The Milwaukee Admirals took to the MSOE Kern Center ice this morning for their final practice before setting off for a two-game road trip against the Manitoba Moose. Those games will be coming on Thursday and Friday night. The Admirals will be hoping to sustain what was generated on Sunday night when they defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 6-3.
Today’s lines saw a subtle flip in the defensive pairings which started during Sunday’s game as Trevor Murphy and Andrew O’Brien rotated. There was then the very pleasant sight of seeing Adam Pardy return to practice. He ran drills alongside Rick Pinkston and there is a hope that Pardy could return in a week’s time -but- there is no clear ETA. It will really come down to progression of how he is practicing and how the arm is holding up with medical expertise factoring in the best path for a good return to game action.
A notable absentee for today’s practice was Justin Kirkland. The 20-year old forward had missed this weekend’s three-in-three due to injury and was set to be re-evaluated ahead of this Manitoba trip. It would appear that he won’t be involved and the Admirals will be using more of a mix and match of Stephen Perfetto and Tyler Kelleher.
Once practice wrapped up I had the opportunity to hear from Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as several players -selected by fan request on Twitter- ahead of this Manitoba road trip. Here were all of today’s interviews.
Comments on the comments? Are the Milwaukee Admirals trending in the right direction or do you feel this coming week should speak to that?
The last time that the Milwaukee Admirals and Grand Rapids Griffins played I called my shot and said that the Griffins would win 6-2. I wasn’t going to go that far this time around but I had a gut feeling for awhile, looking at the schedule, that the Admirals were set up for disaster with the Griffins at the end of a three-in-three weekend. Never before has my gut instinct been so immensely wrong. And I couldn’t be more thrilled.
While the scoreline itself is great what stands out the most to me in the Admirals 6-3 win over the Griffins was their all-around performance. The opening minutes to that contest were very Griffins heavy with attacking pressure and an early goal but it didn’t take the Admirals too long to find a foothold and start driving right back.
It may have been a weird goal to watch happen but when Pontus Åberg flipped a puck up from his zone to catch Matt White as he skated across the attacking blueline – that’s when the Admirals started to really clamp down. White scores off the breakaway and makes it a 1-1 game. And that set the stage for a second period that was, for the lack of a better term, bonkers.
Martin Frk did score a really weird goal just over a minute into the second period. His shot just managed to find a gap in Marek Mazanec‘s left arm as he was holding to the near post and it trickled in. That was then followed by the gaffe of all gaffes by Mazanec’s counterpart last night Eddie Pasquale. He skated behind the net, appeared to suddenly not know where he wanted to play the puck, realized he had no more time to make a decision on which side to play it, backhanded it, and he banked it off the boards right to Vladislav Kamenev for what would be effectively an empty netter for the Russian.
It’s around this point, only at a 2-2 game, when you start seeing a team as high quality as the Griffins being the one who looked out of their depth and lost in their own head. That mistake by Pasquale was a microcosm of the Griffins in a lot of ways. He didn’t have the time and space he thought he did when he got there, lost it, and paid the consequence.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
What followed next was something that legitimately had me in shock as I sat back and watched the game unfold. Were the Admirals capable of winning last night’s game? Sure, everyone always has a chance. The Griffins are a beatable team and the Admirals have beaten them in the past. Yet, what the Admirals did to a team as good as the Griffins in that second period was memorizing to watch. Yes, Frk scored 1:10 into the second period but that was just a single shot and one of only four shots on goal that the Griffins would have in the period. The Admirals outshot the Griffins 16-4 in the second period. The Admirals scored four goals in the second period against a goaltender in Pasquale who had recorded consecutive shutouts against them entering the start. It was as authoritative and dominant as the Admirals have played all season – structured, balanced, smart, aggressive, and also without the need for a single penalty kill.
I would have said that the Admirals went through two periods of hockey without taking a penalty -but- they did. But damn was it worth it when they did.
