T.J. Brennan has consistently led AHL defensemen in scoring this season. The next closest, Adam Clendening of the Rockford IceHogs, has ten fewer points. (Photo Credit: David Cooper / Toronto Star)
The AHL announced today that Toronto Marlies T.J. Brennan was voted the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s most outstanding defenseman during the 2013-14 season.
Brennan has been a dynamic offensive force from the blueline all season for the Buds, racking up a team-leading 24 goals and 69 points in 73 games (good for fifth in the AHL). Those numbers stand as the most points by an AHL defenseman since 2005-06, and the most goals since 1999-2000. Brennan has a league-leading 42 power play points, and leads the league with 12 man advantage goals. The full season proved to be a carry over of the 25-year-old’s fast start, as Brennan picked up two hat tricks in his first three games.
Considering the Admirals current playoff position (fifth), one point ahead of Abbotsford which has a game in hand, and Toronto’s (third), Brennan could be a Milwaukee foe in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
So Roundtable . . . Who is your vote as the Admirals best defenseman this season? Lots of good choices to pick from: Anthony Bitetto (10 goals, 35 points & 85 PIMs), Bryan Rodney (33 points), Joe Piskula (23 points, team-best not including Jarnkrok +20 rating), captain Scott Ford (+6 & 81 PIMs) are all great choices, or perhaps Charles-Olivier Roussel, Joonas Jarvinen or Scott Valentine?
Barry Trotz was the only head coach the Nashville Predators bench had ever known. That all changed in the 2014-15 season. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
For 16 years (since 1998) Barry Trotz has been the coach of Nashville Predators. The NHL’s longest-tenured coach with the same organization, and the franchise’s only coach to date, did not have his contract renewed today after a second-straight season finishing outside the playoffs. Nashville went 38-32-12 this season.
The move, though not shocking considering the disappointment of the previous two seasons, signals a change in direction of the Predators, who have worked seamlessly with their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee and its coaching staff, to develop home-grown players, including the likes of Shea Weber, Patric Hornqvist, Roman Josi, Colin Wilson, Nick Spaling, Ryan Ellis and Gabriel Bourque, seven of the team’s top 10 scorers, along with star goaltender Pekka Rinne. Rookie Seth Jones and Craig Smith were also drafted by the club.
Predators General Manager David Poile was quoted in the team’s statement released today:
“Our organization has high expectations and we have not met them in the past two seasons. As a result, it is my decision and determination that we need a new voice and a new direction. Our change in direction began over a year ago as we have made several personnel changes, including trading of long-time veteran players and a change to our coaching staff last offseason. Our goal is to return to the playoffs with the ultimate goal of contending for the Stanley Cup. We know that once we get into the playoffs, anything is possible.
“I also want to thank Barry for everything he has done for our franchise. He has been the face and voice of our team for 15 years. He created, developed and lived The Predator Way – on the ice, in the office and in the community. There could be no finer ambassador for the Predators or Nashville than Barry Trotz. He has laid a foundation and culture that will benefit the next coach of the Nashville Predators.”
Though it is a bit early to speculate on who will replace Trotz, who has been offered a position within the organization (Trotz will likely be a top choice of other teams looking for a new coach after Black Monday), a couple of obvious in-house candidates would be current Predators assistant coaches Lane Lambert and Phil Housley, plus current Admirals coach Dean Evason. Two others with strong ties to the organization would be current Florida Panthers interim coachPeter Horachek and current Carolina Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller, who might be out of job with the regime change occurring in Raleigh. Former Admirals coach Claude Noel, who was fired this season by Winnipeg, is also available, as is former Philadelphia Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, who has some connections to Poile via USA Hockey.
Trotz finishes his 15-year coaching career with Nashville with a record of 557-479-100 + 60 ties. After missing the playoffs the first five seasons, the Predators under Trotz were playoff bound in six of the next seven seasons before sliding back to 16-23-9 last year.
