Yesterday, Petter Granberg was placed on waivers by the Nashville Predators. The waiver wire process has completed and no team opted to pick him up. That has allowed the Predators to reassign the defenseman to the Milwaukee Admirals. He could be available for the Admirals when they face the Charlotte Checkers tomorrow night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena at 7:00 PM CST.
Granberg has played 9 games this season for the Predators. For the Admirals he has played 16 games and during that time the Admirals have a record of 12-2-1-1.
With Granberg back the Admirals finally have their defensive pairings that were in place when the completed a perfect month of November that saw them never lose in regulation in 10 games. That run is what has helped cushion the blow on the past few weeks when the injuries topside have caused the Predators to resemble more of a hodgepodge of the Admirals.
This could help see the return of three left-handed shots paired with three right-handed shots which is a preferred method of Admirals head coach Dean Evason. It does put a question mark over the next steps for Rick Pinkston and Jonathan Diaby.
Smile! Because Joonas Rask and Juuso Puustinen became best friends at HIFK in their native Finland. (Photo Credit: Tomi Hänninen)It’s that ever so lovely time of the year where we stop to take a look at what some of our former Milwaukee Admirals are up to right now. Specifically, we’ll be looking in on some of those who helped to contribute to the highly successful 2015-16 season to find out if they’re continuing to do well. We’ll also scan over some other names from the past few seasons.
Johan Alm: After two unfortunately injury plagued seasons with the Admirals Alm returned back to his hometown team, Skellefteå AIK. He is already approaching the points total that he had when he last played for Skellefteå AIK but -almost as importantly- is approaching the games played total from a season ago.
Taylor Aronson: After ditching the Admirals after they clinched to Central Division title to go home and skip the playoffs ahead of his Russian deal be signed he ended up signing with HC Lada. That’s the condensed version. If you feel like you having punched enough walls lately, Odell Beckham Jr., you can read the full story here. As much as this could be a point and laugh situation – I feel pretty bad for Aronson right now. He has had a really rough go of things in the KHL: 13 points (1 goal, 12 assists) in 39 games with a plus/minus rating of -10 and 24 penalty minutes. He is currently out of action with a concussion which is something that has plagued him previously.
Daniel Bång: The last man to wear #50 before Vladislav Kamenev was forced to wear it for the Nashville Predators was Bång. Ever since leaving the Predators organization he has played for Lausanne HC in National League A (NLA) based in Switzerland. Unfortunately, it appears that concussions have derailed his career the past two seasons. He hasn’t played a game in the 2016-17 season.
Zach Budish: What slowed down Budish out of his college career was injuries. His last two seasons in the organization he was finally fully fit and you could tell that his play benefited from it. He’s since joined Mikkelin Jukurit in Finland’s top flight Liiga where he has been putting together a really nice season for himself: 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) in 37 games with a plus/minus rating of -2 and 22 penalty minutes.
Patrick Cehlin: Much like Alm, Cehlin’s time in the organization wasn’t all that it could have been due to unfortunate injuries that weighed him down. He also returned back to his native Sweden and last season, with Rögle BK, he did phenomenally: 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 52 games. Unfortunately, his follow up season for the club has hit a snag with injury sidelining him once again. The 25-year old does still have 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists) in 17 games this season.
Stefan Elliott: Currently, the Nashville Predators do still have Elliott’s NHL rights because they did tender him an offer before he cut loose for the European scene. He ended up joining Ak Bars Kazan in Russia’s KHL and has produced 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 25 games with a plus/minus rating of +1 and 12 penalty minutes.
Triston Grant: The ol’ workhorse is still scrapping it out around the North American pro scene. This season Grant signed up to play for the Wichita Thunder in the ECHL but found himself quickly traded to the Rapid City Rush. He has logged a single AHL game this season as a member of the Binghamton Senators on a PTO Contract.
Magnus Hellberg: Still popular among Admirals fans, Hellberg continues to be the go-to option in net for the New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolf Pack. This season he has a record of 9-9-3-1 in net from 24 games with a 3.00 goals against average and 0.902 save percentage. He has still only ever logged a single NHL appearance since leaving the Predators organization, coming in relief, in a game that was a disaster for the Rangers. He has yet to ever start a game in the NHL. This is the last season he is under contract to the Rangers.
