Colton Sissons has become the first member of the Milwaukee Admirals to win our “Admiral of the Month” award twice this season. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
As you might expect, when the Admirals have a month as rough as they just did it’s not quite easy to think of top performing anything. The Admirals went 3-8-3-1 in March. During that time I would go as far to say each phase of the Admirals at some point had their time in the spotlight for a negative reason. Still, there have been some players that have persevered and continued producing through what has been one of the roughest months of the Admirals 2014-15 season. My choice for the Admiral of the Month of March came down to two players yesterday. And I’ve decided on Colton Sissons.
Sissons played in all fifteen games in the month of March for the Admirals and he tallied 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists). His sophomore season may not have been all that he’d have liked it to have been but I feel since the turn of the calendar he’s looked far more like he did last season while also bringing a feistier style to his game. He has been consistently playing as the Admirals top center during the past few weeks and has remained so with bits and pieces changing around him. To me, his play has been one of the few consistencies in a month of complete and utter confusion.
The other man that I really thought about for the Admiral of the Month award for March was Austin Watson. He, like Sissons, has also been a really reliable player this month and has done it in a center or wing capacity. Watson played all fifteen games in March and recorded 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists).
Other Admirals in March: Joe Pendenza, 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists)… Viktor Arvidsson, 8 points 92 goals, 6 assists) Pontus Åberg, 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists)… Kevin Fiala, 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists)… Mark Van Guilder, 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists)… Triston Grant, 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists)… Joe Piskula, the only Admiral in the month of March who has a positive plus/minus with a +2 rating.
~Admiral of the Month Award~
October: Brendan Leipsic
November: Magnus Hellberg
December: Marek Mazanec
January: Viktor Arvidsson
February: Colton Sissons
March: Colton Sissons
Who was your pick for the top performing Admiral in the month of March? Please write a comment down below as to who and why.
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Andrew Agozzino’s AHL best point streak continued at the expense of Magnus Hellberg and the Milwaukee Admirals tonight. (Photo Credit: Lake Erie Monsters // flickr)
The Admirals lost 2-1 in overtime on the road against the Lake Erie Monsters Tuesday night. It took a late power-play goal from Gary Steffes to equalize this game for the Admirals in the third period after trailing from 3:46 of the first period. The Monsters managed to score through traffic in overtime to hand the Admirals their sixth straight loss.
It was the white hot Andrew Agozzino opening the scoring tonight in the first period. The Monsters forward was camped out in front of Magnus Hellberg when he redirected a point shot by Bruno Gervais that alluded the Swedish netminder’s glove. The goal for Agozzino was his twenty-third of the season and helped extend his current point streak to twelve games. It is the longest point streak in the AHL this season by two-games.
In the second period, while the Admirals were killing a five-on-three power-play for 1:30 of ice time, Hellberg appeared to be struggling with his right leg after making a big post-to-post save to rob Ben Street on the right wing. Hellberg was helped off the ice by Admirals head trainer Doug Agnew and didn’t put weight down on his right leg on his way off the ice. Marek Mazanec stepped in and replaced him for the remainder of the game.
Halfway through the third period the Admirals were able to cash in from a power-play to level the game at 1-1. Just as he did for his first career Admirals goal, Gary Steffes and Colton Sissons linked up for a power-play goal from a shot-pass redirect. Sissons threw a puck towards Steffes who got his stick-blade to it and angled the shot far post past Calvin Pickard for his second goal in the AHL this season.
Before this game could go to overtime there was a massive chance for the Monsters to close things out in regulation. The Monsters forward Street had a breakaway from the Admirals blueline and was one-on-one with Mazanec. The Czech stayed big in net, allowed Street to make to make his moves en route to goal, before stopping him cold and forcing the puck off to the left wing corner.
Sadly in overtime, the Admirals were never even able to register a shot on goal and it was the Monsters taking the final point on the evening. They set up plenty of bodies in front of Mazanec and Cody Corbett stepped up from the point and fired a wrist shot glove side for the game-winner and his second goal of the season.
