What a bizarre news cycle.

Sunday, a blog posts a story that Coach Herbers is going to be the next head coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

The Edmonton Journal follows up, and has confirmation from someone on that hiring committee that says it’s not true.

And now we get this…..also from the Edmonton Journal.

“Days after a source on the University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey head coach selection committee quashed rumours Ian Herbers would be the team’s next bench boss, the Milwaukee Admirals head coach will in fact take over the Bears coaching reins.

When contacted Sunday night via text message to confirm rumours that Herbers had been offered the job, Alberta general manager Stan Marple vehemently denied Herbers’ candidacy, let alone him being offered the job.

“He has not been interviewed nor did he apply…he is coaching in the AHL next year why would he come here?” Marple said via text message.

There are no sources cited on this new information, and I haven’t seen a press release of any kind yet.  So on the scale of officialness, I’m inclined to rank it a bit below a  ‘confirmation’ and somewhere above a ‘rumor’.  But the author tweeted that there should be an official announcement tomorrow…..so we’ll see.

I have reached out to the Admirals, and they are unable to confirm anything at this time.

However, let’s say for a moment that it is 100% true.  Herbie will be going back to coach at a place where both he and GM Marple played together from ’89 to ’92.   And the Admirals will be looking for a new coach this summer.  Maybe Stan Drulia will be the guy for the job?  Maybe they’ll look outside the organization again?  All kinds of speculation for another time on another day.

And if this is all 100% true, and if I’m Evan Daum (the writer for the newspaper), I’m pissed off right now.  Like, flames….FLAMES….on the side of my face…. pissed off.  Here’s the thing:  I don’t like being lied to.  And that wasn’t one of those Fleetwood Mac sweet little lies…  It was one of those lies that would be right at home in a political commercial funded by a Super-PAC.

It was the GM that said it too!

I get it….they’re going through their HR process and they’ll announce it when they’re ready to announce it.  They don’t want stuff getting leaked ahead of time.  Fine.  Great.  Nothing unusual there at all.  But there are ways to accomplish that without jilting a media member that had the courtesy of coming to them first before publishing a story.  Not every writer out there does that, and Marple should appreciate the ones that do.

Don’t want to give him a comment?  Tell him, “We have no comment.”  I’d rather hear that than find out later that the comment they did provide was a large heap of bull-pucky.  Tell him to sit on the story.  Tell him to expect an announcement in 48 hours.  Marple doesn’t have to say anything at all, and that’s why him going out of his way to be deceitful gets me fired up.

I hope there comes a day when Daum gets a pretty amazing scoop…and Marple asks him to sit on the story…..and Daum tells him “No.”

Meanwhile some play-by-play guy for a Junior A team in Fort McMurray tweeted on Sunday sans source that Ian was offered the job, and is gloating gloating gloating about being (reportedly) right today on the tweet machine.  Because nothing says “credibility” like a guy who points to himself as if to say “See?  I’m right!” and tries to rub it in the faces of people who actually would have preferred to see a source to back it up.

What a circus.

Can the Stanley Cup Finals start already?  Please?

You may have seen a story this morning on the On The Forecheck morning links about Ian Herbers going to coach the University of Alberta Golden Bears.  From The Pipeline Show blog.

Sources tell TPS that former Alberta Golden Bear defenceman Ian Herbers could be the team’s next head coach.   This would be an interesting move on Herbers part who became the head coach in Milwaukee this year when Kirk Muller was hired by the Carolina Hurricanes as head coach.

Would he leave a pro head coaching job to take on in the CIS?  Even if it is one of the most coveted jobs in university hockey and provides the new coach with more time to spend on hockey with the creation of a General Manager position.

More time to spend on hockey?  More than what, the 12 month job he currently has?  And is it really one of the most coveted jobs in University hockey?  Really?

So that was posted on Sunday evening.  About an hour later, probably after some investigating and you know, attempts at fact finding….stuff like that…..the Edmonton Journal had this sparkling headline…

“U of A athletics: Ian Herbers not offered Golden Bears hockey head coaching position“

Here are two quotes from that story that are worth your time.