Kevin Henderson: This season has slightly mirrored the last one for Henderson. It’s a dip of the toe in the ECHL and fly to Europe. He went from the Quad City Mallards (ECHL) to SaiPa (Liiga). He joined the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) to start this season but, after 4 games, saw himself in Slovakia playing for HK SKP Poprad. So far, he’s actually done well for the club: 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 20 games with a plus/minus rating of +7 and 14 penalty minutes.
Cody Hodgson: This is yet another sad story. Hodgson joined the Nashville Predators last season and, while it didn’t work out well, continued to conduct himself as a solid pro and teammate at the AHL level with the Milwaukee Admirals. However, back spasms had been weighing him down very badly and his season came to a close at the start of March 2016. He left to get his back spasms further evaluated and decided to retire from the game this off-season.
Joonas Järvinen: Before there was Arvi – there was Järvi. Last season the big Finn had a career year with HIFK in his native Finland: 18 points (2 goals, 16 assists) in 49 games with a plus/minus rating of +19 and 73 penalty minutes. That work came paired with two fellow former Admirals that are coming up later on this list, Puustinen and Rask. Despite the great success at home in Finland Järvinen opted to give Russia’s KHL a second try after a miserable first effort in the 2014-15 season with HC Sochi. He has played for Kunlun Red Star this season and is doing well enough – just not as well as a season ago.
Mike Moore: The former Admirals captain (2012-13 season) currently finds himself playing in Europe for the first time in his career. The 32-year old defenseman plays for Fischtown Pinguins in Germany’s DEL. He has 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 29 games with a plus/minus rating of -8 and 79 penalty minutes.
Simon Moser: Our former Olympic hero has continued on at SC Bern in his native Switzerland since leaving the Nashville Predators organization. These last two years have been really productive for the 27-year old: 57 points (25 goals, 32 assists) in 85 games.
Steve Moses: This situation didn’t work at all a season ago. In fact, it is starting to feel like Moses’ 2014-15 season might just be something he never approaches ever again: 57 points (36 goals, 21 assists) in 60 games. That put him on the map and the Nashville Predators radar. He didn’t stick with the Predators and, after a brief while with the Admirals, was placed on unconditional waivers before returning to Russia’s KHL – this time with SKA St. Petersburg. From 2015-16 to 2016-17 to date, Moses has scored 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) from 59 games.
Patrick Mullen: The 30-year old defenseman made his journey to the European scene for the first time this season and did so by landing in Russia’s KHL. He plays for Dinamo Riga this season and has scored 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 39 games with a plus/minus rating of -12 and 26 penalty minutes. He did score an astonishingly good goal that is well worth watching.
Garrett Noonan: It didn’t seem like Noonan was ever given the greatest of opportunities to make it up to an AHL role for the Admirals. Unfortunately, that chance could have been welcoming to him this season – he just wasn’t brought back by the Predators. In the off-season, Noonan was given a look with the New York Rangers organization and has since been bumping around their minor league affiliates: Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) and Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). The bulk of his season has been spent at the ECHL level and that plus/minus rating of -14 in 19 games has me thinking David Poile might have been on to something.
Kristian Näkyvä: It was a difficult adjustment last season for the Finn to adapt from the European game to North America’s faster paced scramble. In the end, it was a one and one. The 26-year old is back in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and plays for Linköping HC. He has 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in 32 games with a plus/minus rating of -7 and 22 penalty minutes.
Joe Pendenza: We’ve already had the chance to see ol’ Joe as a member of the Cleveland Monsters this season. He tried giving the Albany Devils a go ahead of this season but ended up moving towards the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) and has nearly completed the entirety of his PTO Contract to stay with the Monsters in the AHL. They can give him one more PTO Contract before having to sign him to a standard contract. Should he stay up with the Monsters for the rest of the season that scenario will have to play out.
Joe Piskula: After a season spent with the San Diego Gulls in which he didn’t get a look up with the NHL – Good Guy Joe from Antigo took the trek to Europe. It is the first time he has journeyed to the European pro game and he has settled in very well with Leksands IF in Sweden. His numbers almost completely mirror his summary from a season ago with the Gulls in the AHL.