The Admirals losing streak might be rough right now. They have lost six straight games and have only one win from their previous twelve games. But, gaining points as they have in their last two games might be a sign of things turning around. There are seven games left in the season. Results such as the last two could have just as easily been regulation defeats but they weren’t. Things are starting to sharpen up and the Admirals will now need to see those overtime losses turn to wins.
Ramblings: Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were Frederick Gaudreau and Jonathan Diaby. Both were healthy scratches whilst Miikka Salomaki and Felix Girard are both out for the rest of the season due to injury. Gary Steffes was playing in his first career game against his former-AHL squad the Lake Erie Monsters. With his goal tonight, Steffes has scored forty-six goals between the AHL and ECHL this season. For the moment, the Admirals have moved back into third place of the Midwest Division and seventh in the Western Conference.
What is your reaction to tonight’s game? Are you happy to see the Admirals fight back to earn a point? If Hellberg is in fact hurt, what is your current confidence level of Mazanec being the man moving forward? What have you thought of Gary Steffes since his introduction to the Admirals?
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I’m expecting the front of the net to be a busy place tonight and tomorrow between the Admirals and Monsters. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
If there were ever a time for the Milwaukee Admirals to get on a run it is right now with a two-in-two against the Lake Erie Monsters. The Admirals have fallen out of the playoff picture following their weekend defeats to the Chicago Wolves and there is only one team sitting beneath them now in the Midwest Division. That’s where the Monsters come in. Time is running out. And the Admirals need to start earning points very badly. The time to collect is now.
~Short & Sweet~
The Monsters are 30-26-6 -4 (70 points) entering tonight’s game. They are last in the Midwest Division. That being said, it’s not as if they are a bad team. The Midwest Division features teams that all have records above .500 or better. The only other division in the AHL that can say the same is the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division.
In their last ten games the Monsters have gone 5-3-1-1 (12 points) while winning their previous two contests. Those last two games came on the road against the Charlotte Checkers and they won 3-2 and 5-1.
~Recording Team History~
This season could be going better for the Monsters but that doesn’t mean some individuals haven’t stepped up a notch along the way. Monsters play-by-play man Doug Plagens said as much yesterday on Twitter with the following facts:
Stefan Elliott has recorded 5 goals in the Monsters’ previous six games. Elliott’s work this season has helped him to tie Ryan Stoa for the Monsters’ all-time records in power-play goals (18) and game-winning goals.
Andrew Agozzino tied T.J. Hensick for the Monsters’ all-time lead in assists (92). Agozzino has also set a Monsters’ record for a points streak of eleven games that will be active when the Admirals play tonight.
Calvin Pickard, Chet‘s brother, has established Monsters’ goaltending records this season for wins (18) and games played (40).
~Possible AHL Player of the Month of March~
Let’s go back to Agozzino for a moment. His month of March has been stunningly good for Lake Erie. He has 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in twelve games this month. All of that has come in a stretch of the last eleven consecutive games. His points production leads the team on the season with 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists). The next closest on the team is the defenseman Elliott who has 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists).
~Head to Head~
The Admirals and Monsters actually mirror each other rather well. They have played eight games against one another on the season and have split the season series to date. The Admirals power-play at home is bad, ney the league’s worst, and -hey- the Monsters power-play at home is also poor. Both special teams for these teams are improved when on the road so the advantage tonight, on paper, should be for the Admirals.
The top scorer for the Monsters in this match up is Paul Carey with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists). For those that remember things such as trades though. He isn’t a product of the Colorado Avalanche organization anymore. He quite literally shipped up to Boston.
That means the successor is Joey Hishon with 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists). Oh wait. He’s in Colorado whilst their injury struggles have hampered them. So, he’s not here either.
