Yesterday we graded goalies, now we’ll look at the men in front of them.

Anthony Bitetto: C

8 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, 2 shots, -1

In all fairness, Bitetto has only skated for Milwaukee in eight games this season, so it’s tough to give a definitive assessment of his performance. From what the players have told us, he’s a good locker room guy and one of the funniest guys on the team. When he’s been on the ice, however, he’s been a bit less visible.

Ryan Ellis: B+

20 games, 2 goals, 7 assists, 54 shots, +2

Whenever you talk about Ryan Ellis, you talk about his status as a two-way contract player. He’s an NHL-caliber talent who’s spent time in the big leagues, and you can see it in his play. It’s the subtle things that set him apart (the way he handles the puck, his calmer, collected demeanor) and he carries himself with that NHL swagger.

Jonathon Blum: B

34 games, 1 goal, 11 assists, 42 shots, -3

Blum is another guy who fringes on NHL-caliber, but he struggled and drew the ire of some fans last season (why him more than anyone else is beyond me.) This season, Blum gets my vote for most improved Admiral at the halfway point. His puck control has been better, he’s been a better facilitator on offense and he’s been much better at holding pucks in on the attack.

Mattias Ekholm: ?

29 games, 4 goals, 10 assists, 60 shots, -2

Charles Olivier-Roussel: B

14 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, 9 shots, 0

Roussel gets the Johnny-on-the-Spot award for filling in nicely in the absence of Mike Moore. While he hasn’t had much of an impact on the offensive end, Roussel’s been a capable defender who’s stood out to Dean Evason as a solid call-up.

Mike Moore: B

16 games, 4 goals, 3 assists, 26 shots, +1

One reason to be excited for the second half of the season is to see what Moore can do. He may be a new face, but he fits the mold of the ideal Admirals/Predators defenseman and for that reason the team named him captain. He’s another guy who carries that pro swagger and makes the team better when he’s on the ice. He’s had his rough spots with a few ugly turnovers here and there, but it’s pretty tough to redeem yourself when you’ve spent the time he has out with injury.

Scott Valentine: ?

32 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 29 shots, +3

Taylor Aronson: N/A

The guy’s had one shot in one game. He’s going to be a key cog with the lockout over, and for now let’s see what he can do in the second half.

Victor Bartley: A

37 games, 6 goals, 13 assists, 53 shots, +6

He’s Milwaukee’s lone all star, and he’s spending the week at camp in Nashville for good reason. Bartley’s putting forth his best season to date, leading the defense in most stat categories.  While he’s one of the team’s most physical defenders, he’s also got a blistering slap shot that’s becoming a big part of the Admiral’s offense. As far as playing at both ends goes, Bartley is tops on the roster this season.

Joonas Jarvinen: C+

36 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, 28 shots, -7

Jarvinen’s another guy who can go missing at times when he’s on the ice. He’s the most penalized defenseman with 47 minutes in the box and sometimes it’s hurt the team as his -7 +/- shows. The good news is he’s got plenty of time to turn it around.

Hey guys, I’m back and ready to resume as Editor-in-Awesome for the Roundtable. I want to thank Ryan and Sutty for doing an awesome job while I was gone. They wrote some great stuff that I’m sure got a lot of you nostalgic.

Saturday marks the midway point of this 2012-13 campaign and interestingly enough the Ads are headed to the place their last season ended. It’ll be intriguing to see how our guys handle Abbotsford, a team that seemed a significant step better than last year’s squad in the playoffs.

For now, I’d like to take some time to look back at the first half (and what a first half it was) and give my personal grade to everybody that skated for the team.

Just to make it fun and fair I’ll leave some blanks for you to generously fill in in the comments section.

So without further ado, let’s use today to look at the guys between the pipes:

Jeremy Smith: B+

Smitty had a pretty rough start to the year in the wins and losses department, but a good chunk of that had to do with his scoring support. There were more than a few occasions (Oct. 20 in San Antonio, Nov. 16 in OKC, Dec. 5 at home against Texas) where Jeremy played well enough to win, but the rest of the team couldn’t help him out. Since a fantastic performance on December 21 in a 2-1 win over Rockford Smitty’s been really strong in net going 5-3. Two of those losses came in the shootout round and could certainly be counted in the “played well enough to win” category.

Magnus Hellberg: ?

Tell me what you think of the big goalie so far this year. Where Smitty didn’t, Hellberg had a lot of scoring help early on and at times has looked pretty good for a backup. It’s difficult to compare him to Jeremy as his size and experience make him very different stylistically. He’s much more of a stand-up goaltender who’s more used to blocking shots with his body than being quick with the glove and more active in net.