Watching from afar I can safely say that the Griffins are a team that love to talk. There are several players on that team that embrace the agitator game and just aren’t willing to back it up with a fight. The Admirals are now sixth in the AHL with 34 fighting majors. The Griffins are dead last in the AHL with 13 fighting majors. The Griffins talk the talk but are never willing to walk the walk.
I have to imagine that when Matt Lorito challenged Anthony Richard he did so mostly because he is the little guy, the kid, and the youngest player on the ice. I can’t imagine he ever in his wildest dreams saw Richard doing what he did next with those three viscous right hands that landed flush to drop him. I certainly didn’t! The reaction from the Admirals bench was incredible – it erupted. If the Admirals needed the extra energy for the rest of the night that fight, followed by the late second period power-play goal from Åberg, did just that.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
What comes next is the important thing for the Admirals: sustaining an effort such as that. It’s been awhile since the Admirals have been on a proper run of form. This season for the longest time has felt like it has been on a “win one, lose one, repeat” cycle. The importance of the growing pains lately for the Admirals was to mature into a “defense-first” style and to make home ice at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena a place of dominance and to make visiting teams feel uneasy having to walk into the building. There have been some hiccups over the past two months in getting that all smoothed out but last night, and Friday night against the Iowa Wild for the matter, are among the finest examples of that working successfully. If it becomes the norm it is coming at the perfect time of the season for the Admirals to find an identity and get hot. It’s playoff season. And playoff style hockey is starting to come out in the way the Admirals play.
After last night’s game I had the chance to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then caught up with Mr. Gordie Howe Hat Trick himself, Richard, as well as Jack Dougherty and Adam Payerl. These were last night’s post-game comments.
Comments on the comments? Was a performance such as last night a sign of things to come from the Milwaukee Admirals or a flash in the pan? Will they be able to sustain that sort of effort on the road on Thursday and Friday against the Manitoba Moose? How does that game set the stage for the rematch against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday?
“Get out of here with that weak stuff,” said Vladislav Kamenev in perfect English last night allegedly. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The test of this weekend’s three-in-three for the Milwaukee Admirals is a big one. The Iowa Wild have been playing great hockey and the Grand Rapids Griffins are always sharp. To see the Admirals find a way over the top of this mountain required a very strong start to the top and they went out and delivered on that with a 2-1 win last night.
As a scoreline, that win doesn’t feel flashy or overwhelming but that in a lot of ways is a reflection of what the Admirals did correctly last night. They were incredibly structured and detailed. It took a penalty shot from Sam Anas to finally get a puck past Marek Mazanec. The Admirals push for a “defense-first” mentality showed up last night and with it came minimal quality scoring chances for the Wild – a team that was on a four-game point streak and three-game winning streak.
In a lot of ways last night’s game previewed playoff style hockey. That first period was a little wide open at times, made all the nuttier by the lack of whistles or stoppages in play, but the work rate and specifically defensive work rate for both sides was very good. It took a heads up play by the Admirals on a three-on-two rush to get a goal for Justin Florek and then a bounce off of Mike Reilly‘s skate for them to get the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal on the power-play. Even for the Admirals it was tight. The different was, after the Florek goal, they really settled down and started to dictate the game.
I’m expecting plenty more of the same tonight. If anything, with the game taking place in Iowa with the loss hanging over their head -plus- Sunday off unlike the Admirals, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wild up their physical efforts and be even more aggressive. The desperation that the Wild started to play with towards the end of the third period, and the way they started the game, did get the Admirals caught up a little bit and caused turnovers to keep the Wild cycling in attack. The Admirals are going to probably need to weather a first period storm or find a way to silence the Wells Fargo Arena crowd.
After last night’s game I had the chance to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then chatted with Pontus Åberg, Tyler Kelleher, and Anthony Richard. These were last night’s comments following the win over Iowa.