Corey Potter: The Nashville Predators really hoped to keep the veteran defenseman around past last season after how well he performed. Unfortunately for both the Predators and Admirals the 33-year old wanted to explore the hockey world in Europe. He signed for Kölner Haie in Germany’s DEL and has really done a great job: 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 35 games with a plus/minus rating of +15 and 52 penalty minutes. He happens to be joined at the club with an Admirals teammate from a season ago due up in two players on this list.
Juuso Puustinen: Always one of my favorites when I watched as a fan, Puustinen’s time playing back at home with HIFK in Finland has been going real well the last three seasons. Unfortunately, it seems he has hit a rough patch for himself this season. His production has dropped to just 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in 29 games.
Joonas Rask: It hasn’t been the easiest of season’s for Puustinen’s teammate at HIFK, Rask, either. This season he has only played in 10 games after logging 40+ games the past two seasons at HIFK. He’ll be hard pressed to approach double-digit goals and assists as he has the previous two campaigns.
Max Reinhart: Remember how I said Potter had a friend at German club Kölner Haie? It’s Max! That’s right, there are two European clubs that we can all support because they have Admirals duos on them right now. Reinhart’s contributions in his first DEL season has seen him produce 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists) in 35 games with a plus/minus rating of +1 and 24 penalty minutes.
Charles-Olivier Roussel: If I ever had the ability to make a hockey movie I think it would be fascinating to center the story around Roussel. He won a QMJHL title in juniors, was drafted in the 2nd Round (42nd Overall) by the Nashville Predators in the 2009 NHL Draft, battled up and down between the AHL and ECHL with the Milwaukee Admirals and Cincinnati Cyclones, had a 2014-15 season that saw him bounce between the Utah Grizzlies to the Greenville Road Warriors in an ECHL trade before finishing the season off winning the LNAH championship with the Thetford Mines Isothermic. He has since played for the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) and HC Banska Bystrica (Slovakia) a season ago. He then tried playing for Ducs d’Angers in France before going back to Thetford briefly. He has since decided to retire from pro hockey and I know that he will continue to be a really good guy.
Vinny Saponari: The Mayor of Toe-Drag City has taken his talents to Europe. He now plays for Frisk Asker in Norway and has been putting together a good season: 31 points (9 goals, 22 assists) in 29 games with a plus/minus rating of -2 and 6 penalty minutes.
Mathieu Tousignant: While most names on this list go to more elite level pro leagues in Europe the next two are slightly different stories. Tousignant left the AHL scene after the 2014-15 season and opted to sign for Ravensburg Towerstars who are based out of the second tier of Germany’s pro hockey scene, DEL 2. They were not promoted last year and he remains there this season. That said, he has been amazing for that team: 84 points (35 goals, 49 assists) in 72 games the last two seasons.
Mark Van Guilder: Somewhat similar to Tousi, I was surprised to see someone of Van Guilder’s ability go the route that he did last season. He signed for Ritten Sport in Italy. As odd as that sounds – he did damage and won their championship in the process: 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists) in 42 games. This season MVG finds himself in a higher profile league in Norway with the Stavanger Oilers where he might be doing an even better job that last year: 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists) in 32 games. He is the leading scorer in the Norwegian league right now. Since leaving North America after the 2014-15 season he is a 1.39 point per game player across Italy and Norway.
Brandon Whitney: Last season, Whitney briefly filled a bench role on a few occassions but struggled for the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL. He wasn’t at Nashville Predators Rookie Development Camp. He wasn’t at Milwaukee Admirals Training Camp ahead of the 2016-17 season. And he wasn’t at the Cyclones Pre-Season Camp, either. He was put back on the news beat when he was part of the trade that brought Adam Pardy in earlier this season. He hasn’t shown up for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) or Manchester Monarchs (ECHL). I legitimately have no idea where he is or if he has retired.
The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-0 on the road against the Stockton Heat Saturday night at the Stockton Arena.
The story tonight was an Admirals offense that was just a bit out of sorts and a goaltender in David Rittich who was solid when he was needed. This is the second time this season that the Admirals have been shutout. The loss ends a two game form of wins to start the 2017 calendar.
It would be the Heat getting on the board first tonight. Émile Poirier exited the box after serving a cross-checking minor and helped get a rush started down the left wing. He would fall back to the middle of the blueline where he would crank a shot past Jonathan Diaby who screened Marek Mazanec. The shot beat Mazanec low to the blocker and in for Poirier’s fifth goal of the season.
