Author: Daniel Lavender

Feature

The Then & Now Report
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
What has Mark Van Guilder been up to lately? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

First and foremost, I hope all had a lovely time last night at the Milwaukee Admirals season ticket holder event. It always sounds like a blast and it’s a great way to go behind the scenes with the team for an evening or to hang out casually with the players.

Speaking of hanging out with the players – the Admirals did just announce the date for their annual Celebrity Serve event hosted by Major Goolsby’s. That will take place on March 16th and further details are expected to be announced as that date closes. I wasn’t going to gate crash the season ticket holder event but I will be around for the Celebrity Serve. Hope to catch you folks there. That’s always a fun time. Friendly Suggestion: Be sure to brush up on your Russian to have some polite dialogue with Vladislav Kamenev while you’re there.

~AHL Update~

Apologies for the slow traffic on my end during this cushioned road trip stretch for the Admirals. To put it bluntly, there is only so much to talk about leading into and exiting those two games against the San Antonio Rampage.

The most I can say really is that the Rampage lost against last night and have now lost thirteen straight home games. As much as I want to say “ouch” and be done with it there was an incident within the game that was far more painful.

Brian McGrattan, current member of the San Diego Gulls and formerly of the Nashville Predators and Admirals (aka the man who helped bring Joe Piskula back to his home state), was knocked out during a fight against the Rampage’s Daniel Maggio. While Maggio is familiar with just such an incident this season what took place to McGrattan was even more scary. The two fought without their helmets on, McGrattan was rocked by a stiff right hand, and planted head first into the ice. He required immediate medical attention and left the ice on a stretcher. You can watch the full incident here.

There is some good news that has come out from this. McGrattan did reportedly give a “thumbs up” to the San Antonio crowd and the Gulls organization did come forward with a quick update that stated he was conscious, alert, and had full range of movement. That’s fantastic to hear and hopefully the trauma he sustained from the fall didn’t damage his skull or that ever important organ that the skull protects.

Elsewhere around the AHL I feel as if a team that might be going under the radar, especially for those of us here in Milwaukee, are the Charlotte Checkers. They’ve recently exploded in the standings thanks to a run of 13-1-1-1 over their last sixteen games. That included a twelve-game point streak that went on until some Grand Rapids Griffins team beat them. The Checkers would push back and take them down the very next night.

Who is the driving force to this run by the Checkers? Tilt your eyes from offense and focus on the goaltender. No, not former-Admirals netminder Drew MacIntyre. Look at 21-year old goalie Daniel Altshuller and the astonishing run that he has been on since getting recalled from the ECHL in mid-December: 11 starts, 9-1-1-1 record, 1.71 goals against average, 0.941 save percentage, and a shutout. That’s stunning. Can he sustain these performances or crash back to Earth? With the Checkers now in front of the Admirals on the diabolical points percentage system you kind of hope for the latter.

~Fifteen~

Part of the bummer of these long breaks or gaps in the Admirals schedule with road games is my ability to conduct interviews for Fifteen. I did attempt to stockpile some for this time period -BUT- I had too much fun with the interviews of Marek Mazanec, Max Görtz, and Scott Ford that I raced to get them out ASAP rather than wait on them. Good news? You got to hear those three in three days! Bad news? You’ve sadly not had one for this week – and now the team is setting sail for a weekend set in Cleveland – so you’ll be getting a week off from the feature.

In the week that follows off this coming weekend I’m planning on logging a good amount of interview time and running down the ever growing list that you readers keep building upon. Unfortunately, next man up was Kevin Fiala and he’s since scored his first career NHL goal and is a wee bit busy doing Nashville things. I could substitute him with who he substituted in Nashville, Viktor Arvidsson. Fair deal? I’ve been trying to make that guy laugh for awhile now and this might just do the trick. I honestly think he’s more German than Swedish sometimes (real life example).

~Then & Now Report~

It’s the mid-season point for a lot of hockey teams out there so I think it would be a fun time to check in on some familiar names and see how they’re doing.

Magnus Hellberg: Our old pal Magnus has been pretty battle tested within the New York Rangers organization after the Nashville Predators traded him to land a sixth round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He has played 25 games and sports a 13-10-2-0 record to go with a 2.57 goals against average (GAA), 0.912 save percentage (SV%), and a pair of shutouts. He also was able to get in net at the NHL level for the second time in his career. That didn’t go well. The Rangers were abysmal against a non-abysmal Washington Capitals team and the big guy went 4/6 in saves. In his NHL career he has two relief appearances, 32:12 of ice time, and has gone 7/10 for save attempts. Harsh.

Viktor Stålberg: Why not stay with the New York Rangers, eh? To his credit, this season Stålberg has managed to stay at the NHL level the entire season so far. To his ineptitude, he continues to make everyone look at his 2010-12 career numbers and what he cooks up now while looking like they’ve slammed a packet of lemon flavored Warheads. As a lower end winger his 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in 40 games stat line doesn’t look too bad. But we’re four-years removed from a 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 79 games 2011-12 season. I won’t be shocked at all if he ends up in Europe soon.

