News

Conversation With Paul Fenton

Admirals GM Paul Fenton was in town over the weekend to catch a couple of games, and was gracious enough to give me a few minutes of his time.  We talked about promotions, development, and a few names of players that may be wearing a Milwaukee Admirals uniform before the season is done…..

AR:  Jon Blum got his first call-up recently — has this been a long time coming?

PF:  I think his development process was a long time coming.  We drafted him when he was 160 pounds, and give Jon credit, he’s put the work in.  He’s been playing 25-28 minutes a night down here, honing his skills even more.  The transition I think was seamless for him.  He was really comfortable when he came up, he looks like he’s fit and he’s ready to be an NHL player for good.

AR:  He looked like the happiest guy in the world getting his first NHL goal the other night…

PF:  He looked like it, and so did the guy that scouted him – I did!  First kid from California, born and bred there…it was nice for the both of us.

AR:  Blake Geoffrion recently made the trip too…is this sooner than you expected to see him in a Predators uniform?

PF:  He started out slow this year and it took him awhile as it has with a lot of his career (both in college and at the US team too) to adapt.  When he came up the first night he was really nervous, and I talked to him afterward and told him “you belong” .  Honestly that’s the most important thing I could tell him.  “You belong.  Be comfortable.  Play like you normally do down there.  Look at the guy across from you, because it’s somebody that you’ve played against at some level, and you deserve to be here.”  And progressively he got better every game, and the last two games scoring back to back goals for us.  Got his first game winner against Vancouver, and now it looks like he’s getting more and more comfortable each shift.

AR:  Anders Lindback played four games in five nights for the Admirals recently.  Did he get everything out of the trip that you were hoping he would?

PF:  We just wanted to continue the process of developing him.  With all of our kids, we know that they have to play.  And the battle that we’re in, and the star that we have with Pekka Rinne, it makes it difficult to get him games.  Give him credit, he came in in the beginning of the year when Pekka got hurt in the second game, and he kept us in things from then on.  At the same time, we’ve got Mark Dekanich here, who is quite the prospect as well.  Deservedly so.  It could just as easily be Mark up there as it could be Anders.  We’re fortunate to have some pretty good depth here.

AR:  Probably the question that I’m getting asked the most these days is “What’s the deal with Wade Belak?”  Should we expect to see him in Milwaukee?

PF:  Wade is just going to stay in residence with us.  Technically he’s on the roster here, but he’s just going to stay in residence with us.

AR:  You brought in some new guys over the last few weeks to help out, and you saw them produce in Chicago the other night.  What are some of your thoughts on the new guys?

PF:  It’s nice to be able to find quality guys like that to fill in.  (Connor) Shields came to us here in training camp, and when he left, I told him that you never know, you might be back here at some point.  It’s good to be familiar with somebody.  He was one of the guys we looked at for a replacement.  I’ve known the McBride kid since he was at St. Lawrence, watching some colleges, so had familiarity with him.  And same with Coulombe playing in the Quebec league.  We had a lot of good things to say from our scouts on all of these guys, and you look for people that are going to fit.  They were really good  last night…Coulombe got hit from behind, and I didn’t think he was going to come back.  That shows how tough of a kid he really his.

AR:  One of the guys on the team that’s been a lot of fun to watch this year has been Gabriel Bourque.  How would you describe his growth as a pro?

PF:  His adjustment period has been like one of these gradual climbing the hills.  Every time that I watch him play now, he gets a step quicker, a hair stronger, and he uses his sense – he’s got a unique sense where you don’t expect him to make the passes or plays that he does.  He bodies positions so well to be able to do things.  He brings energy, kills penalties, can play on any one of your four lines.  That’s the nice thing – we recognize that, and at some point he’ll get his chance too.  But we want him to just continue to play and develop his game, just like the rest of our guys have until their time is ready.

AR:  As the season winds down, sometimes we see guys from the colleges or junior teams spending some time with the Admirals on ATO contracts.  Who are some of the guys we may see this year?