The Heat would extend their lead in the second period and Poirier would be a focal point to that 2-0 lead. Poirier whirled around the right wing circle before snapping a shot from the face-off dot that Mazanec fended off. Poirier followed through with a few whacks at his own rebound before Austin Carroll ultimately delivered the decisive strike up past the glove hand of Mazanec for his fourth goal of the season.
With just over two minutes remaining in regulation the Admirals brought Mazanec to the bench in favor of the extra attacker. This would quickly see Poirier score on the empty net for his second of the night and sixth goal of the season. The Admirals, going for broke, went for the extra attacker push again to deny a shutout but saw Matt Frattin add another empty net tally to record his ninth goal of the season and make it a 4-0 Heat lead.
The game would finish there. It was a thirty-five save shutout for David Rittich. It is the Czech goaltender’s fourth shutout from thirteen appearances this season. He is now second in the AHL in shutouts behind Troy Grosenick of the San Jose Barracuda.
The Admirals will return back to the quite charms of home after yet another lengthy trip. This road trip was more a matter of distance traveled than time away but it can be exhausting all the same. They play against the Charlotte Checkers at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM CST. After that is done they’re right back on the road the next night for a game against the surging Chicago Wolves.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there was one roster move made. Frédérick Gaudreau was recalled by the Nashville Predators. Gaudreau was a healthy scratch in last night’s game for the Admirals in the event of such a recall. Therefore, the Admirals marched out the exact same line combination as they did in San Jose: White-Smith-Åberg, Florek-Kirkland-Görtz, Liambas-Girard-Payerl, (rotating)-Army-O’Donnell, Pardy-Carrier, Pinkston-Murphy, Oligny-Dougherty, Diaby. The lone scratch was Cody Bass who missed his fourth consecutive game due to a lower-body injury.
What is your reaction to tonight’s game? Do you feel the depleted roster caught up to the Milwaukee Admirals tonight?
The Nashville Predators have recalled Frédérick Gaudreau from the Milwaukee Admirals ahead of the Predators game tomorrow night on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. Gaudreau was withheld from playing in last night’s 3-1 Admirals win on the road against the San Jose Barracuda due to a potential recall. That potential is now realized.
Gaudreau made his NHL debut with the Predators on 10/22/16 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has played a total of 8 games this season for the Predators and recorded an assist in his third career game for his first NHL point.
With the Admirals this season Gaudreau has produced 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 24 games. He participates in all areas of the game for the Admirals including the penalty kill and power-play. He is yet another forward fully capable of playing center or wing. The majority of his AHL season to date has been spent on the wing.
This is the most stretched the Admirals really have been all season. Fortunately, that was already the case for last night’s game and they were able to get a really high character performance and a win. Derek Army scored a pair of goals after having been brought in on a PTO Contract prior to the game and the Admirals dressed seven-defensemen including fellow PTO Contractee Rick Pinkston. The group that performed last night will do so again later tonight against the Stockton Heat.
Why, hello there! It is Jamie Devane! (Photo Credit: Asvitt Photography)
As we Sconnies all know, we banded together and fought off the heat with pitchforks and beer steins a long time ago so that we can blissfully settle into our single-digit degree style weather. And the cosmic ballet goes on.
Poking at how the pre-game headline reads complete – the Milwaukee Admirals look to launch from last night’s 3-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda by facing the Stockton Heat tonight at 9:30 PM CST. It is the first time these two sides have met since the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate was the Adirondack Flames. The Admirals won that last meeting 4-3 in overtime on the road back on 1/17/15.
Fun Fact. In Poirier’s last two playing seasons, 2012-14, he was teammates with Alex Carrier in Gatineau (QMJHL). In Poirier’s final junior playing season both Carrier and himself were alternate captains.
The Heat enter tonight’s game having played last night at home against the Tucson Roadrunners where they came back to win 3-2 in overtime. The Heat’s record right now is 17-9-3-1 (38 points, 0.633 points percentage). They are third in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference standings.
There are two familiar faces on the Heat’s roster and familiar for different reasons.
Jamie Devane became a locker room and fan favorite for the Admirals last season. In 2015-16 he scored 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 62 games with a plus/minus rating of -7 and 82 penalty minutes. He didn’t get going for the Heat until November this season but has started to get going: 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 16 games with a plus/minus rating of +6 and 15 penalty minutes. He scored a goal last night in the Heat’s overtime win.