Rob Madore: This is going from sour to sweet. Why? Because who isn’t a Rob Madore fan? He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve come across in the game. Sad to see that he didn’t get to actually play for the Admirals last season but he did have some bench-side cameos as a back-up here and there. That of course followed on the heels of his amazing 2013-14 season for the Cincinnati Cyclones where he earned the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP despite coming up on the losing side of the 2014 Kelly Cup Finals. This season he is with the Toronto Marlies organization. He has spent the majority of his time with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) and performed well: 19 games, 7-8-1-3, 2.94 GAA, and a 0.913 SV%. He has seen time with the Marlies and has been brilliant: 4 games, 4 wins, 1.25 GAA, 0.952 SV%, and picked up his first AHL shutout since 4/20/13 as a member of the Charlotte Checkers playing on the road against the Peoria Rivermen.

Scott Ford: He’s our assistant coach now. He’s also sort of Milwaukee’s version of Bob Wiley. You think he’s gone? He’s not gone. That’s the whole point. HE’S NEVER GONE.

Jared Nightingale: While in similar circumstances to the Sheriff last season Mr. Nightingale continues to fight the good fight as an ECHL name that keeps finding occasional AHL loan time. Though, it must be said, this season has been far calmer for him. Like last season he is stationed predominantly with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL). He has suited up for one AHL team this season (Chicago Wolves) and that lasted one-game. Last season, away from ECHL Toledo, Nightingale played 42 games between five different AHL teams (Hartford Wolf Pack, Norfolk Admirals, Grand Rapids Griffins, Milwaukee Admirals, and Syracuse Crunch). I’d love for someone to do the grunt work for me and find out if he was the first person to ever play for both versions of the AHL Admirals (Milwaukee and Norfolk) in the same season.

Joe Piskula: Good Guy Joe from Antigo moved out to get him one of them new hockey jobs out Californee-way with the Anaheim Ducks. He’s the team captain of the San Diego Gulls and unfortunately missed a lot of time due to injury. The good news? He is back and playing. His 2015-16 season only reads as such: 15 games, 2 points (0 goals, 2 assists), 11 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of -1, and is averaging a shot on goal per game.

Ian White: He hasn’t played a lick of hockey this season. “Why is that,” you ask. Well, because he kind of sort of got arrested. Whoopsies.

Zach Budish: We had the chance to see last year’s Milwaukee Admirals Man of the Year award winner this season on a brief PTO deal from the Admirals very own ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. Sadly, that’s the best Budish could do off of what was his best pro season to date last year. He turned up to the Iowa Wild’s pre-season camp as an invitee and was cut. The Iowa Wild cut him. I think that’s more of a reflection of how terrible the scouting of the Minnesota Wild organization is than a blow against Budish. Because, looking at the ECHL number today, Big Head leads the Cyclones in scoring with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games. If you look at his past injuries at Minnesota and beyond – all he’s ever truly needed was a good run on a clean bill of health with consistent playing time. He is finally getting that this season and delivering. I truly hope he gets an AHL look again this season or next season.

Patrick Cehlin: I tapped into the sob story of Cehlin in depth in last season’s Report Card. I suggest reading that in-full first. … Caught up? Depressing right? Well, cheer up because this season has been far more kind to the Swede. He joined Rögle BK, has scored 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 34 games in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). That scoring output has him ranked twenty-third best in the entire league. So, while his NHL dream went crashing down in a conveyor belt of bad luck and injuries, he’s found his game back home. I do always enjoy seeing our European talents getting back on their feet back in their native countries. Cehlin, at 24-years of age, has plenty of good hockey to play in Sweden at a high level.

Rich Clune: You no doubt read his story The Battle on The Players Tribune this summer. If not, it really is a must read and something to appreciate where he is right now all the more. Clune signed with the Toronto Marlies in the past off-season but that got bumped up to an NHL deal because he, like that entire Marlies team, has been great: 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in 29 games with a plus/minus rating of +12 and 102 penalty minutes (8 fights). At the moment he is in the NHL with the Maple Leafs where he can be seen out-grappling people like Zac Rinaldo.

Brendan Leipsic: Let’s stick with that white hot Marlies team where Leiper went to. Remember that trade? Where he, Olli Jokinen, and a 2015 first round draft pick went to Toronto in exchange for Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli. By the way, ever wonder what that first round draft pick turned into? Well, that one pick turned into three draft picks: Travis Dermott (2nd round, 34th overall), Jeremy Bracco (2nd Round, 61st Overall), and Martins Dzierkals (3rd Round, 68th overall). Remember those last three names just in case, guys. Where was I? Oh, right Leipsic! He has been part of a beastly Marlies team that is tearing up the AHL’s Eastern Conference this season. In the 2015-16 season so far he has 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists). That’s all being done on a Marlies team that has the best record in the AHL right now: 31-8-2-0 (64 points, 0.780 points percentage).

Triston Grant: He missed a massive chunk of this season for reasons I’ve never really found out. Why he hasn’t been playing lately is probably down to injury or simply that the Griffins are so freakishly loaded with players at the moment that they don’t have to play him. He has logged four games this entire AHL season. Weirdly, the first two games he played this season were the back-to-back losses the Griffins took after setting their franchise record fifteen game winning streak. Bad luck?

