We all probably should have expected this season to feature some flashy goals. There were after all some fresh new forward talents added to the Milwaukee Admirals and the skill level they provided were evident on night number one of the regular season when plenty of them made a pleasant goal scoring introduction.

A question I had after the Admirals 2014-15 season opener was whether or not the fans were just given the goal of the season on game one. As it turns out, there were a few more beauties scored that were either right up there or better than that. And, push comes to shove, I need to tip my cap to the human highlight reel that was Viktor Arvidsson‘s sick backhander scored on January 10, 2015 in a 5-0 shutout at home over the Charlotte Checkers.

The sheer ability on display from Arvidsson on that play is outrageous. Speed, strength, hands, shot, and even the celebration. The Swede had a few dandies this season but this one just tops them all in my book.

There of course were some other ones right up there at the top of my list that were so good I needed to name them out ahead of the mentions section: Pontus Åberg‘s stunning goal scored on opening night (video), Kevin Fiala‘s brilliant individual effort to beat Jamie Oleksiak and then Jack Campbell (video), and Brendan Leipsic creating a turnover and then dipsy doodling in on goal to finish it all off (video). The difference between any of those taking my nod for best goal of the season isn’t that big. All of those were phenomenal goals.

Honorable Mentions, in order of the date in which the occurred: Pontus Åberg (video), Viktor Arvidsson’s second tally on his first North American hat trick (video), Pontus Åberg (video), Viktor Arvidsson (video), Viktor Arvidsson imitates Pontus Åberg’s home opener goal (video), Colton Sissons (video), and Kevin Fiala (video).

If you were wondering what the best assist of the Admirals past season was… I did come up with a winner in that department also. Åberg’s ridiculous no look feed from center to left wing to tee up the on-rushing Joe Pendenza for a goal.

I still have no idea how Åberg knew Pendenza was where he was on the ice, how he knew he was skating as fast as he was, and how Åberg managed to take all those into account to put a pass on Pendenza’s tape… but he did. And it was a thing of beauty.

Which goal do you think was the best goal scored by the Admirals this season? Who had the flashiest portfolio of goals: Arvidsson, Åberg, or Fiala?

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If I am being completely honest, the best save that occurred during the Milwaukee Admirals 2014-15 season happened with the good guys on the receiving end of a glove save that made its was from Cleveland all the way on to ESPN’s Top 10 Plays. That of course was when Lake Erie Monsters netminder Calvin Pickard robbed Kevin Fiala (video).

When it comes to the best save by an Admiral there were only two goalies who could snag the honor. It was all Marek Mazanec and Magnus Hellberg this season (sorry Rob Madore). What was their best of the best? Who came up trumps? After much reviewing I feel it has to be Mazanec’s post-to-post robbery on Brett Ritchie of the Texas Stars back on April 3, 2015.

This looked to be a bang-bang play for the Stars. They had a slight coming together that put Anthony Bitetto down and out in center that provided all the space in the world for Derek Hulak to tee up the unmarked Ritchie on the back post for a wide open one-timer. All that happened except the part where the Stars cashed in. Why? Mazanec’s speed sliding post-to-post to make the initial stop and then his quickness to ensure there would be no rebound opportunity. That’s as good as it gets.

Honorable Mentions, in order of the date in which the occurred: Marek Mazanec (video), Magnus Hellberg (video), Marek Mazanec (video), Marek Mazanec (video), Marek Mazanec (video), and Marek Mazanec (video).

Was this the best save of the Admirals 2014-15 season? Was Pickard’s save on Fiala the best all-in-all save made in hockey this season?

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Fights are a little easier to judge than hits. Not all big checks that happen in-game get thrown into video highlight packages sadly. Lucky for us, and mostly YouTube and/or Google search, there are a few big hits that cropped up from the Milwaukee Admirals 2014-15 season.

The man who I feel delivered the biggest check of all might not be someone your brain would instantly register with in relation to that part of the game. That man is Colton Sissons. While your brain might not go there I do think Dennis Rasmussen‘s did once he regained his train of thought following Sissons hammering check that came from a 2-1 Admirals win over the Rockford IceHogs on November 15, 2014.

