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Big news this afternoon, as it has been announced that the affiliation agreement between the Nashville Predators and the Milwaukee Admirals is being extended through the 2013-14 season, with a mutual option for the 14-15 season.

The Admirals and Predators will be extending what is currently the third longest continuous relationship, behind the Providence-Boston and New York Rangers-Connecticut duos.

This is very good news, especially considering the doubt that was cast upon the partnership at the start of the season.  You may recall that Jeff Cogen , the Chief Executive Officer and alternate Governor of the Predators, reportedly commented at their Skate Of The Union event that he expected all of the primary affiliates to be within three hours driving distance.

I think the best quote in the press release comes from David Poile, where he recognizes that the staff in Milwaukee have ‘created a major league environment for our prospects.’  I think that’s one of the under-appreciated aspects of the relationship between the two teams.  They get to train in first class facilities, and get to live and play in a great city.  Do you think the Flyers feel the same way about the Adirondack Phantoms?  (I’m sure Glens Falls, NY is nice and all….but…..)

So here’s to the future.  Here’s to the new boss….same as the old boss.  Which is great.  And you can still drink every time you hear the phrase “The road to Nashville goes through Milwaukee.”

In the grand scheme of things, one home shutout victory against Houston on Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean much, but it sure beats the alternative.

With the win Milwaukee still stands in the same place it has been of late–in 10th place in the Western Conference, trailing teams that are set to play postseason hockey.

The current difference between the Admirals’ spot (49 games played, 25 wins, 53 points) and eighth place Abbotsford’s spot (49 games played, 26 wins, 55 points) is just one victory, but Milwaukee carries at least one game in hand on every team except the Heat (and first place Oklahoma City, which is almost assured a playoff spot) standing ahead of them.

Therefore, Milwaukee is far from dead, but time and the schedule are starting to become a factor. With the AHL campaign reduced by four games in comparison to previous years, Milwaukee has just 27 games  left to make up ground. Realistically, even if the Admirals get on a run, sixth place looks to be about the furthest up within reach.

Here are the teams that stand in the way: Peoria (27-21-2-1, 57 points), San Antonio (27-21-2-0, 56 points), Abbotsford (26-20-3-0, 55 points), Lake Erie (25-22-2-2, 54 points) and Rochester (22-19-6-3, 53 points).

Milwaukee will play none of those teams this weekend, just first place Oklahoma City, standing in the same spot the Admirals enjoyed for most of 2010-2011. The Barons are coasting with a remarkable 32-12-2-3 mark, seven points ahead of its nearest challengers. Two losses would hardly face Oklahoma City, but two wins would go a long, long way for Milwaukee.

So Roundtable . . . What are your expectations for this weekend’s pair of games with Oklahoma City? Are you dreading the match up against one of the AHL’s best, or do you see this as an opportunity?

The American Hockey League announced today that the league’s annual All-Star classic will remain out east for the 2012-2013 season as Providence, Rhode Island was selected as the event’s new hosts.

The 2013 All-Star skills competition is set for Sunday, January 27 to be followed the next day by the league’s Hall of Fame Induction Awards Ceremony and All-Star game.

“The American Hockey League is excited to be returning to one of its founding cities for the 2013 All-Star Classic,” said AHL President and CEO David Andrews in a statement. “Providence has been part of the fabric of our league since our first season in 1936, and the Providence Bruins organization has been a cornerstone for the last two decades. We’re looking forward to showcasing our brightest stars to capacity crowds at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and to an international television audience.”

Providence Bruins CEO Jeff Fear expressed delight with league’s decision to pick Rhode Island’s capital after this year’s event in Atlantic City.

“The 2013 Dunkin’ Donuts AHL All-Star Classic is the American Hockey League’s premier exhibition, bringing together dozens of hockey’s rising stars for an exciting weekend of competition,” said Fear in a statement. “The Providence Bruins are honored to play host to this special event.”

Moving on to other news, the National Hockey League’s trade deadline is set for February 27. However, there have been a few minor transactions of late that have effected American Hockey League teams.

Here are the National Hockey League trades dating back to January 27:

(Feb. 3) The Minnesota Wild traded forward Casey Wellman to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Erik Christensen and a seventh round pick in the 2013 draft. Wellman had played in 26 games with Houston prior to the trade, scoring 14 goals and 25 points.

(Feb. 2) The Colorado Avalanche traded forward Mike Carman to Washington in exchange for defenseman Danny Richmond. Carman played 28 games with Lake Erie this season scoring six points. Richmond skated in 24 games for Hershey, picking up four assists and 48 PIMs. On the same day, the Capitals sent former Wisconsin Badger Matt Ford to Philadelphia (Adirondack) in exchange for defenseman Keven Marshall from the Phantoms.

(January 30) Calgary sent defenseman John Negrin to Winnipeg in exchange for forward Akim Aliu. Negrin played in 26 games for Abbotsford prior to the trade, picking up one lone assist.  Aliu had been playing for Abbotsford prior to the trade, but had his NHL rights change hands.

(January 27) Chicago acquired forward Brendan Morrison from Calgary in exchange for defenseman Brian Connelly. Connelly was one of Rockford’s top blue liners prior to the trade (five goals, 36 assists with the Ice Hogs), and now has three assists in three games with Abbotsford.

Oh hi.  Welcome back to the blog.

So as the All-Star break comes to a close, it’s usually the time that pontificators (I’ll stop short of calling us “writers”) look back on the season so far and dish out grades to the players.  We’ve done it in previous years.  Makes for good discussion.

Grades.  That was the plan for this week.  I sent out some emails to Jason and Sutty asking them for their opinions.  They sent their thoughts back.  It was going to be a great big post.

And then I sat down to write it, and it just made me feel depressed.