That lastly gives the title for top scorer against the Admirals this season, active on the Monsters roster tonight, to Colin Smith who has produced 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists). He is followed by: Agozzino, 3 points (3 goals, 0 assists)… Mitchell Heard, 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist)… Ben Street, 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists)… Maxim Noreau, 3 points (0 goals, 3 assists).
The Admirals top scorers in this match up are Colton Sissons with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) and Pontus Åberg with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists). In addition, Kevin Fiala has scored a point per game against the Monsters. He has scored 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in only four games.
Goaltending in the match-up has been pretty good for the Admirals. Marek Mazanec has recorded two of his four shutouts this season against the Monsters but has been hit and miss outside of those games by allowing 12 goals in his other three appearances for a 2.43 goals against average and 0.897 save percentage against Lake Erie. Magnus Hellberg has been really solid in his three appearances against the Monsters with a 1.55 goals against average and 0.943 save percentage. As for the Monsters? They only have one goaltender this season with a sub-3.00 goals against average and save percentage above .900 and that would be none other than Chet’s brother.
~Dropping Mitts~
The Wolves might be a team more willing to talk that box but the Monsters have proven themselves more than willing combatants on the season. There have been a total of eleven fights between the Admirals and Monsters in eight games this season. Daniel Maggio, Rich Clune, and the Monsters’ Heard have all dropped the gloves four times on the season. Plenty of those for Clune and Heard came against one-another.
There have been a grand total of 272 combined penalty minutes. The Monsters have averaged 17.6 penalty minutes against the Admirals. The Admirals have averaged 16.4 penalty minutes against the Monsters. I wouldn’t expect the aggression levels to drop any with both teams clawing for a role to be had in the playoffs.
Expectations for tonight and tomorrow’s games? What will the Admirals need to do in order to start cranking out wins? Do you go with Mazanec or Hellberg in net tonight?
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Rich Clune scored a shorthanded tally tonight and, once more, the Admirals deserved a far better fate than they received tonight. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Admirals lost 3-2 in overtime against the Chicago Wolves on the road Saturday night. Once more, it was a good effort for the Admirals and one that saw them fight hard late to earn a point. Despite their efforts the Admirals Killer that is Jeremy Welsh buzz sawed them once more and the Admirals have now lost five straight games with only one win from their previous eleven contests.
It was the Admirals scoring a shorthanded goal to open up the scoring tonight. Joe Pendenza jarred a puck loose while battling at center ice with Petteri Lindbohm. When the puck was sent free Rich Clune gathered it up and broke in all alone for a breakaway. He fired a wrist shot that went underneath the blocker arm of Matt Climie and in for his sixth goal of the season and second scored shorthanded.
The Wolves neglected quite a few opportunities to drop the gloves last night. In fact, that’s the main reason why Clune referred to them as a soft hockey club at the beginning of the season. There would be fight majors handed out in the first period after a heavyweight bout between Scott Ford and Jacob Doty. Both threw some powerful overhand rights mixed with left jabs. I’d give the edge in the fight card to Doty who knocked the veteran Admiral defenseman’s lid off and was stood tall when the officials came to stop the fight.
Ty Rattie continued his hot run of late by recording his twentieth goal of the season in the closing minutes of the first period. A strong rush into the zone put the Admirals defense into a scramble while the Wolves started setting up shop. Brendan Bell stepped up from the left point and threw a puck low towards the net and it ricocheted out into the right wing where Rattie was sitting and waiting. Magnus Hellberg tried to make a Superman save out of desperation as he slid from post to post but he never had a chance on the quick release shot from Rattie.
Jeremy Welsh and Adam Cracknell continued where they left off last night against the Admirals in the second period. Welsh spearheaded a rush through Gary Steffes and Colton Sissons in the neutral zone before losing the handle off the puck. The unfortunate pinballing that would take place landed the puck in line for the oncoming Cracknell who ripped a shot by the glove of Hellberg. It was Cracknell’s third goal against the Admirals this weekend and seventh on the season.
