Are you ready for the puck to drop on the 2014-2015 Milwaukee Admirals season?

Look no further than October 3, 2014, when Milwaukee will host rival Rockford in their only home warm up test, 7:00 PM at the Kern Center on the campus of MSOE. The following night you can make the short trip down the road to West Meadows Ice Arena in Rolling Meadows, Illinois as the Chicago Wolves will welcome Milwaukee at 7:00 PM.

Milwaukee’s regular season home opener is set for the following weekend on Friday, October 10th, though the opponent, like the rest of the schedule, is still TBD. That is just over two months away!

So Roundtable . . . Are you, like me, counting down the days until October 3? What roster battles are you looking forward to at Admirals training camp?

For those of you that became Scott Darling fans last season, that were bummed out to hear that he had signed a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks organization, and wondered who could be that third-man in when it came to the Admirals goaltending situation – great news! Today, the Milwaukee Admirals have announced the signing of Rob Madore to an AHL contract.

Madore was phenomenal during the Cincinnati Cyclones Kelly Cup playoff run this past season. In 24 playoff games he won 14 games, posted a 2.29 goals against average, a 0.930 save percentage, and took home the MVP honors for the playoffs – becoming the first man in ECHL history to win it on the losing side of the Finals.

In addition to that news, the Milwaukee Admirals have also signed Triston Grant to a one-year AHL contract. Grant was a member of the Admirals from 2008-10. In those two-seasons he produced 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) and amassed 389 penalty minutes. Last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins he played 51 games, scored 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists), recorded 103 penalty minutes, and had a plus/minus rating of +6. At the age of 30-years old he brings much needed veteran experience to an incredibly young 2014-15 Admirals roster.

Also worth noting, for those still awaiting Scott Ford news, the addition of Grant could be a boost for one more season. The two are best buddies after all .

What are your thoughts on today’s signings by the Milwaukee Admirals? What does the addition of Rob Madore mean for Magnus Hellberg?

The Nashville Predators keep producing the paperwork. The Predators have just signed Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson to three-year entry level contracts. Slow news day, eh?

Fiala was the Preds first round selection (11th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. He will turn 18-years old in exactly a week’s time.

Predators Press Release on Fiala:

Nashville, Tennessee – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed 2014 first-round selection (11th overall) Kevin Fiala to a three-year entry-level contract.

Fiala, 17 (7/22/96), was a finalist for the 2014 Swedish Hockey League 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 HV71. The 5-10, 180-pound winger started the 2013-14 season with the HV71 junior squad, ranking among the league leaders in goals (10), assists (15) and points (25) in 27 games before his January promotion. The dynamic offensive forward with game-breaking potential spent his first season in Sweden in 2012-13 with the Malmo organization, posting 10 points (6g-4a) in nine games at the under-18 level and 28 points (9g-19a) in 33 games at the junior level.

A native of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Fiala 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 and forward Simon Moser.

He speaks five languages – Czech, English, French, German and Swedish – and is on Twitter @KevinFiala22.

The other entry level signing also happens to be a member of the Preds 2014 Draft Class. Arvidsson was selected in the fourth round (112th overall) and is a 21-year old Swedish winger. He and Fiala both made a splash at the recent Predators rookie development camp with some crafty shootout moves:

Predators Press Release on Arvidsson:

Nashville, Tenn. – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the Predators have signed 2014 fourth-round selection Viktor Arvidsson to a three-year entry-level contract.

Arvidsson, 21 (4/8/93), ranked ninth in the Swedish Hockey League in points (16g-24a-40pts) during the 2013-14 season, then helped Skelleftea (along with newly signed Predator Johan Alm) win its second consecutive SHL title by tying for second in assists (12) and ranking third in points (16) during the postseason. During the title-winning season of 2012-13, the 5-9, 172-pound winger was named Swedish junior player of the year and a finalist for the SHL rookie of the year award, in addition to tying for fourth in playoff goals (6).

A native of Skelleftea, Arvidsson tied for eighth in goals (4) at the 2013 World Junior Championship, helping Sweden to a silver medal, and also earned silver at the 2011 Under-18 World Championship. He was a teammate of Predators prospect Filip Forsberg on both silver-medal squads, in addition to playing with prospects Pontus Aberg and Max Gortz at the 2009 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge.

As Jason Karnosky alluded to in his recent story, I feel these signings all seem to benefit Milwaukee for the 2014/15 season pretty significantly. It will be a pretty young team but a very talented one.