Comments on the comments? What are the chances that Jimmy Oligny and Ryan Carter drop the gloves tonight following the fracas between the two at the end of last night’s contest? With the Grand Rapids Griffins looming in the shadows Sunday: how important is it for the Admirals to get the victory tonight?
One of the real treats of life in the AHL is the surprises that it can provide. There are roster shake-ups all the time and it can often require the services of players from outside the organization. When players are signed to professional try-out (PTO) contracts in the AHL it becomes a two-fold process. The team is getting an extra body in on loan from an ECHL based team but the player is getting to audition their on-ice résumé to show that they belong in the next level. Matt White was the pleasant surprise a season ago. Derek Army has been that story this season.
Army comes from a terrific hockey family. His grandfather, Tom, played for Providence College. His father, Tim, played for Providence College but also has a high level coaching career that has seen him be the assistant coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals, and has been with the Colorado Avalanche since the 2011-12 season. He has also been the head coach with USA Hockey and his alma mater. His uncle, Bill, played at Boston College. And his brother, Tim, played NCAA Division III hockey with Stonehill College.
As you might suspect then Derek’s path was always leading to this sport. He, like many in his family, turned to Providence College where he enjoyed a four-year collegiate career. He played 149 games and recorded 76 points (38 goals, 38 assists). He would join the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL following the conclusion of his college career and that would be his main base of operations for numerous cracks at breaking into the AHL scene.
In his first full season of pro hockey Army would make the ECHL All-Rookie Team. He produced 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 72 games which set the stage for a 2015-16 season that would have him entering four different AHL organizations on PTO basis. He played more games in the AHL (36) than he did in Wheeling of the ECHL (29) despite all the fluctuation of playing with the Portland Pirates, Ontario Reign, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Texas Stars.
This season Army is approaching the 50/50 area of ECHL and AHL time. The different between last season and this one is he has found an AHL home with the Milwaukee Admirals. He was brought into the group in early December with the roster in a state of flux as the Nashville Predators were rattled by injury. That stint only lasted a week but he was brought right back in January and has yet to return to the ECHL. His time right now with the Admirals is the longest sustained time in the AHL of his career.
Cheers to Derek Army for taking the time to chat after practice last week. I wish those Wheeling Nailers fans let the world know sooner of how good of a hockey player and personality this guy is! Next in Fifteen is really dependent on who you want to hear from next. There are still plenty of players yet to be featured. Who do you want to hear from? Hit the comment section below with your suggestions.
Even if I didn’t take a nice long drive back home from Rockford I think last night’s game was the sort I’d need to really wait on, think about, and process before discussing it at length. Well, I have. And I’m still left really saying: wow, that was a weird game.
The Milwaukee Admirals did earn the 4-3 overtime win on the road over the Rockford IceHogs. As a result alone: good. For everything else I’m left with this constant sentiment of -dang- do they make games like that far harder on themselves than it has any right to be.
The Admirals had a rather nice start to the game but from the very first power-play they allow, on a weird call, they concede a goal and were then pressed on their heels. It isn’t to say they were awful in the process or made seriously glaring errors – those came later – but they had such a hard time being allowed to settle down and dictate the play. It feels very much, in an MMA or Boxing sense, that the Admirals are counter punch strikers who keep waiting for an opening to present itself rather than step forward and make it themselves. That element creeps in a lot but there was one man last night on a mission to break that mold. He is Admirals captain, Trevor Smith.
In last night’s game Smith really took over in ways that forced you pay attention. His face-off work was excellent but his penalty killing exceeded killing the penalty itself and often times he was generating scoring chances that were better than most that the Admirals were getting at even strength or on their power-play. Smith’s hustle to create the Admirals shorthanded goal last night was a massive moment in that game. Vinnie Hinostroza had just scored shy of two-minutes earlier and the IceHogs were sitting on a power-play looking for a two-goal lead. Smith gets his face-off assignment dealt with. He battles with pace up ice to generate an odd-man rush with Justin Florek. And the two never stopped digging until that puck got behind Jeff Glass. That leveled the game at 2-2. And cleaned the game’s slate.