From that goal onwards the Admirals offensive pressure was relentless. They outshot the Wolves 10-5 in the second period and 13-4 in the third period. That pressure was rewarded when a turnover in the Wolves defensive zone was wristed from the right wing wall by Zach Budish into the top shelf past the glove of Climie to tie the game with 2:57 remaining in regulation. The goal was Budish’s sixth of the season.
This game went to overtime and nearly ended immediately when a Wolves turnover set Gary Steffes off on a breakaway. Steffes shot was stopped by a left pad save from Climie. The turnaround and momentum quickly bit the Admirals. A shot by Joel Edmundson from the right point took a harsh deflection from Rattie. Hellberg was anticipating the initial Edmundson shot but it trickled away towards the left wing where Jeremy Welsh smacked in the loose puck for the game winner. It is Welsh’s seventeenth goal of the season. His Admiral Killer status continues. And he has scored seven of his seventeen goals on the season against Milwaukee.
Ramblings: Prior to tonight’s game the Nashville Predators reassigned Kevin Fiala to the Milwaukee Admirals. With last night’s announcement from Admirals head coach Dean Evason that Felix Girard will miss the rest of this season it meant that tonight’s scratches were both healthy: Frederick Gaudreau and Jonathan Diaby. With the results as they stand tonight, the Admirals have fallen from seventh to eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? Did the Admirals deserve better than this tonight considering their performance? Does this game still have the potential to lift them heading into the upcoming road games against the Lake Erie Monsters?
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He’s back! No wait, no. Oh, yes! …oh, no. Oh, alright. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
I didn’t jot this up until the second intermission of this afternoon’s Nashville Predators game in the off-chance he’d flip right back all over again. That hasn’t happened (not yet anyways) so here you go. Kevin Fiala has been assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals and is expected to play in tonight’s road game against the Chicago Wolves.
Press Release via Milwaukee Admirals:
Milwaukee, WI–Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has reassigned 2014 first-round selection (11th overall) Kevin Fiala to Milwaukee. He will join the Admirals tonight when they take on the Chicago Wolves in Amtrak Rivalry action at the Allstate Arena.
Fiala made his NHL debut on Tuesday night, posting three shots on goal during 11:25 of ice time in the Preds 3-2 OT win over Montreal. Fiala has amassed 17 points (9g-8a) in 26 American Hockey League games since making his North American professional debut with the Admirals on Jan. 21. The native of St. Gallen, Switzerland, started the 2014-15 season with HV-71 of the Swedish Hockey League, posting 14 points (5g-9a) in 20 games – tied for the fourth-most goals and assists, and sixth-most points among SHL junior players – before being assigned to Nashville’s AHL affiliate on Jan. 15. Fiala also represented Switzerland at the 2015 World Junior Championship, being named one of the nation’s three best players for the tournament while tying for fifth among all skaters in goals (4g-1a-5pts, 6gp).
It’s a nice boost for sure. Though I get the impression that goal scoring isn’t the main problem for the Admirals during this latest cold stretch. No matter what the case may be, hopefully things get back on track tonight with a set up for the Tuesday/Wednesday road games against Lake Erie.
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Colton Sissons’ face here is almost exactly the same as mine late in the third period. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
As has been the case for me when it comes to “The Chatterbox” this season. I always like to wait, soak in the game, think, think some more, and allow myself to get a better perspective on what took place from the game. It’s a good thing in an instance like this that I’ve done that more this season because if I wrote what I felt in the moment following the Admirals 8-4 loss to the Chicago Wolves there honestly wouldn’t be much to say. I felt blank.
With time to have absorbed what had happened in what is one in a long line of recent Admirals defeats I think I can now safely open up and discuss what that Admirals game was. That was just about as close to an on-ice adaptation of Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, without a fighting major, as you will ever get. There were serious George R.R. Martin levels of punch to the gut “you have to be kidding me” moments that hit, hit some more, and ended with a ferocious and powerful thud that was the final horn to sound the end of the game.