Mike Liambas: The Bus’ season got of to a rough start thanks to a lower-body injury that wiped out two-months of his debut season within the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He has played 13 games with the Rockford IceHogs, has spent all of that time as a forward despite some shoddy writing suggesting he would play or was playing previously as a defenseman with the Admirals. No points of offense yet for Liambas but he does have just one more shot on goal (7) that fighting majors (6) this season.

Gary Steffes: Is boy Gary scoring more goals than he did last season? No. No he is not. Sadly, that’s sort of expected. He did after all score 61 goals in all competitions (AHL, ECHL, ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs) last season over the course of 97 games. That production somehow didn’t get him on any AHL radars what so ever and he returned to the Allen Americans (ECHL) where he enjoyed such success including winning the 2015 Kelly Cup. This season hasn’t been close to what he enjoyed a season ago: 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 35 games. Still, he is team captain and has a chance to push Allen into another deep playoff run later this season.

Mark Van Guilder: It was sad to see good ol’ MVG set sail in the off-season. It was always going to be unusual seeing him in something that wasn’t an Admirals uniform but I think the move to Italy’s Serie A Hockey League ranks up there as about as unusual as it could have gotten, for me. That said, he has been doing great as part of Rittner Buam: 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) in 31 games with a plus/minus of +20. You have to go back to his 2008-09 stats with the Cyclones (ECHL) for something remotely that explosive. Perhaps a different league in Europe would provide better competition and paychecks for MVG? That would be something I’d love to see. How about HIFK in Finland where Juuso Puustinen, Joonas Rask, and Joonas Järvinen all play? I love me some HIFK Finnish Admirals. That would put them even further over the top. Perhaps I’ll try a Twitter campaign of #MVGtoHIFK to persuade the powers that be to make it happen.

Any other players of interest that you miss or would like to know what they’re up to? Comment down below with the player and I’ll get back to you with what I know or what I’m seeing out of their current performance.

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

Game Recaps

Åberg’s Hat Trick Boosts Admirals in San Antonio; win 6-3
(Photo Credit: Ted Sandeen)
(Photo Credit: Ted Sandeen)

The Milwaukee Admirals won 6-3 on the road against the San Antonio Rampage Saturday night at the AT&T Center.

A dominant opening period by the Admirals overwhelmed the Rampage and set the stage for a whooping. This weekend set in San Antonio was well needed for the Admirals and to cap it off Pontus Åberg recorded the second hat trick for the team this season.

It was very apparent last night that the Admirals speed advantage left the Rampage chasing for much of the contest. Tonight, the Admirals only really needed the first period to lay down their authority. Last night’s game ended 3-0. Tonight’s first period ended 4-0.

The Admirals opening goal came less than two-minutes into the game when Matt White smacked home his fifth goal of the season after a great fake slap shot turned pass by Max Görtz set him up. This was followed up with a howitzer of a one-timed shot by Pontus Åberg on the Admirals first power-play opportunity of the night to push their lead out to 2-0. The man to dish up the one-timer to Åberg was Stefan Elliott who made his Milwaukee Admirals debut tonight.

Vladislav Kamenev’s return to the North American ice has looked great and that carried into his second game since rejoining the Admirals lineup from the 2016 IIHF World Juniors. The Russian recorded his second goal in as many games to give the Admirals a 3-0 lead from his eight goal of the season. This goal ended the night in net for Rampage goaltender Spencer Martin who stopped 3/6 shots on goal from 12:41 of ice time.

With Martin out the Rampage looked to lean on last night’s starter Roman Will. Yet, another Admirals power-play meant Will’s introduction was a bit of a harsh one. Just as Sam Henley was exiting the box after having served his roughing minor the Admirals lit up Will to make it a 4-0 game at 17:24 of the first period. Max Reinhart made an incredible backhanded pass from his knees to pick out Åberg in the slot to score his second goal of the frame.

In the second period the Admirals made good on yet another power-play opportunity. Cody Hodgson delivered a hard shot to the net and received a deflection from the net-front presence of Colton Sissons. The goal for the Admirals captain was his sixth of the season.

Sadly, the weekend shutout bid for the Admirals came to an end after a successful power-play from the Rampage. Maxim Noreau was able to cheat up from the blueline and into the slot to get a puck past Juuse Saros and score his sixth goal of the season. It was the first goal allowed by the Admirals in 90:37 of ice time.

As the second period was ending Trevor Murphy and Colin Smith came together around the penalty box area and decided it would be a good time to start a fight. In a season series that has already seen Jamie Devane knock Daniel Maggio out cold this is yet another fight that saw an Admiral combatant win big. Both had lost their helmets in the initial exchanges but it was Murphy that uncorked two solid rights that cut open the left side of Smith’s face and ended the tilt clean. TKO win for Murphy. No need to go to the fight cards at all.

The third period saw Åberg complete his hat trick after a wicked wrister whistled over the shoulder of Will to push the Admirals lead back up to five-goals. The goal was Åberg’s now team leading twelfth of the season. He is the second member of the Admirals to notch a hat trick this season. Reinhart had the first back on 12/21/15 against the Rockford IceHogs. Both hat tricks were scored on the road.

