DANGER Eric Robinson DANGER is heading back to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. For those losing sight of it during this Milwaukee Admirals franchise record winning streak – the depth of this organization right now is tremendous. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Milwaukee Admirals have reassigned Eric Robinson on loan to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. This move comes following the return of Colton Sissons from the Nashville Predators this past weekend and the expected return to game action of Stevie Moses after suffering an upper-body injury against the Chicago Wolves a week ago. Robinson had been a healthy scratch since Sissons’ return and did not play these last two games.
This season Robinson has been on fire when he takes to the ice. For the Cyclones at the ECHL level he had 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 6 games. For the Admirals he produced 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist) in 5 games – including scoring points in his first 4 games straight. I get the impression this move is acted similarly to Sissons move down from Nashville to Milwaukee. It’s not a matter of performance that is dictating the move. It’s simply a matter of the numbers. The roster is forcing him out of game action. It’s far better to see him playing at a lower tier league than sitting out of games and only practicing. Keep the motor running and be ready when the chance to return is available. Same can be said of Sissons for his hard work in Nashville. Same can be said for Robinson for his efforts in Milwaukee.
The Cyclones are currently leading the Midwest Division in the ECHL’s Western Conference standings with a record of 9-3-1-1 (20 points). They’ve been outstanding this season and their goal differential speaks for itself: +14 (42 goals forced, 28 goals allowed). Expect that margin to grow now that Robinson is heading back ahead of tonight’s game in Cincinnati as they take on the Fort Wayne Komets.
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The Nashville Predators acquired defenseman Petter Granberg from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization off of waivers this morning. The Swedish defenseman was teammates at Skellefteå with current Milwaukee Admirals players Viktor Arvidsson and Johan Alm. Granberg has been on injured reserve the entire 2015-16 season to date so no other reactionary roster moves are expected all that soon.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 22, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Sunday that the club has claimed defenseman Petter Granberg on waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Granberg, 23 (8/27/92), has yet to suit up in 2015-16 due to offseason surgery, but has eight NHL games to his credit with Maple Leafs (0 points, 6 penalty minutes) and 126 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies (3g-19a-22pts, 58 penalty minutes) since his first North American professional season in 2013-14. Prior to crossing the Atlantic, the 6-3, 201-pound blueliner split time between Skelleftea’s Swedish Hockey League and Junior League teams, winning an SHL title in 2013, and earning silver medals in 2011 and 2012.
Toronto’s fourth selection, 116th overall (fourth round), in the 2010 Entry Draft, Granberg helped team Sweden win the 2013 World Championship (along with Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok) and the 2012 World Junior Championship (along with Predators forward Filip Forsberg), as well as earning a silver medal at the 2010 World Under-18 Championship.
When looking at Granberg’s career path to this point he was a fourth round draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has played 8 games at the NHL level but has mainly spent his time in his North American professional playing career in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies: 126 games, 22 points (3 goals, 19 assists), 58 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus rating of +33.
Honestly, this move stumps me a little bit. The Predators are already carrying an -extra- extra defenseman right now with both Victor Bartley and Anthony Bitetto on the roster. When I think of Bartley and Bitetto I’m starting to think they’ve collected more healthy scratches at the NHL level than games played. So, where does Granberg fit in and what is Nashville going to be doing roster wise? That’s going to be a wait and see storyline that will develop once Granberg is healthy enough to be taken off injured reserve.
Thoughts on this move by the Nashville Predators? Is there a reason why this acquisition happened you think? Who is the most likely candidate to be sent through the waiver wire in the attempts to clear them and assign them to the Admirals: Bartley, Bitetto, or Granberg?
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The Nashville Predators have reassigned Colton Sissons to the Milwaukee Admirals and activated Eric Nystrom from Injured Reserve. Per a source, Sissons is here in Milwaukee and expected to play tonight.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 21, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Saturday that the club has reassigned forward Colton Sissons to Milwaukee (AHL) and activated forward Eric Nystrom from Injured Reserve.
Nystrom, 32 (2/14/83), has missed eight games due to an upper-body injury since leaving Nashville’s game at Los Angeles on Oct. 31. In 10 games this season, the Syosset, N.Y., native has three goals/points.
