This was yet another golden season for the Milwaukee Admirals and their forward troops. I mean that in a very real sense. There were a total of twelve forwards that played their trade at the NHL level with the Nashville Predators this season who also called themselves Admirals. The depth of the organization is immensely talented and deep. And it just continues to grow each and every season.

When determining this award there are quite a few that deserve mention. The sophomore campaign for Vladislav Kamenev was a fantastic one and he has made great strides into his young career. Trevor Smith was a leader on and off the ice and did so through example and by his determination across all aspects of the game: face-offs, penalty killing, power-play, defense, offense, forechecking, you name it. Frédérick Gaudreau had his breakout season in 2015-16 but managed to blow it apart with something even more special this season. And there are countless other contributors who always brought it on a daily basis who could well go under the radar of the more flashy scoring talents. Guys such as Adam Payerl, Justin Florek, Matt White, and Mike Liambas. Even the rookies, Justin Kirkland and Anthony Richard, were really coming into their own by the end of the season. It was a supremely balanced group at forward this season: skill, pace, strength, size, and work ethic.

Yet, the man who took his game to a whole new level is the one who is most deserving of our end-season award here. Admirals Roundtable’s 2016-17 Forward of the Year Award belongs to Pontus Åberg.

What Åberg managed to do this season was a feat that only four other members in the AHL history of the Milwaukee Admirals had accomplished before: reach 30 or more goals in a season. Darren Haydar (2005-06), Rich Peverley (2006-07), and Chris Mueller (2011-12) were the first three to record 30 or more goals in the regular season. Haydar scored 35 goals in 80 games. Peverley scored 30 goals in 66 games. Mueller scored 32 goals in 73 games. Yet, Åberg’s goal scoring pace was one that topped those great names in Admirals history by recording 31 goals in only 56 games of work. In terms of goals/game: Åberg stands at 0.553 with the next closest to him on that list being Peverley at 0.455.

Åberg was staggering in goal scoring this season. And that also gets reflected in areas of extreme importance. His 9 game-winning goals led the Admirals this season. Almost as important these days is being the team to get on the scoreboard first: Åberg’s 8 first-goals also led the Admirals this season. His shooting accuracy was also worth noting as, of all Admirals who scored 10 goals or more, only Gaudreau (19.4) shot at higher percentage than Åberg (18.7).

The 23-year old from Stockholm, Sweden did serious damage offensively. That much is obvious. But, just as importantly, Åberg was just as good defensively. This season saw an extra step in the evolution to his game that made him just as fun to watch off the puck as on it. He was very sound and responsible on defense and it was his relentless work ethic on the ice this past season that often times meant seeing him get double or extended shifts when the Admirals required it. His team leading 15 power-play goals certainly were nice but his contributions on the penalty kill were just as important. He wasn’t shy to apply his full skill set in that department, either. Åberg led the Admirals with 2 shorthanded goals this season.

There is a very good reason why Åberg was recalled at the end of the Admirals season: he deserved it. While it might have hurt the Admirals to be without their top forward in the hunt for the Calder Cup all you need to do is tune in tonight and watch Åberg contributing for the Predators in the Western Conference Finals in the pursuit of the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup. He is right where he should be.

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This year’s defensive group didn’t need to get blown up mid-season like the 2015-16 season had to. The lone real alteration came in the very first month of the season when the Milwaukee Admirals made the always rare AHL trade that saw them acquire Adam Pardy from the Springfield Falcons in exchange for Eric Robinson, Teddy Doherty, and Brandon Whitney. This happened because Matt Irwin was quickly promoted from the Admirals to the Nashville Predators and remained in the NHL from that point forward.

What I saw from a very young Admirals defensive group was an awful lot of learning and improvement by season’s end. Given moments of injury that sidelined a veteran like Pardy for a great length of time and then Jimmy Oligny at the end of the regular season for the rest of the playoffs – the young guns did well under the pressure. The Jack Dougherty who started the season was not the same one working in the playoffs. All defensemen really did grow and improve.