Question:

What are your grades?

2012-2013 Milwaukee Admirals: 37 G.P., 17-14-3-3–40 pts., 97 goals scored, 107 goals allowed, T-10th place in the Western Conference (2nd Midwest Division). Leading scorer: Taylor Beck (6 goals, 20 assists, 26 points). Best Recent Win: Jan. 6, 3-2 (shootout) over Grand Rapids. Worst Recent Loss: Jan. 11, 5-2 at Peoria. Key Upcoming Matchup: Jan. 19 at Abbotsford.

Other than the scenery, there is absolutely nothing fun about an AHL team’s road trip to Abbotsford. The AHL’s most isolated city can prove to be a logistical nightmare to visit. Plus it doesn’t help that the Flames are generally one of the AHL’s better home clubs, taking full advantage of the brutal travel teams require to get there.

For Milwaukee that pain is a reality this week as the Admirals make the trek to the Pacific Northwest. Milwaukee is coming off a deflating 0-1-1-1 weekend against teams in their own division, losing out on a chance to build on positive recent momentum. Meanwhile, Abbotsford enters the weekend as the AHL’s coldest club, slipping back to eighth place in the West with just two wins in their last 10 games. Both teams should be plenty motivated based on their recent records alone.

But in case that doesn’t help, the Admirals should be able to jog their memories back to 2011-2012. During the regular season, Milwaukee played extremely well against the Heat, prompting many a predictions like my own that the Admirals would handle Abbotsford in their first round playoff series. Instead red-hot Milwaukee ran into a buzz saw, losing their opening round series to the Heat in three rather convincing games (6-2, 4-2 & 4-2).

Many of the names have changed for both teams, but the motivation for Milwaukee should be real. These are the first two games against the Heat since last spring. Hopefully the Admirals can find that the extra edge they were missing this past weekend.

So Roundtable . . . Do you think Milwaukee will be motivated to face Abbotsford? Are there any painful, lingering memories coming back? How do you see Milwaukee adjusting to life after the lockout?

We’ve seen our fair share of shootouts at the BMO Harris Bradley Center lately.  Last night, none of the Admirals were able to beat Mike McKenna of the Rivermen.

This video is making the rounds on the interwebs…but may be worth trying in practice this week?

Poor goalie.  Can’t really call him a sieve.  It didn’t go through him….he moved himself out of the way. Although with it being an exhibition event, maybe he didn’t give it the full 110%.

I also enjoy that the celebration song is the Can-Can.

(Photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

So this is why you follow people on twitter.  To find out when they get called up to Nashville.

As other reporting institutions have since…um…reported….  Victor Bartley is heading down to Nashville for the week.

He’ll be the 8th defenseman in camp…so unless there’s a pulled-groin epidemic among campers (wouldn’t be the first time), he will likely be meeting the Admirals in Abbotsford next weekend.

Still, this is a great reward for a guy who has been a pretty consistent and positive presence on the Milwaukee blue line for the last season and a half.  He’ll live the NHL life and get a feel for how things operate down in Nashville.  But more importantly, he’ll get some face-time with the coaches.  And anything he can take away from his stay this week will make him better the next time he’s needed.

Good for Victor.  Now the only question is….will his Gangnam Style video go viral before or after he gets back….We’ll see.

The Admirals hosted the Peoria Rivermen for the final of three games in three days. This was the second game between the two clubs in the three game stretch, but this game saw the same result as the first one did; in an Admiral loss.

The Admirals started the day missing key pieces of the offense, as Chris Mueller, Jonathan Blum, and Ryan Ellis were sent down to Nashville to participate in the Predators training camp. By game time, Mike Moore was also scratched from the lineup; he is currently waiting to pass waiver as his AHL contract was voided by the end of the NHL lockout. His absence meant that there was no Admiral player on the roster with NHL experience, facing a club with four players that has seen NHL ice time.

The lack of experience didn’t hurt the Admirals, as Taylor Beck stepped up when it mattered most. Down 2-1 with 9 minutes left to play, Beck received a cross ice pass from Michael Latta. Beck reared back and ripped a shot under the glove of goaltender Mike McKenna to tie the game at 2.

After the rest of the 3rd and an overtime session, the game came down to a shootout. Peoria scored on their first and fourth attempt, while Milwaukee failed to score at all, and Peoria left Milwaukee with two points.