Defensively, both teams had their good and bad moments but by the end of the second period it is a 2-2 game with shots on goal sitting at 28-25 IceHogs. It was such an incredibly scrappy game with both frankly throwing junk at the net and hoping for rebounds or second and third chance opportunities. The Admirals at times were getting out-muscled around their zone and were getting pucks lost in neutral ice in a jungle of sticks. It took some rather special moments or special circumstances to get breakthroughs last night.
It was a very pleasant sight to have Matt White back in the Admirals lineup last night. The 27-year old forward missed the last two-games after suffering a loss in the family. While it always takes a quick adjustment to get back up to game speed it took White just over ten minutes to generate a primary assist on an odd-man rush with Pontus Åberg and out of the third period his snapped a slick shot off of a toe-drag to get the Admirals ahead for the first time in the contest. Some stability felt like it was back with him around again. He operates across the board for the Admirals on special teams and can often times go unnoticed for all the small details he gets spot on.
(Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)
Now, about that Åberg kid. If you were to go back and watch last night’s game – start it with two minutes remaining in the third period and you will get the full showcase for what I felt summed up that game. Åberg goes the distance on an empty net bid rather than win neutral ice, get the puck deep, or get a better chance for the net without the threat of icing. He then blows his defensive assignment, Hinostroza, on the very next face-off which would turn into the game-tying goal for the IceHogs. And, for a laugh, he was on the ice in three-on-three overtime for what felt like ages before alerting Marek Mazanec that the IceHogs were in a line change and to hit him for a quick pass up ice. Åberg was supposed to change. And he didn’t. And then Mike Ribeiro lays a picture perfect drop pass for him to get a shot down the slot before following in on Glass to snag his own rebound for the game-winning goal. It all went horribly wrong for Åberg at the end -but- he made up for it by doing what he is doing so well right now: score. Åberg has produced 20 points (13 goals, 7 assists) in his last 20 games.
The test ahead for the Admirals is a big one. This coming weekend is a three-in-three featuring a travel schedule that goes Milwaukee to Iowa to Milwaukee with the last game on the slate being the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Iowa Wild have been very good this season, as well, and that only makes two games in two nights against that squad all the more physically and mentally exhausting. It is a big challenge that is standing in front of the Admirals. They could make a huge statement if they work a weekend sweep.
After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also had the chance to speak with Åberg, Florek, and White. Here were their post-game comments.
Comments on the comments? Are these last two games for the Milwaukee Admirals clunkers that can be thrown away or are they “just those kind of games” in retrospect? What are you expecting of this upcoming three-in-three?
At the end of November the Nashville Predators recalled four players to their roster during a tough injury stretch. Kevin Fiala and Petter Granberg have been in the mix before but seeing the names Frédérick Gaudreau and Mike Liambas as part of that day’s call-ups from the Milwaukee Admirals was a pleasant surprise. Gaudreau’s story and emergence has been rather well documented. As for the journey that Liambas had to take before reaching the NHL? It’s a long story.
Liambas is a native of Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. In his junior playing career he suited up for the Erie Otters in the OHL. Originally, Liambas was a defenseman but the main characteristic of his play from the word “GO” has always been his physicality. There are very few players in hockey with the fearlessness and determination that Liambas brings on the ice with every shift and his willingness to drop the gloves for his teammates, regardless of being a smaller skater on the ice than some heavyweights he will duke it out with, only serves to remind people in broad daylight of the heart he has.
What is unfortunate is that for many, still to this day, Liambas is known for a single moment in his junior playing career. In 2009, on Halloween, Liambas’ Otters were matched up against the Kitchener Rangers. The play itself was incredibly simple and happens, or can happen, numerous times in a given hockey game. The Otters chipped a puck deep from the neutral zone, went for a change, but left Liambas out to press deep against the puck carrier. The man tasked with puck retrieval on the dump-in was Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli. What happened next would impact both of their lives.
