively forced a two-on-one to occur with Saros needing to protect both posts. Saros guarded against the near post for Ville Pokka – who then passed across to the back post for Tanner Kero who had a trailing Pontus Åberg in defensive recovery mode chasing after him.
Was last night’s bad start to blame on Saros? No. Was Saros to blame for becoming the first Admirals goaltender to be pulled from a start this season? No. His defense was.
The way the Admirals defended to start last night’s game was a scramble. The IceHogs were able to play a confident opening twenty-minutes because the Admirals were getting burnt trying to do too much on both ends of the ice. The over-commitment by the Admirals exposed Saros badly and left head coach Dean Evason with the only two choices a coach has in a scenario when the team needs a wake up call: take a timeout or pull the goaltender. As far as eye-openers go, I’d say pulling a starting goaltender for the first time all season long would be enough to wake up the team – especially when they know the fault for that rests on their shoulders.
The response for the Admirals from the second period to the finish line wasn’t too bad. If you go from just that they won the last two periods 4-3. The problem all comes down to that start though and having that sort of a barrier laid down early for the IceHogs allows them to comfortably sit back and do what they were already doing well: counter attacking hockey, speed in transition, defense to offense.
It was a bad game for the Admirals but with bad games comes plenty of examples of things that need to be corrected or addressed moving forward. Perhaps the best news of all of this is that the Admirals aren’t going to get a chance to stew over last night’s outing for too long. They practice today before logging a two-in-two // home-and-home against the Chicago Wolves. The opportunity to immediately right the ship is there for the Admirals. The less time spent wondering “how are we going to do that” by instead actually getting on the ice to deliver quality play – the better.
~Chatterbox~
During the second intermission in last night’s game I had the opportunity to speak with Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile about the Predators season, his thoughts on the Admirals, and the looming NHL Trade Deadline that is on Monday. After the game I chatted with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Cody Hodgson, Cody Bass, and Juuse Saros.
Comments on the comments? Are there any concerns, knowing how last year crumbled around this point in the season, that history might be repeating itself? What’s the cure to the Milwaukee Admirals current woes? Would two wins in two days over the Chicago Wolves suddenly make all these recent games something of a distant memory?
The Milwaukee Admirals lost 6-4 against the Rockford IceHogs Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
In a battle of the top two teams of the Central Division the Admirals were overpowered by the IceHogs early and never recovered. Juuse Saros became the first Admirals starting goaltender to be pulled from net all season after allowing three-goals on nine-shots. The IceHogs kept the hammer down and now have sole possession of first place in the Central Division standings.
“We were getting soundly beat with speed,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “Lost coverages. Turnovers. It wasn’t our group in the first period.”
It didn’t take long for the IceHogs to stack the deck against the Admirals. Inside four-minutes the IceHogs picked up the opening goal through Ryan Haggerty’s seventh of the season. Haggerty beat Stefan Elliott with speed to win the left wing edge, he carried across the goal mouth to stretch Juuse Saros, and then deposited smoothly to Saros’ glove-side.
The next IceHogs goal came four-minutes later and was another scenario where they beat the Admirals on the rush. Ville Pokka leapt up from defense and was able to catch the Admirals defensemen out of position with Elliott as last man back, Jimmy Oligny out of the play, and Pontus Åberg was racing to guard Tanner Kero who cheated behind everyone down the left wing. Pokka’s past went wing-to-wing over Elliott to pick out Kero for a tap in and his fourteenth goal of the season.
The first period damage didn’t end there. Mark McNeill tagged Saros for his fourteenth goal of the season and the IceHogs third goal from nine shots on goal. That would mark the end of Saros night in net as well as the first time in the 2015-16 season that the Admirals pulled a starting goaltender. Marek Mazanec officially entered the game with 6:51 remaining in the first period.
“It had nothing to do with Juuse,” said Evason of his decision to pull his starting goaltender tonight. “And we told him that after the first period that Juuse Saros did not get pulled because of anything that he did – it was because of what we did in front of him as a group.”
In the second period, former-Admiral Mike Liambas was called for goaltender interference and put the Admirals on the power-play. The Admirals had gone six consecutive games without scoring a power-play goal and were naught for their previous nineteen chances on the power-play. That finally ended as a Taylor Aronson and Vladislav Kamenev hooked up during a lapse of concentration for Cameron Schilling and Kirill Gotovets. Aronson’s long home run pass caught Kamenev all alone down the center of the neutral zone and the Russian was free for a snapshot delivery high glove on Michael Leighton to score his ninth goal of the season. Once again, Leighton’s bid at setting the career AHL shutouts record will have to wait another day.