When it all boils down though there wasn’t much of a contest here. From a consistency standpoint. Defense. Offense. Special Teams. This 20-year old from Québec did so well so often that it never felt like it was actually his first pro season – but it was. Admirals Roundtable’s 2016-17 Defenseman of the Year Award belongs to Alex Carrier.

Carrier proved time and time again that he could shoulder a weight of responsibilities for the Admirals in his debut season of professional hockey. He played with maturity, poise, and a swagger that put him to the NHL where he made his debut in mid-January. Not long after making his NHL debut he represented the Admirals at the AHL All-Star Classic and helped the Central Division All-Stars win the AHL All-Star Challenge for a second consecutive season.

The area that I usually look at directly when giving this specific award is to make sure that the defenseman who wins it simply isn’t just the most dynamic offensive defenseman on the season. You can say as much for Carrier who used his great skating ability and instincts in the defensive end of the rink to be disruptive and effective as part of the Admirals go-to defensive paring alongside Pardy. Those two hit it off immidiately and the benefits of Carrier being paired with a veteran and getting to practice, play, and learn from him daily certainly helped his confidence soar.

Carrier was NHL good as a 20-year old first-year pro. I cannot wait to see how the sophomore campaign for him goes. The questions for him have been answered but now everyone knows who he is and what he’s all about. This time next season we could well be back discussing just how well Carrier embraced the adversity and succeeded. He did it this season. And he didn’t show signs that he couldn’t next season.

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This was an unusual season for the Milwaukee Admirals in the goaltending department. The 2016-17 season was the first time that the Admirals rolled out and played more than two goaltenders over the course of a campaign since the 2013-14 season. That year the Admirals had five different goaltenders factor in while this season there were four: Juuse Saros, Marek Mazanec, Jonas Gunnarsson, and Mark Visentin.

Not only did the Admirals roll out those four goaltenders but everyone not named Visentin earned a shutout. It was the first time the Admirals saw shutouts from three different goaltenders in a single season since the 2006-07 season when Pekka Rinne, Karl Goehring, and Scott Reid accomplished the feat. Those three earned a combined 5 shutouts that season. Saros, Mazanec, and Gunnarsson managed combine for the exact same number of shutouts.

And, of course, there was the start to the season and how the actual goaltending narrative played out that was also unusual. Mazanec won the back-up role to Rinne with the Nashville Predators in the NHL. This seemed to be a well earned promotion for the 25-year old Czech native who had spent three-years in the organization working towards that opportunity. Saros looked set to be “the man” in Milwaukee and carrying a full work load in the AHL. That all looked like it made sense. But that didn’t stay that way all that long. Saros was outrageously good for the Admirals in the AHL and was effectively sweeping all major goaltending categories atop the AHL statistical sheets. Meanwhile, Mazanec wasn’t being afforded much time in net to start the season and wasn’t very convincing when he did get his chance to shine. This started an ad nauseum process of “Mazanec down, Saros up” that continued until mid-December when Saros was cementing himself as Rinne’s back-up. Mazanec was then told to clear out his Nashville apartment and find a place in Milwaukee – which he did during the All-Star break.

As frustrating as this season could have been for Mazanec he never once displayed an negativity surrounding what had happened. All that he did was come back to the city of Milwaukee, pop on his Admirals sweater, and went to work. These last two seasons with the Admirals have been some of his best and consistent work and he shouldered the load for the Admirals over the course of this season. Mazanec is the no-doubt choice for Admirals Roundtable’s Goalie of the Year for the 2016-17 Season.

The most impressive aspect of Mazanec’s run with the Admirals this past season was seeing him operate as the team’s workhorse in net. The date you can really slam down as when Mazanec made the committed stay into the Admirals picture was 12/16/16 at the start of the team’s Texas road trip. There were still 53 games remaining in the Admirals 2016-17 season at that point. Mazanec would play in 42 of those remaining games.

At season’s end Mazanec would finish with a solid career best for wins in an AHL season by earning 27 wins from 47 appearances. His previous best came last season when he managed to win 19 games from 39 appearances while he and Saros split duties for the Admirals. And with the increased work load Mazanec nearly matched or bested previous career bests in save percentage and shutouts over the course of an AHL season.