Ian Herbers, head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League and former University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey player, hasn’t been offered the Bears head coaching position nor was he even interviewed.

A source on the eight-man hiring committee confirmed Sunday night that Herbers didn’t apply for the vacant Alberta coaching position, which opened up when former head coach Stan Marple became the program’s first general manager in late March.

And taking a moment to take some shots at blogs and social media….

The Pipeline Show had speculated earlier Sunday night that Herbers could be the Bears next coach, while Ft. McMurray Oil Barons play-by-play man Tyler King had tweeted that Herbers had already been offered the job.

It may still happen, and it’s certainly an interesting development in our quiet minor league off-season.  But there’s nothing to see here yet.

(Photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

Continuing our look at some pending restricted free agents…let’s talk about Ryan Flynn.

The case for Flynn:  Took some huge steps forward defensively, and was a big part of the some shut-down lines that included Mark Van Guilder and various left wingers….Kevin Henderson completed the trio down the stretch.

The case against Flynn:  Through college (Minnesota) and his pro career, has never scored ten goals in a season.  With his skill-set, is there a higher ceiling for him offensively, or are we probably at the ceiling?

(Photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

Aaron Sims has a great blog post up on the Admirals website that gives an outline of some of the guys we can expect in Milwaukee next season.  While some guys are under contract for next season (like Latta, Beck, Puustinen, and Bartley), there are a bunch of guys that are restricted free agents.

Let’s highlight some of those players, and then we’ll pose the question to you, armchair GM reader….should the Predators re-sign the player?

Today:  Ryan Thang.

The case for Thang:  He increased his goal total in his second full season, wore an “A” on his sweater for some games, and was a +29 defensively over the last two years.

The case against Thang:  He was MIA for most of January (although, arguably, a lot of the team was).  The expectations were that he would take a larger step forward offensively than he did this season.

Austin Watson – London Knights — The Knights are playing in the OHL finals this week.  After joining the Knights mid-season, Watson was over a point per game with his new team (11g, 24a, 29 games), and the offense has continued in the playoffs to the tune of 8 goals and 6 assists in 14 games.  Watson never got to play under coach Dale Hunter, as he was traded after Hunter moved up to the Capitals….but has had the distinction of being coached by Knight’s assistant coach Dylan Hunter….one of his teammates last season during Watson’s brief time in Milwaukee.

Josh Shalla – Saginaw Spirit — Shall finished the regular season 17th in the league in scoring, with 40 goals and 36 assists in 53 games.  And he should have dominated at that level as a 20 year old in that league.  He was one of the last guys cut from Admirals training camp last September, and I was kind of hoping he’d get a chance to play in the playoffs this year with us.  He went pointless in only 12 games this season.  He had a 10 game point streak in January and 9 game point streak in February.  In 14 of those 19 games, he had multiple points.  Will the offense translate to the pro level?  We’ll see.  Here are some highlights from a 4-point game he had this season.

Anthony Bitetto – Northeastern University (AKA:  David Poile’s Alma Mater) — He was a 6th round pick of the Predators in the 2010 draft, and has played two years at Northeastern since.  The 6’2 defenseman led all D-men on his team in scoring in both of the seasons he played there, netting four goals and eleven assists this past year.  Assistant Coach of NU Albie O’Connell said prior to his freshman year “He was arguably one of the best defensemen in the USHL last season. Anthony is extremely tough and he sees the ice well. His game is well-balanced and his bomb from the point will be a welcomed addition.”  In the USHL, he played for the Indiana Ice and won a championship with them.  Here’s an interview from his time there….and that Lawn-Guyland accent will be a nice compliment to all the Canadian accents…..even if he is a (gasp) YANKEES FAN!

Our match-up in this series pits the two hottest teams in the league (not from Norfolk) against each other.

After one period, things were looking pretty good for the home team.  The Admirals had a 2-1 lead on a couple of stoppable shots that got past Heat goaltender Danny Taylor.