Tom McCollum is a goaltender that has finally broken free from the shackles that had him in the Detroit Red Wings system for his entire professional career up until this season. He has played in 20 career games against the Admirals. He hasn’t played an AHL game since 11/5/16 in a game that saw him bow out after 39:54 of ice time while he was doing extremely well. He since played 3 games in the ECHL for the Adirondack Thunder in early-December but has not seen game action since.
In net, Jon Gillies and David Rittich have held the fort. Gillies has played more but Rittich has performed better in lesser appearances. Gillies has a record of 10-5-2-1 in 19 games played with a 3.00 goals against average, 0.909 save percentage, and a shutout. Rittich has a record of 6-4-1-0 in 12 games played with a 1.96 goals against average, 0.929 save percentage, and 3 shutouts.
The race for the leading scorer title on the Heat is deadlocked at the moment. Mark Jankowski, who is the Heat’s lone AHL All-Star representative, has scored 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 27 games. Linden Vey has 24 points (8 goals, 16 assists) in 25 games.
Expectations for tonight’s game? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do in order to lessen the amount of shots on goal from last night (40) considering the Stockton Heat weren’t far behind that total (39) last night? For how he performed does Marek Mazanec stay in or should the Admirals rotate Jonas Gunnarsson in for the second of this two-in-two?
The Milwaukee Admirals won 3-1 on the road against the San Jose Barracuda Friday night at the SAP Center.
Marek Mazanec has never looked more locked in than his last few games for the Admirals. Tonight may have been his finest. He made thirty-nine saves en route to the Admirals win in San Jose tonight. The Admirals are now back in front of the Central Division standings.
The Admirals would get on the board five minutes into the game tonight. After a face-off win, Alex Carrier stepped up from the blueline and swooped down the right wing wall before snapping a low shot on target. The Carrier shot hit off the pad of Troy Grosenick and into the net front crashing Derek Army for a rebound tally and his first with the Admirals this season.
Army had been signed to a PTO Contract from the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL prior to tonight’s game with all today’s roster activity. By scoring his first AHL goal of the season tonight he extended a personal goal scoring streak to five consecutive games between the Nailers and Admirals.
After being outshot 17-5 in the first period it appeared that the Barracuda shot back to life in the second period. When they were given their first chance on the power-play they quickly scored to tie things up at 1-1. A shot by Tim Heed from the high left wing stayed low and caught traffic in the form of Danny O’Regan. The puck trickled underneath Marek Mazanec and went in for O’Regan’s eleventh goal of the season.
With forty-eight seconds left in the second period the Admirals would snatch their lead right back. Max Görtz was able to fight a shot off from the slot that Grosenick pushed off but right into the path of Justin Kirkland who scored his third goal of the season to make it a 2-1 Admirals lead. The primary assist for Görtz was his first point scored since 11/25/15 on the road against the Rockford IceHogs. It snapped a scoreless drought of nine-games for the Swede.
Army already had himself a nice story by netting a goal to get this game started tonight. He made it even better when he scored a beauty in the third period to extend the Admirals lead to 3-1. Army was flying down the left wing when he did a little head fake towards the left and shot a forehander against the grain of Grosenick that beat him to the glove-side for his second goal of the night.
The game’s scoreline would rest there but not before countless attacks by the Barracuda that would all be answered by Mazanec in net. This was one of his most outstanding efforts as an Admiral as he stopped 39/40 shots on goal with the lone goal allowed coming on a power-play that caught traffic in front of him. The Czech hasn’t looked this sharp in a long time. He has been locked in since returning from the Nashville Predators.