The Rampage did make a push in the third period which resulted in a pair of goals. Michael Schumacher finished off a strong shift to score his sixth goal of the season. That was followed up seven minutes later by a redirected goal by the newly stitched up Smith for his twelfth goal of the season.

Despite that last goal by the Rampage making it a three-goal game with 3:22 remaining in regulation there was no empty net and extra attacker push made by the home team. The game would spiral down to the final horn and provide the Admirals with a solid and decisive weekend sweep in San Antonio.

Ramblings: Tonight’s line combinations for the Milwaukee Admirals were: Arvidsson-Sissons-Hodgson, Åberg-Kamenev-Gaudreau, White-Reinhard-Görtz, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Oligny-Elliott, Näkyvä-Mullen, Murphy-Aronson. Tonight’s scratches were: Joe Pendenza (healthy), Johan Alm (healthy), Jonathan Diaby (undisclosed injury). Tonight wasn’t just Stefan Elliott’s Admirals debut it was his 200th career AHL game.

Here is the most obvious question that I can come up from after these last two games in San Antonio. Were the Admirals that good or were the Rampage that bad? How do you like the new look Admirals defense with a clean split of three-pairings that have a left and a right shot?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

Game Recaps

That’s More Like It; Ads Shutout Rampage 3-0
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Milwaukee Admirals earned a 3-0 shutout on the road against the San Antonio Rampage Friday night at the AT&T Center.

Marek Mazanec didn’t have the busiest of nights in net but he denied all nineteen shots he faced to earn his second shutout for the Admirals this season and sixth of his AHL career. Vladislav Kamenev marked his return to the lineup scoring the game-opening goal which would also prove to be the game-winner tonight. The win for the Admirals snaps a four-game winless skid while the loss for the Rampage is their eleventh straight defeat on home ice.

To start the second period the Rampage had the Admirals pinned and managed to match their first period shot total of six within the opening four minutes of the frame. Unfortunately for them that all meant nothing and Taylor Aronson hit Vladislav Kamenev on a home run pass as he came off the Admirals bench. Kamenev was all alone on a breakaway and snapped a shot over the glove of Roman Will for his seventh goal of the season.

The second period would persist with several chances for the Admirals on the power-play. They had two chances on five-on-three power-play opportunities and went 0/5 from the power-play in the sandwich stanza alone. The last of those five-on-three power-plays came to an end after Maxim Noreau floored Max Reinhart with a standup check upon zone entry which caught the attention of Frédérick Gaudreau who rushed after the Rampage defenseman, started a fight, and picked up an instigator and misconduct for his troubles.

In the third period the penalty troubles for the Rampage finally caught up with them. After a delay of game call sent Duncan Siemens to the box the Admirals notched their first power-play goal of the night from their eighth power-play opportunity. A spectacular keep in by Aronson at the blueline not only prevented a potential two-on-one shorthanded break the other way but pushed the puck over to Kamenev who dished to the open Colton Sissons in front of the net for a rapid fire shot and his fifth goal of the season.

The Rampage did have a chance to make a dent in the Admirals lead when they had a fifty-seven second five-on-three power-play opportunity with 8:11 remaining in regulation. They burned their timeout and wouldn’t come close again.

Shortly removed from their power-play chance Rampage defenseman Maxim Noreau put this game away after an awful turnover deep in his own zone that fell to Adam Payerl who shot and scored past Will immediately. Payerl’s seventh goal of the season made it a 3-0 game with 2:33 remaining in regulation to polish the game off.

Marek Mazanec’s night in net wasn’t the most challenging he’ll experience in his career but he answered the bell when tasked to make saves. In particular, the start to the second period he needed to be big and push aside the pressure that the Rampage brewed up. He got through that and the Admirals scored moments later from a Kamenev that Mazanec managed to get an assist from. That goalie assist makes Mazanec the Admirals all-time AHL points leader from the goaltending position. He was tied with Pekka Rinne with six-assists before notching number seven tonight.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played all the roster moves in the history of planet Earth happened. Kevin Fiala and Cody Bass were recalled by the Nashville Predators. Viktor Arvidsson was reassigned from the Predators to the Admirals and Garrett Noonan was sent from the Admirals to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Predators placed forward Cody Hodgson on waivers, he cleared waivers, and joined the Admirals. The Predators made two trades that directly impacted the Admirals. Conor Allen was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Patrick Mullen. Victor Bartley was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Stefan Elliot. Bartley was then packaged with NHL All-Star John Scott to the Montreal Canadiens for Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier. Tonight’s line combinations for the Admirals saw the return of many faces and introduction of a couple more: Arvidsson-Sissons-Hodgson, Åberg-Kamenev-Gaudreau, White-Reinhard-Görtz, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Alm-Aronson, Näkyvä-Mullen, Murphy-Oligny. Tonight’s scratches were: Joe Pendenza (healthy), Jonathan Diaby (healthy), Stefan Elliot (yet to join team). This game marked the return to the Admirals lineup for Taylor Aronson after having missed the previous eight-games due to a lower-body injury. The win tonight for the Admirals makes them the first team in the AHL’s Western Conference to reach 50 points this season. Yet, through points percentage, the Admirals are fourth in the Western Conference standings.