PF: I’ve got some guys that are signed…two kids in Guelph….Mike Latta and (Taylor) Beck are signed contracted guys.  And if they do get eliminated out of the playoffs, they’ll be coming here.  Ryan Ellis is the same way.  I’ve got a couple of European guys that I’m talking about.  And I’ve got Ben Ryan coming out of Notre Dame.  The way that I have it right now, I think I’ve got seven guys penciled in that I could see being here by the end of March and contributing.

News

Clear Day Roster

No huge surprises.  “The Proof” is on the list.  Dylan Hunter is in residence, and Nick Spaling will not be joining us for a playoff run.

Goaltenders: Dekanich, Smith

Skaters: Bartlett, Begin, Blum, Bourque, Flynn, Ford, Geoffrion, Halischuk, Johnson, Josi, Klasen, Laakso, Lewis, Mueller, Palin, Santorelli, Thang, Thuresson, Van Guilder, Wilson

In Residence: Coulombe, Hunter, McBride, Shields

News

Clear Day Roster Time

It’s that time of the year again.

Monday is Clear Day.  The date when the AHL teams need to put together a roster of 22 players, and say that they are the only guys who can play the rest of the season and in the playoffs.

Of course, should emergency conditions arise as a result of a recall or injury or suspension, it would allow guys not on the clear day roster to play.

And then the voodoo-rosternomics begin.

The big surprise last season was that Ryan Maki was left off the clear day roster….yet he played 15 regular season games the rest of the season, and all 7 playoff games against the Wolves (including a HUGE goal to extend the series).

The surprise the previous year was that Oren Eizenman, who had been with the team for 12 days and played in just five games, made the list.  And Mark Santorelli was listed as “in residence”.

Should we expect any surprises this year?  Paul Fenton says no.

“Certainly Lane and I talk every day about what our roster is, and if we’re healthy, we’re in a good position here.  We like the team that we’ve put together, we like the atmosphere and the way that people get along here.  For the most part, you’re going to see all the players that we’ve had here this year with Lane on our clear day list.  You won’t have a surprise, you won’t have Belak on our clear day list or anything.  It’s going to be 99% of the players that we’ve had here unless something drastic happens.”

So we’ll take a stab at who we think is a lock, and who we think is on the bubble to make the clear day list.

LOCKS:

G: Dekanich, Smith

D:  Laakso, Blum, Ford, Johnson, Palin, Josi, Lewis

F:  Mueller, Bourque, Kelsey Wilson, Geoffrion, Klasen, Thuresson, Van Guilder, Halischuk, Thang, Flynn, Bartlett

That’s 20 right there.

Bubble:

Santorelli — He was a healthy scratch in Chicago on Friday night, while McBride and Shields played.  And has been scratched on numerous occasions this season.  Has he completely fallen out of favor?

Spaling:  Remember him?  He has played well in Nashville, but he started the season with us.  They could send him down if we’re playing hockey when the Preds are done, but is that enough to put him on the clear day list?

Begin:  A huge question mark around his health.  Is the chance that he’d be okay worth a clear day roster spot, or would it be better to just keep him in residence?

Hunter: Playing well, but he’s the guy that has been shuttled back and forth to Cincy a few times.  Does his what-have-you-done-for-me-lately resume put him on the list?

McBride, Shields, Coulombe:  Can any of them channel their inner-Eizenman?  Or are they better served as being “in residence”?

So Roundtable….. Do you predict any surprises?  Which of the bubble guys do you think have the best chance?  Do I have someone on the lock list that doesn’t belong there?

Game Recaps

Moose Trample Ads 4-2

After a huge win in Chicago last night, the Admirals were not able to make the most of their chances Saturday night, losing to the Manitoba Moose 4-2 at the Bradley Center.

Here’s the coach:

Entering the third period down a pair of goals, Ryan Flynn got one back 2:59 into the third, re-directing a shot-off-goal from Aaron Johnson.  It took great hand-eye coordination, and goaltender Tyler Weiman didn’t stand a chance.

Mark Van Guilder took an ill-advised Yonking penalty late in the game (of course, all Yonking penalties are ill-advised), and that really stunted any kind of momentum that was up for grabs.