That small glimmer of a comeback was smacked down to reality with two goals for Vinny Hinostroza in the span of twenty-three seconds. His first goal came after receiving a backhanded feed from Kero on the left wing that had him all alone in the slot for a first-time shot. That was instantly followed up by a home run pass from NAME in the IceHogs defensive end of the ice that caught Hinostroza in stride for a breakaway where he’d finish clean.
It was only going to be a matter of time before some sort of a scrap started and it did so with the two players who flipped sides from last season to this season. Liambas went toe-to-toe with the returning Cody Bass and the two exchanged plenty of jabs before Liambas got the takedown. If I had to score it in my fight card that would be a 10-9 round for Liambas.
After a long stretch of misery on the power-play it might be just a tad ironic for it to suddenly come to life in a game when the team is being beaten up at even strength. Following a stick to the face of Trevor Murphy the Admirals again scored a power-play goal to make it two-for-two on the night thanks to a rocket of a slap shot by Cody Hodgson that beat Leighton high-glove.
In the third period the Admirals power-play unit did it once again to make it three-for-three on the night. A great bit of tic-tac-toe passing from Stefan Elliott to Kevin Fiala ended with a wing-to-wing pass across the mouth of goal for Hodgson to blast in his second power-play goal of the night. The tally was his fourth of the season as a member of the Admirals.
The two-goal rally for the Admirals would get buzz-sawed when two Admirals ended up in the box to give the IceHogs a minute and a half long five-on-three power-play. That wouldn’t take long as a Bryan Bickell one-timed cannon blazed past Marek Mazanec to the blocker side for his eleventh goal of the season.
In the closing minutes the Admirals were finally able to find some goal scoring at even strength. A hard play to the front of the net by Max Görtz left a puck out in front of Leighton where captain Colton Sissons smacked in a rebound for his seventh goal of the season to make it a 6-4 game – which is precisely where it would end.
“We’ve been up and down,” said Evason. “We certainly haven’t had our best stuff for a bit now. We’ve given ourselves opportunities to be in hockey games. Tonight we took ourselves out of the hockey game so early that it was difficult. Although we like our effort in the second and in the third – it’s just not enough. It’s tough to rebound when you’re down three-goals right away.”
Ramblings: Prior to today’s game, Cody Bass officially cleared waivers and was assigned by the Nashville Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Sissons-Görtz, White-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Fiala-Hodgson-Åberg, Payerl-Girard-Bass, Alm-Aronson, Oligny-Elliott, Näkyvä-Murphy. Tonight’s scratches were: Patrick Mullen (right hand laceration) and Jamie Devane (healthy). Tonight marked the return of Bass to the Admirals lineup. The Admirals alternate captain last played with the Admirals on 1/9/16 vs. Iowa.
What is your take after tonight’s game? Is this current run for the Milwaukee Admirals more than just a lull? Was Juuse Saros to blame for getting pulled from the gameor would you say it was more on the play taking place in front of him?
Will Cody Bass be going toe-to-toe with his ol’ Rockford IceHogs buddies tonight at the BMO Harris Bradley Center? Tune in later to find out! (Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)
Cody Bass has officially cleared waivers and has been assigned by the Nashville Predators (NHL) to the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). It’s yet to be determined whether or not Bass will be arriving in time for or dressed for tonight’s game at home against the Rockford IceHogs.
In his most recent spell for the Predators Bass played 12 games, failed to score a point of offense, has a plus/minus rating of -1, and 12 penalty minutes (including 2 fighting majors). When we last saw Bass in Milwaukee he was coming off of a month long lay-off due to an “upper-body” injury. Bass played a pair of games in January, scored a goal in his first game back from injury, and would get sent packing to the NHL on 1/13/16.
That injury that sidelined Bass for a month does make it feel like ages since he played for the Admirals. In reality, his 2015-16 season at the AHL level has been 21 games, 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists), plus/minus rating of +4, and 50 penalty minutes (including 8 fighting majors).
