Author: Jason Karnosky

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A little question and answer with Admirals Fans

At Saturday night’s home opener against Abbotsford, I caught up with a few Milwaukee fans, Ann Scholz of Waukesha, Nick Memmel of New Berlin and Matt Kotowicz of Milwaukee to hear some of their initial thoughts about the game and team.

Question 1:  Are you excited hockey season is back?

Scholz: “Absolutely, I have been waiting for the puck to drop since May.”

Memmel: “Hockey is my favorite sport, but hopefully we can win some more games this year.”

My two cents: Fall is an awesome season in the state of Wisconsin.  The slight chill in the air signals hockey season is back, and I cannot wait for that first game.  It never disappoints.

Question 2:  What are your first impressions of this year’s club?

Kotowicz: “There is a lot of speed out there, so I think this is going to be an exciting season.  With all of the younger talent I think we are going to be a lot better.”

Scholz: “I like a lot of the new guys, so I think we are going to do well.”

Memmel: “There is a couple old NHL players out there, some AHL All-Stars, and a bunch of good foreign players so I think we will be good.”

My two cents: From watching a little bit of training camp and then opening night, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Milwaukee’s team speed.  Even at practice coach Lane Lambert had players skating at a mesmerizing tempo.  I really think the Admirals will surprise this year, but with all of the youth on the roster there will be some growing pains along the way.

Question 3:  What is your favorite aspect about coming to AHL games in Milwaukee?

Memmel: “The experience, from the fans to the cowbells and the chants.”

Scholz: “I just so enjoy the game and all the people we’ve met during the 21 years we have been coming.  It is just great to be here and to enjoy the experience.”

My two cents: I really enjoy seeing the future prospects the league has to offer.  As a serious NHL fan, it is great to see the next generation of stars, but also some of your favorite players who are still playing in the AHL because they love hockey that much.

Question 4:  Who are some of your favorite former Admirals you have watched play at the Bradley Center?

Scholz: “Of course Gino (Cavallini), but we had a special relationship with Mike Tomlak.  There has been so many players we’ve enjoyed watching.”

Kotowicz: “Pekka (Rinne), Sheldon Brookbank, Nolan Yonkman, but there has just been so many of them.”

Memmel: “Mike Santorelli, Tristan Grant, and Hugh Jessiman.”

My two cents: Great choices here, but my three favorites got left out:  Tony Hrkac, Jordin Tootoo, and Dave Scatchard.

Hey Roundtable, let me know YOUR two cents on these questions in the comments section.

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Five Observations From Opening Night

1)  Milwaukee may not score a prettier goal all season than Linus Klasen’s first career AHL tally on the power-play.

The Admirals worked their 5-on-3 power-play to perfection on opening night, moving the puck around the perimeter, and spreading out the Abbotsford defense.  Milwaukee finished it off in style scoring a goal off of a gorgeous tick-tack-toe play as a pair of one touch cross-ice passes set up an empty net for Linus Klasen.  Klasen finish the play off with an exuberant celebration–a sweeping fist pump to stamp the exclamation point.

“It always nice to score a couple of goals,” Klasen said.  “Especially, getting those kinds of goals because I had open nets to shoot at, but it is nice to produce right away.”

2)  Milwaukee might not score an easier goal all season than Matt Halischuk’s first career Admirals tally.

The credit for this goal goes to Abbotsford goaltender Leland Irving, who decided to be forgiving to an Admirals player trying to make an impact with his new team.  After dropping his stick, Irving inadvertently coughed up the puck to Admirals forward Matt Halischuk, who tossed the puck into the empty net.  You have to wonder if Halischuk said something to Irving to force the turnover, because Irving never looked up to see who he was passing to.

3)  Linus Klausen is for real as a dangerous offensive player.

Though Klausen is unlikely to see the time and space all season like what he saw on opening night, the talented Swede will be a player to watch for during his time in Milwaukee.  Klausen is a gifted stick handler and play-maker, a wizard in the offensive zone.  The only thing holding him back being his diminutive size, but playing on a line with more physical forwards Nick Spaling and Andreas Thuresson, Klausen seems like a natural fit.

“I have to keep playing my style of game and not try to change too much,” Klasen said of the things he needs to do to be an effective player in the AHL.  “Maybe I will need to the shoot the puck more and work harder in the defensive zone, but I need to (focus on) what I do best out there.”

4)  The play of Blake Geoffrion and Ryan Flynn will steadily improve.

On opening night the two former WCHA rivals, Blake Geoffrion and Ryan Flynn, looked like rookies in the AHL, as both players still need time to bring their college games up to AHL speed.  But I thought Geoffrion, in particular, finished the game off with a strong third period, getting involved more in the fore-check and creating a few quality scoring chances.  Look for Geoffrion and Flynn to be improving players in the coming weeks as they adjust their level of play to professional of hockey.

5)  Playing back-to-back games on the road is a tough draw, especially the first weekend of the season.

I can’t help but feel for the Abbotsford Heat.  Playing back-to-back road games is hard enough.  Doing it the first weekend of season is a tall task.  The Heat were the better team in the first period, but then fatigue hit in the second period resulting in several bad penalties, and four Admirals goals.  However, it was up to Milwaukee to take advantage of a tired team.  The Admirals did so with a 6-2 win on opening night.

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Five Preseason Questions with Coach Lane Lambert

Question #1: What are you looking for out of your veterans during training camp and to start the season?

Coach Lambert: The first thing we are looking from our veterans is for leadership and direction for our younger guys, which is going to be critical.  That is a big job for them, to lead and to lead by example.  Later on we will establish our captains and assistants, which at this point is still a work in progress.  However, our veterans are here to get better and work to get better every day just like everyone else, but they are also here to show the younger kids that this is how it is done at this level.

Question #2: Has there been players at camp that have surprised you or stepped up and showed you something unexpected?

Coach Lambert: There have been signs and flashes for a few different guys, but I am not getting into any names.  But our preseason games (against Rockford and Chicago) are more indicative of somebody stepping up.  Players can be ok in practice, but where they really want to show what they are made of, they do it in the exhibition games, which are part of the evaluation process.

Question #3: What are looking for this season out of Blake Geoffrion, who just finished his career at the University of Wisconsin?  Is there more pressure on him playing professional hockey in state?

Coach Lambert: Obviously Blake has great potential, but he is no different than any other rookie.  He is going to have to establish himself, but there is a difference between the pro level and the college level, no question.  He is going to have to dedicate himself now that hockey is a full time job.  My job is to help get guys up to the National Hockey League and help develop players for the Nashville organization, and he is one of those players.

Question #4: When coaching first year and second year players who are used to being top-line guys with their former teams in college and in juniors, how do help them establish new roles and adjust their games to be successful professionally?

Coach Lambert: It starts with communication between me and a player.  Though this is a team game, it is played by individuals, some 22 or 23 guys, so it is important that we have a great line of communication and continue to work with the players and help them.  But what a player’s role is going to be is a decision that has to be made by us (as a staff).  Then the players have to accept that role and do what’s best for the team.

Question #5: How do you see your goaltending battle shaping up?

Coach Lambert: Our goaltending comes from in the Nashville Predators organization, but it is no different than any other position, with our decision being based on who is playing better than who.  At the end of the day, the best guy is going to end up playing more often.  We’ve been evaluating since day one, September 17th at Nashville, so I have a pretty good clue as to how it is going to shape up, but our exhibition games were critical for both Chet Pickard and Jeremy Smith.   (Authors note:  Since this question was asked, Jeremy Smith was assigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, while Milwaukee added goaltender Mark Dekanich, who was a late cut from Nashville)