After killing off the penalty, they pulled Mark Dekanich for an extra attacker, and Gabriel Bourque almost tied it….if he could have elevated his shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle, the roof would have blown off the BC.  After that save, the Admirals couldn’t get anything going, and Aaron Volpatti scored an empty netter in the closing seconds to make it a 4-2 final.

The Moose struck first, as Sergei Shirokov deflected a shot from the point by defenseman Keith Seabrook past Mark Dekanich.   Dex didn’t look very comfortable over the first 10 minutes of the game, but seemed to settle down the rest of the period.

The Admirals answered back with a Mountain Fury power play goal from Grant Lewis.  He had a shot from just above the top of the near faceoff circle, and his shot may have been slightly deflected by a sliding Aaron Volpatti.  Deflection or no deflection, it beat Tyler Weiman.

It seemed on that power play, the Admirals were trying their best to make sure plays went through Lewis.  He seemed to be in a Jon Blum kind of role, pinching and retreating and fielding cross-ice passes.  Nice to see it worked on that first power play.

Yann Sauve scored for the Moose 8:34 into the second period on a power play.  His shot from the near circle beat Dex stick side.  Dex may have had one eye on the puck, and one eye on Bill Sweatt, who was in the process of crashing the net, and was sure to gobble up any rebound.

Guillaume Desbiens scored the game winning goal the second a Moose power play ended.  Another deflection goal after a shot from the point by Shirokov.

—–NOTES—-

These linesmen were trash.  And they blatantly missed an icing call in the final minute that would have saved some time and brought a faceoff back to the Moose end of the ice.

Dex was a rebound machine for stretches of this game, but he really shut the door in the third period, making a few spectacular saves, bailing out his defensemen, who were watching forwards go around them.

Belak watch – stop watching.  According to Paul Fenton, Belak is staying in Nashville “in residence”. (We’ll have more thoughts from Fenton later this week)

Injury update – here’s the coach.

Houston and San Antonio lost tonight.  Peoria, Texas and Oklahoma City won.

Questions:

Was it just a matter of bounces tonight?

Did anyone stand out as having a good game?  Lewis, maybe?  Bourque was pretty good, despite his fail at the end.  Anyone else?

Thoughts on the new guys?  Think any of them have the chance to be on the clear day roster?

Admirals are off until next Friday….in your opinion, do they usually perform better after a long break like that?

Game Recaps

Dekanich, New Guys Lead Ads Past Wolves

 

Despite being outshot 43-19 in the game, the Admirals were able to make the most of their chances, en route to a 3-1 win over the Chicago Wolves Friday night in Rosemont.

Connor Shields, Brock McBride, and Patrick Coulombe each scored their first points as Admirals, and Mark Dekanich played like an all-star, getting his 22nd win of the year.

Connor Shields scored his first of the year, putting home a shot after a Grant Lewis attempt missed the mark, and a Brock McBride shot hit iron.

Coulombe was boarded by Andrew Kozek at the 16:03 mark of the first period, and Andreas Thuresson turned into the Incredible Hulk after that and dropped the gloves with Kozek.  Thuresson got two for instigating, five for fighting, and a ten minute misconduct.  I’m surprised he didn’t get a game misconduct for instigating, though.  Didn’t there used to be an automatic suspension?  And I’m also surprised that Kozek didn’t get shown the door too.

Anyway, Kozek got five for boarding and five for fighting.  So when Thuresson’s instigator penalty concluded, that put the Admirals on a power play, and Ryan Thang was able to score as it was winding down.  27 seconds into the second period, he received a pass that was behind him, and twirled the puck into the net.

Arturs Kulda scored the Wolves only goal with a shot that seemed to be deflected en route past Dekanich.

And then Coulombe, who showed some toughness coming back from the board, gave the Admirals an insurance goal 3:42 into the 3rd.  After a neutral zone turnover, he brought the puck into the offensive zone, and his wrister from the top of the right circle went off the far post and in the net.

NOTES:

Steve Begin played his first game in awhile (since January 22nd), and they played him on a line with McBride and Shields.  But he didn’t finish the game.  He left in the 3rd period, and it’s tough to say what the outlook is for him.  We’ll ask Coach about it tomorrow.