Next up for the Admirals are the Stockton Heat tomorrow night at 9:30 PM CST. They will look to end this California roadie up in style after a really nice character effort tonight in San Jose.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Tuesday there were a good few roster moves made. Anthony Bitetto was recalled from his conditioning assignment by the Nashville Predators. Today the Predators then recalled Vladislav Kamenev who made a cross-country plane trip to make his NHL debut tonight against the Florida Panthers. The Admirals signed Derek Army on PTO Contract for the second time this season from the Wheeling Nailers. Tonight’s line combinations for the Admirals were: White-Smith-Åberg, Florek-Kirkland-Görtz, Liambas-Girard-Payerl, (rotating)-Army-O’Donnell, Pardy-Carrier, Pinkston-Murphy, Oligny-Dougherty, Diaby. The scratches tonight for the Admirals were Cody Bass (lower-body injury) and Frédérick Gaudreau (healthy) who was on standby should the Predators need to recall him in the very near future. The Admirals record improved to 20-8-2-2 (44 points, 0.688 points percentage) which has them ahead of the Grand Rapids Griffins by 0.006 of a point percentage for the lead of the Central Division. Marek Mazanec’s 39-save performance tonight was the third time in his Admirals career that he made 39-saves or more. Mazanec’s career high with the Admirals saw him stop 40/45 shots on goal on 2/7/15 in a 7-5 win on the road over the Rockford IceHogs.
What were your thoughts on tonight’s game? How impressive is it for the Milwaukee Admirals to bring in players such as Rick Pinkston, Shawn O’Donnell, and Derek Army and earn a result such as tonight? Is Marek Mazanec going to play his way back into the picture in Nashville?
According to AHL Transactions the Nashville Predators have recalled center Vladislav Kamenev from the Milwaukee Admirals. It is his first career NHL recall and comes complete with a cross-country flight as the Admirals were in San Jose yesterday ahead of their game tonight. The Predators are playing on the road against the Florida Panthers tonight.
Kamenev may have been considered a snub when it came to yesterday’s 2017 AHL All-Star Classic roster announcement. He certainly is having a season with the Admirals deserving enough to be there. He is currently second on the team in scoring with 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 31 games. By missing tonight’s game for the Admirals it will be the first game is has missed all season.
Should Kamenev play tonight, a distinct possibility given the nature of this cross-country recall, he would wear #50 for the Predators. He becomes the third member of the Predators 2014 Draft Class to make it to the NHL behind Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson.
As for the Admirals. This move likely means seeing them play with all defensemen available with Jonathan Diaby and Rick Pinkston coming back into the lineup. How ironic would it be should Trevor Murphy be pushed to forward from defense once again as the last time the Admirals went to California last season Murphy scored a hat trick and three assists in a 7-3 win against the Bakersfield Condors.
Before we remotely go one step further. Play this song in the background and keep it on a loop for today’s pre-game scout. “Why,” you ask. Well, it sets a lovely tone for the first time the Milwaukee Admirals see the San Jose Barracuda.
The Barracuda have been known for a few other names through the years: Kentucky Thoroughblades, Cleveland Barons, and Worcester Sharks. Throughout their movement across the United States they have always been an AHL organization. When NHL ownership packed up their Worcester Sharks and brought them out Californi-way it moved them across conferences.
This match-up between the two sides comes thanks to a chance meeting against California based opposition. Last season the Admirals saw the Bakersfield Condors and the San Diego Gulls. This season they will be getting the San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat. Those evil kiddos that took the Western Conference crown on a system that the Californian teams forced the AHL to mandate because they play less games, points percentage – the Ontario Reign, they’ll have to wait at least one more season.
Entering this game the Barracuda have a record of 16-7-1-3 (36 points, 0.667 points percentage). That has them in second place in the Pacific Division and are fourth in the Western Conference standings – one spot behind the Admirals.
The Barracuda have played 4 games less than the Admirals. By the end of the Admirals season the Barracuda will play a further 4 games less. “Why,” you ask. …I still don’t really know.
What I do know though is that this Barracuda team is coming on the Admirals schedule at a time in which they have an 8-1-1-0 run in their last 10 games. This season they have scored 3.48 goals per game while allowing 2.59 goals against per game. Their home power-play is clicking at 27.8% (15/54) which likely helps see that sparkling home record of 10-2-1-1 be what it is.
This will not be a push-over for the Admirals tonight. This should be a battle. They have already logged 18 road games this season and have a 0.667 points percentage from those contests. What they are going to need to avoid is that bug that can plague them at times which is penalty trouble. The less the Barracuda go on the power-play the better. And, speaking of the PP, the Admirals road power-play needs to improve: 13.3% (11/83).
Like the Admirals, the Barracuda will have two representatives at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic at the end of the month.
22-year old forward Danny O’Regan is the team’s top scorer with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 27 games and in November made his NHL debut with the San Jose Sharks.