After getting a quick stop behind the net by the goaltender, Liambas saw Fanelli gathering up the puck and cycling back around the net with his head down. The natural instinct would be to follow through with a check, which Liambas did, and the two came together with astonishing force. Fanelli saw Liambas at the last second, started to rotate out of the incoming check, but he was always getting leveled from the check. Fanelli was hit so hard by Liambas that his helmet came off prior to his head catching the metal stanchion separating the glass panels and then crashing to the ice. He would remain motionless as the medical staff rushed to the ice. He required to be stretchered off the ice and would later be diagnosed with a skull fracture and concussion. Fanelli would return to complete his junior playing career in Kitchener but the hit would effectively be the end of his hockey playing caeer.
That incident came at the beginning of Liambas’ fourth junior playing season in the OHL. He would be suspended for the rest of the season as well as that year’s playoffs as a result of the boarding penalty against Fanelli. The hit was the end of Liambas’ junior playing career. What came next was the true test of whether or not he would ever be able to make a career out of playing the game as a professional hockey player.
Liambas’ first step from that moment involved going back to the IHL with the Bloomington PrairieThunder. He had played briefly with the outfit in the previous season in 2008-09. By the end of that 2009-10 season he had logged more games in the IHL (25) than he did in the OHL his final two junior playing seasons (9).
His next step came at the University of British Columbia playing in the CIS. At the end of the 2010-11 season he would officially join the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL to become a professional hockey player. His time with the Cyclones would last through to the 2012-13 season which saw a spell with the Orlando SolarBears. Where he would go next is where this journey really starts to go onwards and upwards.
At the end of the 2012-13 season a scrappy young Liambas showed up on a PTO Contract with the Admirals. His AHL debut came eight days prior to his twenty-fourth birthday in Milwaukee against the Houston Aeros. I suppose you can say for Admirals fans it was love at first fight. The 5-10 Liambas paired up to fight 6-3 forward Ryley Grantham. Liambas from his first ever AHL experience showed Milwaukee his greatest attribute: it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog. Liambas is as fearless as they come.
From that moment since Liambas has been a staple in the AHL. The very first full-season he had as a member of the Admirals came in 2013-14 and saw him break Jordin Tootoo‘s Admirals record for penalty minutes accumulated in a single season. He fought twenty-five times that season.
Yet, looking past fighting majors, Liambas has fought his way from that fateful night in 2009 to get to where he is today. His evolution as a player through the tutelage of Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia has been one of the most fun developments I’ve had the chance to watch in my time around the organization. It isn’t just about fighting. The days of the out-and-out enforcer aren’t there anymore. You need to play. And, make no mistake about it, the day the Liambas was officially given the call by the Predators organization it came as a result of having established himself as a well rounded player.
Liambas’ game has matured with time on and especially off the ice. He displays great leadership qualities and players in Nashville such as Anthony Bitetto and Colton Sissons would be quick to credit him for his guidance along their individual journeys as well.. That recall wasn’t a reward for service time by the Predators or a simple pat on the back. He earned it.
Cheers to Mike Liambas on taking the time out after practice last week to chat at such length. Tomorrow Admirals Roundtable will be covering the Milwaukee Admirals road game against the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center. On Wednesday we will be hoping to get you the next installment of Fifteen which features Derek Army.
I suppose it is fitting for Chatterbox Vol. 187 to feature what feels like an MDK. The game last night was a rough one. “It is what it is,” was actually what I kept saying as I let last night’s 4-0 shutout loss for the Milwaukee Admirals to the Chicago Wolves sink in. No one on the team would say as much, no one one wants to use an excuse, but when you’re lacking a Vladislav Kamenev and Matt White while working in three PTO Contracts and seven defensemen it makes containing -much less defeating- a team as solid as the Wolves that much harder to do.