It’s starting to look like Milwaukee’s starting center roles could shake out as: Colton Sissons (1), Brendan Leipsic (2), Mark Van Guilder (3), and Austin Watson (4). I’m thinking Calle Jarnkrok would have the upper-hand on Sissons for an NHL spot. And it’s important to not forget this in terms of Milwaukee. Watson was pushed out to the wing because his speed was lacking at the center position and really hit stride as a points producer once he joined Van Guilder’s wing. Watson should start the season as a winger – not a center. I also suspect Miikka Salomaki may be pushed back to the center position – where he was tasked to play a fair bit towards the end of last season. Lots of depth. Lots of youth. Lots of talent. And lots of options for Dean Evason and company to work with.

What do you make of the entry level signings of Fiala and Arvidsson? Does Fiala have a chance at making the Predators roster? How do today’s signings impact the Milwaukee Admirals 2014-15 season? Will the Admirals be better or worse than last season?

In the course of two weeks Nashville Predators General Manager David Poile completed what he set out to do at the start of the preseason: overhaul the team’s center ice position.

As stated in my earlier post, with the additions of Olli Jokinen, Mike Ribeiro and Derek Roy, the Predators have all sorts of options to play center: The injured Mike Fisher, Matt Cullen, Paul Gaustad, Craig Smith, Colin Wilson, Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons, and now the inclusion of Ribeiro, Roy and Jokinen.

So what does that mean for the likes of Jarnkrok and Sissons? Not to mention prospects such as Filip Forsberg, Austin Watson, Pontus Aberg, still unsigned restricted free agent Taylor Beck and any other two-way Predator/Milwaukee Admirals forward? There is no way around the fact that this is a bit of a slap in the face.

Here’s the centers in Nashville right now, I believe: Ribeiro, Roy, Jokinen, Wilson, Cullen, Gaustad, Jarnkrok, Smith, Fisher*.

Here’s the centers in Nashville right now, I believe: Ribeiro, Roy, Jokinen, Wilson, Cullen, Gaustad, Jarnkrok, Smith, Fisher*.
— Kristopher Martel (@ThePredatorial) July 15, 2014

Poile: The younger guys are a bit of a tease this time of yr. Veteran players give you a better chance and this is the path we’ve chosen.

Poile: The younger guys are a bit of a tease this time of yr. Veteran players give you a better chance and this is the path we’ve chosen.
— Cellblock 303 (@Cellblock303) July 15, 2014

In his press conference this morning, Poile mentioned some potential Predators roster plans that would have Jarnkrok included:

Poile said Wilson and Cullen could end up on wing. Says he thinks Jarnkrok will still win a spot … — JoshuaCooper (@JoshuaCooper) July 15, 2014

Poile – if Mike gets a chance to play with Neal, Derek will get a chance to play with Smith. — Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) July 15, 2014

Then again the good news is that there is always next year for the prospects sent down to Milwaukee, or maybe even just beyond the trade deadline when the Predators may have more than a few job openings. Nashville now has an attractive list of players that are on short-term deals. Five centers: Fisher, Cullen, Jokinen, Ribeiro and Roy. Defenseman Anton Volchenkov. And two-way players Joe Piskula, Mark Van Guilder, and Kevin Henderson. They are all set to become unrestricted free agents at season’s end.

It’s pretty clear that life in Nashville and Milwaukee for 2014-2015 just got a lot more competitive.

Poile: We now, in my mind, we have 16 NHL forwards. We’re only going to keep 13 or 14. The competition at camp [will be fierce]. #Preds

— Cellblock 303 (@Cellblock303) July 15, 2014

Not saying Nashville will compete for the #ConferenceIII crown, but they’re not going to be a youth-filled pushover this season either

— Kristopher Martel (@ThePredatorial) July 15, 2014

My thought is that Jarnkrok will still make Nashville in some capacity, while Sissons will likely have to wait his turn to move on up. The player’s whose NHL hopes might have been hurt the most by these transactions might be Austin Watson, who has now really slipped down on the depth chart. Nashville’s first round pick Kevin Fiala also harbors hopes of making the Predators this season, though that seems a little far fetched.

Certainly, there are going to be some pitched battles in training camp and in Nashville’s preseason games this season, and that’s something Predators coach Peter Laviolette and Admirals coach Dean Evason have to be looking forward to.

So Roundtable: How do the final Predators/top Admirals roster spots stack up? What battles are looking forward to most at training camp, and where do you think the dust will settle?

What a difference a day makes. Prior to today, the Nashville Predators depth chart looked rather thin of the “top-six variety” at the center ice position. Example, here was Yahoo’s dated take on the Predators lineup. Today, Nashville has a log jam of epic proportions at center with the free agent signings of Mike Ribeiro and Derek Roy.

Predators GM David Poile announced the signings today and both Ribeiro and Roy are signed to one-year deals: Ribeiro for $1.05 million – Roy for $1 million.