Not only does Sissons deliver the boom he immediately answered the bell with a fight against Klas Dahlbeck. I said in my report card that Sissons may not have increased the offensive explosiveness that the Nashville Predators perhaps wanted him to this season but he did take a massive step forward in the physical aspect to his game. Every forward who aspires to play in the NHL needs to have this level of grit to their game I feel. And it’s a play like that, combined with the added scoring touch, that makes Sissons someone who should find his way back in Nashville next season.

Honorable Mentions, in order of the date in which the occurred: Triston Grant (video), Taylor Aronson (video), Triston Grant (video), Jonathan Diaby (video), Anthony Bitetto (video), Jimmy Oligny and Mike Liambas (video), Austin Watson (video), Triston Grant (video), Mike Liambas (video), and Mike Liambas (video).

What was your pick for the best hit of the Admirals 2014-15 season?

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Welcome to Admirals Roundtable’s “Best of” Week! I figured with things being a bit slow there should be some sort of additional “season review” fun to be had. That’s what this week will be. There will be Best Game, Best Goal, Best Save, Best Hit, and it all starts today with my choice for the Best Fight of the 2014-15 season.

I think that this year’s Admirals squad had its share of good tilts. In fact, according to HockeyFights.com, the Admirals have increased the amount of fighting majors they’ve had in each and every season under Dean Evason. This season, naturally, meant the most fights under his watch with 66 total tilts. Not too shabby. Rich Clune lead the team with 17 and Mike Liambas was right behind him with 16.

As far as the best all-around fight goes, wearing my Dana White thinking cap here, I actually feel this is an easy choice. Triston Grant against Daniel Maggio from the Admirals 2-1 shootout victory against the Lake Erie Monsters back on October 25, 2014.

What more can you say? That was a heavyweight fight and the two unloaded punch after punch on one-another and resulted in one of my more favorite soundbites from the past season as well:

10/25/14, Grant bleeds his way through an interview after a fight:

Grant is a warrior and he proved that multiple times this season. Best example of that though? That fight and him laughing about it post-game.

Honorable Mentions, in order of the date in which the occurred: Mike Liambas vs. Chris Bruton (video),  Mike Liambas vs. Kyle Hagel (video), Magnus Hellberg vs. John Muse (video), Rich Clune vs. Duncan Siemens (video), Jonathan Diaby vs. Cody Bass (video), Rich Clune vs. Stephane Veilleux (video), Mike Liambas vs. Daniel Maggio (video), and Rich Clune vs. Mitchell Heard (video).

What do you think was the best fight of the Admirals 2014-15 season? Who is the toughest member of the Admirals when it comes to dropping the mitts?

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This was a very Jekyll and Hyde type of season. The Milwaukee Admirals opened their 2014-15 season by setting a franchise record for a best ever start with a six-game winning streak. Things were really looking great up until December rolled around. There was a seven-game losing stretch and the team pulled a 3-6-2-1 record in the month.

I remember around that time thinking it was just a dip. A small slide that the Admirals needed to go through to better themselves in the long run. January seemed to prove that right because the team rocked a 10-2-0-0 record with a franchise record nine-game winning streak. They were out in front of the Midwest Division and capped off the month by shutting out the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-0 on the road.

When trying to pinpoint where things really trended as badly as this season went I ended up coming to the date, February 15th. The Admirals lost two key components to their team, injuries started to hit within the Nashville Predators organization, and the roster change-over that happened seemed to give the Admirals difficulties. Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement. The Admirals went 4-14-5-3 after that date and wound up not making the playoffs for the first time since the franchise’s debut season in the American Hockey League of 2001-02.

The frustrating part about the end to the season was how often good efforts or performances were squandered in a matter of a few moments. There would be a mistake, defensive lapse, goaltending mishap, or something as wacky as a bad bounce. That span from February 15th saw the Admirals battle through a game that was decided by a single goal thirteen times. Think about that for a moment. That’s a difference between playing playoff hockey and watching playoff hockey on a couch. Frustrating. That’s perhaps another understatement.