It isn’t clear what happens next for the Czech goaltender who turns 26-years old this July. But what he certainly didn’t do was burn any bridges or make it difficult for other NHL or AHL teams to consider bringing him in if the next chapter of Mazanec’s career is not back with the Predators organization. This season could have been more. This season could have been a nightmare. In the end I don’t feel it’s right to say that it was either. But what Mazanec did was to make the most of what he could the moment he knew he was an Admiral once again. That lends itself well for the road ahead no matter where that road leads.

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The rookie squadron for the Milwaukee Admirals during the 2016-17 season was one that had plenty of interest going in. Anthony Richard made a pro debut with the Admirals during their 2016 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs run. Jack Dougherty made a pro debut even before those playoffs started. And both Alex Carrier and Justin Kirkland had yet to get in a game. Jonas Gunnarsson wasn’t even signed yet but showed well at Nashville’s Rookie Development Camp.

I would say that along the first few months most of the Admirals rookie core had a slow start. Kirkland and Richard, who arrived with great scoring prowess out of their junior careers, were clearly going through the motions. Gunnarsson in net was also adjusting to the differences in playing styles that come with the leap from European style hockey to the North American style game. By season’s end though, certainly looking at the likes of those two forwards and a defenseman in Dougherty, you could see the learning curve get adjusted and all rookies really start to come into their own.

There was one rookie though that impressed immediately and never really stopped. What Carrier did from the start of the season to the end was outstanding. And he is Admirals Roundtable’s Rookie of the Year for the 2016-17 Season.

When you think of how the Admirals started the season you have to think of a time with Matt Irwin on defense. It wasn’t a very long existence, mind you, but once he went away Carrier was thrust into his place. Carrier’s responsibilities and work load were increased to the point he was one of the first defensemen out on special teams. He didn’t buckle with the added load or pressure. He excelled with incredible maturity and poise. Carrier did not look or play like a 20-year old first-year pro this season. His numbers reflect that.

Carrier ended this season as not only the Admirals top rookie point scorer but also the lead scoring defenseman. Carrier produced 39 points (6 goals, 33 assists) from 72 games. It’s the first time since the 2009-10 season when the Admirals rookie leading scorer was a defenseman. Carrier’s season total also holds with it 2 game winning goals scored in overtime as well as work on the power-play that notched 3 power-play goals and 16 power-play assists. Only Admirals captain Trevor Smith with 17 power-play assists had more. Carrier quarterbacked the Admirals power-play and really took that responsibility the moment Irwin’s recall became permanent. The Admirals lost a veteran defenseman and began molding a new one who acted the part upon arrival to the AHL.

It should really have come as no surprise when Carrier was recalled by the Predators and logged his first career NHL games in his debut season as a pro. He earned it. And it was just a glimpse into the future for him. He is only going to be 21-years old entering his sophomore season when 2017-18 rolls in. He’s only getting better the more he gets to process games at the pro level.

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While the saves and hits this season felt so-so the goals scored along the way by the Milwaukee Admirals were spectacular. This year’s team had such fantastic pace and skill which provided many great goals. That’s what makes this category the most difficult to really decide upon.

I’ve stuck to really three goals that stand out to me as your podium finishers. In saying that, depending on how you view it, these could really all vary on which goal stands on the top step of the podium.

The third best goal of the season in my eyes belongs to Vladislav Kamenev. On 12/12/16 against the San Antonio Rampage the 20-year old Russian toe-dragged defenseman Mason Geertsen and then snapped high-glove on Kent Simpson.

The second best goal of the season just so happened to be the first career pro goal scored by Yakov Trenin. “Why do I always travel to Rockford,” you ask. Because the Rockford IceHogs video quality on AHL Live is such that I likely would never have actually seen the beauty that was Trenin’s first goal as a pro. On 4/12/17 the Admirals were able to top the IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center by way of their Russian duo. The game-winning goal on the evening turned out to be Trenin’s no-look spin-o-rama backhander gliding away from Lars Johansson in net and burying top shelf over his glove. It really is a high bar that Trenin set for himself to score a better goal than his first as a pro.