Two weeks ago Poile signed center Olli Jokinen meaning that the Predators now have ten capable centers at their disposal. That includes Jokinen as well as Mike Fisher (injured), Matt Cullen, Paul Gaustad, Craig Smith, Colin Wilson, Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons, and now the inclusion of Ribeiro and Roy.

The three new faces, Jokinen, Ribeiro and Roy, plus Fisher and Cullen can all leave the team as unrestricted free agents after the season.

So Roundtable:  What do you think of the new-look 2014-2015 Nashville Predators? What does that mean for those on the cuff of making the Predators or playing with the Admirals? Do you think Calle Jarnkrok and/or Colton Sissons can still win a spot with the club? Are you getting more excited about the players available for Milwaukee this season?

The AHL Board of Governor’s annual summer meeting has concluded. First there was the news of a realignment. Today there is the news of pretty significant rule changes to take place in the AHL starting this coming season.

Rule 85 (“Overtime”)

• During the regular season, the sudden-death overtime period will be seven minutes (7:00) in length, preceded by a “dry scrape” of the entire ice surface.

• Teams will change ends at the start of overtime.

• Full playing strength will be 4-on-4 until the first whistle following three minutes of play (4:00 remaining), at which time full strength will be reduced to 3-on-3 for the duration of the overtime period.

• If the game is still tied following overtime, a winner will be determined by a three-player shootout.

Rule 20.4 (“Major Penalties”)

• An automatic game misconduct will be applied to any player who has been assessed two major penalties for fighting or three major penalties for any infraction in the same game.

Rule 9.6 (“Helmets”)

• A player on the ice whose helmet comes off during play will be assessed a minor penalty unless he immediately (a) exits the playing surface or (b) puts the helmet back on with the chin strap properly fastened.

Interesting right? Now let’s talk about these changes starting with the new OT format.

There’s no denying that coaches, players, and plenty of fans would prefer seeing the game end competitively rather than under a shootout. This is a massive leap forward to try and alter that from being the case. That being said, it is a rather clunky start and stop way of achieving it.

Dry scraping the ice? That’s no big deal really. The goal there is to get the snow off the ice surface and provide a cleaner playing surface. Switching ends? Hey, why not? Extra two-minutes of OT? Woohoo! 4-on-4 for three-minutes and then 3-on-3 for the final four-minutes? …wait, huh?

This is where I get a little bit lost in translation and, perhaps, hope to find clarifications in the future regarding the new OT format. Because, if the majority of OT will be played in a 3-on-3, where do penalties and power-plays come into action? How are those implemented? Will we actually see a scenario where two or one player is left on the ice for a team? If not, what’s stopping players from giving a slash or hook if they’re beaten to the corner on a rush into the zone? It’s all a little confusing for now. Hopefully it gets more clarified as the days move along.

Should the game need more than OT the shootout will remain in the game. The shootout has also received a revamp. And I’m not too huge on the change. At the AHL level the shootout is a Best-of-Five format. It is now changing to the NHL’s Best-of-Three format. If people hate seeing the shootout so much because it is viewed as a gimmick? Why keep treating it like such a gimmick? The Best-of-Five format allows for more shooters and stop attempts from a goalie to make it an actual contest worth fighting for the extra point. Best-of-Three can be capped off in a blink with the team’s top snipers cashing in lickity split with no further need for the lesser skilled shootout performers taking the stage. The shootout may be frowned upon by many. But, when it is treated as a quickfire stunt to avoid a tie, it isn’t hard to see why.

The next two changes are a lot more cut and dry. Both looking to make the game that little more safe and a little less barbaric.

I would go as far to say “Rule 20.4” be named the Rockford IceHogs Rule because it is trying to lessen players that fight multiple times in a game. I can’t remember a time where I’ve seen a player get called for multiple “non-fighting” majors in a game. As far as that three non-fighting majors and out policy. That sounds like the first man to achieve that is looking to become a trivia question answer.

The new helmet rule seems to act as an extension of last year’s fighting and removing your helmet rule. You may also see in the junior ranks a policy not too different from this. You lose your lid – get off the ice. The exception here is you can quickly grab your helmet, pop it back on, fasten it, and keep going. What gets interesting here will be the referees’ discrepancy between implementing penalties to players as they are in the act of putting there helmet back on, if there is a time window between when it should be applied as they put their helmet back on, or if they will simply enforce or encourage getting back to the bench rather than putting the helmet back on.

Some of these changes certainly have wrinkles to them on the surface now. Similar to hybrid icing making its way into the game – I’m sure it won’t be as confusing the more you see it take place. It will be a bit of a mind cramp watching the new OT format the first few times though.

What do you make of the new rules changes? Do they make more sense to you than they do to me? EXPLAIN TO ME THE THINGS. How do you think the new Overtime Period will work?