Forward Niclas Bergfors cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Admirals.

Okay.  So now what?

I asked a couple of Preds bloggers what they make of Bergfors and whether he’ll fit in here in Milwaukee.

We’ll start with Dirk from OnTheForecheck

It’s hard to know what he’s got offensively, he only rarely played w/decent linemates. He was pretty much The Invisible Man.

This, a common complaint we’ve had about Trotz over the years.  Remember when Mike Santorelli would play on the 4th line with Belak and Smithson, and then coaches would lament that he’s not producing offensively?  Do we add Bergfors to the list of players that may not have gotten a fair shake from Coach Trotz?

Here’s Section303 chiming in…

He was almost always stuck on the 4th line so, given his linemates, he had offensive upside but never did much.  The biggest knock on him is that he’s sloppy (almost presumptious) in his own end. SEVERAL failed clearing attempts out of the zone. Honestly this may make or break his NHL career. This was generally regarded as his “last chance” in the league. If he goes down there and blows it up, maybe he finds his confidence again and earns a recall. The risk, however, is he goes down there and gives up.

So the biggest key in how this plays out may be what’s going on inside his head when he arrives in Milwaukee.

This will be one of Coach Muller’s biggest tests to date — how does he handle and motivate Niclas Bergfors to play at a high level on both ends of the ice?

And without messing with the chemistry of the team he already has….who does Coach skate with Bergfors in Charlotte this weekend?  I honestly have no idea who I’d like to see him on a line with right now.

So Roundtable — just one question…..What happens next with Niclas Bergfors?

Let’s see how some former Admirals are faring so far this year with their new AHL teams.

#7 Kelsey Wilson – Toronto Marlies – 18 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 31 PIM.  Occasionally wears the “A” for the first place Marlies.

#55 Andreas Thuresson – Connecticut Whale – 16 games, 3 goals, 3 assists.  Currently 7 straight games without a goal.  Well on his way to another 30 game goal-less streak…

#89 Cory Conacher – Norfolk Admirals – 17 games, 9 goals, 12 assists.  A point in 7 straight games.  21 points is currently tops among rookies.  Call him the one that got away.

#11 Hugh Jessiman – Cleveland Lake Erie Monsters – 14 games, 5 goals, 1 assist.  Currently on 2 game goal scoring streak.

In my humble opinion Milwaukee’s 3-1 win over San Antonio on Sunday afternoon was the Admirals’ most complete effort of the season to date.

Here are five reasons why:

1) Despite playing in Grand Rapids the night before, Milwaukee had its skating legs for sixty minutes in Sunday afternoon’s matinee.

Yes, San Antonio was playing in their fourth game in six nights, but Milwaukee played a road game in Grand Rapids the previous night and had to travel back for Sunday’s matinee (their third game in three nights). Rather than use excuses, the Admirals gave a 60-minute effort and never allowed any signs of life to a team that won its previous two games in their own 3-in-3.

2) Milwaukee pushed a tenacious defense on San Antonio’s defense.

The Admirals’ forecheck was a relentless Sunday afternoon, bottling the Rampage in their own zone for extended periods. Milwaukee constantly checked San Antonio’s defense and won most of the battles for loose pucks.

3) Defensively, Milwaukee allowed the Rampage few chances against and the entire team competed in both ends of the ice.

Effective defense at the professional level requires a commitment from every player on the ice. Milwaukee’s whole roster provided that Sunday afternoon allowing San Antonio just a handful of scoring chances and only limited minutes in the offensive end. The only goal the Rampage scored was on a brilliant individual effort by Bracken Kearns off his own rebound, a hard goal to fault any Admiral on.

4) Every Milwaukee player executed their role to perfection.

Milwaukee’s scores scored, their checkers checked, their defensemen smothered away San Antonio’s offensive chances and the entire squad skated effectively in transition. All that was missing was a fight from the Admirals’ scrappers, but in all Milwaukee took just three penalties– a near perfect way to play with a lead.

5) When the saves needed to made, goaltender Jeremy Smith made them.

Jeremy Smith had a quiet game in the Admirals’ net, making just 14 saves on 15 shots. Sometimes limited shot games can be difficult on a goaltender, who can struggle to find rhythm while seeing rubber few and far between. Smith stayed in the game the whole way, making the saves when he needed to, while allowing few rebound opportunities.