How did this Milwaukee Admirals squad look with its new face lift (if you will)? How did Patrick Mullen, Cody Hodgson, Viktor Arvidsson, Vladislav Kamenev, and Taylor Aronson all look in their Admirals debut/return?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

News

Trade: Stefan Elliott In, Victor Bartley Out
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

Let the not so blockbuster trades keep on coming! The Nashville Predators have acquired Stefan Elliott from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Victor Bartley. Not too long after the fact, Bartley was packaged with NHL All-Star John Scott to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier. So, the very turbulent 2015-16 season for Bartley just keeps on rolling.

To put some perspective on the last two days, the Milwaukee Admirals have lost two defensemen in exchange for two defensemen with the catch being that the new additions are right handed shots. The Admirals only right handed shot on defense was Taylor Aronson up until yesterday. Then they added another one in Patrick Mullen. And now they’ve added yet another in Elliott. Could it simply be that these last two days the Predators have had the Admirals best interests in mind? Weirdly, it kind of feels like it because I don’t exactly see these moves registering much on the Nashville radar.

If Elliott is a familiar sounding name to you Admirals fans it is because he has spent the majority of his professional playing career to this point as a member of the Lake Erie Monsters. Coincidentally, should he debut for the Admirals tonight or more likely tomorrow night, he would be playing against his ol’ Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate under their latest banner as the San Antonio Rampage. Elliott’s next game played in the AHL will be his 200th game and he has scored 95 points (43 goals, 52 assists). Last season for Lake Erie he totaled 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 64 games.

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Scouting

Rampage: Scouting the Enemy
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
The last time the Milwaukee Admirals went up against the San Antonio Rampage – this guy was here and scored twice on the power-play. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

It feels like a long time since the Milwaukee Admirals last played. That’s both a great and potentially bad thing. Whenever there are long layoffs such as this the bodies get to rest up and, consequently, rust up. The Admirals should start tonight’s game with a little bit of lag but I have to believe many players desperately needed time to physically and mentally recover some energy. This recent down time has allowed for that and, hopefully, it means a more electric performance than what has been put together these last six games.

~Fiala Fiala Fiala~

In last night’s Nashville Predators game Kevin Fiala scored his first career goal and it came from his first shift of the 2015-16 season at the NHL level. Talk about showing everyone instantly why you were recalled and what you can do, eh? He logged 17:48 of ice time and was taking part on the Predators top line with Ryan Johansen and James Neal. On a fun side note, the first career NHL goal for Fiala came just one-day ahead of his one-year anniversary of being assigned to the Admirals to kick start his North American professional playing career.

Unfortunately, the Predators are going through perhaps an even more rough slump than the Admirals lately and they would fall 5-4 (OT) on the road to the Winnipeg Jets despite a massive rally to force the overtime period. It just seems to be tough sledding system wide right now. Something to take our minds off of that? THIS.

~San Anton’ Ya’ll~

The San Antonio Rampage enter this two-game set against the Admirals with a record of 16-15-7-0 (39 points). Their 0.513 points percentage has them currently in sixth place of the Pacific Division and eleventh in the Western Conference standings.

If the recent spell for the Admirals has you down – suck it up. The Rampage have had a far worse run of form. Dating back to the start of December the Rampage have gone 5-12-1-0 which spans their last 18 games. In a division where quite a few teams above the Rampage will be playing 8 less games, CALIFORNIA, that’s a borderline playoff killing run already. This is a team that should be playing desperate because they need to get back on course now before things become less borderline and more a matter of fact.

~So Far This Season~

The Admirals and Rampage have only played once so far this season. That first exchange took place here in Milwaukee and ended with a 6-3 Admirals win. You might recall that contest as the night Jamie Devane made Daniel Maggio rethink fighting against the Admirals ever again.

It’s also worth noting that in that game a guy by the name of Viktor Arvidsson played for the Admirals. He scored twice from the power-play in that game. He makes his return to the Admirals lineup tonight for the first time since 11/27/15. Also of note from that game was Vladislav Kamenev producing a pair of assists. He will be back for the Admirals tonight for the first time since 12/15/15 when he left to participate as team captain of Russia in the 2016 IIHF World Juniors.

One person who did score a goal for the Admirals in that game will not be taking part of course. Conor Allen‘s lone goal scored this season came against the Rampage and he was traded for Patrick Mullen yesterday in one of those weird NHL clubs trading AHL players trades. It’s possible that both Mullen and the recently cleared from waivers Cody Hodgson could make the Admirals debut as part of this San Antonio road swing that takes place tonight and tomorrow night.

~What About The Other Guys?~

The Rampage have four players with 20+ points of offense: Colin Smith, 29 points (11 goals, 17 assists)… Mikko Rantanen, 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists)… Joey Hishon, 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists)… Maxim Noreau, 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists).