This is an Admirals team that, in its current capacity, is good enough to hold the West Division leading San Antonio Rampage to a 3-0 deficit through two periods of play. This is an Admirals team good enough toe battle back from 3-1 down against a gritty and structured Chicago Wolves team to make it 3-3. So why oh why is it incapable of earning wins? The lack of a solid answer to that question does my head in because there can be so many different answers to that question on various nights.
I titled yesterday’s game story rock bottom for the simple fact that it has to be there. That was it. The Admirals can’t possibly get to a lower depth than what happened from that game. The real story begins tonight when the Admirals and Wolves face-off again. Where do the Admirals go from last night?
Eric Robinson scored the first goal of his professional hockey playing career tonight. Unfortunately it came during a depressing 8-4 loss for the Milwaukee Admirals. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The Admirals lost 8-4 against the Chicago Wolves Friday night. The rough keeps getting rough for the Admirals who have now lost four straight and have only one win from their last ten games.
“We scored four goals in this hockey game,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “That’s enough to win. We shoot ourselves in the foot to not allow ourselves to be in that hockey game.”
This game started with the dreaded Admirals power-play allowing its tenth shorthanded goal of the season. Nathan Longpre’s shorthanded rush and pull back to the right wing wall sucked in three Admirals while no one picked up the on-rushing Jeremy Welsh. Longpre passed across and it was a breakaway that ended forehand to backhand for Welsh’s fifteenth goal of the season and sixth scored against the Admirals.
The Admirals were able to level things up after some solid net front work out of the Pontus Aberg, Joe Pendenza, and Austin Watson line. Watson swatted a puck off the stick of Joel Edmundson and it fell to Pendenza who quickly backhanded a shot towards goal. His shot ended up deflecting off the leg of Brett Regner who was camped out in front of goaltender Jordan Binnington and the puck fell to Aberg for a quick wrister and his sixteenth goal of the season.
After Mike Liambas was given an elbowing minor for a check in neutral ice on Colton Parayko – the Wolves special teams was able to retake a first period lead. Pat Cannone passed from the left wing wall into the front of the net where Shane Harper whirled off a backhander to the opposite wing. The pass from Harper was immediately stabbed past Marek Mazanec by Magnus Paajarvi for his sixth goal of the season.
It took the Wolves only twenty-seven seconds into the second period to make it a 3-1 game. Parayko’s shot from the right point was spilled into the path of Adam Cracknell who continued to whack away at the puck until it was forced across for his fifth goal of the season.
Eric Robinson scored his first career goal as a professional hockey player to pull the game back to a one-goal deficit. Robinson skated into a soft spot in the zone as his linemates worked away on the forecheck. Mark Van Guilder passed from behind the net and Robinson took it first-time and wired his shot over the blocker of Binnington for his first pro goal.
“It was a good feeling,” said Eric Robinson. “It’d be nicer if we won. Hopefully I can take that confidence into the next couple games.”
The Admirals enigma wrapped inside of a mystery and packaged into a riddle, aka their power-play, finally made good to end a previous drought of 0/39 that ran for eleven games. On chance number forty, Colton Sissons threw a shot pass looking for a stick-blade en route to the net. Gary Steffes was able to get the deflection and received an even bigger redirect courtesy of Wolves defenseman Regner. The puck deflected off Regner’s leg and past Binnington for the ever elusive Admirals power-play goal. It was Steffes’ second career AHL goal and first scored since 2/9/13 as a member of the Lake Erie Monsters.
Less than three minutes later it was a Wolves lead. Jacob Doty scored his first career AHL goal after a hard shot from the left point deflected off a stick and proceeded to flutter on past the glove of Mazanec and in.
Mazanec’s night would come to an end moments later as he conceded his fifth goal of the night. Cracknell scored from the bottom of the left wing circle after taking a swipe on a puck that skipped over to him. His shot beat Mazanec near post for his second of the night and sixth of the season. Mazanec stopped 17/22 shots on goal before getting replaced in net by Magnus Hellberg with 9:32 remaining in the second period.