The Admirals have points in 11 straight road games.  January 13th at Manitoba was the last regulation loss on the road for Milwaukee.  Maybe it’s too bad there are only five road games left?

The Moose come to town tomorrow after a 4-3 shootout win in Peoria Friday night.  Dave Scatchard (remember him?) had tied it for the Rivermen with less than a minute left in the third, but the Moose went on to win in the bottom of the 7th round of the shootout.

Game Recaps

Former Captain Sinks Admirals In Hamilton

Former Admirals captain Alex Henry was the hero Wednesday night in Hamilton, as he scored with 3.5 seconds left in overtime, to give the Bulldogs the 5-4 win over the Admirals.

After the Bulldogs had killed off a penalty in overtime, they were able to make one more rush into the offensive zone.  After an Admiral backchecker knocked the puck free, it came right to Henry, who’s shot may or may not have crossed the goal line.

“(The referees) didn’t come over and talk at all, they just skated off the ice, and I don’t even know if they saw it or not.  Just believed the goal judge…the light’s on,” assistant coach Ian Herbers told Aaron Sims after the game.   “The officiating supervisor was down here today, and he wasn’t sure either.  And from our video you can’t tell.  The point of contention is they had five guys on the ice.  A pretty liberal change.  So that’s the sticky part for us on that goal.”

It was Henry’s first of the year, and it put the Bulldogs in first place in their division.

The score was Nigel Dawes 3, Admirals 0 before the game was 22 minutes old, as Dawes had the natural hat-trick, and scored in his eighth straight game.  Turnovers and failures to block passes helped contribute to those goals, and Mark Dekanich was relieved after the 3rd one.

But the Admirals battled back and tied the game before the second period was over.  Teemu Laakso snuck in the back door and converted a Chris Mueller pass past trading-chip Drew MacIntyre.  1:55 later, Scott Ford had a blast from the right circle.  And then on the power play, Andreas  Thuresson crashed the net after a Chris Mueller shot, and scored his 9th of the year.

The Bulldogs regained their lead 6:59 into the 3rd when Dany Masse put back a shot after a Jeremy Smith pad save.

But another power play goal evened the score again, as Gabriel Bourque continued HIS hot streak, scoring on a backhander down low.  It was Bourque’s 3rd goal since last Wednesday, and 6th point since last Tuesday.

Tough to get a read on how the new guys are doing.  Brock McBride didn’t record any stats that showed up into the box score.  Connor Shields had a couple of shots on goal.  But Aaron was complimentary of our new #52, defenseman Patrick Coulombe.  And Coach Herbers liked his game tonight too.

“I thought he struggled a little bit with Toronto just handling weight down in our corners in the d zone…Hamilton is a little bit speedier team with smaller forwards, and I thought he did well against them, because he can skate and is a very smart player.  He moves the puck crisp, he was hard on pucks, got to loose pucks in a hurry, didn’t shy away from any battle. Got his nose in there, got dirty in the corners and along walls, and battled and won battles. And that’s what he needs to do.  I thought he was very good tonight, and was confident playing him out there tonight.”

With the OT loss and Houston’s 8-1 romp over Rockford, the Admirals are still in first place, with 79 points in 61 games.  Followed by Houston in second with 77 points in 64 games.

Travel day Thursday, and then they’ve got a game in Rosemont on Friday night.  With MacIntyre now in Hamilton and Peter Mannino in Atlanta, that leaves one goalie on the roster right now for the Wolves:  his name is Chris Carrozzi.  He made his AHL debut on Tuesday, stopping 21 of 27 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to Peoria.

Game Recaps

Bourque and Lewis Help Milwaukee Mangle the Marlies

Great news Admirals fans, Milwaukee’s pesky two game losing streak is OVER, full roster or not.

After a penalty filled slow start, Milwaukee settled down for solid final 56 minutes of hockey, picking up a 3-1 over the Toronto Marlies in a morning affair in Canada’s largest city.