Mind you, that isn’t to say that there weren’t positives to take from last night’s game. At the forefront of any rough outing such as that should be the concepts that made the Admirals as exposed as they were and things that should be better handled in the transitional game as they were stuck defending most of the night. If the season ended today – the Amtrak Rivalry would be playing itself out in the opening round of the 2017 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. While the roster between last night and then will change, of course, so much more needs to be done by the Admirals to make attacks more effective.
Despite having lost the contest I cannot applaud the efforts of Marek Mazanec enough. He conceded two power-play goals and one off of a stellar passing play by the AHL’s top scorer and assist leader Kenny Agostino. Beyond that? He was the reason why the Admirals had any hope of being in the game entering the third period. He was sharp from the opening puck drop and, against that offense, that was required. Mazanec saved that game from being what it was from being a massive punch to the gut.
The Admirals power-play seems to be caught up at times in passing too often and hoping for the perfect shot to evolve. When I think back to opponents that the Admirals have had this season the top that comes to mind is the Grand Rapids Griffins and their ruthlessness on the power-play to shoot, shoot, shoot, and crash to the net because they have the numbers in their favor to scrap for rebound on a power-play chance. If the back door play from the low left wing from Trevor Smith to Pontus Åberg isn’t there? The Admirals get frozen and cycle back to it later on – be it high to Alex Carrier and then down from the point to Åberg. The Admirals power-play is frozen to shots on the left wing. They need better options to make it a more complete zonal attack. Even Jack Dougherty was being thrown into the Åberg spot on the left wing circle last night and treated as such. They need variables.
Speaking of Åberg, he was doubled up on two forward lines last night in an effort to ease need for seven-defensemen. As great as he has been when you tend to overload one player’s plate, sap his energy – especially given Åberg played the night prior, it only lessens what he could be on his own tangent. What the Admirals missed the most last night was structure. With the lines in fluctuation while players are missing – that takes a big dent. What you hope for is by Tuesday night against the Rockford IceHogs on the road is that doesn’t get lessened from a two game hiccup with bodies out and then back into the mix. The Admirals seemed to just start finding a groove… it may have had a lull in the second period at times but they found ways to win even then. That group should be back together come Tuesday and that factor alone should hopefully let last night’s shutout loss be the following: it is what it is. Chin up. Eyes forward. Keep going.
After last night’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then spoke with recently added Admiral Stephen Perfetto and then Adam Payerl to hear their thoughts on last night’s effort.
Comments on the comments? Are you able to chalk up last night’s game against the Chicago Wolves as a perfect storm that saw them to shutout-style victory or was there serious concern from last night that has you feeling the Milwaukee Admirals at full-strength can’t match-up against them?
I’m not sure what it is about the second period lately. Heck, even the team isn’t all that sure of what to make of it. I suppose at day’s end it is far better for the hiccup to come in the second than the third period -but- it certainly would be nice for it to be a non-issue.
Still, the damage limitation was there for the Milwaukee Admirals who kept the brunt of the Rockford IceHogs attacks to that second period. Marek Mazanec was a rock for the majority of the contest and it helped the Admirals weather what could have been a worse storm in that second period when they were outshot 16-7.
At this point I am not sure what more can be said for the efforts of Pontus Åberg and Frédérick Gaudreau. In my eyes they are playing the best hockey of their professional playing careers and doing it at the exact same time on different forward lines. In his last 15 games Åberg has produced 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists). Meanwhile Gaudreau has recorded 23 points (15 goals, 8 assists) from his last 17 games. These two have been putting the Admirals on their back lately and excelling at carrying the weight.
Another fun sight from tonight’s game were the unlikely contributions from those who probably weren’t even on the radar at the start of the season. Andrew O’Brien seems to be fitting in better and better with every game and has now surpassed the amount of goals that the man he was swapped with, Max Görtz, scored with the Admirals. Derek Army once again played a very steady and hard game. And Stephen Perfetto, who wasn’t even announced as an Admiral formally until today, looked like he had been on the roster for a solid length. It was only Perfetto’s fourth career AHL contest and the game’s opening goal was all him.