So Roundtable . . . What do you think of the big news today out of Nashville? Are more changes within the organization upcoming?
Mark Van Guilder’s first career NHL call up and game was one of the top highlights of the 2013-14 Admirals season. (Photo Credit: John Russell)
Today the Milwaukee Admirals unveiled a snazy new website. I’m proud to have one of the first articles to be displayed, a feature story on Mark Van Guilder’s recall to Nashville and the work he’s put in for six years to get to that point.
Here are a couple of snippets from MVG in the piece:
“I never really thought that yeah I’m going to play in the NHL. It was always a dream of mine, but until last year, it really was just a dream. It wasn’t really until the end of last season that I realized that this really was so close.”
“I felt so far away that whole season in the Coast. Playing in the NHL did not even seem like a possibility. It’s been a very slow climb to get from there (to now).”
“I think almost every guy that I had played with on the team had either talked to me or texted me congratulations before I even got there. When I walked in Gabriel Bourque gave me a big hug, and of all of the guys were just so excited for me. They told me I had earned it, so it was pretty special.”
“I think my story might help guys around here that are struggling a little bit, are not happy with the ice time they are getting or are dealing with going up and down from Cincinnati. If you stick with it and just keep working, eventually good things will happen.”
You can view the full story, including quotes from Lane Lambert, Paul Fenton, Dean Evason, Colton Sissons, Scott Ford and Shea Weber right here. Thanks to Daniel Lavender for some of soundbites used in this piece.
Let the Hog roast begin! Colton Sissons returns to the Milwaukee Admirals after a month up in the NHL. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
This afternoon the Nashville Predators officially reassigned Colton Sissons to the Milwaukee Admirals. The move comes after the 20-year-old played in thirteen games since being recalled on March 10. In that time Sissons scored his first career NHL goal along with two assists.
Sissons upped his total to seventeen NHL games in his first professional playing season putting up a total of four points (one goal, three assists). As far ice time goes, Sissons set a personal best last weekend, 15:13 TOI, in the Predators 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals. He followed that up with the second lowest total of the season: 7:13 TOI in a 5-2 road win against the Anaheim Ducks. With the return of Paul Gaustad in yesterday’s 3-0 shutout – Sissons was a healthy scratch.
He returns to the Admirals as the team’s fourth highest scorer 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists). Mind you, he has done that in far less games than those in front of him. He is tied on the team with Taylor Beck in points per game with 0.73 Pt/G – despite Sissons playing four less games than Beck.
With the Rockford IceHogs coming in tomorrow night it should be an added bonus for Sissons. He has scored 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in nine games against Rockford this season including 2 goals in the game prior to his last recall to Nashville.
So Roundtable… How would like to welcome Colton Sissons back to Milwaukee? Do you think his latest stint in the NHL games will make him an even more effective player with the Admirals?
Jason Karnosky, contributor to MilwaukeeAdmirals.com/Admirals Roundtable and former sidekick to Daniel Lavender, was traded today by the Milwaukee Admirals to the Chicago Wolves. No word yet on what compensation the Admirals are receiving in return, but at this point is likely a writer to be named later. Karnosky will make his Wolves debut Tuesday night as the Milwaukee comes to town.
“We added Karnosky for his familiarity within the division,” Chicago Chairman of the Board/Governor Don Levin said. “With the Amtrak Rivalry game tonight and his countless interviews of Michael Davies while he was at the University of Wisconsin, we see him as a great fit in the Windy City.”
By getting rid of Karnosky and Daniel Lavender’s surprising recall, Ryan Miller was called back to his former duties and will be writing the Admirals Roundtable recap, and perhaps even Scouting the Enemy this morning.
“I can’t write that today,” said Karnosky, who asked to fill in on the piece before leaving for Chicago. “I am the enemy now!”