The Nashville Predators continue their five-game road trip tonight at 7 p.m. CT, as they take on the Minnesota Wild in a Central Division clash (TV: FOX Sports Tennessee; Radio: 102.5 The Game). The team will then travel to New York to take on the Rangers (Monday), Buffalo Sabres (Wednesday) and Philadelphia Flyers (Friday) before returning home to play the Sabres at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, Nov. 28. During “Golden Saturday” home contests, the team has special promotions, events, giveaways and in-arena campaigns centered around the “Gold” theme. All fans wearing Gold for the Nov. 18 game against Buffalo will receive a poster of recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Phil Housley. For more information or to purchase tickets, fans can visit NashvillePredators.com or call 615-770-7800.
Sissons, much like fellow Admirals alumni such as Austin Watson and Miikka Salomäki, had been enjoying a really great time at the NHL level. The Admirals team captain returned to the Predators after not having played NHL hockey since his first professional playing season of 2013-14. Sissons was able to play 5 games in his recent stint with the Predators and picked up a goal on his first game back in Nashville since that first pro playing season. He also was involved in a fight in a crazy game against the Winnipeg Jets.
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Could Viktor Arvidsson be en route to becoming the Milwaukee Admirals representative at this year’s AHL All-Star festivities? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The NHL and AHL is often a “like father, like son” relationship in which the two try to mirror each other as closely as possible. Coming on the heels of the newly announced NHL All Star Game format that will be sweeping through Nashville in late-January the AHL has followed suit with a brand new format for their AHL All-Star Classic.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and Chief Executive Officer David Andrews announced today a new game format for the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic, scheduled for January 31 and February 1 at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y.
The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Challenge will take place on the evening of Feb. 1. Instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the league’s all-stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific). The teams will then play a round-robin tournament featuring six games of nine minutes each; the first half of each game will be played at 4-on-4, and the second half at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face off for the championship, a six-minute game played at 3-on-3.
“We have been working on developing an All-Star Challenge concept since last spring, and this tournament idea is the result of many discussions with players, coaches and general managers around the league,” said Andrews. “We all believe that this will be an exciting showcase event for our players and fans alike as we highlight the skill, energy and excitement that has been a hallmark of the AHL for 80 years.”
Rosters for each team will be composed of 11 skaters and two goaltenders each. All 30 AHL teams will be represented by at least one All-Star player. The coach for each team will be the AHL head coach whose team has the highest points percentage in each division at the end of play on Dec. 31.
The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 31 will keep its traditional format, with the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions squaring off against the All-Stars from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events.
Tickets for the two-day 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic are on sale now. Ticket prices range from $40-60 and can be purchased either in person at the Syracuse Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 South State Street in Syracuse, by calling (315) 473-4444 or through all Ticketmaster outlets.
The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: Of the 679 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 93 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Ben Bishop, Troy Brouwer, Ryan Callahan, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Jiri Hudler,Tyler Johnson, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Miller, Gustav Nyquist, Zach Parise, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Cory Schneider, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello.
In operation since 1936 and celebrating its 80th-anniversary season in 2015-16, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 14th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2014-15.
In plain text that’s all sort of bamboozling. Luckily for you, and me, the AHL has created the following handy dandy infograph to make things a little easier to understand:
In a nutshell, each division will have its own team and all divisions will get to play against one-another in a round robin format. The games are nine-minutes long with the first half being played four-on-four and the second half being played three-on-three. The top two divisions that come out with the best standing after those games are played will duke it out to win this year’s newly christened AHL All-Star Challenge. The Championship round will be six-minutes of three-on-three. You can listen to AHL President and CEO David Andrews discuss the new changes on Sirius XM’s NHL GameDay right here.
The short and sweet of it for me is that this, like the NHL’s updated format, is a welcome change. It’s different. It’s fun. But, no matter how many times they’ll attempt to recalibrate the All-Star Game, it is still the All-Star Game. Hockey being the contact sport that it is makes watching the All-Star Game something of an alien experience. No one wants to get hurt. Therefore no one ever really attempts to adequately defend. Changing formats isn’t exactly going to change that. It’s just going to make watching the same old high scoring All-Star hockey feel quicker because it is being segmented into small slices.
Thoughts on the recent changes to the NHL and AHL All-Star Game? Do changes like this make you more or less excited to watch?
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Garrett Noonan is back in Milwaukee for his first taste of AHL hockey during the 2015-16 season. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
With Johan Alm expected to be out of the lineup this weekend the Milwaukee Admirals have recalled defenseman Garrett Noonan from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
Alm was injured following a collision with Jacob Doty at the end-boards of the Admirals defensive zone during the first period of Wednesday night’s game. He didn’t return due to a lower-body injury.