That list is followed by six other players all closely matched to the 20 points produced plateau so the Rampage aren’t exactly lacking for offense. What can be noted though is scoring isn’t everything. The Rampage have produced 110 goals this season but allowed 118 goals. Only the Texas Stars (136), Binghamton Senators (121), Rochester Americans (120), St. John’s IceCaps (120), and Iowa Wild (118) have allowed more or as many goals as a team in the entire AHL this season.

In net the Rampage have gone to Calvin Pickard (Chet‘s brother) more than any other goaltender this season. Good news, he isn’t an issue tonight as he is currently up with the Colorado Avalance where he picked up his first career NHL shutout last night. That means leaning on the likes of Roman Will and Spencer Martin. Both have played 10 games evenly with varying results. Will: 4-2-2-0 record, 478:21 minutes in net, 3.89 goals against average, and a 0.883 save percentage… Martin: 3-5-1-0, 555:25 minutes in net, 2.92 goals against average, 0.910 save percentage, and has earned a shutout once this season.

Expectations for this two-in-two in San Antonio? Can the current skid of losing five of the last six games get put to bed? Will the time off help or hurt the Milwaukee Admirals? Will it be a giant boost to get so many players back?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

News

Like For Like; Conor Allen Traded For Patrick Mullen
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

This news really comes straight out of left field. The Nashville Predators have acquired Patrick Mullen from the Ottawa Senators for Conor Allen. Both players are defensemen. Both players are on NHL two-way contracts for this season. Both are alternate captains to their respective AHL teams to which the two have played with all season. It’s effectively a like for like trade between NHL teams for their AHL affiliates.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, Tenn. (January 14, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Thursday that the club has acquired defenseman Patrick Mullen from the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Conor Allen.

Mullen, 29 (5/6/86), is in his seventh professional season, having posted 16 points (1g-15a) and 18 penalty minutes in 36 American Hockey League games for the Binghamton Senators. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., the 5-foot-11, 186-pound blueliner has suited up for 338 AHL games for Manchester, Chicago, Utica and Binghamton since 2009, amassing 148 points (34g-114a) and 178 penalty minutes. Mullen’s best pro season came in 2011-12, when he tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in goals (13) and tied for 11th in blueliner points (41) while playing for the Monarchs.

Undrafted, Mullen spent four seasons at Denver University from 2005-09, recording 81 points (20g-61a) and 148 penalty minutes in 152 NCAA games, winning a WCHA title in 2008 and being named to the conference’s all-academic team in 2009. He is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Mullen.

If there is anywhere that the “like for like” business ends between these two it is that Mullen is a right handed shot. The Milwaukee Admirals have only had one of those for the bulk of this season, like last season, and that man is named Taylor Aronson. Perhaps this was a move to find better balance for each AHL affiliate’s back line? [long pause] As I said it’s sort of out of left field.

Mullen is the top scoring defenseman for the Binghamton Senators: 16 points (1 goal, 15 assists) in 36 games with a plus/minus rating of -5 and 18 penalty minutes. In his AHL career he has 338 games of experience having played for the Manchester Monarchs (2009-12), Chicago Wolves (2012-13), Utica Comets (2013-14), and the Binghamton Senators from the end of the 2013-14 season until now.

Reaction to this news? Why do you feel this trade was made? Is Mullen going to be more serviceable than Allen?

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News

Cody Hodgson Clears Waivers, Assigned to Milwaukee
(Photo Credit: Jason Kurylo)
The last time Cody Hodgson played in the AHL it looked something like this. (Photo Credit: Jason Kurylo)

The Stevie Moses experiment failed. The Cody Hodgson experiment isn’t far behind. After being placed on waivers yesterday by the Nashville Predators the 25-year old forward has cleared and is being assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Normally I would share a “Press Release via Nashville Predators” about here. Unfortunately Hodgson’s press release is far shorter than anything Predators General Manager David Poile had to say about him when he was placed on waivers yesterday:

“We signed him to enhance our (offense) and it didn’t happen,” Poile said. “You look for other areas that maybe a player can help you — checking or penalty killing or some other area. Really, I think we were pretty honest with Cody and told him that he had to produce offensively, and he hasn’t. This is the move.”

Yeah, that sounded like a bit of a flamethrower at the end – but he’s right. Hodgson’s career regression at the NHL level speaks for itself. In the 2013-14 season he produced 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 72 games for the Buffalo Sabres. The last two-seasons he has recorded 9 goals from 117 games. He had produced 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 39 games for the Predators this season and bows out after being a healthy scratch the last three games.

What does this mean for the Admirals? It means adding another Viktor Stålberg level project to the mix. It has it’s pros and cons. The pros are that the Admirals are getting an NHL level talent added to the roster which means the depth gets stronger. The cons are mostly going to come down to how this all plays between Hodgson’s ears from this point forward. Is he taking this moment as a challenge or is he taking it in stride and just looking to wait out his contract, not care about the Admirals and earn his NHL level cash from the Predators, and think about where he goes in the off-season? That’s all entirely on him. Last season’s version wasn’t particularly great for just such reasons which makes seeing the follow up moves to come rough to stomach.