Miller will likely only be an interim solution. Rumor is his young family is planning to move to Edmonton, Alberta in the not too distant future to start the new blog, Golden Bears and Pandas?, covering former Admirals coach Ian Herbers‘ University of Alberta squad, which just won its 14th Canadian National Championship.
No word yet on whether Karnosky’s upcoming feature on Admirals forward Mark Van Guilder for MilwaukeeAdmirals.com was completed before the trade. Since taking the job in Chicago, Karnosky has been heard around the Wolves’ offices in Rosemont, Illinois lobbying for Chicago to acquire the veteran forward so he could move the piece to ChicagoWolves.com.
“The guy (MVG) is amazing in the community, mentors fellow players, and now has over 13 shifts of NHL experience,” Karnosky was overheard saying. “He also brought back to Milwaukee a Nashville Predators sock and that has to be worth something.”
Karnosky asked for the trade today after purchasing a new Toyota Camry Monday evening (pictured above).
“I can’t be seen in this car in Milwaukee,” Karnosky said. “No is ever going to believe a Admirals Roundtable blogger could have afforded this.”
Mark Van Guilder made his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators last night. It may have only been for one game – but that’s all that matters. (Photo Credit: John Russell)
Yesterday, Mark Van Guilder was officially recalled to the Nashville Predators under emergency conditions. Today, he has been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals but will return to the team with a lifetime of memories.
Last night the 30-year-old forward made his NHL debut in Nashville’s dramatic 4-3 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals. Van Guilder logged 8:27 of ice time, the least of any skater for the Preds, but did get a respectable 14 shifts to go along with a well-deserved 45 seconds of penalty kill time.
In Nashville, Van Guilder joined recent Admirals teammates Calle Jarnkrok (6 NHL games, 1 goal & 4 assists) and Colton Sissons (16 NHL games, 1 goal & 3 assists). Courtesy of our friend Robby Stanley of Smashville 24/7 – Sissons had the following to say about Van Guilder after last night’s game:
“It’s awesome,” Sissons said. “He’s worked so hard for a long time. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met and come across in the game so I’m really happy for him. He was a great mentor for me in Milwaukee and helped me out a lot early on when I was just a young pro early on in the season. I can’t say enough about him. He’s an awesome guy.”
Other friend of the Roundtable, Jeremy K. Gover, caught up with Van Guilder in the locker room after the game. You can find his great story on Section 303 – including gem quotes from Van such as this one:
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Van Guilder before starting to look around his stall. “I’ll take whatever they can give me. Doesn’t matter to me. I’ll take a sock, whatever.”
The Roseville, Minnesota native will rejoin the Admirals in the thick of the AHL’s playoff race. Van Guilder has been excellent with Milwaukee this season posting 14 goals and 28 points, with a decent possibility of breaking his career high scoring mark of 14 goals and 32 points.
To see a great photo gallery of the game, check out Predators.NHL.com.
UPDATE: This afternoon, Van Guilder was featured and interviewed on NHL Network. Here are some quotes from his appearance:
When asked about finally making his NHL debut…
“First of all, 400 games? Holy crap. It was awesome. It was so much fun. I think the best part was my teammates in Milwaukee – the support and response from them when I found out from my coach. All the guys that are in Nashville. The cool thing about this was I’ve been in the organization for so long that I had so many guys in Nashville that I knew and were friends with. They made me feel so comfortable. I was actually kind of nervous for the first time in I don’t know how many years for a hockey game. It was awesome and a lot of fun.” Mark Van Guilder.
When asked about what led him down the path of being very active in the Milwaukee community…
“I think a lot of free time and a great staff in Milwaukee. First of all, I think that we are very fortunate to have the job we do. Practice in the morning and be done by – you’re free at 12:15 in the afternoon. You have the rest of the day. So I just think it’s our obligation to give back to the community that comes and supports you every weekend. That’s just how I kind of see it. And we have a great staff that makes it really easy on us – you know, buying us Chipotle whenever we do a school visit and stuff like that, so how could you say no?” Mark Van Guilder.