For those that may have missed some of the fireworks last night there was a bit of fun in the Predators game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. During pre-game warm-ups Rich Clune started jawing with Bass at center ice and eventually let loose on his old rival with a “no punches pulled” interview. You can read and watch up on all those happenings via CBS Sports which has compiled everything you need to see.
What will the return of Bass mean for the current setup of the Milwaukee Admirals? Who gets impacted by this more: Jamie Devane, Adam Payerl, or Matt White?
The last time these two teams squared off Frédérick Gaudreau scored his hat trick goal to force overtime and Kevin Fiala buried a breakaway for the game-winning tally in overtime to complete a 4-3 comeback win. Can we expect more drama tonight? Sure, why not? (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
After a string of not so hot performances the Milwaukee Admirals will find themselves back in the grinder that is the Rockford IceHogs rivalry. Perhaps this year better than any other might be showcasing the best of what it has to offer. These games are playoff style hockey games. With both deadlocked on top of the Central Division standings again it only adds to that desperation factor. This is the last IceHogs game this season in Milwaukee. The next two games of this season series will be played in Rockford. I would say to expect for an intense one but, regardless of standings or playoff implications, these two bring enough of that out in each other. This season it’s just taken on a different level.
~Rivals~
Right now the Admirals record is 32-16-3-0 (67 points, 0.657 points percentage while the IceHogs record is at 29-13-5-4 (67 points, 0.657 points percentage). The two are tied on points percentage for the lead of the Central Division and trail only the Ontario Reign (0.667 points percentage) in the Western Conference standings.
This season the Admirals have the head-to-head match-up against the IceHogs with a record of 6-2-1-0. For those of you with weak constitutions here is a fair bit of warning for tonight’s game: six-games out of the nine-games played have been decided by one goal… five-games have gone to overtime… two-games have required a shootout… and the last three-games played have required overtime.
That’s not to say we couldn’t be in for a thrill ride or a clunker, though. Those three other games that weren’t separated by a solitary goal ended in finals the likes of: 4-2, Rockford… 6-2, Rockford… 6-2, Milwaukee.
As far as tensions go the Admirals and IceHogs have combined for a total of 227 penalty minutes which includes six fighting majors and twenty-one roughing minors. They’re averaging a combined 25.2 penalty minutes per game this season. So, lads in the penalty box: exercise before this one because that door will be opening and closing a bit.
~Who What Now?~
The first point of interest when looking at the IceHogs roster, versus the way it looked when the Admirals last played against them, is that they’ve added a player that is actually older than 34-year old goaltender Michael Leighton with 37-year old, and two-time Stanley Cup winner, defenseman Rob Scuderi.
There is a reason why Scuderi is where he is right now. His age has finally crept into his game. The prototypical stay-at-home defenseman now has some really slow wheels and his play with the Pittsburgh Penguins this year saw him get shipped to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley. After 17 games this season with the Blackhawks Scuderi was placed on and cleared waivers before being assigned to the IceHogs. He’s played a pair of games since arriving to the AHL outfit one week ago.
A great way to reinforce a point on how versatile the IceHogs offense comes can be found by looking at their individual scoring list. The top five scorers on their active roster are separated by 2 points: Mark McNeill, 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists)… Ryan Hartman, 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists)… Jake Dowell, 28 points (8 goals, 20 assists)… Vinnie Hinostroza, 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists)… Ville Pokka, 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists).
Not to be ignored, the IceHogs also have three players with very comparable points per game numbers as those top scorers such as Bryan Bickell, Marko Dano, and Tanner Kero.
In net, the main man remains to be Leighton and the chance for AHL history to be made remains. Leighton is still tied with Johnny Bower at 45 career AHL shutouts for the most in league history. Bower has held the record since 1957. This season Leighton has made 39 appearances for a record of 25-6-7-3 with a 2.33 goals against average, 0.921 save percentage, and 4 shutouts.
What are your expectations for the Milwaukee Admirals tonight? Will the offense come back to life or are they setup for a rough outing against these IceHogs?
Patrick Mullen suffered quite the scare last time out for the Milwaukee Admirals. It’s unbelievable how rarely those types of injuries occur in the sport. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
This morning I made the trip into practice to catch what the Milwaukee Admirals were up to ahead of their showdown against the Rockford IceHogs tomorrow night. Practice was held at the BMO Harris Bradley Center and saw a solid focus on some of the faults of recent games.