Hodgson’s entrance likely means a goodbye to either Matt White (who is on a PTO contract) or Joe Pendenza who would be sent to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). It’s no knock against their performances. They would simply be falling victim to the numbers in Milwaukee.

So what Hodgson will the Admirals be getting? It’s an interesting question and dilemma. He has played 71 career games at the AHL level and produced 49 points (22 goals, 27 assists). The way Poile spoke of him makes me feel like even a solid AHL run of form for him probably isn’t enough to see him claw back to Nashville anytime soon. I question the motivation level of a player in Hodgson’s position at a point like this. Luckily, the Admirals experienced such a situation a season ago and should get the proper handle on that before it begins. Hodgson in the AHL could be a great thing right now for both himself and the Admirals. He just needs to find his form again. And what better place to do it than a place he hasn’t played since 1/5/13, the AHL.

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News

Fiala and Bass Recalled by Nashville
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

Now the earlier news makes some sense. The Nashville Predators have recalled Kevin Fiala and Cody Bass from the Milwaukee Admirals. The Predators have also placed Colin Wilson on injured reserve. This comes not too long after AHL Transactions cited Viktor Arvidsson returning to the Milwaukee Admirals and Garrett Noonan being reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL).

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, Tenn. (January 13, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Wednesday that the club has recalled forwards Kevin Fiala and Cody Bass from Milwaukee (AHL), reassigned forward Viktor Arvidsson to the Admirals, and placed forward Colin Wilson on Injured Reserve.

Fiala, 19 (7/22/96), has 12 points (4g-8a) in his last 13 games, and is tied for the Admirals team lead in assists (15) and ranks third in points (21) in 34 AHL games this season. The St. Gallen, Switzerland, native has appeared in a pair of contests for the Predators – a 3-2 overtime win against Montreal on March 24, 2015, and in Game Four of the 2015 Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. Chicago, the longest game in franchise history. Nashville’s first choice, 11th overall (first round), in the 2014 Entry Draft, Fiala started the 2014-15 season with HV-71 of the Swedish Hockey League before being assigned to Milwaukee (AHL) following the World Junior Championship, recording 17 points (9g-8a) in his first 26 AHL games.

Bass, 29 (1/7/87), played in his first two games for the Predators on Dec. 1 vs. Arizona and Dec. 3 vs. Florida, going scoreless while averaging 6:31 of ice time. In 21 games for the Admirals this season, the Owen Sound, Ontario, native has five points (1g-4a) and 50 penalty minutes. The 6-foot, 205-pound center has appeared in 51 career NHL games with Nashville, Ottawa (where he was a teammate of Mike Fisher) and Columbus, posting five points (2g-3a) and 71 penalty minutes. Ottawa’s third choice, 95th overall (fourth round), in the 2005 Entry Draft, Bass helped the Binghamton Senators win the 2011 Calder Cup as AHL champions, in addition to winning the 2011 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, as presented annually to the AHL’s man of the year for service to his local community.

Fiala has had a rocky 2015-16 season to say the least. What should be noted is that right now things are trending more upward that anything else. Bass is a mere two-games into his return from a month long “upper-body” injury. Might I suggest reading more on these two lads in my recently published 2015-16 Mid-Season Report Card for much more detail on both?

Was Fiala the right candidate for the Predators or do you feel they’re just in need of a spark at this point and Fiala is their best option of that? How will Fiala do at the NHL level and has he put himself under the microscope considering his self made build up to make the Predators out of camp and now this is finally his chance to stick around for a bit?

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News

Arvidsson to Milwaukee, Noonan to Cincinnati
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Guess who’s back? Back again? Arvi’s back. Tell a friend. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

According to AHL Transactions things are about to get a little more interesting. The Nashville Predators have reassigned Viktor Arvidsson to the Milwaukee Admirals. In addition, Garrett Noonan has been sent to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. This all being said and there is also a twenty-four hour waiting period to see if Predators forward Cody Hodgson can clear waivers.

Arvidsson’s recent run with the Predators hasn’t been all that hot. He has gone nine straight games without scoring a point. His last assist came on 12/19/15. His last goal came on 12/7/15. Perhaps another spell of top line work with the Admirals can recharge his batteries before returning to the NHL?

The last time Arvidsson returned from the Predators he went on a thirteen game point streak which remains the longest points streak in the AHL this season. It wasn’t until his final game before the Predators called him up that his streak came to an end: 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists), 6 power-play goals, plus/minus rating of +4, 6 penalty minutes, and an average of 4.9 shots on goal per game in 14 games of work.

Noonan, like Jonathan Diaby, was called up during a spell where the Admirals defense has been very banged up. Trevor Murphy, Victor Bartley, and Taylor Aronson were all dealing with injury at the time of their recall. Murphy has since returned. Bartley had returned to practice ahead of last weekend and is likely to return to action this weekend in San Antonio. While Aronson is still probably due out for another couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see if Noonan will be able to get to Cincinnati in time for their home game tonight against the Fort Wayne Komets.