Forward Gabriel Bourque and defenseman Grant Lewis provided the dominant presence, each picking up a  power play goal and an assist.  Bourque’s goal beat Marlies goaltender Ben Scrivens over the shoulder.  Originally, Bourque was credited with a second goal on the power play, but it was determined that he did not tip the original shot from Grant Lewis.

Mike Bartlett grabbed a garbage goal for the Admirals other score, after some terrific corner work from Ryan Flynn, who is really starting to come into his own.  Bartlett and Flynn showed some real chemistry together on the ice during the game.

Ex-Providence Bruins forward Joe Colborne picked up a five on three power play goal in the early stages for Toronto’s only lead of the game.  The newest Leafs prospect (acquired in the Tomas Kaberle trade), has four goals in his six games with the Marlies.

Admirals Goaltender Mark Dekanich made the lead hold up, snagging his 21st win of the season while turning away 31 of 32 pucks.

Milwaukee’s power play continues to improve.  The Admirals scored a pair of goals on the man advantage, finishing 2 for 6 overall, and moving up to 15th overall in the AHL at 18% success.  However, Milwaukee ranks in the top ten on the power play on the road.

An impressive and boisterous morning showing from the Toronto fans as 5,614 filled Ricoh Coliseum for the game (likely 80% kids), something rarely used in recent years to describe fans at the Air Canada Center for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

One injury update to report, Steve Begin should be back in game action for the Admirals soon, perhaps as early as the weekend or more likely next week.

So Roundtable, what do you think of the new and improved Admirals power play, starring Grant Lewis? 

With Milwaukee playing “short handed” roster wise for the next few weeks, will the Admirals be ok just splitting games for the forseable future?

Today’s game started at 10AM local time, 11AM in Toronto, yet was played at a pretty good pace.  What is your opinion of early matinee games, especially during the week?  Do they change the way the game is played?

News

Beef-A-Roo

(A quick diversion before we get to the matinee today)

We came.  We conquered.  We Roo-ed it up.

By far, our favorite landmark on the way to Rockford, is the Beef-A-Roo restaurant.

On our very first trip, we couldn’t stop laughing about the name.  And ever since then, we had vowed to have a meal there.

But something would always come up.  It was a weeknight game, and we didn’t have the time.  Eric had to wash his hair.  Sutty had a Sex In The City marathon.  Ryan was passing a kidney stone.  Stuff like that.

No more excuses.  It was determined that with the Saturday night game in Rockford, we were going to stop to experience the the legend of Beef-A-Roo.  (or fury the fury, if you rather)

Eric agreed to come out of retirement and make the trip.  Sutty, unfortunately, couldn’t make the trip, due to family obligations.  So it was just Eric and I.  Sutty’s loss.

We weren’t there for 3 minutes before we found out that our trip was totally worth it.

Eric: So what’s your specialty?  What are you guys known for?

Countergirl:  We’re known for our beef.

Complete sincerity.  Not being funny at all.  IT WAS AWESOME!

Beef?  Ya don’t say?

Better than being known for the a-roo, I guess…

So we both had beef sandwiches, with cheese fries, onion rings, and a couple of milkshakes.  All for less than $20.

And we’ll be back!  Thanks Beef-A-Roo!

News

NHL’s Trade Deadline Recap, Your Thoughts?

UPDATE 3:24 P.M.

Now officially it seems to be all quiet on the NHL trade front.  So I leave the blog to you Admirals fans.

So Roundtable, do you think the Nashville Predators are a playoff team with the roster they currently have?

With Nashville not trading for a defenseman, has Jonathon Blum staked his claim on a NHL roster spot for the rest of the season?

Since Nashville stood pat, Milwaukee’s roster remains in tact.  How do you see the rest of the Admirals’ season shaking out?

Do you wish Nashville acquired more prospects for Milwaukee?

From the trades that occurred, did any of the AHL’s West Division teams improve/get worse roster-wise?

UPDATE 2:49 P.M.

Things appear to be slowing down, so here is a quick catch up on the day.  Nashville/Milwaukee did little if anything today other than kick tires.  Lots of rumors during the day had the Predators interested in a defenseman, either Chris Campoli or Ladislav Smid, but neither transaction materialized.