The first thing I noticed in practice today was the high tempo passing drills. That made up the bulk of practice with transitions from neutral ice to the net or complete breakout drills from defense to offense. The session ended with a legit scrimmage of the Admirals power-play group against the Admirals penalty kill group.
When you think about the last few games those are major areas of the game in which the Admirals have struggled. Their greatest assets this season have been speed in attack and being able to produce on the power-play. Both of those haven’t been happening in the last five-games and the power-play drought is currently at nineteen chances without a power-play goal. The more simplified the Admirals game can get the better their all around performance should be. Go North – not East-West.
~Roster News~
If you haven’t caught wind of it through social media then here you go: today the Nashville Predators placed forward Cody Bass on waivers.
My guess is that he will clear and be assigned to the Admirals. It is a twenty-four hour process so, while I believe it to be a slam dunk that he clears, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Bass would be any sort of a lock to be inserted into tomorrow night’s game for the Admirals. I’m not sure if the timing will necessarily match with the travel associated with when the waiver wire window closes. He might make it in town should he clear but that wouldn’t mean he’d be an immidiate addition ahead of the game. A more likely scenario would be this weekend’s games against the Chicago Wolves.
~Injury News~
Many fans noted during the last Admirals game that they spotted Patrick Mullen leaving the ice in some distress with lots of blood coming from his hand. Following up after the game I discovered that Mullen was taken to a hospital to receive stitched due to getting caught by a skate.
I had the chance to speak with Mullen in person today and his right hand was heavily wrapped up. He told me that as he was falling down to the ice a skate blade managed to get behind the cuff of his right glove and slice into his exposed hand and wrist. The end result of the incident ended with him receiving thirteen stitches. That’s the cosmetic damage but he also had a slight nick to a tendon. That is the bigger concern at the moment but he avoided major damage. Should the tendon heal up nicely, along with the stitch-work, he should hopefully return to the ice in a few weeks time. It’s all really dependent on how that tendon heals up.
For the meantime, what does that mean for the Admirals defensive make-up? The answer is a simple one. There are two pairings that have been locked up for awhile now: Taylor Aronson with Johan Alm and Stefan Elliott with Jimmy Oligny. That leaves the two players that have been rotating with each other to play alongside Mullen, Kristian Näkyvä and Trevor Murphy, should form as the third defensive pairing. Simple fix – even if it means the Admirals will now have a two lefty setup once again on defense.
~Chatterbox~
After practice I had the opportunity to speak with yesterday’s headline maker Colton Sissons as well as Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. Here is what both had to say.
Editor’s Note. Cheers to the Milwaukee Admirals Director of Group Sales Nate Harker for twice giving me a firm slap on the arse – including during the Sissons interview. You can slap him back by following him on the Twitter machine here.
Yesterday the Nashville Predators made sure that they’d be retaining the services of Milwaukee Admirals captain Colton Sissons through the 2018-19 season. He’s yet another great example of the Predators commitment to building and developing players within their organization. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Yesterday’s news that the Nashville Predators locked up Colton Sissons for the next three-seasons was another kind reminder of what the organization is and has been all about for years. The Predators don’t just build from within they develop from within. It’s a process that has seen so many current members of the Predators roster hone their craft as members of the Milwaukee Admirals first before being unleashed as polished professionals at the NHL level.
(Photo Credit: Milwaukee Admirals)
When you look at the current Predators roster the team features sixteen players who have played for the Admirals. Let’s say that with some more BANG to it. Of the current Predators roster sixteen out of the twenty-four players on the roster played for the Admirals. Those sixteen Predators players that logged AHL time in Milwaukee played a grand total of 1,247 games with the Admirals. That includes five of players who have played above a standard 76 game AHL season: Austin Watson (229 games), Anthony Bitetto (183 games), Pekka Rinne (147 games), Gabriel Bourque (120 games), and Miikka Salomäki (117 games). That is a massive amount of professional experience gathered before reaching the ultimate proving ground that is the NHL. Yet, it’s the process that the Predators love to see their prospects go through. They want to see players develop at their own pace and be a polished product before becoming a frequent name brought up in the NHL. The goal is to set players up for long-term success rather than short-term instability that could come with pushing a prospect too fast and crumbling under the lights, camera, action of the NHL.