Yet, it was always going to be difficult to defeat this one. The Best Goal of the 2016-17 Season belongs to Kevin Fiala for this:

I must have watched this clip a dozen or more times and going frame by frame to appreciate the speed, stick skills, and sheer smoothness of Fiala to have done everything to record the game-winning goal on the road for the Admirals over the Charlotte Checkers back on 1/18/17. Allow me to do some breaking down of what Fiala actually did.

It’s three-on-three overtime. Fiala is on a slight odd-man rush down the right wing with Jack Dougherty joining him down the left wing. Standing in front of Fiala acting as a defenseman was Phil Di Giuseppe – a forward. Lucas Wallmark was backchecking on Fiala tightly. As Fiala skates in with pace Di Giuseppe moves off a touch to his right to break up a possible play to Dougherty. Di Giuseppe then gets down to take away space and Fiala instantly changes forehand to backhand to skate past a flailing stick check. Wallmark then overlaps off of Fiala which sends him free one-on-one against the AHL’s All-Time Shutout King Michael Leighton. Once there, in really no space at all, Fiala goes from backhand to forehand – then stickhandles away from a poke check by Leighton – hits the brakes – switches stance and begins gliding away from goal while cradling the puck like a yo-yo on his backhand – before depositing with the forehand over the top of a down and out Leighton’s left pad.

In short: Fiala is absolutely incredible and we here at Admirals Roundtable wish him the best of recovery from his injury. He will be back. And more highlights such as that will happen again. This goal came when he was 20-years old and frankly still learning. He’ll be back to this level once again. I don’t question that.

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As mentioned in the hitting department, this season in saves from the Milwaukee Admirals goaltending wasn’t all that flashy or eye-popping. If there were ever a category where that is probably a good thing is is here. The Admirals goaltending this season was reliable, made good reads, and above all did a tremendous job staying square to shooters. While there were some odd-man rushes and breakaway saves made throughout the 2016-17 campaign – most were finished between the pipes with great composed positioning in net more than with desperation.

I’ve scanned plenty of saves from this season and kept coming back to three stops made between both Marek Mazanec and Jonas Gunnarsson. On 2/3/17 against the Rockford IceHogs, Mazanec made a brilliant snapping glove save against Brandon Mashinter on a break from the slot. On 12/10/16 against the Chicago Wolves, Gunnarsson made multiple saves on a rush play during a Wolves power-play opportunity – one while sprawling on his wallet.

Yet, the one that stands out to me the most -even if the game didn’t turn out too well- came during the regular season finale on 4/15/17 against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Your Best Save of the 2016-17 Season belongs to Jonas Gunnarsson sliding post-to-post to deny Tyler Bertuzzi on the back-door on a five-on-three power-play bid for the Griffins.

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When it comes to hits and saves delivered this season: there weren’t too many jaw-droppers. That’s not to say that there weren’t good plays put on display but, as a highlight reel is concerned, things were rather simple. There just wasn’t a big field from which to pick from. But, that said, the Best Hit of the 2016-17 Season is one that packs a punch. And the man responsible is Mike Liambas.

This Liambas hit came during the Milwaukee Admirals contest on 11/23/16 against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Evgeny Svechnikov was caught playing defense and swooping out of his own defensive corner when he picked his head up and was quite literally run over by a bus.

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This season the AHL promoted a brand new rule against fighting majors. There was a cap against players that had them being suspended once they hit 10 fighting majors on the season and the penalty would increase along the way.

Rule 46 (“Fighting”)/Rule 23 (“Game Misconducts”)
• Players who enter into a fight prior to, at, or immediately following the drop of the puck for a faceoff will be assessed an automatic game misconduct in addition to other penalties assessed.

• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 10th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for one (1) game. For each subsequent fighting major up to 13, the player shall also be suspended automatically for one (1) game.

• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 14th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for two (2) games. For each subsequent fighting major, the player shall also be suspended automatically for two (2) games.

• In any instance where the opposing player was assessed an instigator penalty, the fighting major shall not count towards the player’s total for this rule.

Did it work in limiting fighting majors? Well, looking at the Milwaukee Admirals alone, I’d say so. In the Dean Evason Era of the team fighting majors have gone: 44 in 2012-13, 62 in 2013-14, 66 in 2014-15, 53 in 2015-16, and 40 in 2016-17. It’s certainly fallen down. And, for those wondering about it, the Admirals did not have anyone punished under the new AHL ruling. Mike Liambas sat on 9 fighting majors for the final 10 games of the season and that is a dramatic drop on his career record.

So, what then of this season in Admirals hockey fights? I don’t recall many barn-burners, slobber-knockers, or walk-off KO’s along the way. That lends itself to me deciding the winner based around the one that stands out the best. And there was a fight this season that had me laughing all the way through it taking place. The Best Fight of the 2016-17 Season belongs to Anthony Richard vs. Matt Lorito.

The Admirals and Griffins rivalry is rather well documented at this point – as is the Griffins methods of getting under the Admirals’ skin. The Griffins are a team that talk, talk, talk some more, and keep on talking while never actually walking the walk. Even in this instance it looked to be that case. Lorito decided to challenge the one person on the ice for the Admirals he deemed least willing to actually fight if he challenged him. Richard not only accepted but proceeded to throttle him and win instantly. The Admirals bench erupted and that gave Richard his first pro Gordie Howe hat trick.

What was your favorite fight this season? Do you feel the AHL’s fighting major policy benefited or hurt the way games were played this season? Should that policy return as it was this past season or be changed?

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The Milwaukee Admirals provided many great moments throughout the 2016-17 season. When thinking of what the “Best Game” was there are fortunately many to pick from. Do you go with the time the Admirals clobbered the Texas Stars 9-1 on the road? Do you think a little on the evil side and take the 6-3 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins? Or, is there something off the cuff that managed to pile all kinds of great sequences together?

To me, despite the options, there is really only one winner. The Best Game of the 2016-17 Season was the Admirals’ second ever School Day Game which ended in a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Chicago Wolves at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

That game had it all but, above all, an unmatched atmosphere that was loud from start to finish. It is always noisy with those school crowds coming in but all the kiddos quickly get to grips with how hockey is played and set the backdrop on the most entertaining game of the season.

The Admirals went up 2-0 but then allowed three straight goals to the Wolves. The Admirals would equalize, concede, and equalize again en route to overtime. That set the stage for Alex Carrier to score one of the best goals of the season to cap off overtime in style.

What was your favorite game that the Milwaukee Admirals played this season? Write your answer down below and be sure to comment why that was your favorite game of the season.

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I am always a massive fan of the photography that comes during the course of a hockey season. The 2016-17 season provided plenty of great moments worth capturing including the Milwaukee Admirals return to the MECCA – now known as the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Whether it be the goals being scored, hits being dished out, celebrations, fights, or even just the artistic elements of showcasing a player and the scale of the fans surrounding them at rinkside – this was a great year.

Before directly hopping into this year in Admirals photography it wouldn’t be right to share a boat load of photos without providing immidiate credit to those who did such a phenomenal job.

The Admirals this season had: Scott Paulus, Jeff Hanisch, Stephanie Moebius, Sara Stathas, and Darren Hauck. Plus, on the fan side of things, we were always fortunate enough to get photos from Jamie Wahl.

On the road there were other great photographers such as: Mark Newman (Grand Rapids), Todd Reicher (Rockford), Greg Hamil (Rockford), Shane Abbitt (Iowa), Ted Sandeen (Iowa), John Saraya (Cleveland), Ross Dettman (Chicago), Darren Abate (San Antonio), Andy Nietupski (Texas), Jacob Kupferman (Charlotte), Jonathan Kozub (Manitoba), and Randy Cleves (Grand Rapids).

Continue reading “The 2016-17 Milwaukee Admirals Season in Pictures” →