Milwaukee’s opponent for Friday night’s game at the Bradley Center should look plenty familiar on Admirals fans’ ticket stubs. Milwaukee will be taking on . . . you guessed it . . . Chicago, for the fifth time in their first 13 games.

If it seems like Milwaukee plays the Wolves every other game, you would actually not be that far off.  The Admirals have actually had at least one game against Chicago every other weekend to date. Incredibly, tonight’s game ends that streak by giving the two teams a game on consecutive weekends.

So far the four prior contests produced positive results for Milwaukee, as the Admirals own a 3-1-0 record against the Wolves in 2011-2012. However, the teams’ most recent contest (last Saturday) resulted in 6-3 drubbing by Chicago at the Bradley Center.

After tonight’s fifth game against the Wolves, Milwaukee still has two more home games against Chicago in the 2011 calender year (Saturday, December 10 and Wednesday, December 28). Yet strangely, Milwaukee has yet to play division rival Rockford and will only face the Ice Hogs three times before New Years rolls around.

So Roundtable . . . What do you think of the Admirals’ schedule to date? Is its unbalance making you unbalanced? Are you getting sick of facing Chicago?

Joel Champagne is making his way back to Milwaukee.  This may or may not be injury related, but with the 3-in-3 this weekend, it probably will be nice for the coach to have an extra forward around.

Or maybe it’s a performance promotion.  Champagne has four goals and an assist in five games with the Cyclones, including the game winning goal last night against Toledo.

This week the Binghamton Senators and Hamilton Bulldogs are staging a home-and-home series at their respective NHL team’s rinks for the third consecutive year.

Why do I bring up this fact?

In its brief history this miniseries has been extremely successful at the gate.  At Scotiabank Place, the AHL Sens drew 8,427 for Hamilton’s 5-2 win over Binghamton on November 13.  Meanwhile, in all five of Hamilton games played in Montreal, attendance has not dipped below 14,500 for any contest.

Obviously, Montreal and Ottawa are hockey-mad Canadian markets where just about any professional game would sell tickets, but with the addition of the Charlotte Checkers to the Midwest division, a new possibility has developed that Nashville and Carolina could potentially choose to exploit.

What if Milwaukee and Charlotte staged a home-and-home series in their respective NHL affiliate’s rinks, paired with a Nashville-Carolina series? 

It is no secret that come this upcoming summer’s realignment, Nashville would favor a move into a division with the rest of the teams located in the geographic Southeast–this idea might help the cause.

Normally, a Nashville-Carolina game isn’t a marquee event that would draw sellouts.  But this could draw interest with the fan bases of both Milwaukee and Charlotte, who could travel to attend a two-game combo–an AHL game in the afternoon combined with an NHL game at night.

With some luck Nashville vs. Carolina and Milwaukee vs. Charlotte could develop into a rivalry, with opposing tailgates to boot.  The Predators and Hurricanes play often during the preseason, this would just take things a step further.

So Roundtable . . . What do you think?  Is this idea too far-fetched, or would you be interested in a fan bus to Tennessee for a Milwaukee/Nashville combo day against Charlotte and Carolina?

Saw this in the On The Forecheck afternoon links yesterday…

For some reason, people still like to give Hockey’s Future some kind of credibility when it comes to scouting and writing.

Frankly, I think they fail miserably at both.  If you have an Internet connection and can memorize the hockeydb.com URL, you have met the prerequisites for being a Hockey’s Future writer!  Mazel tov!

They published something yesterday called the Nashville Predators Depth Analysis, Fall 2011.  It was penned by a bloke named Evgeny Oliker.

I encourage you to read the whole abomination, but here are some cherry-picked highlights.  Starting with a quote from the introduction.

During the past five seasons, the Predators have only had one forward surpass the thirty goal mark. A new fleet of forwards can change that history and write its own.

Changing history.  Yep.  Good luck changing things that have already happened.  Unless Taylor Beck and Michael Latta will be playing the parts of Bill and Ted, and strange things will be afoot at the Circle K.  (Who would Rufus be in this scenario?  Stortini maybe?)

On Gabriel Bourque…

Now in his second season in the AHL, it will be crucial for Bourque to show that he can improve on those totals and continue to prove his doubters wrong.

Who are these doubters you speak of?  And what exactly are they saying about him that he must disprove?

On Ben Ryan…

Ben Ryan’s professional career may be in jeopardy as his goal totals in the CCHA have dropped for the past few seasons.