The contract that Colton Sissons received yesterday did have echoes of a recent one that the Predators just put together for Austin Watson this past off-season. Watson had played a total of 229 AHL games over the course of three full playing seasons with the Admirals before getting a brand new two-year contract from the Predators with the first year being a two-way deal for 2015-16 before bumping up to a standard NHL one-way contract in 2016-17. Sissons’ contract is a three-year deal that will be a two-way contract for 2016-17 before kicking into a one-way NHL deal for the following two seasons. When you look at the two players penned to these deals there is much more than just the contracts that are similar.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Watson and Sissons are two players that have been workhorses for the Admirals in their brief professional playing careers. Watson was tasked with operating in a multitude of playing roles that went up, down, and around with him gathering experience in just about any game situation that didn’t involve him being a defensemen or a goaltender. In short, I believe there is a reason why Watson hasn’t spent a single day in the AHL during the two-way portion of his 2015-16 contract. He has remained in the Predators outfit the entire season because he’s durable, he’s capable, and his quality across the board. That can all be said thanks to the day-by-day tests that came with all that was thrown at him during his tenure with the Admirals. Sissons is now in his third professional playing season. As a sophomore he had already won over the locker room to be voted by his teammates as an alternate captain at the age of 20-years old. A season later, hello 2015-16, he was named team captain. He is a natural leader and is so because of his maturity on and off the ice with a great dedication to work ethic.
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
Sissons, like Watson, has been thrown through the obstacle course that is being a top-line center at the AHL level. He has been on the power-play, penalty kill, and played with so many different wingers on his line that he probably should be seen only wearing this t-shirt. To this point Sissons has played 36 career games in the NHL for the Predators. While he hasn’t quite seen the same points production that he has in the AHL that doesn’t take away from him using his high hockey IQ to adapt to the situation he is being put in for the Predators. If he is being asked to play a smart defensive game and be strong on the face-off circle he’s generally going to deliver just that. Sissons has won 59% of his face-offs with the Predators this season which is the best in the NHL for a player who has taken a minimum of 100 draws at the face-off dot. With him, and an increased role, there’s reason to believe Sissons’ 0.60 points per game in the AHL can pump up his current 0.17 points per game with the Predators all while delivering sound and smart hockey surrounding that all-around game of his.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
There are of course many other examples of how this process can be a great success story. I can think of no greater example of this right now than current Predators blueliner Anthony Bitetto for how the development process can shape an NHL level pro. Bitetto’s road to reach Nashville came from a lot longer road than simply the Admirals and the AHL. Where Bitetto perhaps saw his real grunt work done to get his game together actually started with a 23-game spell for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Bitetto’s game was a little bit too erratic and he would find himself over-committing to the offensive aspect of the blueline game rather than, well, the name that is in his position: defense. The move to Cincinnati playing ECHL hockey allowed for him to log more minutes, sharpen some rough patches, and lay a foundation for a really breakthrough season that came with the Admirals in 2013-14. Not content or happy with his defensive work rate of that season – Bitetto tightened up his game even more and looked and played the part of a solid two-way defenseman for the Admirals in 2014-15 which set the stage for his first career NHL call-up and game that season. He now finds himself as a common name for the Predators and does so due to the path he took to get their that made him polished enough for the NHL.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The same can also be said of the young whipper snappers of the Predators prospects that get sent to Milwaukee despite having really high-end talent that could be tested right away in the NHL. Filip Forsberg was acquired from the Washington Capitals on trade deadline day of the 2012-13 season. He made his NHL debut at the end of that season but his true rookie season to the North American game came with the 2013-14 season. He started off with the Predators but, after some injury time and a bit of struggling efforts, the organization saw it best for him to go through the motions with the Admirals at the AHL level as a 19-year old rather than be overloaded or minimized at the NHL level. He played 47 games for the Admirals that season and scored 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) as well as contributing a goal and an assist in the Admirals opening round playoff series against the Toronto Marlies. Forsberg wouldn’t see Milwaukee again after that. Instead he burst onto the NHL scene with an explosive rookie campaign that saw him play every game for the Predators, score 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists), be named to the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, and produce at a point per game clip (4 goals, 2 assists) in his first ever taste of playoff hockey at the NHL level.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
When looking at the current crop that the Admirals have there are plenty more stories similar to the ones above ready to reach the same outcome. Kevin Fiala‘s path to the NHL is looking more and more like Forsberg’s by the day and his attitude and work ethic are seeing the fruits of the bigger picture. Fiala can do far more than score flashy goals and he needs to be able to process the full dynamics of the pro game in order to be an NHL mainstay. Vladislav Kamenev is a 19-year old center that is slowly being afforded more and more responsibilities as his debut season of professional hockey in North America unfolds. Look to the path of someone such as Sissons as an example of Kamenev’s road ahead before eventually becoming the player that should have fans in Nashville very excited to see play at center. Your Bitetto-style “hard work pays off” story might just be none other than Admirals AHL All-Star representative Frédérick Gaudreau who was an undrafted free agent signing in 2014-15, signed a second pro contract with the Admirals last off-season, and has performed so fantastically well this season that he earned a two-year entry level contract from the Predators that will keep him around on a two-way basis until the 2016-17 season. Not bad for someone who played 14 games of ECHL hockey for the Cyclones a season ago, right?