Tonight marked the final appearance of Miikka Salomäki on his long-term injury loan. I never noticed him dishing out his typical style of checking or physical play but the bottom line is that he played 3 games – which -on paper- is all he had played this season but he really only had the season opener with the Nashville Predators as a complete game that he had played prior to this. I felt his timing was much better in tonight’s game and, as you’ll hear him say himself, his leg feels good after having played tonight. He’s ready to return to the Predators when he’s needed.
There was a lull again. That’s just true. Yet, there was far more right than wrong out of the Admirals performance tonight with several issues that cropped up on Wednesday’s AM game clamped down. That’s an important thing to see given that the Amtrak Rivals and their high powered offense arrive tomorrow night.
After tonight’s game I had the chance to catch up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Gaudreau, O’Brien, and Salomäki These were tonight’s post-game comments following the Admirals 5-2 win over the IceHogs.
Comments on the comments? How will the Milwaukee Admirals handle the offense of the Chicago Wolves tomorrow and what happens if they have a lull period against them?
When most people think of Miikka Salomäki they think of a Finnish wrecking ball on skates. I can’t really refute that. Salomäki was second to only Shea Weber on the Nashville Predators last season in hits. The Finn is a relentless force on the ice. Yet, while he spends time back in Milwaukee on long-term injury loan, I am reminded of what I think of Salomäki. He has come a long way off the ice.
What most people get to see with hockey players is their on-ice work. In fact, where I assume the majority of those reading and listening to this will come from is the Nashville fan base who get to see a more finished product. Lost in that is the developmental process that has come along the way in either the AHL, ECHL, or even professional leagues. Not only that, but in a player such as Salomäki’s case, the adaptation of more than just a smaller rink in the North American pro game – but North America on a day-to-day basis.
When I first met Salomäki he was 21-years old and about to embark on his first professional playing season outside of his native Finland. His tenure with Kärpät, a Finnish organization which brought in the likes of Pekka Rinne, did him well enough to be selected in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Predators. His first season away from home was the 2013-14 campaign. Unlike his Scandinavian teammates from Sweden the language barrier was a very real test for Salomäki. It was something that once prompted this gem from his Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason in our first ever edition of Chatterbox.
“When he turns purple when you say “Good Morning” to him it’s probably an indication that he’s shy. Off the ice he is shy. There is a bit of a language barrier. Not tremendous. He understands. He speaks, but he is a shy guy. But he pulls a sweater over his head and he’s a different man. He just goes out and he plays the same way every single night. And he’ll mature, obviously, and get to know how to conduct himself off the ice and be more comfortable. But, on the ice? No issues.” ~Dean Evason
That debut season for Salomäki was always going to be a stiff test as he was introduced to a new style of hockey and a new style of living. Fortunately, the language barrier that could have trouble him was lessened by having a contingent from home with the likes of Joonas Järvinen and Joonas Rask on the roster. There are always niche groups within a locker room as it is such a diverse game and having that ability to communicate in your native language can offer homely comforts that make a long and grinding season in the AHL or ECHL as a first-year player can go a long way.
If you view those three Finnish players from the Admirals that 2013014 season you also got to view the ups-and-downs of how the translation from the European to North American game can go. Järvinen appeared to find a groove that season but perhaps didn’t have the all-around abilities or skating prowess that the Predators would have wanted in their ranks. Rask, who has great skating ability, just wasn’t able to wire all of his tools together as effectively as he may have been able to as the smaller ice surface meant getting closed down quicker and grinded up along the boards. As for Salomäki? A smaller surface area in which to play perhaps only enhances his style of hockey.