Even though the lack of experience didn’t show up on the scoreboard, it can still be felt on special teams. Since the exodus of players to the NHL, the Admirals are 0-for-17 on the power play. Coach Dean Evason plans to make that a focal point during practices as the team prepares to face the Abbotsford Heat.

Meanwhile, the penalty kill was one of the bright spots in the game. The Admirals had to kill six penalties on the night, and only the first resulted in a goal. Derek Nesbitt, the Rivermen’s second leading scorer, was sitting on the back door. Nesbitt received a cross ice pass through the slot from Adam Cracknell, and buried it.

Cracknell added his own goal on the night, deflecting a shot from Brent Regner past Jeremy Smith.

The other goal from the Admirals came in an interesting fashion. On the first shot of the game, Ben Ryan rifled a shot from the left face-off dot, and it clinked off the crossbar. Fans thought the puck crossed the goal line, but referee Kevin Kaval adamantly waved it off. At the first whistle, Kaval went to the scorer’s booth to review the shot, and after a short conference, awarded Ryan his first goal of the season.

If losing the NHL players wasn’t enough, during the second period, Joonas Jarvinen took a puck to the face. He dropped to the ice, and when he got up, you could see the blood on his face. He went to the hospital to get stitched up. The Admirals played the entire 3rd period down with two defensemen gone, which changed some of what the offense did late in the game.

The Admirals will get a well deserved rest to start off the week, and will be back at practice on Tuesday to prepare for the Heat. The Admirals were outshot for the tenth straight game, so the offense and power play should be the point of emphasis of those practices. The Heat are 2nd in penalty killing, so they will prove to be a big test for the Ads. The Admirals are sitting at 10th in the conference, and need to start getting ready for the playoff push. A couple of wins against 9th place Abbotsford would be huge.

Here was the post game interview with Coach Evason.

Full Coach Interview

And these are thoughts on the game from Taylor Beck and Ben Ryan.

Full Beck Interview

Full Ryan Interview

Question/Notes

– With all of the NHL players gone, who will step up and take their place? Beck? Latta? Someone else?

– Austin Watson played a vital role in the penalty kill, as he had numerous shots blocked. Too bad they don’t keep that as an official stat.

– Michael Latta found a home in front of the net for the first period. His big body makes him hard to move and he can screen the goalie. If he continues it, he could get a few garbage goals.

– Admirals were taking shots from a lot of different angles before simplifying as the game wore on. Crashing the net could be the key to fixing the power play.

Nashville Assistant GM Paul Fenton was in attendance for Milwaukee’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday night.  Mr. Fenton was very kind to give me a few minutes of his time in the first intermission. 

Admirals Roundtable:  So what kind of a fun are you missing out on by being here in Milwaukee instead of being in Nashville right now?

Paul Fenton:  Well obviously the start of training camp is always a very exciting time. For me, it’s more important to be here, and to monitor our kids and our future, and try to keep them on track with all the distractions that are going to happen in the next bit.

AR:  What are some of the things that are making your job a little more difficult now, due to the lockout and the shortened season?

PF:  Starting this in the middle of the season, for an American League team….we’ve been inundated with some injuries here. On top of the injuries, we’ve just recalled three players. So it makes our lineup even thinner, and makes it more difficult to ice a team that we would really like to have in a more balanced type of lineup. Hopefully we’ll get a couple of these guys back, but with the way things go, we’ll get somebody back and somebody else will get a boo-boo, and then you’re reeling again. It’s important for me to plan, look at different options at guys that we may have to use in the near future both here and in Nashville.

AR:  Due to the shortened schedule, does that change the way that you do roster management on the Predators side? Previously maybe you wanted to have X amount of forwards on the roster at any given point. Does the shortened season change the formula at all?

PF:  There’s still a 23 man roster. A lot of times we’ll just carry 22 guys and we’ll just have to play that by ear. There will be some bumps and bruises and early season aches that you’re generally not used to. So we’re anticipating needing a lot of depth.

AR:  Once Bourque is healthy, do you think there’s room for him and Chris Mueller in Nashville?

PF:  Let’s just take that one step at a time. Bourquey has been out over a month now and we’ve got to let him heal. Chris has earned his position both the way he played last year and the way he’s played this year. Our coaches are very familiar with him. So at that point, if we have a challenge, then we’ll look at it then.

AR:  Cam Reid had an incident with familiar face Triston Grant last week. He’s up to 20 games on his PTO right now. What do you think are the odds of him getting a regular contract?