While it’s tough for everyone to miss out on the playoffs that doesn’t by any means make this season a complete write-off. Lots of players left a good first impression and some familiar faces put some solid stamps down.

This report card is purely my grading and assessment of those who played for the Admirals this season. In my grades for last season I made the cut-off for earning a grade at twenty-games. Anything less was an incomplete. I think I’ll hold to that.

Continue reading “2014-15 Milwaukee Admirals Report Card” →

For those who follow what I do on Twitter than, mostly, this post shouldn’t be anything all that new. When I get rolling into game mode I’ll launch a barrage of pop culture references that take you from Bruce Buffer, to Doctor Who and Supernatural, to SpongeBob and The Simpsons, and so on and so forth. Then, when it comes to the Admirals team itself, I craft a few things off my phone from pictures either the team photographers have snapped or from fan submissions. Often times it is those candid fan photos that just make me laugh and -well- I can’t help it. I make a meme out of it.

I was asked to bundle up all the memes that I created during the course of this past Admirals season by some folks though. So this one is for you! Hey, it is Monday so we could use the laugh.

Continue reading “The Memes of Admirals Roundtable” →

All this doom and gloom over the Milwaukee Admirals regular season ending without any playoff hockey and I forgot to divvy up the final monthly award. There were only seven games in the month of April and the team ended it with a six-game losing streak. It wasn’t exactly pretty. Even so, I think the award race for the month could be given to three different Admirals. My choice though? Viktor Arvidsson.

Arvidsson rejoined the Admirals from the Nashville Predators for the final month of the AHL season. In the last seven games the Swede tallied 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist). The biggest thing for me though was that he registered a whopping 36 shots on goal. Can’t say he wasn’t trying, right?

With the season done Arvidsson’s statistics can kind of stand out. He recorded the most shots on goal in the entire AHL this season with 272 in seventy-games. The next closest to him in that respect was Jonathan Marchessault of the Syracuse Crunch with 257. One more little gem, because Aaron Sims brought it up at season’s end and I thought it was fun, Arvidsson managed to set an Admirals AHL shots on goal record set by Curtis Murphy during the 2003-04 season.

The other two players I felt were worthy of the last Roundtable monthly award were Austin Watson and Colton Sissons. Watson posted 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) and Sissons 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists). Both were leaned on quite a bit down the stretch and responded well. Watson set a career high for goals in a season and Sissons became the first Admiral in AHL history to record back-to-back seasons of 25 goals to start his career.

Other Admirals in March: Pontus Åberg, 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists)… Triston Grant, 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist)… Mark Van Guilder, 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists).

~Admiral of the Month Award~

October: Brendan Leipsic
November: Magnus Hellberg
December: Marek Mazanec
January: Viktor Arvidsson
February: Colton Sissons
March: Colton Sissons
April: Viktor Arvidsson

Who was your pick for the top performing Admiral in the month of March? Please write a comment down below as to who and why.

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This season has provided some outstanding photos. The Milwaukee Admirals photography team this season has consisted of Scott Paulus and Jeff Hanisch. In addition, there have been some nice contributions from the opposition side as well. Here is a look back on the Milwaukee Admirals season in pictures.

Continue reading “The 2014-15 Milwaukee Admirals Season in Pictures” →

Typically when European hockey players make the leap to North America the first obstacle that comes to mind is adapting to a new style of play. There is an adjustment period, sure. The rinks are smaller which amplifies the pace of everything taking place on the ice. In places such as Sweden, Finland, or Russia the rinks can be that slight bit longer and wider which provides more freedom to skate and and stickhandle. Some make the adjustment quick. Some struggle. And some end up making the leap straight back to European ice.

This season the Milwaukee Admirals had four players making their North American debuts: Pontus Åberg, Johan Alm, Viktor Arvidsson, and Kevin Fiala. They were surrounded by players such as Magnus Hellberg, Miikka Salomäki, and Marek Mazanec who have worked through the adjustment process with the Admirals previously. Getting used to the game alone is a hefty process with varying individual results. Getting used to life away from the rink is a different process entirely.

Continue reading “The Universal Language of Hockey” →