But the Admirals dug themselves into a deep hole in the second period, and they couldn’t climb out of it, eventually losing 6-2 to the Abbotsford Heat in Game 1 of their best-of-5 Calder Cup playoff series Friday night.

Here’s the first portion of the penalty sheet for the second period.

Ford Holding 1:48
Ford Holding The Stick 3:31
Foss Interference 6:24
Ford Yonking 7:03

While the Heat only scored on one of those early 2nd period power plays, it certainly did change the complexion of the game.

After that Greg Nemisz power play goal tied it up, Nemisz struck again about 10 minutes later, diving forward to beat Taylor Beck to a loose puck after Jeremy Smith was out of position and sprawling to get back.

A minute and 37 seconds later, the Heat went on another power play, and Krys Kolanos  scored his first of the series.

Jon Rheault had a shot from the near dot that beat Smith after a Kolanos pass, and then Kolanos added the empty-netter with 12.7 seconds left.

————-

Notes:

Let’s review some of the Master Lock keys to the game.

– Special Teams:  Admirals went 0-5, Heat went 2-5.
– Kolanos awareness:  He had a four point night.

Kolanos….highly skilled in his own right, and he makes everyone on his team better when he’s on the ice.  That first line may give us fits all series long.

Comebacks?  The Heat doesn’t give up leads.  They were 13-0-0-1 on the road this season when leading after two periods.  And in Admiral playoff history, they’ve only come back to win from a two period two-goal deficit once…Back in 1995.

The Admirals hadn’t given up 6 goals in a playoff game since a 6-5 loss to Chicago on April 14th, 2010.  They hadn’t lost by at least four goals since the 2006 Calder Cup Finals against Hershey.  In game 4, Pekka Rinne and Brian Finley let in seven goals, and the Admirals lost 7-2.  The Admirals proceeded to lose the next two.

The best Admiral lines tonight?  Van Guilder’s and Lajunen’s…..arguably the 3rd and 4th lines.  Need the first two to make some more noise on Sunday.  Tough for a guy like Kyle Wilson to score if he doesn’t put any shots on net.  Hopefully Abbotsford won’t be the new Rockford for him.

Kevin Henderson took a tough hit in front of the Admiral bench while in a vulnerable position late in the game.  No official word on his status for Sunday.

Did you miss Victor Bartley?  I missed Victor Bartley.  Chance he’ll play Sunday, but don’t count on it.  Upper-body injury.

Questions……

Were you okay with Smitty’s performance?  They’ve been a resilient team and they’ve battled back to get to where they are now….do you expect a better performance on Sunday?  Thoughts on the goalie Taylor?  Beatable?  Anything else strike you about the game tonight?

Previously on the Admirals Roundtable…

We handed out our first batch of the 2011-12 Paper Plate Awards.  It was exciting.  You laughed, you cried, you hurled.  It was great.

And now….here’s the rest of them.  Mind the “READER’S CHOICE” award, and leave your best nomination in the comments.

20 – Joel Champagne – I’m Glad He’s Okay Award –  If memory serves me correctly, the ambulance crew only came out on the ice once during the Bradley Center home games, and it was after Champagne’s head had a collision with Jeremy Morin’s elbow.  Scary scary moment.  He missed some time, but so far it seems like it wasn’t one of those Crosby head injuries.  So that’s good.

21 – Zack Stortini – More Than Just A Pretty Face Award – I think a lot of people expected him to drop the gloves more often than he did, but I’m okay with him being more selective.  Plus, he wasn’t afraid to get dirty in front of the crease, battle for pucks in corners, and he was a good attitude in the locker room.  The video that they released yesterday of him and Kyle Wilson in the background of a Chris Mueller interview?  Great stuff.  It was nice having him here this year.

22 – Scott Valentine – President of the Society For Hip-Check Advancement Award – Nobody on the Admirals did nearly as much for the art-form of the hip-check than Valentine did.