Not having watched the Predators near as closely as the Admirals… would I be right in saying Hodgson isn’t too far behind Stevie Moses in the “this experiment has failed” category? Hodgson signed as a free agent last summer to a one-year, $1.05 million contract. In his career, he had scored 16 goals (2011-12), 15 goals (2012-13), 20 goals (2013-14), 6 goals (2014-15), and -so far this season with the Predators- 3 goals. It’s sort of like a Scott Gomez regression but on a smaller scale.

The waiver process takes a day to complete so, by tomorrow, we will know if the Admirals will be gaining the services of Hodgson or if another team has claimed him. That or we could be in for a Derek Roy swerve where he clears, gets assigned to the Admirals, and then gets traded only to leave this perfectly prepared jersey to never be worn by Roy or fans anywhere.

Thoughts on all this news? With Vladislav Kamenev due back this weekend, should Hodgson join the Milwaukee Admirals, what does Dean Evason do with the distribution of centers? How long before Matt White follows Zac Larraza back to the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL)?

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Feature, News

2015-16 Mid-Season Report Card
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
(Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

The Milwaukee Admirals have played thirty-eight games this season season. That’s literally the half-way point of the Admirals 2015-16 season. It feels crazy that we’ve already hit that marker, doesn’t it? Time really does fly! That being the case I feel it is time for a review on the players’ the season to date and divvy up some mid-season awards.

~Mid-Season Awards~

Most Impressive Player: Frédérick Gaudreau

Least Impressive Player: Stevie Moses

Best Forward: Frédérick Gaudreau

Best Defensemen: Jimmy Oligny

Best Goaltender: Marek Mazanec

Best Rookie: Juuse Saros

Most Improvement: Frédérick Gaudreau

Least Improvement: Jonathan Diaby

Player to Watch in the Second Half of the Season: Vladislav Kamenev

Player Who Needs to Step Up in the Second Half: Marek Mazanec

Player Who Will Step Up in the Second Half: Max Reinhart

~The Road So Far~

While the Milwaukee Admirals enter the official midway point on a sour note the reality is that this season has been tremendously successful. The Admirals ended last season winning four of the last twenty-six games. The Admirals would miss the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural AHL season of 2001-02. The summer presented many involved with a much needed mental break. Changes were then made on and off the ice. Players shuffled out of the organization and new prospects entered. The Admirals identity itself changed with a rebranding that brought forth new logos and uniforms.

As the 2015-16 season started it did so with echoes of the end to the campaign prior. That fortunately did not last too long. The team became a team – simple as that. For all the injuries, players being recalled to the Nashville Predators and reassigned, more injuries, recalls from the Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones, the added need to sign ECHL talent on PTO contract basis just to fill out a lineup, and more injuries. Rinse. Repeat. And repeat again. Through it all the Admirals have maintained a strong team identity and done far more than keep their head above water. They’ve thrived.

At the mid-season marker the Admirals have lost five of their last six-games. They are fourth in the Central Division and fifth in the Western Conference. It’s been a rough patch -but- only a week ago they were the best team in the Western Conference. Despite all the injuries and roster changes they were that good. It was similar circumstances to that which crushed last season’s finish. That hasn’t happened. And I don’t feel the run of form that has caused the Admirals to stumble their way to the middle of this AHL season.

What has happened lately is a team that has just completed a marathon: nineteen games in forty days – nearly a game every other day. Fatigue, physical and mental, is a real thing. The past few games have really screamed an Admirals hockey team that isn’t playing with a full gas tank to go along with a roster than is stretched thin. At some point that will creep into the on-ice performances and results – and it has. What’s important to remember is that the Admirals have already done an immense amount of great work that has afforded them the wiggle room for a funk such as the one they are in right now. Other teams around the AHL will get through their own battles like this and, when they do, it will be up to the Admirals to take care of their end of business just like others have during their rough patch.

Everything I’ve sat back and watched out of this year’s Admirals team has been exciting to see unfold. They were the second youngest team in the AHL to start this season. Their ability to adapt in-game to momentum shifts and style changes have been outstanding. The goaltending has been great. The forwards have looked really good. And the defense, as banged up as they’ve been, have looked good when healthy.

My hopes for this team right now is for a deep playoff run. I don’t buy the Rockford IceHogs as a serious threat to the Admirals in the division or playoffs anywhere near as much as I do the Grand Rapids Griffins. For the Admirals to start really laying the foundation down on a solid playoff push and deep run for a possible Calder Cup they’re going to have to match up against the Griffins and display far better hockey when those two clash from here on out. Every Admirals-Griffins game is a litmus test for playoff caliber hockey. Should the Admirals start getting a foothold and match the strengths of the Griffins – why can’t this team achieve the spectacular?

~Report Card~

I always feel the need for a preface to any report card that I do by stating the following. These grades are purely my own judgement. I also feel that it is only fair to grade an “incomplete” to any player that hasn’t played in half the games that the Admirals have played this season or have endured most of their season at the ECHL level with the Cincinnati Cyclones. That means, if the player logged nineteen games for the Admirals, he will receive a letter grade. For the sake of convenience I will be listing the players based on their uniform number here in Milwaukee.

Continue reading “2015-16 Mid-Season Report Card” →