“I have no idea,” answered Evason when asked about what’s happening to Mazanec in net. “We’re still trying to figure it out. He’s trying to figure it out.”
The Admirals did what they had to in the third period which was to score first in the hopes of chipping away on the Wolves two-goal lead. Zach Budish whipped a wrister from the right wing boards the kicked off the pads of Binnington. Mike Liambas was able to swat the rebound with a backhander that flipped past the blocker side of the Wolves netminder for his fifth goal of the season.
The inability of the Admirals to gather or maintain momentum within games has been an issue of late. With the game at a 5-4 deficit the Admirals seemed primed to get on a third period run like that of the San Antonio Rampage on Wednesday night. Then a puck went airborne in the Admirals defensive zone with Paajarvi camped under it and waiting to fire. He managed to slam a slap shot off the puck’s initial bounce and beat Hellberg high to the blocker for his second goal of the night and seventh of the season to immediately restore the Wolves two-goal lead.
With a late power-play the Admirals went for the extra attacker with 2:35 remaining. That was instantly punished after Welsh forced a turnover and spun a backhander from his own zone into the empty net for a shorthanded goal. It was his second shorthanded goal of the night, sixteenth goal of the season, and sixth goal scored against the Admirals.
For a laugh, the Admirals pulled Hellberg for the extra attacker once more only to allow the hat trick tally for Paajarvi that finished this game off at 8-4 Wolves. The goal for Paajarvi was his eighth of the season. And the loss for the Admirals was their worst of the 2014-15 campaign.
Ramblings: Kevin Fiala was assigned to the Admirals yesterday before getting recalled once again under emergency conditions earlier today. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were Felix Girard (upper body) and Jimmy Oligny (healthy). After the game head coach Dean Evason said that Girard will not be back with the Admirals for the rest of this season due to injury.
When the Admirals claw back to tie the game at 3-3 what happened to the team? What will it ultimately take for the Admirals to jolt back to life? Are you concerned in the Admirals goaltending right now?
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Remember when Rich Clune called the Chicago Wolves a soft hockey team that couldn’t compete with them at all? I’m willing to bet the Wolves do. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
It feels like ages ago since we last played the Chicago Wolves back on the first of this month. I think that speaks volumes to this current rough patch for the Admirals. They’re currently on a run of one win from their last nine games. Not good. Not good at all.
The good news is that it feels like the results are coming. There have been good in-game performances from the Admirals lately and it feels like all that is missing is a start to finish effort from the team. I don’t feel the team has put themselves under pressure during this bad run of late. No one is kicking themselves. But I also feel a weekend sweep over the Amtrak Rivals could be just the moral boost everyone on the team needs for the final push to end the 2014-15 season.
~Short & Sweet~
The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 31-25-6-1 (69 points). They are in fourth place of the Midwest Division and trail the Admirals for third place by five points. Their current Western Conference standing sees them on the outside of the playoff picture at the moment in eleventh place.
In the last ten games the Wolves have gone 4-5-1-0 (9 points). They are coming in off of two big wins on the road over the Oklahoma City Barons, 2-1 (OT) and 4-1. Considering how rough it was playing in OKC for the Admirals that last game produced by the Wolves is jaw-dropping. The Wolves outshot the Barons 48-25 in three periods of play.
~Trigger Man~
When talking about the Wolves the conversation has to immediately go towards Ty Rattie. It’s not been as polished of a season as he produced last year as a rookie. He scored fifteen of his nineteen goals this season during the 2014 portion of the calendar.
What should be concerning though is that he has goals in each of his last two games. He has 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) this month while averaging 3.9 shots per game over the last two months. Rattie is heating up and he might be the igniter for Chicago this weekend.
~Almost Pulkkinen-worthy~
There isn’t just Rattie to worry about there is also Shane Harper that will need to be clamped down. Harper leads the Wolves in scoring this season with 43 points (29 goals, 14 assists). He ranked second in the AHL for goals scored this season trailing only Teemu Pulkkinen. Not too shabby.