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The process isn’t limited to forwards, either. Often times I wonder if Predators fans forget the amount of AHL service time their Finnish stud in net logged before being a perennial Vezina finalist. Rinne played three-seasons for the Admirals and appeared in 147 games. Marek Mazanec is currently playing his third season for the Admirals and is sitting on 107 career AHL games. Juuse Saros, the 20-year old Finnish goaltending prospect, is in his first professional playing season in North America and has 23 games under his belt. Time will probably go on to show that the waiting period, and the time spent getting more acclimated to the North American game in net, will be worth it.
The model of consistency that you see year after year between the Predators and Admirals is remarkable when looking around at the rest of the league and their NHL-AHL connections. The two organizations have been paired at the hip ever since the Predators inception in 1998-99. Through that time the names that have rolled through Milwaukee on the road to Nashville have been numerous and, looking ahead to the future, continuous. What stands out to me has been great scouting as well as great coaching throughout the organization which has lead to so many high quality professionals that were either ushered in with speed to the NHL or sharpened to get and stay there in the AHL. The process has worked forever. And it doesn’t appear to have any reason to change.
The Juuse Saros hype train was pumping at full-steam long before he started playing professionally in North America. This past off-season saw him sign his entry-level contract and paved the way for the Nashville Predators to trade away Magnus Hellberg to the New York Rangers. It didn’t take long to see what all the hype was about. Saros has performed brilliantly in Milwaukee as he transitions to the smaller North American ice.
Through 51 games for the Admirals this season they’ve been able to lean on both goaltenders without ever requiring the need to pull a starter from a contest. That means all 23 appearances this season for Saros have been starts and, of them, he has earned 17 wins. That is the most amount of wins by a rookie goaltender in the AHL this season. The next closest to him is Maxime Lagacé of the Texas Stars who has 15 wins. Both Lagacé and Saros have the same save percentage of 0.919 but Saros holds the edge elsewhere with a 2.33 goals against average and has earned a pair of shutouts.
In a slight surprise, the 20-year old Finn earned his first career NHL call-up and made his NHL debut starting for the Predators on home ice 11/28/15 against the Buffalo Sabres. Sadly, he took the loss that night. He stopped 20/23 shots on goal with the Sabres scoring twice on the power-play to push them over the top on the evening. Still, at 20-years of age in his first months of playing professional hockey in North America, I think it is safe to say that NHL appearance isn’t going to be the last of his career. This kid is a talented one as well as a very mature one. I’m pretty sure that will come across in this interview.
~Fifteen~
Cheers to Juuse Saros for taking the time to do this interview. Reminder, my check list of players that you’ve suggested to hear from next on Fifteen is pretty bare. Please comment down below with more suggestions!
It wasn’t pretty, again, but at least the Milwaukee Admirals put an end to a two-game losing spell with their 2-1 shootout win over the Iowa Wild yesterday. After back-to-back losses by a 4-1 final it just feels important to claim maximum points when playing against a team that you should be taking home both points that are on the line. Sloppy. Missed opportunities. Near chances. There was plenty of that yesterday but I’ll take the win all the same.
When subtracting empty net goals the Admirals offense has now popped in only six-goals from five-games. The power-play drought have reached six-games and they’ve gone nineteen straight power-play opportunities without a power-play goal.