What was it like when you got the news that you were being called up…
“That was awesome. No warning from Dean Evason, but I think you’re trying to have some fun with it. He was trying to make it special for me. It was awesome. We had a team meeting in the morning on Saturday – just going over some points from the weekend – the previous game – the upcoming game, stuff like that. And then he said, “Oh yeah, one more thing, Van Guilder is going to Nashville.” So that’s how everyone knows. I was kind of surprised at first but all my teammates with hugs and high fives and stuff like that it was pretty special for me.” Mark Van Guilder.
Did you ever think you weren’t going to make it to the NHL…
“To be honest with you, when I was a kid I wasn’t that good. If you asked my peewee hockey coach he’d say there’s not a chance this kid is ever making it. So, I don’t think there was a time. I never really thought – yeah, I’m playing in the NHL. I just kind of took it one step at a time. I was like, man I’d really like to play for Roseville high school varsity team. And then, yeah I’d really love to play Division I hockey. And then, yeah I’d really love to play professional hockey. So it’s kind of been one step at a time and then I think the closer and closer you get the more real it becomes the more you want it.” Mark Van Guilder.
So Roundtable . . . How would you like to welcome back MVG?
Pekka Rinne last played with the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2008 Calder Cup playoffs against the Chicago Wolves on April 26, 2008.
With Pekka Rinne now practicing in Nashville, the next logical step for the Finnish goaltender in his recovery process will be to get into game action. Though it is possible that Rinne might jump right into the lineup for Nashville when he’s ready, another possibility, discussed recently by Lavender, is that 31-year-old might play some trial games in Milwaukee to shake off the rust and see how he feels.
“The next step is playing games, and hopefully that is really soon here.”
The article also states that:
The Predators, who return from the Olympic break hosting Tampa Bay on Thursday, could have Rinne play some games soon in Milwaukee with their American Hockey League affiliate.
Earlier today John Glennon of the Tennessean also stated that a short stint in Milwaukee would make sense for Rinne:
It would seem logical that Rinne would spend some time in Milwaukee of the American Hockey League before playing for the Predators, but that’s not a certainty. The Predators return to action on Thursday, but Trotz said Rinne would not play in that game.
Glennon also quoted Rinne, who seems optomistic that he’ll be cleared at some point this week to return to game action:
“I feel like it’s coming. I’m not too nervous anymore. I feel really optimistic about it that I’m going to get the go-ahead this week at some point and that’s all I care about. In practice, we’ve done everything we possibly can to kind of simulate game action and whatever situations you might face. The next step is playing games. Hopefully that’s really soon here.”
Rinne is set to meet with Nashville coach Barry Trotz later today to decide how to move forward. Yesterday Rinne was quoted in the Tennessean, stating that in today’s practice that he was hoping to work on shootouts and breakaways:
“I need to get back on that because with this last stretch of games, there’s going to be games that come down to that,” he said. “I need to be comfortable with (shootouts) again. But the next step after that is playing games. If everything goes well here, I might be going to Milwaukee for a few games, but that’s still up in the air.”
In case Nashville does send Rinne down for conditioning, here’s a little information on what that could entail, courtesy of On the Forecheck’s Dirk Hoag last spring. Hoag wrote about the process last year when Nashville sent Brian McGrattan, Matt Halischuk and Craig Smith down to Milwaukee on seperate conditioning assignments.
NHL Conditioning Assignment Rules (via Hoag):
13.8 Conditioning Loan. Unless a Player consents, he shall not be Loaned on a Conditioning Loan to a minor league club. Such Conditioning Loan shall not extend for more than fourteen (14) consecutive days. The Commissioner may take whatever steps he deems necessary to investigate the circumstances under which a Player is Loaned on a Conditioning Loan. If the Commissioner has reason to believe or determines that the Club has used the Conditioning Loan to evade the Re-Entry Waivers, or otherwise Circumvent any provision of this Agreement, he may take such disciplinary action against the Club, as he deems appropriate. The Player shall continue, during the period of such Conditioning Loan, to receive the same Paragraph 1 NHL Salary, and be entitled to the same benefits, that he would have received had he continued to play with the Club.