~In Net~
Jordan Binnington and Matt Climie have continued to work in concert this season. Binnington has played in 37 games with a record of 20-13-4-1, 2.39 goals against average, 0.914 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. Climie has played in 30 games with a record of 11-12-3-0, 2.27 goals against average, 0.915 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. Pretty similar if you overlook the records, right?
This season against the Admirals both have played 4 games and that’s where things aren’t similar at all. Climie has yet to win a game and has allowed 12 goals: 2.89 goals against average and 0.876 save percentage. The youngster Binnington has fared far better against the Admirals as he has won all 4 games he has factored while allowing half the goals that Climie has: 1.46 goals against average and 0.933 save percentage.
~UPDATE~
The Nashville Predators have recalled Kevin Fiala under emergency conditions from the Milwaukee Admirals.
Nashville, Tennessee (March 27, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Friday that the club has recalled 2014 first-round selection (11th overall) Kevin Fiala from Milwaukee (AHL) under emergency conditions.
Fiala, 18 (7/22/96), became the fourth 18-year-old in franchise history when he made his NHL debut in a 3-2 victory over Montreal on Thursday, logging 11:25 and putting three shots on goal. He has also amassed 17 points (9g-8a) in 26 American Hockey League games since making his North American professional debut with the Admirals on Jan. 21. The native of St. Gallen, Switzerland, started the 2014-15 season with HV-71 of the Swedish Hockey League, posting 14 points (5g-9a) in 20 games – tied for the fourth-most goals and assists, and sixth-most points among SHL junior players – before being assigned to Nashville’s AHL affiliate on Jan. 15. Fiala also represented Switzerland at the 2015 World Junior Championship, being named one of the nation’s three best players for the tournament while tying for fifth among all skaters in goals (4g-1a-5pts, 6gp).
The 5-10, 180-pound winger was a finalist for the 2014 SHL Rookie of the Year Award after tying for the lead in points among all under-18 SHL players with 11 (3g-8a) in 17 games for HV-71. He also represented his homeland at the World Junior Championship, Under-18 World Championship and World Championship in 2014, becoming just the third player ever to participate in all three tournaments in the same year (Andrei Kostitsyn and Vadim Karagan, Belarus in 2003). Fiala led the Swiss in points at both the under-18 tournament (4g-5a-9pts, 5gp), was named one of the nation’s three best players in the process, and World Juniors (1g-4a-5pts, 5gp) as the team’s youngest member. At 17, he was the youngest member of Switzerland’s entry at the World Championship by three years, posting three assists and a team-best +3 rating playing alongside Predators defenseman Roman Josi.
Fiala is one of six members of the 2014 Draft to already appear in the NHL, along with teammate Viktor Arvidsson (112th overall); Aaron Ekblad (FLA, first overall), Sam Reinhart (BUF, second overall), Leon Draisaitl (EDM, third overall) and David Pastrnak (BOS, 25th overall).
He speaks five languages – Czech, English, French, German and Swedish – and is on Twitter @KevinFiala22.
The Nashville Predators, who became the first Central Division team to reach 100 points with their win over the Lightning last night, play the last of their 2014-15 regular-season games against Eastern Conference opponents tomorrow in Washington, D.C. (11:30 a.m. CT, FOX Sports Tennessee, 102.5 The Game).
This move comes less than a day after he was reassigned to the Admirals. My guess? It was nothing more than a paper transaction with him sticking close to the team while they knew he’d be needed right back the next day. At least that’s just my assumption for a move that fast. Otherwise I hope Fiala used some of Viktor Stålberg‘s frequent flyer miles from this season.
Expectations for the weekend set against the Chicago Wolves? How crucial is the win on home ice tonight?
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The Kid is back with the Milwaukee Admirals. (Photo Credit: Christina Shapiro)
Kevin Fiala has just been reassigned by the Nashville Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals following an emergency call up stint that saw the 18-year old make his NHL debut on Tuesday night.