24 – Jani Lajunen – Spaling-In-Training Award – After adjusting to the North American game in the early part of the season Lajunen turned into a player that could be effective on the forecheck (his stick was like a magnet for the puck at times) and strong in the defensive end.  He’s got a great work ethic, and coaches speak highly of him.  I’m anxious to see how big of a step forward he takes next year.

28 – Kyle Wilson – Something About Rockford Award – Truth be told, Wilson had a solid season offensively.  He had a really great stretch from the middle of January through all of February where he was about a point per game.  But he had just two assists for the entire season series against Rockford.  That’s a head scratcher.

29 – Mark Van Guilder – Most Likely To Have One Of His Goals Captured In A Bottle Opener Award – Yeah, the bobbleheads are nice giveaways…but I’ve gotten a whole lot more use out of that talking bottle opener they gave away on New Years Day…..”Bottom of the near circle…Thang a shot….save made…rebound Van Guilder.  He scored!  Mark Van Guilder!  Game winner Mark Van Guilder!  At 10:42 of overtime!  And now…ENJOY THAT BEVERAGE!!!!”  Of all of the moments to relive over and over again, a series clinching goal is pretty great.  If you were there, you know what an amazing moment that was.

30 – Jeremy Smith – “You Don’t Tug On Superman’s Cape” Award – You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Smith.  Rob Flick learned the hard way.  And he also was among the league leaders in all the counting stats.  Good season for Smitty.  As Coach has said many times, “He’s a gamer.”

35 – Atte Engren 1^st half – Rex Grossman Award – You wouldn’t know until about 10 minutes through the first period whether you had Good Atte or Bad Atte.  There were too many of his starts where he did not see the 2^nd period.

35 – Atte Engren 2^nd half – Stats Over Record Award – The win/loss record?  Not great. But to be truthful, that’s more a reflection on his offensive support than anything else.  His GAA and save percentage?  Pretty damn good.  Don’t know if he’ll be in North America or Europe next year.

36 – Brodie Dupont – The We Totally Won That Trade Award – Dupont for Andreas Thuresson?  I would argue that even with half a season of Dupont, we won that trade.  Down the stretch, he was doing some of the dirty work down low and got some blue collar goals, and wasn’t afraid to throw his weight around.  Meanwhile, Thuresson went goal-less in his last 15 games….and had just one assist in that span.  Invisible.

41 – Taylor Beck – Finished 3^rd On The Team In Points This Season Award – Yeah.  I’ve got nothing.  He bounced around lines a lot early on, and seemed to settle down on a line with Mueller for most of the second half of the season.  He didn’t dominate offensively like he did in juniors last year, but I think his role is a bit different at this level.  We’ll see what happens next year.

64 – Victor Bartley – READER’S CHOICE.   I was going to say something boring like “Unsung Hero” award…so let’s open this one up to nominations from the peanut gallery.

71 – Juuso Puustinen – The HOLY CRAP THAT’S HIS KNEECAP Award.  Because holy crap, that’s his kneecap!!!

89 – Tyler Sloan – I Miss You, Ryan Ellis Award – Paired with the rookie early on, Sloan had a good start to the year.  But after Ellis’ call-up, Sloan has been inconsistent, prone to mistakes, and too many of them have ended up in the Admiral goal.

And last and certainly least….

11 — Chris Cahill — The Jamie Lundmark Quitter Award — Because he quit.  That’s why he gets that award.  Imagine how things may have been different this year if the team had kept the other CC that was signed to an ATO contract at the end of last season…. AHL MVP Cory Conacher…Eh, that’s how it goes sometimes…

It’s time once again for…..the annual Admirals Roundtable Paper Plate Awards!

Yeah, it’s a fluff piece as we wait for Game 1 to roll around on Friday….but it gives us a chance to reflect on the last 76 games, toast some players, roast some others, and get the readers into the mix too — there will be a couple READER’S CHOICE opportunities, so be creative and we’ll pick a winner.

2 – Teemu Laakso – “I Don’t Get No Respect” Award – Few gave him much of a chance to make the Preds out of camp.  But he started the season with the big club and played in nine games through November 8^th.  But he was sent to Milwaukee for good at the start of December.  Here, he was his usual steady stay-at-home self, but watched guys pass him on the depth chart.  No respect, I tell ya.