The entire team deserves a big fat “D” grade for the last month.

What a 180 degree turn this season took.  I really can’t remember a more dreadful month than the January that we just finished.  13 games.  3 wins.  2 of them against Lake Erie, 1 against Texas.  0-8 against the Midwest Division.  It started off with a whimper, losing 1-0 to the Rivermen on New Years Day against a goalie playing his third game in three days.  And it ended with a sad effort against the Rockford IceHogs, who guess what, sit just a point behind the Admirals in the standings now.

It’s depressing because we’re not used to this.

And sure, as fans, we’ve been spoiled.  We’ve been spoiled to have a team that hasn’t missed the playoffs since the 01-02 season.    Sitting in 10th place in the conference (despite still having a few games in hand) is scary new territory.

So rather than a big grades post….I’ll just summarize the general thoughts in one paragraph.

Latta and Mueller had A’s.  Blum and Engren had D’s.  Everyone else was somewhere in the B and C range.  Sutty had the best line, equating Blum to the guy that tested into an advanced science class, then failed it, and is now failing the 101 level class.

Since looking back is unpleasant at the moment, let’s look ahead instead.  Here’s what I’d like to see starting Friday against the Rivermen:

– I want to see a team that re-charged their batteries at home over the break.  A little Tim Hortons coffee here….a little home cooked meal there….

– I want to see guys like Blum and Geoffrion make more of an impact on the ice than on their twitter pages.  Their presence was supposed to make this a better team.  They haven’t.

– I want to see rookies come of age.

– And I want to see the same energy and enthusiasm and swagger that the team had in October.  And November.  And December.

There are 34 more games in the regular season for the Admirals.  Lots of time left.  It’s a long season and every team goes through rough stretches.  Let’s hope the stormy weather is officially behind us now, and that we get a good effort against Peoria out of the gate here.

It could be argued that no playoff contending team has ever need a break in its midseason schedule more than the 2011-2012 Milwaukee Admirals.

Riding a four game losing streak and having dropped 10 of their past 13 games, Milwaukee is in despirate need of some positive news.

So far Admirals forward Chris Mueller is providing some in Atlantic City. Mueller led a winning leg of the Puck Control Relay, then smoked four targets in the Accuracy Shooting competition before missing his breakaway chance in the final event.

All in all Mueller help the West post an 18-10 win over the East in a competition that wasn’t that close. Mueller will look to provide more magic in tonight’s All-Star game, which will be broadcast live in Milwaukee on Time Warner Sports 32.

For those of you, like me, who don’t live in Milwaukee, good luck trying to watch the game. Here are the listings, but I have yet to find it even tape delayed anywhere in Madison.

So Roundtable . . . Any predictions for Mueller’s performance tonight? Will you be watching/listening or do all-star games bore you to death?

Though this news likely won’t come as a shock, Admirals defensemen Ryan Ellis will not be attending the 2012 American Hockey League All Star Classic Sunday and Monday due to his recall with Nashville.

Ellis and another Western Conference defenseman’s spot are being taken by Lake Erie’s Tyson Barrie and Rockford’s Brian Connelly. The other All Star additions are Casey Cizikas (Bridgeport) and Alexander Urbom (Albany) for the East and Peoria goaltender Ben Bishop, Toronto forward Ryan Hamilton, Rochester forward Zack Kassian, Oklahoma City forward Ryan Keller and Charlotte forward Chris Terry for the West.

The loss of Ellis leaves Milwaukee with just forward Chris Mueller representing the Admirals. Mueller is the AHL’s ninth leading goal scorer with 19 in 37 games played, just five off of Norfolk forward Cory Conacher’s league leading total of 24.

In other unrelated news Admirals defenseman Tyler Sloan has deemed himself fit to play and will be back in the Milwaukee lineup this weekend. Milwaukee has just one overtime win combined with three losses in four January games without Sloan. Sloan carries a team best +15 rating.

For more on Sloan check out my upcoming feature on MilwaukeeAdmirals.com.

A couple of weeks ago I lamented on the Admirals lack of success on the penalty kill. Unfortunately, a rather busy crop of news buried that story under a heap of more pressing concerns.

However, this week’s scheduling quirk allows me a night to reflect a little deeper on the Admirals issues with special teams.

Heading into this week’s four-game road trip, Milwaukee stood at nearly rock bottom shorthanded, allowing 36 goals in 156 times playing at least one man short, or a paltry penalty killing success rate of 76.9%. Meaning just about every three out of four times skating shorthanded this season, the Admirals allow a goal–and rarely do AHL games go without at least four penalties. That ranks 29th best out of 30 teams.

On the opposite side of the coin, Milwaukee’s power play continues to impress. Prior to Tuesday’s game against Hamilton, the Admirals were humming at 21.3% success rate, scoring 30 goals in 141 times playing with at least a one man advantage, good enough for the third best clip in the league.

Curiously, these numbers mirror parent club Nashville, which ranks second in the NHL in power play success (21.7% success) and 83.1% on the penalty kill (12th best in the league). In this day in age special teams play a huge role in the success of a hockey club. One of the reasons why the Predators are climbing up the standings is due to their success on the power play, which is not countered with a struggling penalty kill.

What that translates to for Milwaukee? Improve the penalty kill and see the win total rise.

Sunday and Tuesday’s games against Rockford and Peoria respectively offer an excellent chance to work on cleaning up the shorthanded unit against Divisional foes. The Ice Hogs feature the AHL’s 21st best power play, while the Rivermen roll with league’s second best tandem.

My suggestion for coach Ian Herbers: Try something new against the struggling Rockford power play. If it works, carry it over and see if it is for real against Peoria.

So Roundtable . . . Any suggestions for fixing Milwaukee’s ailing Penalty Kill?