Nashville, Tennessee (March 26, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Thursday that the club has reassigned forward Kevin Fiala to Milwaukee (AHL). Fiala was recalled prior to Tuesday’s game under emergency conditions.
The Nashville Predators play the Lightning tonight in Tampa (6:30 p.m. CT, FOX Sports Tennessee, 102.5 The Game) in the first contest of a two-game road trip. The road trip concludes on Saturday when the Preds travel to take on former head coach Barry Trotz and the Washington Capitals in the Nation’s Capital (11:30 a.m. CT, FOX Sports Tennessee, 102.5 The Game).
For those that had the chance to watch Fiala’s debut you’d have seen pretty much the same play that you’ve been accustomed to seeing out of him in Milwaukee these past few weeks. His game has really calmed down and he is looking every bit as advertised lately. Sometimes you almost forget his age. Reminds me almost exactly of some Filip Forsberg kid a year ago. And I’m thinking the exact same maturation process is going on with Fiala most likely expected to start his 2015-16 season in the NHL.
Unclear what this move might mean for someone such as Gary Steffes who had just signed a PTO contract ahead of yesterday’s Admirals game. For as well as he played I would just assume keep him on-board if you can. Admirals could use as much firepower as they can get right now.
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The face you make when you realize you’ve blown a 3-0 lead. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
Shall I go back to the well and say, “last night the Admirals played a really solid game, and did lots of great things, but just failed to earn the result,” or should I come up with something new? That’s a serious question. I feel like I’ve been saying or writing that ad nauseum when talking about the Admirals lately.
Fact of the matter is that the Admirals once again missed out on a victory. They -again- performed very well and did so against an opponent that is really good. The reality is that the Admirals earned the result that they got last night. The work rate through two periods was superb and, come the third period, they had to accomplish more or at least the same caliber of play that gave them a 3-0 advantage through two periods. They didn’t. And the San Antonio Rampage, rolling on a five-game win streak, did all the right things they needed to do to chip away and equalize that game. From there, in overtime, three-on-three overtime, or the shootout, it’s a game of chance. It never even should have come to that point and it did.
Where does the blame fall last night? Heck, where does the blame fall for this current run of form dating back to February?
Honestly, I don’t think the finger pointing game matters. Viktor Stålberg did his part while logging AHL time this season before going back where he belongs. Brendan Leipsic was doing great work in his rookie season as a pro but was wheeled out of Milwaukee in a deal to help the Nashville Predators. In return, the Admirals ended up seeing Kevin Fiala turn up in his place. That was a pleasant surprise. Then Viktor Arvidsson gets called up on an emergency basis followed closely by Fiala.
The offense, which had been struggling, put together a 3-0 lead on a hot West Division leading Rampage team with the likes of Eric Robinson and Gary Steffes plugging in while players like Félix Girard and Miikka Salomäki are injured. It was a team effort and a solid show of the Admirals all-around capability to execute.
How did that all go away? Detail. The Admirals detail on simple plays, such as clearing pucks out of their own zone and passing up ice – things that worked tremendously through the first two periods, were a total mess. Can credit be given to the Rampage for upping the pressure and correcting their own mistakes playing against the Admirals? Absolutely. Is that a reasonable excuse for blowing a 3-0 lead in the final period of regulation? No, and there never should be one.
Is this team not tough enough? Is it lacking a killer instinct? Is the team getting pushed around? Is it the coaching staff itself? Is it the goaltending, or is it the defense, or is it the offense? All those are great questions but in the next ten games the 2014-15 Milwaukee Admirals will need to show everyone exactly who they really are. There is no avoiding it. The Admirals are plummeting and could see their run of twelve consecutive playoff seasons come to an end if this is simply who they are. It’s on everyone in that locker room to look at the day at hand and make it count. Ten games remain this season. So who are the Admirals? Are they lions or lemmings?
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