Things are frozen on offense but I do believe that there were plenty of encouraging signs against the Wild. The Admirals were doing a much better job generating shots on goal and the second or third chance opportunities for a goal off of a rebound or a blocked shot were there for the taking – they just weren’t. There were tons of moments in that game where a puck would kick out just a little too wide from an on-rushing attacker for the Admirals down a wing or a rebound would be spilled but there just wasn’t a body in the right place (example of how it is done correctly – the Wild’s goal scored in the third period).
Should’ve. Could’ve. Would’ve. Plenty of that yesterday but, hey, the previous two-games I didn’t even see much of that being generated. Momentum is a real thing. Get that foundation established back up, enjoy the win, and launch hard into the big showdown against the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday is what my line of thinking is. This is a lull. Perhaps a tired Admirals team that has lost some of its wheels. They get today off from practice and have an opportunity to relax a bit. They’ll sharpen up tomorrow in practice and get some of the game simplified ahead of Wednesday night. The better the details the better the results. That’s the key.
~Chatterbox~
After the game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Cody Hodgson, Colton Sissons, and Juuse Saros. This is what they all had to say following yesterday’s 2-1 shootout win over the Wild.
Comments on the comments? Do you think yesterday there were signs of improvement by the Milwaukee Admirals offense? What must be corrected before the Admirals square off against the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday night?
The Milwaukee Admirals won 2-1 in a shootout against the Iowa Wild Sunday afternoon at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Once again, the Admirals offense wasn’t finding much quality in their finishing touch. They delivered thirty-three shots on goal but had many moments that alluded them. They carried a second period lead into the third frame but were dragged into and through overtime and all the way into a shootout. Thankfully for the Admirals the shootout has been a lock for them this season. They’ve won all six shootouts they’ve competed in with Juuse Saros not allowing a single shootout goal against.
After several “almost, nearly” moments the Admirals finally found a breakthrough in the second period. Max Reinhart flipped a backhanded pass from the right wing that looped over the stick of Maxime Fortunus and tagged Pontus Åberg in stride down the slot. The Swede threw a backhanded shot top shelf that gave Leland Irving no chance to make a stop on for Åberg’s fourteenth goal of the season.
Shortly after Kevin Fiala took a solid check in front of the Wild bench a fight broke out between Félix Girard and Brett Sutter in the third period. Both were throwing wildly, pun not intended, and it was hard to tell how many of their punches actually landed flush. It was a spirited tilt though so I’d mark that even on my fight card.
The Wild got off the mark just before the midway point of the third period. A low hard shot by Tyson Strachan went off the right pad of Juuse Saros and spilled into the left wing. Marc Hagel was in the right place at the right time to score an easy rebounder for his third goal of the season.
With 2:57 left in regulation the Wild found themselves on a five-on-three power-play lasting 1:30 following a hooking minor against Åberg and a double-minor for high sticking against Taylor Aronson. The Admirals survived the five-on-three while the second minor on Aronson spilled into overtime. On the four-on-three penalty kill the Admirals finished off Aronson’s penalty and earned a power-play of their own, to boot.
The Admirals wouldn’t come away with anything from that power-play chance. Instead this game went to a shootout. For the sixth time in six attempts the Admirals won the shootout and did it with Saros denying all three attempts from the Wild. Matt White scored in the top frame of the last round of the shootout by sliding a puck underneath Leland Irving. That was followed by a shootout attempt by Zac Dalpe that went wide of the net entirely to give the Admirals the 2-1 shootout win.
Fun Fact. This season Saros has been in the shootout three times, faced eleven shooters, and stopped them all.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there was one roster move made. The Nashville Predators recalled forward Gabriel Bourque from his long-term injury loan assignment with the Milwaukee Admirals after having played two out of a maximum three games on his loan assignment. Today’s line combinations were: Fiala-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Reinhart-Sissons-Görtz, White-Hodgson-Åberg, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Oligny-Elliott, Alm-Aronson, Murphy-Mullen. Today’s loan scratch was a healthy one in defenseman Kristian Näkyvä. Patrick Mullen left the ice at the start of the third period due to injury. He went to the hospital for stitches to his hand after being reportedly stepped on by a skate. Attendance today was 8,973.
Thoughts on today’s game? Although the finishing wasn’t there it did look like the offense was generating chances. What’s lacking in the Admirals being able to bury goals lately?
Admirals Roundtable 