So Roundtable, do you have your fingers crossed waiting on today’s meeting? Are you preparing to break out your Rinne jersey one more time?
Taylor Beck returns to the Admirals after a five-game stint with the Nashville Predators. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Broadcaster Aaron Sims will not be the only one making the trip east from Minnesota. Taylor Beck will be back in town as well tonight when the Admirals play the Utica Comets.
The 22-year-old’s latest stint in Nashville lasted five games (now seven NHL games on the year), from January 26 through February 6. During the stretch Beck registered zero points, four PIMs and had a minus-one rating while averaging 12:27 of ice time. The St. Catherines native’s most time on ice this season (15:45) came in a 5-1 loss to Edmonton in the first game of his most latest promotion, which started on January 22.
So far this season Beck’s offensive prowess at the AHL level has failed to translate over to the NHL with the Predators. The 2009 third-round pick is providing .77 points of offense per game with Milwaukee and ranks third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 27 points in 35 games. Only rookie Filip Forsberg’s .78 ranks higher.
Simon Moser, who will represent Switzerland in the Winter Olympics (Read my feature on Moser, Josi and the Swiss here), remains with the Predators after playing 10:04 in 15 shifts during last night’s overtime loss to Minnesota.
So Roundtable . . . Are you happy to see Taylor Beck back in Milwaukee? Does his latest NHL stint mean that someone else, likely Colton Sissons, a healthy Austin Watson or Filip Forsberg, instead of Beck, might be the next in line for a call up? Are you surprised that it was Beck that was sent down and not Moser?
It’s been a very tough day off the ice for the Nashville Predators. G.M. David Poile was struck puck today during the morning skate, according to this TSN article. David Poile was on the ice when he got hit by a deflected puck and was taken to the hospital as a precaution where he will remain overnight.
Nashville released this brief statement about the incident:
Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile was taken to a St. Paul, Minn., hospital today after being struck by an errant puck during the team’s morning skate at Xcel Energy Center. He will remain in the hospital overnight for observation and evaluation, and further information will be released as it becomes available.
UPDATE:
Nashville and Team USA GM David Poile still in surgery as of 20 minutes ago. He’s going to need 30-40 stitches. It’s an eye socket fracture.
Milwaukee Admirals play-by-play broadcaster Aaron Sims will step in on radio for the Predators, joining analyst Stu Grimson on the radio call tonight on 102.5 The Game.
Here is wishing both men fast and full recoveries.
Predators General Manager David Poile underwent two successful surgical procedures in the nose and eye areas and received stitches to repair a facial laceration suffered yesterday when hit by an errant puck during the Predators’ morning skate at Xcel Energy Center. He is resting and recovering and will remain in the hospital for further observation. His return to Nashville is yet to be determined and is pending doctors’ evaluation and recommendation. At this point, he will not travel to Sochi as originally planned with Team USA on Sunday, but he does look forward to joining Team USA during the Olympics.
David and his family appreciate the inquiries and well wishes received, but there will be no further comment at this time and they appreciate everyone respecting their privacy.
In the first half of 2013-2014, Milwaukee’s offensive charge has been lead by a pair of talented rookies, brothers from another country, that share much in common despite their far different backgrounds.
With Colton Sissons and Miikka Salomaki leading the way, Nashville is building a stockpile of great young talent in its farm system. Read more about the two budding AHL stars in my most recent feature at MilwaukeeAdmirals.com: Sissons, Salomaki Making an Impact.
In case you missed it, here are my other feature stories on the Admirals this season.
Admirals Roundtable 