Happy hockey new year, everyone.

Take the time to enjoy this video.  It’s worth your time.

This clip is from Aaron Sims’ pre-game interview with Coach Herbers that’ll air before the game tonight on Sportsradio 1250 WSSP….but here’s an official quote about Bourque’s promotion.

Go get ’em!  Give ’em hell!

Blake Geoffrion is Wisconsin-bound again.

This is his second trip this season to Milwaukee.  What did you think of his performance the first time, and do you think he’ll be around for awhile this time?

Ah, the fun of being the developmental affiliate.

Yesterday it was Ryan Ellis.  Today it’s Gabriel Bourque getting the recall, and he may make his debut tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild.

I’ve been away from the Internet for most of the day, so the news probably has made the rounds already… but Dave Boehler’s blog is where I saw it first, so I’ll credit him!

I’m very excited to see Bourque get the chance.  My hope is that he’ll have some nice linemates to play with, and he’ll actually be on the ice for more than 3:42.

Will Bourque be missed here?  Absolutely.  Recently playing on a line with Mark Van Guilder and Ryan Flynn, Bourque added an element of speed to go along with the other blue collars on that line.  And he hasn’t been one to shy away from making a hit either.

While playing well overall recently, he hadn’t been on the scoresheet much before last night’s 3-assist affair.  He had just a goal and an assist in his previous 8 games.  But we all remember what an amazing second half and post-season he had last year, leading the way with five goals in the opening series against the Texas Stars.  And perhaps the biggest goal of his career, he scored the game-tying goal with five seconds left in regulation of game 5 in Texas.  The Admirals went on to win that one on a Ryan Thang score in OT.

Best of luck to Gabriel…hope he puts on a good show at the big show.

We’ll see if Joel Champagne will be ready to go to reclaim his spot on the Van Flynder line.  If he’s not, who would you like to see on the wing?

Welcome back from your winter break.  Did you have a nice time?  That’s great.  Good for you.

Back to work this week.  And we were greeted today with the news that defenseman Ryan Ellis was recalled to the Nashville Predators.

Good for him.

That’s really the nicest thing I have to say about it.

Shea Weber is out after leaving the morning skate early, and Kevin Klein is questionable recovering from flu-like symptoms, with the Preds set to entertain the Red Wings tonight.

I’m surprised that Ellis got the call.  You’d think for a stop-gap replacement for a game tonight against Detroit, you may want a guy with some size (Sloan), who has some NHL experience (Sloan), and who will be able to keep things simple (Sloan).  Or maybe a guy who has been pretty consistent on both sides of the ice (Bartley).

Calling up Ellis?  Makes a nice story.  But I am of the opinion that he needs some more seasoning.

Nevertheless…congrats Ryan Ellis.  If he skates tonight, I hope his debut is a good one.

If your a Milwaukee Admirals player, all you might want for Christmas, other than a promotion up to Nashville, is for more games to be scheduled against Peoria.

The reasons go far beyond the obvious one–Milwaukee is 5-0-0-0 against the Rivermen this season, with all five wins coming in regulation.

1) Dating back five years in the series, the Admirals own a staggering 26-10-1-4 record against Peoria, in comparison to the Rivermen’s 15-23-1-2 vs. Milwaukee. Over the past five years at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee holds a even more stunning 14-2-1-3 record against Peoria.

2) Last season Milwaukee went 6-3-0-1 against a Peoria team that swept its first round AHL playoff series. The Admirals also won the teams’ last meeting a year ago (a 4-3 decision on April 9). The Rivermen’s last win in the series dates back to April 3, making it six in a row for Milwaukee. In those six wins, Milwaukee has averaged 3.5 goals. Meanwhile, the more offensively talented Rivermen have only averaged 1.5.

3) Milwaukee’s past five years records vs. other divisional foes: vs. Chicago 20-20-3-3, vs. Rockford 21-15-2-3, vs. Charlotte 1-2-0-1.

Those numbers show an obvious trend that Milwaukee simply plays well against Peoria.

Though it might get old for Admirals fans, Milwaukee would likely favor another four to seven meetings against the Rivermen this upcoming postseason. However, the current AHL playoff format sadly makes a postseason meeting between the two teams a little less likely than in years past.

PS. In case you are wondering, Milwaukee’s next game against Peoria, January 1st at the Bradley Center.

The mass exodus from Nashville continues this week as Kyle Wilson becomes the third Predator who has played multiple NHL games to be sent back to Milwaukee. Both Jon Blum and Blake Geoffrion were each assigned to the Admirals on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Wilson dressed for five contests in Nashville, failing to register a point while averaging 8:08 of ice time per game.

Prior to the call up, Wilson managed four goals and 14 points in 17 games in Milwaukee.

So Roundtable . . . If you were Admirals coach Ian Herbers, where do you slot in Blum, Geoffrion and Wilson into the Milwaukee line up? Would you expect the Admirals to play a more aggressive offensive game with these three players?

The AHL announced that they’ll be releasing the rosters for the 2011-12 All-Star game the first week of January, with fan voting beginning shortly thereafter to determine the starters.

While the Admirals have a very well balanced team with a great winning percentage so far, are there any individuals that you think merit consideration for the All-Star game?

18 points for Chris Mueller and Michael Latta officially rank them tied for 55th in the league in points (tied with 12 other skaters).

Latta is 10th in scoring among rookies, 14 points off of Cory Conacher’s lead with the Norfolk Admirals.

Ryan Ellis is ranked 10th in the league among defensemen in points.

Tyler Sloan is tied for 6th in the league in plus/minus, at +12.

Jeremy Smith, while second in the league with 13 wins, is 10th in GAA and, and 27th in save percentage (to be eligible for goalie rankings, they need to have played 480 minutes….or about 8 games)

Put them all together, you get a balanced team that is currently ranked 2nd in the conference in goals scored per game…but a team that lacks individual dominance.

So Roundtable — who on this team do you think is deserving of being on the All-Star team?

On the heels of Monday’s news of Jon Blum’s reassignment to Milwaukee, the Nashville Predators assigned another regular to their American Hockey affiliate this afternoon, announcing that forward Blake Geoffrion has been sent back to the Admirals after his was activated off of injured reserved.

Like Blum, Geoffrion has been unable to carry over his strong end to the 2010-2011 season into this year’s campaign with Nashville, managing just two assists in 19 games for the Predators to date.

As of late Geoffrion has been sidelined with an “upper-body ailment”, meaning this reassignment might be more along the lines of an injury rehabilitation rather than a significant demotion.

Geoffrion was at his offensive best just at around the time of his initial call up from Milwaukee, where he managed 11 goals and 37 points in 45 games last season. This might be just the spark the former Hobey Baker winner needs to reignite his offensive game.

Geoffrion’s spot on the Admirals roster is taken from defenseman Taylor Aronson, who was sent down to the Cincinnati Cyclones to clear space.

So Roundtable . . . First Blum and now Geoffrion (both full time Predators out of training camp), what is your take on Nashville’s recent personnel decisions? Ready to break out your number five jersey?