Their last representative is goaltender, and Brooklyn, Wisconsin native, Troy Grosenick who has been part of the organization since the 2013-14 season. On paper, Grosenick has done well by winning 9 games from 19 appearances with a 2.06 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage. What stands out is his AHL best 5 shutouts this season.
Final Note. Get your coffee ready, folks. Tonight’s game starts at 9:00 PM CST and tomorrow night against the Stockton Heat is a half-hour later than that.
What are your expectations for this weekend? Knowing how a Californian AHL team playing 8 games less than the Milwaukee Admirals last season snuck past them on points percentage for the Western Conference crown – how vital are these games for the Admirals to negate points from San Jose and Stockton?
The American Hockey League has announced the participants for this year’s 2017 AHL All-Star Classic and Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Alex Carrier and goaltender Juuse Saros have been selected. The AHL All-Star festivities take place later this month on January 29-30th at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania which is the home to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today the playing rosters for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, to be held January 29-30 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Each of the AHL’s four divisions will be represented by 12 players. Rosters were determined by committees of AHL coaches, and all 30 AHL teams are represented by at least one All-Star.
The 2017 rosters feature 37 first-time AHL All-Stars, 12 rookies and seven former first-round draft choices. In addition, 27 of the All-Stars named have been recalled to the National Hockey League already this season, including standouts Jake Guentzel of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh), Zane McIntyre of the Providence Bruins (Boston), Juuse Saros of the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville) and Brendan Perlini of the Tucson Roadruners (Arizona).
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli, Syracuse Crunch head coach Benoit Groulx, Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Todd Nelson and Ontario Reign head coach Mike Stothers will serve as coaches for the event.
The 2017 AHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Giant Food Stores and Velaspan on Jan. 29 (7:30 p.m. ET) will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events.
In the 2017 AHL All-Star Challenge on Jan. 30 (7 p.m. ET), the four teams will participate in a round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each, played entirely at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute game also played at 3-on-3.
Starting at just $26 each, single-event tickets are now on sale for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, featuring the AHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Giant Food Stores and Velaspan and the AHL All-Star Challenge. To purchase event tickets, please visit phantomshockey.com, call 610-347-TIXX or visit the PPL Center box office.
The 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross will be preceded by a Phan Fest on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a Tailgate Party beginning at 6 p.m. Both events will take place at the PPL Center and tickets for both the Phan Fest ($5) and Tailgate Party ($10) are also available now at phantomshockey.com.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, trainers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of NHL players last season were AHL graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2015-16, over 7.1 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America, the highest total attendance in league history.
To view the full 2017 AHL All-Star Classic roster please view the AHL Press Release linked above.
Carrier is the youngest member of the Admirals current active roster. You would never be able to tell that if you’ve watched him play in what is his first pro season. The Québec native has been the Admirals top defenseman this season and, since the arrival and subsequent pairing with veteran Adam Pardy, has seen his all-around play get even better. Carrier has 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games with a plus/minus rating of +6 and 14 penalty minutes.
Saros has done so incredibly well in the AHL this season that, actually, he isn’t in the AHL anymore. The 21-year old from Forssa, Finland arrived to the North American pro scene last season with a ton of hype surrounding him. He met it in 2015-16. I believe he has surpassed it in 2016-17. The work Saros was able to provide for the Admirals this season saw him win 11 games from 13 starts with a 1.76 goals against average, 0.938 save percentage, and one shutout. He has continued this high level of performance for the Predators at the NHL level as well by winning half of his starts from 6 appearances to go with an astonishingly better 1.16 goals against average, 0.957 save percentage, and -also- a shutout. The NHL All-Star break overlaps this stretch of time so -hopefully- Saros is able to participate in the AHL’s All-Star festivities.
Vladislav Kamenev clearly said something naughty about the Minnesota Vikings. That or this Jack Dougherty fella knows how to keep things light ahead of a game. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
As the Nashville Predators go – so does that ever expansive depth coming at defenseman. While this current season was setting up to be so much more than it currently is I fear how most other organizations could have handled stretches that the Predators have had to go through this season without the depth that they already possess. It’s scenarios like this season as well as long-term planning as to why stockpiling and creating new talent at defense is a terrific asset to have.