Sorry Ben, your goal totals have decreased in the past few seasons at Notre Dame, including that one year you only played in 29 games… So much for being a professional hockey player.  Anything that you actually do now as a pro is meaningless compared to your college stats.  If only you could have scored two more goals your senior year, the Hockey’s Future writer would have lost his justification for ending your career.

On Juuso Puustinen…

Puustinen can be compared to current Predators forward Patric Hornqvist in terms of style of play. Like Hornqvist, Puustinen has a knack for scoring goals around the net and loves to shoot.

Puustinen can be compared to Hornqvist in terms of hair color and continent they were born on.  I don’t think any of his five goals have been garbage goals around the net so far this year.

On Charles-Olivier Roussel…

Charles-Olivier Roussel is a great all-around defenseman who can contribute offensively, defensively and even play a physical game when needed.

I’m just going to re-write this one.  Charles-Olivier Roussel is a defenseman.  (pause).  He was sent back to juniors for a 5th year because he’s not a very good defenseman.  The fact that Hockey’s Future lists him as the 6th best prospect in the organization is really all the evidence you need to remove a level or two of credibility.

On Scott Valentine…

Scott Valentine is a very mean defenseman…

Okay, there was more to the sentence….it went on to say how many penalty minutes he logged last year, because OBVIOUSLY one’s penalty minutes is proportionate to one’s meanness quotient.  But still.  All you have to say about that guy is that he’s “very mean”?  Was your source his 2nd grade teacher?

On Teemu Laakso…

The problem that Laakso faces is that he does not have any outstanding qualities.

I bet he’s a better writer than you are.

And finally, on Chet Pickard…

Chet Pickard was picked 18th overall in 2008. However, being picked that high can at times be a curse for a goalie.

Sure.  Chet Pickard is cursed because of where he was drafted.   Nah, I don’t think Chet is cursed.  I think he lets in too many bad goals.  That’s all, really.  Yet they still have him higher on the prospect list than Jeremy Smith?

Hockey’s Future….Quantity Before Quality Content since 1998.

Your magnetic schedule, or your schedule pen, or your ticket may be showing today’s game as an afternoon matinee.

It’s not a matinee.  Thanks to the NBA lockout, the game has been moved to 7pm.

If you do show up at 1pm, you will be treated to a couple of Concordia University hockey games, which will be nice.  But the Admirals and Wolves will play at 7pm.

Tell your friends.

Happy Veterans Day.  Even though this post is going to be a fluff piece, let’s not forget how important it is to recognize those who have served in any way in any of the Armed Forces.  To those who served (including my father, who was a Marine), the words “thank you” really don’t seem like enough. But thank you.

Okay.  On to the fluff now.

Happy 11-11-11 day.  Raise a glass to all of the guys who have worn #11 for your Milwaukee Admirals over the years.  If you have any good stories about some of the older guys on the list, we’d love to hear them.

(For all of your uniform number questions, please visit the wonderful resource that is Milwaukeehockey.com)

Chris Cahill
Mark Santorelli
John Vigilante
Kevin Ulanski
Paul Brown
Raitis Ivanans
Greg Koehler
Marc Moro
Jason Cipolla
Steve Tuttle
Richard Zemlak
Eric Murano
Terry Menard
Dwaine Hutton
Tim Loven
Jeff Larmer
Rick Dorman
Doug Robb
Don Madson
Jean Trottier
Yves Bernier
Mike Tardani
Paul Doud

Today the American Hockey League announced that four former players have been named to the Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

The inductees are: Joe Crozier, Jack Gordon, John Stevens and Zellio Toppazzini.

“These four individuals enjoyed significant careers and are legendary figures in the rich history of the American Hockey League,” said David Andrews, AHL President and Chief Executive Officer.” The AHL Board of Governors is pleased to support the selection committee’s recommendation for their induction into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame.”

Certainly this is an impressive list of inductees, though I am only familiar with John Stevens’ career both as a coach and player.  The addition of these four members brings the AHL Hall of Fame list to 30 in total.

Though Milwaukee has only existed as an AHL franchise since 2001, I am curious to think about which former or current Admirals might eventually belong on this list.  My two initial Milwaukee inductees would be Tony Hrkac and Darren Haydar.

So Roundtable, What do think? Which former or current Admirals would you select for the AHL Hall of Fame and why?