Salomäki, from as early as that first season with the Admirals, earned a reputation as being a “Bull in a China Shop” from Evason. He never switches off ever, every shift he brings it, and every shift is met with high level effort, grit, and tenacity. A smaller rink only means that Salomäki has less distance to go from hit-to-hit or switching from defense to offense. In his first season in North America he was the Admirals leading scorer with 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) from 75 games of work which saw him tied for fifth overall in the AHL’s rookie scoring race.
The next season Salomäki might not have been on the scoring rush that he had prior but his all-around play was taking flight. He was incredibly sound defensively and was doing such consistent work that he earned his first career NHL recall. On 1/8/15 he would make his NHL debut with the Predators in front of a packed Bridgestone Arena. He would score on a breakaway against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars for his first career NHL goal and also contribute a game best seven hits. It was the perfect debut showcasing Salomäki’s résumé on the NHL stage.
Unfortunately, right after his NHL debut he would end up being sidelined for the rest of the 2014-15 season due to shoulder surgery to take care repeated dislocation. The next season he would be with the Admirals on opening night but Salomäki’s main calling was to be in the NHL. He played 61 games for the Predators in the 2015-16 season, scored 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists), and amass 164 hits. Weber collected five more hits than Salomäki on the season but Weber had also played far more games. At 2.7 hits per game Salomäki wasn’t just atop the Predators in that respect but near the top ten of a powerhouse Central Division.
The word unfortunate turned up again this season for Salomäki. In fact, it has come up far too often. In the second game of the Predators season he broke his hand blocking a shot. He was sidelined until 12/2/16 when he made his return to game action on conditioning assignment with the Admirals. He participated in one period of play and never returned to the game. The reason for that was he suffered a significant leg injury while delivering a check. One that some thought could have held him out for the rest of this season. Thankfully, that isn’t the case and he is close to returning to where he belongs – on NHL ice.
Seeing Salomäki, whether it was in Nashville two weeks ago or here in Milwaukee this past week, reminds me of the journey he has been on off the ice. The man who would turn purple if you said “Good Morning” to him is far more comfortable in his own skin now in this country and when it comes to the English language. When he first arrived? I wanted interviews with him to be short and sweet because I relate to the social anxiety factor and just how unsettling it must be communicating in a different language with a microphone in front of you. Today? He is the goofball prankster that he very much is. Sure, it isn’t easy communicating in a different language -but- he does it now with a big laugh.
A massive thanks to Miikka Salomäki for providing the time to do such a lengthy interview and -Happy Birthday- as he turns 25-years old today. In the next two installments of Fifteen we will hear from Mike Liambas as well as Derek Army. Those will likely be released at the start of next week on Monday and Wednesday respectively.
It could have been another one of those wild “School Day” games that match the intensity level that the crowd provides but the Milwaukee Admirals ended up falling 5-3 to the Cleveland Monsters. The Admirals had a great start with lots of pace and energy that earned them power-play chances. Those power-plays were filled with sustained attacking pressure. But Anton Forsberg was solid throughout a scoreless opening period where the Admirals outshot the Monsters 9-3.
Perhaps that was a small sign that things could go poorly for the festivities but the offense out of nowhere for the Monsters mounted in the second period to a 3-0 lead and then they snagged an extra tally from John Ramage just 1:04 into the third period.
What you appreciate from that point until the very end is the same old Admirals resiliency that has shown up from the start of the season. The team bagged two consecutive power-play goals from their two hottest players and then proceeded to get on the board at even strength from the most unlikely of sources. They had 8:43 of regulation to find a fourth goal that could have completed the 4-0 comeback but it wasn’t enough time.
The great news is that there isn’t too long of a rest period on today’s result. The Admirals are back to work Friday and Saturday night. At the very least -again- you appreciate the way they finished today. If the Admirals can bottle up what they had towards the end of today’s game and play a full sixty-minutes that way – that’s when this year’s group could become special.
Comments on the comments? Are the Milwaukee Admirals incapable of playing a complete sixty-minutes of hockey this season? How important is it for the Admirals to get solid performances and results from both games this weekend?
Admirals Roundtable 