PF:  We’ll keep him around. I’ve already talked to his agent about it, and we’ll see what we can do. For me, he’s played very well. Certainly, this was an unfortunate incident. He got hit hard…it was a clean hit. There’s no repercussions to go back and try to get even or anything. Even though he didn’t see it coming, he realizes it was a fair hit, and he’s just got to come back and get healthy and start playing again the way he was.

AR:  A guy that a lot of the Nashville hockey blogs are raving about is Austin Watson. What are your thoughts on his development from the start of the season?

PF:  It’s great to see his maturity. Certainly being the high goal scorer down here, it’s in his favor. But as we’ve done in the past, we’re not going to rush our kids. We believe in development, we believe in giving them the time to hone their game. He’s 20 years old, he’s a first year pro….there are some kids that are ready to step in and take that next step. But for us, it’s important for him to play 15 to 20 minutes, play both ends of the ice, contribute both offensively and defensively, block shots, become a leader…and that’s what’s contagious with his game. And eventually, he will step into our lineup and play. And when he’s ready, then he’ll be able to take the minutes that we expect from him.

AR:  I’m sure it’s tough to say right now, but do you project him as a top 6 forward or a bottom 6 forward?

PF:  We don’t have any expectations to say ‘you’re going to be on my first or second line’. To me, he’s the consummate guy that you can play him on your first line, you can play him on your fourth line. Just depends on the role that you are assessing with him. He’s the type of kid that plays both ends of the ice — he always has. And when he’s on top of his game, he’s going to contribute to the offense just as much as he is to the defense. And when you look at it in that light, then you know what a valuable piece that you have.

AR:  Of the guys that were here last year, who in your mind has taken the biggest step forward this year?

PF:  I don’t know if I would say one guy has or one guy hasn’t. We’re starting to see guys mature. Victor Bartley, who had a great year last year, continues to show his game going forward. Kevin Henderson has as of late, especially, played very very well. I could have given him consideration to be in Nashville as well right now. Taylor Beck continues to get better. Michael Latta is developing his whole game. We’ve asked him to work on the wing instead of his natural position at center. By doing that, these kids give themselves some versatility to the game that we’re all going to be looking for.

Many thanks again to Paul Fenton for his generosity with his time, and his thoughtful answers.

I’m not going to lie.  It’s going to be weird this weekend looking out on the Bradley Center ice…and not seeing #18 Chris Mueller.

A constant in Milwaukee over the last three and a half years, Mueller is now in Nashville for training camp.

Mueller was recently named one of the top 35 Admirals of all time, and rightly so I think.

Do you think we’ll ever see him in these parts ever again?

The Admirals made another roster move today, bringing up defenseman Taylor Aronson from Cincy in the ECHL.

So why is he getting the call today after the other call-ups earlier this week?

The first thing that comes to my mind is that Captain Mike Moore may just not be ready to go on Friday, recovering from his injury.

Because if Moore isn’t ready to go, we kind of need another guy.

Here are our defensive soldiers:

Mike Moore (injured)
Mattias Ekholm (injured)
Victor Bartley
Scott Valentine
Joonas Jarvinen
Anthony Bitetto
Charles-Olivier Roussel
And now, Taylor Aronson.

So yeah…If Moore isn’t ready to go, expect Aronson to play tomorrow against Peoria.  Because he needs to.

If Moore IS ready to go, I imagine Aronson is here for the weekend, just in case something happens to one of the other guys.  It’s another 3-in-3 this weekend.  Fresh legs may not be the worst thing in the world to have come Sunday afternoon.

Or maybe he’s here to stay?  Maybe they’ll rotate the young guys?  We’ll see.

But the back end of the defensive corps?  Young.  31 games of AHL experience between the three of them, with Aronson actually being the veteran of the group, skating in 14 games last season with Milwaukee.

So this will be a good test this weekend for the young guys.  If they don’t pass, it may be time to find some PTO-help until the injury bug goes away.

Dave Boehler isn’t your average run-of-the-mill hockey beat writer.

Dave Boehler writes for the Journal-Sentinel.

Dave Boehler makes news happen.  When it breaks, he fixes it with a smile.

Dave Boehler goes were mere mortals bloggers never go….

Dave Boehler….goes to practice.

And that’s why Dave Boehler gets paid the big bucks.

And that’s why Dave Boehler gets credit for the scoop.

From his blog post today:

“Nothing has been made official as far as player transactions are concerned, but three players – besides those injured – were not at Milwaukee’s practice today: Jon Blum, Ryan Ellis and Chris Mueller.”

Be sure to visit Dave’s blog at JSOnline regularly.  Because if you do, he’ll buy me more drinks.  And I think that’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.