This sets the stage for Noonan to attempt to follow in the footsteps of Eric Robinson and carry over solid work in the ECHL and provide it at the AHL level. Noonan has had a great start with the Cyclones: 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 12 games with a plus/minus rating of +7. He’s also averaged 1.7 shots per games and has 15 penalty minutes. Those penalty minutes include a fighting major that he picked up in his third game of the season.
The lack of a forward being included in this roster move tells me that Kevin Fiala should be fit for action tomorrow night against the Rockford IceHogs. Should Fiala be in the lineup the Admirals would be at twelve forwards with Stevie Moses the lone man out due to an upper-body injury that he sustained in last night’s game. Should Fiala still be questionable a move to bring Joe Pendenza up from Cincinnati as an option at forward would make sense. Considering he isn’t lumped into this move with Noonan tells me the Admirals are confident Fiala will play.
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The Nashville Predators have reassigned Marek Mazanec to the Milwaukee Admirals and activated Carter Hutton from injured reserve. It has not been made official yet but one would anticipate that Brandon Whitney will be reassigned from the Admirals to the Cincinnati Cyclones soon enough as the goaltender reshuffle works itself out.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 15, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Sunday that the club has reassigned goaltender Marek Mazanec to Milwaukee (AHL) and activated goaltender Carter Hutton from Injured Reserve.
Hutton, 29 (12/19/85), has a 1-1-0 record with a 3.44 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage in two appearances for the Predators this season.
The Nashville Predators play the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. as they conclude a five-game home stand (TV: Fox Sports Tennessee; Radio: 102.5 The Game). Tuesday’s game is a Nissan Tuesday where fans can purchase a pair of Upper Bowl tickets for $60, or a pair of Lower Bowl tickets for $120, and receive a free Gold car flag. Tickets to Tuesday’s contest are limited and available by visiting NashvillePredators.com or by calling 615-770-7800.
Mazanec did not see game action in his call up to the Predators. Though, he did have an outstanding seat for last night’s 7-0 win that saw a combined 156 penalty minutes between the Predators and Winnipeg Jets. That might be a slight shame considering the game Mazanec played before getting called up I felt was his best ever performance as an Admiral. Still, when you have Pekka Rinne one tends to play Pekka Rinne.
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Val-d’Or Foreurs Anthony Richard celebrates his game winning goal on Edmonton Oil Kings goalie Tristan Jarry during second overtime period Memorial Cup hockey action in London, Ont., Tuesday, May 20, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley
The Nashville Predators have announced the signing of forward Anthony Richard to a three-year entry level contract. This is the Predators second 2015 NHL Draft class to be signed to an entry level contract in two days. Yesterday the organization signed defenseman Alexandre Carrier. Both Carrier and Richard were selected in the fourth round of the draft by Nashville.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 13, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Friday that the club has signed 2015 fourth-round selection (100th overall) Anthony Richard (AN-thuh-nee rih-SHAHRD) to a three-year entry-level contract.
Richard, 18 (12/20/96), is ranked among the Top 10 QMJHL skaters in goals (sixth, 16), points (eighth, 34) and assists (10th, 18) through 22 games in 2015-16, while also leading the league in game-winning goals (5) and shots on goal (103) in his fourth season with the Val-d’Or Foreurs. The 5-foot-10, 163-pound center, who has seven points (3g-4a) in his last three games, and was recently named the QMJHL’s third star of the month for October after posting 24 points (11g-13a) in 14 games.
A native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Richard ranked eighth in the QMJHL in goals (43) and tied for eighth in league points a season ago, then tied for third in the 2015 QMJHL Playoffs in goals (12) and ranked ninth in postseason points (22) as the Foreurs advanced to the league semifinals. In his first full season with Val-d’Or in 2013-14, he helped the club win the 2014 President’s Cup and advance to the Memorial Cup, ranking fourth on the team and tying for seventh among all skaters in postseason goals (10).
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The American Hockey League have suspended Milwaukee Admirals forward Kevin Fiala for two-games in relation to the incidents that took place Wednesday afternoon in the team’s 6-3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters. Fiala will not be available to the Admirals for both road games this weekend against the Charlotte Checkers. In his place the team recalled forward Eric Robinson from his loan assignment with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL yesterday morning.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced the following suspensions:
Providence Bruins left wing Dalton Smith has been suspended for three (3) games as a consequence of his actions in a game at Bridgeport on Nov. 11.
Smith was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline) for leaving the players’ bench on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation. He will miss Providence’s games tonight (Nov. 13) vs. Albany, Sunday (Nov. 15) vs. Portland and Nov. 20 vs. Lehigh Valley.