3—Jeff Foss – Cinncinnati Express Award – Foss accumulated the most miles going between Cincy and Milwaukee this year.  And when he has had the chance to play, he has more than held his own.   If he has a regular role in Milwaukee next year, I think that might work out pretty well.

4 – Scott Ford – The Wyatt Erp Award – Instead of a “C” on his shirt, it should be an “S” for the Sherriff.  Challenged to lead a young group of defensemen, Ford was great in the locker room, and solid on the ice.  He’s still responsible in his own end, and will NEVER be confused for Nolan Yonkman.  Another solid year from Fordo.

5 – Blake Geoffrion – Most Likely To Be Yesterday’s News Award – The best public relations story last year was significantly below the fold this year.  Geoffrion was hurt early in Nashville, and when he was sent to Milwaukee for good, Coach Trotz had said that he didn’t have enough production or impact.  And that’s kind of how I feel about his 20 games with the Admirals this year.  He didn’t dominate at this level, and he really wasn’t noticeable in doing the little things that don’t end up in the box score either.  Can’t help but wonder if Montreal/Hamilton fans will be writing similar things at this time next season.

6 – Ryan Ellis – Most Likely To Be A Human Rocketship Award  – Loved the video.  Bit of a learning curve early on (and we were very critical early on), but as soon as he started playing with more consistency, his days were numbered in Milwaukee.  Also, Ellis has the most dedicated/vocal fans we’ve seen on the blog in a long time.  We’re happy for his success.

7 – Jon Blum – The Righting The Ship Award – When he was first sent down, we didn’t like his game.  A lot of the readers didn’t either.  But I would argue that down the stretch, he was one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.  Mistakes and bad decisions dwindled, and he was an impact defenseman on both ends of the ice.

8 – Ryan Thang – The Bookends Award – “Time it was and what a time it was, it was.”  A hot start to the season, and a hot end to the regular season.  Five goals in his first six games, three in his last two games, and ten goals in the 67 games in between.   I think expectations were a little higher for him this year, but if he steps it up in the playoffs, I’ll be happy to re-write this one.

10 – Ryan Flynn – “Are You Blazin Hot?” Award – Buffalo Wild Wings sure gets a lot of face time.  Chicken dance.  Chicken toss.  Blazin hot minute.  And a scoreboard “make some noise” video starring Ryan Flynn.  On the ice, he had some great chemistry with Mark Van Guilder, and late in the season, that line was neutralizing the top lines of opponents.

15 – Kevin Henderson – Ryan Maki Award – For not making the clear day roster, but playing every game down the stretch.  And playing very well – he was a great mid-season addition to the team.

16 – Ben Ryan – The Golden Tones Award – For getting to sing TWO solos of the 12 days of Christmas video.  Three fighting Irish and twelve sweaty towels. 

17 – Michael Latta – READER’S CHOICE!  Lots to choose from…something about all the signs fans bring to the arena with his name on them…..something about coming out of the penalty box without a jersey to join the brawl….lots of ways you can go…..submit your best!

18 – Chris Mueller – Coffee Is For Closers Award – Mueller was 3^rd in the league in game winning goals, and was scoring a lot of big goals late in games.  The 32-goal scorer was without a doubt, the offensive MVP of the Admirals this year.

19 – Gabriel Bourque – “How do you like me now, Hockey’s Future?” Award – In their pre-season Nashville depth analysis article, Hockey’s Future published a story that said this about Bourque:  Now in his second season in the AHL, it will be crucial for Bourque to show that he can improve on those totals and continue to prove his doubters wrong.”  Right.  Those mysterious “doubters.”  Bourque got the call-up and has made a huge impact with the big club, culminating with a pair of goals in Game 1 against Detroit.  Darren Pang asks in the video opener which of these players is going to be the next great star.  I’d argue that Bourque has had the greatest impact so far.  In an unrelated story, Hockey’s Future is still absolute garbage.

Part two will be published tomorrow…