One last big deadline deal of note, former Predator Jason Arnott of New Jersey went to the Washington Capitals for West Bend, Wisconsin, native David Steckel and a second round pick.

One last small deadline deal to report, two Boston Bruins prospects, defenseman Jeff Penner of Providence and Mikko Lehtonen moved to the Minnesota Wild organization for goaltender Anton Khobodin of the Houston Aeros.

UPDATE 2:38 P.M.

It appears the Montreal Canadiens have acquired Chicago Wolves goaltender Drew MacIntyre from Atlanta in exchange for defenseman Brett Festerling, who is currently a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs.

AHLer Joel Perreault was the player Anaheim got in return for Maxim Lapierre and prospect MacGregor Sharp, who was playing with Syracuse.

UPDATE 2:31 P.M.

In the exchange for Chris Higgins, Florida got a third round pick and prospect defenseman Evan Oberg.  Oberg has played in 38 AHL games this season with the Manitoba Moose.  Current Toronto Marlies forward John Mitchell was traded to the New York Rangers for a seventh round pick.

UPDATE 2:18 P.M.

The NHL’s trade deadline has come and passed.  However, lots of trades will still be filtering in.  So far here is what I have heard in the last few minutes:  Freddie Modin moves to Calgary from Atlanta, Chris Higgins moves to Vancouver from Florida, Vancouver also gets Maxim Lapierre from Anaheim and Jason Arnott goes to Washington from New Jersey.  Brad Richards officially won’t be traded from Dallas.

UPDATE 1:44 P.M.

Thanks to MiB for catching my miss as I was trying to track down information on the Penner trade.  Former Wisconsin forward Brad Winchester was traded from St. Louis to the Anaheim Ducks for a third round draft pick.

UPDATE 1:31 P.M.

The first trade of “significance” today just occurred.  Dustin Penner was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to Los Angeles in exchange for a first round pick, conditional third round pick and prospect Colten Teubert.  Teubert will likely end up with Oklahoma City as he continues to develop.  He’s played 39 games with Manchester in the AHL this season.

Lots of value for Edmonton on this trade, basically two first round picks and a conditional pick that could end up being a second rounder.  Clearly the pressure was on General Manager Dean Lombardi of the Kings to do something to improve his team.

UPDATE 1:06 P.M.

The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Chris Campoli for a second round draft pick and forward Ryan Potulny.  Potulny leaves from Rockford of the AHL, recently going pointless in Saturday’s win over Milwaukee and picking up one assist in the Ice Hogs win over Houston Sunday.

UPDATE 12:35 P.M.

Up to three total trades so far, pretty quiet stuff.  Columbus trades defenseman Rotislav Klesla for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto.  Phoenix also gets AHL player Dane Byers from Springfield, who may be joining the San Antonio Rampage.

UPDATE 10:55 A.M.

Only two moves so far, both involving the Florida Panthers, who sent Dennis Wideman to Washington and Radek Dvorak to Atlanta while acquiring Niclas Bergfors from the Thrashers.  The Panthers picked up two AHLers, Jake Hauswirth from Hershey and Patrick Rissmiller from Lake Erie.

UPDATE 7:36 A.M.

Good morning from frigid Wisconsin.  Today is an unofficial holiday in Canada and at every other crazed hockey fan’s home.  Thanks to the NHL Network, I will have TSN’s Trade Centre on all morning/afternoon.

Anyway, I plan to update as I see them any/every trade involving the Nashville Predators, Milwaukee Admirals or any former Admiral that I recognize, anything of significance I see, something unusual (one team getting totally fleeced on a deal, aka Brad Richards being traded for a Chicago Wolves prospect), or someone with a connection to hockey in the Badger state.

As I write, Nashville sits in a monster log jam in the West at 72 points, tied with three other teams for 7th place, four points behind fourth place Phoenix and four points ahead of 12th place Columbus.  The Predators may be buying rentals to help Nashville make a final playoff push.

Feel free to chime in on the comments section.  I will try to time stamp everything I post.  Should be a fun day.