Milwaukee Admirals left wing Kevin Fiala has been suspended for two (2) games as a consequence of his actions in a game vs. Lake Erie on Nov. 11.
Fiala was assessed a game misconduct resulting in an automatic two-game suspension under the provisions of AHL Rule 75.5(ii). He will miss Milwaukee’s games tonight (Nov. 13) and Saturday (Nov. 14) at Charlotte.
You can read my full description and assessment of what took place with Fiala during Wednesday’s game in the last edition of Chatterbox. The short and sweet of it is that he received a game misconduct with nineteen-seconds remaining after he flipped off the entire Lake Erie Monsters bench. That probably is why AHL Rule 75.5 (ii) was utilized.
AHL Rule 75.5 (ii): Any player who uses obscene gestures on the ice or anywhere in the rink before, during, or after the game. The referee shall report the circumstances to the President of the League for further disciplinary action. Any player assessed a game misconduct under this section shall automatically be suspended for the next two (2) regularly scheduled games of his team.
Short. Sweet. And to the point per the AHL rulebook. Fiala becomes the second member of the Admirals this season to be suspended by the AHL joining Vladislav Kamenev who was suspended on 10/31/14.
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The Nashville Predators have announced the signing of Alexandre Carrier to a three-year entry level contract. The defenseman was selected by the Predators in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft and is currently playing his fourth full-season of junior hockey with Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. The team is also expected to make an announcement in regards to another entry level signing from their 2015 NHL Draft class tomorrow morning.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 12, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Thursday that the club has signed 2015 fourth-round selection (115th overall) Alexandre Carrier to a three-year entry-level contract.
Carrier, 19 (10/8/96), is currently tied for 12th among QMJHL defensemen in points (3g-12a-15pts), and 11th in assists, through 17 games for the Gatineau Olympiques in 2015-16. The Quebec, Quebec native ranked third in points (12g-43a-55pts), tied for second in assists and tied for 10th in goals among QMJHL blueliners during his draft-eligible season in 2014-15, earning QMJHL Second All-Star Team honors.
“He’s really built as a defenseman for the way the game is played today,” Predators Chief Amateur Scout Jeff Kealty said. “He’s a very good skater, he’s great on his edges and he’s got terrific hockey sense. He moves the puck real well, he can get up in the offense and he can play defensively. He’s not the biggest guy but he uses that sense and instinct to defend with his stick and his angles. He’s got all sorts of character and leadership. He’s the captain of the team in Gatineau and plays huge minutes in all situations so we just think he’s going to get better and better. If he continues to grow and get stronger, he could turn into a terrific player.”
The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Carrier helped Team Canada to the Gold Medal at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, and a bronze medal at the 2014 Under-18 World Championship. His brother, Samuel, was a sixth-round selection (176th overall) by the Washington Capitals in the 2010 Draft.
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Eric Robinson has enjoyed a solid start to his 2015-16 season while on loan to the Milwaukee Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. The last time he was recalled a week ago that offense manifested itself with a goal against the Iowa Wild. (Photo Credit: Jamie Wahl)
The Milwaukee Admirals have recalled Eric Robinson from his loan assignment to the team’s ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. The roster move comes ahead of the Admirals’ East Coast swing as they travel to face the Charlotte Checkers twice this weekend.
Robinson’s season has mainly been in the ECHL but he has taken that as an opportunity to work his way back into the AHL lineup. Despite missing three of the Cyclones’ nine games played this season he is the team’s joint top scorer with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists). When he was brought up into the Admirals mix to smooth out the roster situation at the time he hit the ground running, was double shifting in place of a benched Kevin Fiala, and scored a goal in the team’s 3-0 shutout of the Iowa Wild. He participated in pre-game skate the next night before being returned to the ECHL on loan to the Cyclones.
Since being returned to Cincinnati, Robinson has logged two games with last night providing more offense. In the Cyclones 3-1 win over the Fort Wayne Komets Robinson recorded a primary assist on Joe Pendenza‘s opening goal of the game and went on to score a power-play goal.
The return of Robinson doesn’t necessarily indicate his injection into the Admirals roster for Charlotte as much as it guarantees an option at forward if need be. The Admirals had a bare bones roster yesterday of twelve forwards, six defensemen, and two goaltenders dressed. Call me old fashioned but I like having the in-house competition for position battles to have players earning their spot in the lineup or to force decisions of the coaching staff as to who should get games. That’s now the case for the Admirals as they take to Charlotte.
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