One of those long-term plans came with the Predators third draft selection in the 2014 NHL Draft, Jack Dougherty. The 20-year old from St. Paul, Minnesota was drafted in the second round, fifty-first overall, as a product of the U.S. National Development Team. He had split time ahead of his draft year between the Juniors and Under-18 squads where he had a combined 2013-14 season total of: 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 78 games. He also participated and won Gold for Team USA in the 2014 IIHF World Juniors U-18 Championship – scoring the opening goal in the Gold Medal Game against the Czech Republic.
(Photo Credit: Richard T Gagnon)
As a small aside. That 2014 NHL Draft Class for the Predators right now features their first five selections of the class all playing in the AHL or NHL: Kevin Fiala, Vladislav Kamenev, Justin Kirkland, and Viktor Arvidsson. The latter of the class, Joonas Lyytinen and Aaron Irving, turned up to Milwaukee around the end of the 2015-16 season and Irving managed to make his pro debut with the Admirals. Fiala and Arvidsson are both in the NHL right now. Kamenev is knocking on the door for his first NHL call up. And both Dougherty and Kirkland are roommates in Milwaukee playing in the AHL. Irving remains in juniors while Lyytinen is back playing for his lifelong club KalPa in his native Finland. As it stands today, that was quite an impressive haul for Nashville.
At the time Dougherty was drafted I’m not sure he could have imagined the path he was about to travel en route to turning pro. After being drafted by the Predators his sights veered towards the college direction where he would join the University of Wisconsin. That 2014-15 season for the Badgers was an absolute disaster. The program went from having a 24-11-2 record and a first round elimination in the NCAA Tournament to a mortifying 4-26-5 record that saw only a pair of wins against conference opponents. His time as a collegiate athlete would end after just one season with the Badgers and he would move out to the Western Hockey League (WHL) for junior hockey.
(Photo Credit: Marissa Baecker)
If there was anything that Dougherty needed after that lone season with the Badgers it was a change of scenery. He was able to find that and success as a member of the Portland Winterhawks. He was named an alternate captain for the 2015-16 season and produced 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games. He was in the top fifteen in scoring amongst WHL defensemen last season and was the second highest scoring rookie defenseman only to teammate Caleb Jones. His season with Portland ended early following a first round sweep by the Everett Silvertips from the 2015 WHL Playoffs.
(Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)
While no one at any level wants an early playoff exit there was an upside to Portland being eliminated so quickly. Dougherty was able to join the Milwaukee Admirals in the closing stages of their 2015-16 season. Usually, this example plays out a great deal by the end of an AHL season. It serves real well to give young prospects the chance to see the professional hockey lifestyle up close and get a taste of what’s ahead of them. For Dougherty he was able to do one better than that. He made his pro debut. And he also managed to record his first career pro point, a primary assist, ten-minutes into that pro debut. Plus, that weekend he played in both games on the road against the Charlotte Checkers which would see the Admirals clinch their first divisional title since the 2010-11 season. Dougherty would play once more following that in another road game against the Rockford IceHogs in the regular season finale before playing observer from there on out.
What makes this season so special for Dougherty isn’t just that it is his first career professional playing season. It’s that he is effectively sticking with the same team that he was with for the first time since playing for St. Thomas Academy when he was 16-years old. He can finally settle in and continue to grow with the same coaching staff and a group of players that he is familiar with. That’s usually not viewed as a luxury – but it is for Dougherty given these last three-years.
(Photo Credit: Mark Newman)
It’s been an up-down-and-around beginning to Dougherty’s 2016-17 season. With all the fluctuations that have taken place within the organization at defense this season it feels like Dougherty has gone through the motions that come with that. “Is he paired with Jimmy Oligny or Trevor Murphy tonight,” is a question that comes to mind nearly every game now. That can be tricky to handle early in the year. Fortunately, with enough in-game experience and all the practices that a pro team delivers, the “who am I playing with” aspect all becomes a much easier process to handle. Dougherty does appear to be adjusting better and better. And, while he might not look it for his size, it’s important to remember that he is the fourth youngest player on the Admirals. There is still far more to come from the Minnesota kid.
Without further ado. Let’s learn even more about Mr. Minnesota, as I call him, from the man himself. Fifteen questions. And I think on his part he’s glad we conducted this interview prior to the end of the NFL season… because Vikings.
A big thank you to Jack Dougherty for taking the time to conduct this interview. As for what is next for Fifteen – that is where you come in. Please leave your suggestion for who should be featured next in the comment section below.
Admirals Roundtable 