Correction

The post on the Iowa Stars says the Wolves never won a game against Iowa. Iowa definitely had the Wolves number in the previous season, however, the AHL guide and record book says there were two contests that Iowa lost in overtime. But, there were eight other victories for the Stars. Sorry for the error.

Iowa Stars scouted

The Iowa Stars travel to Chicago Saturday to take on the Wolves Saturday. Coach Dave Allison returns again to coach the team. The experienced Allison has seen time in Grand Rapids and Milwaukee prior to coaching the Stars. Plus three of the big hitters from last season are returning again, Junior Lessard with 58 points, Loui Eriksson with 60 and Toby Petersen with 73. So, in general, we could say that an Iowa team that got into the playoffs last year is returning with much the same team this year, except it appears there may be even more muscle to deal with. That includes Marty Sertich, a rookie who scored 64 points last season at Colorado College and Marty Wilford, a veteran defense man from the Manchester Monarchs who posted 41 points last season.

New to the league are Joel Lundqvist from the Swedish Elite League; Dan Hacker, up from the ECHL Idaho Steelheads; Mark Fistric and John Lammers, both up from the WHL; and Tobias Stephan in goal, a 2nd round draft pick in 2002.

Mike Green is returning to the North American ice after two years in the German Elite League where he breathed new life into his career. However, he was most recently playing in the AHL for the Rampage in 2004 when he scored 23 points in 45 games.

Michael Smith’s presence in goal will be missed by this team, though Dan Ellis with a .911 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average, spent 34 games in the net for the Stars last year.

The Stars had the Wolves number last year. The Wolves won only two games, both in over time. (Originally, this sentence said the Wolves never won a game against the Stars.) The same group is back, with more experience. If the Wolves are going to show they’ve changed, they can start by winning against these guys for once. The Stars enter the contest fresh off an over-time loss to the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights on Thursday. The loss snapped a six game win streak for the Stars, who are 6-1-0-0 for the season and dropped to second place behind Omaha.

The Wolves enter the arena fresh from their first home game victory over the Philadelphia Phantoms on Thursday. They are 5-3 for the year.

The on ice contest on Saturday is masking another: the battle of attendance. This is the first of several dates this season when the Wolves and the Chicago Blackhawks go head to head for the hockey dollar in Chicago. Although the Wolves have not beaten the Blackhawks in season attendance, they often beat them in the head to head competition.

Former Wolf Karl Stewart was picked up on waivers by the Blackhawks from the Pittsburgh Penguins this week. Stewart played with the Wolves for three seasons out of the minors and has played 16 games in the NHL. Although you can still find lots of Wolves fans in Stewart jerseys at the Allstate, one thing you won’t find is a mention of the Chicago Wolves in the Chicago Blackhawk press release about Stewart.

First Home Victory

The Chicago Wolves put a home victory on the board last night, their first of the season. The 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms brings the Wolves to a 5-3 record in the Western Division of the AHL. The Phantoms scored first, on a power play goal by David Printz at 17.03 in the first period. The Wolves responded 20 seconds later with a goal by Chicago native Stephen Baby, ending the first period tied 1-1.

In the second period Braydon Coburn a first round Atlanta Thrasher draft pick, notched a power play goal at 14.07. He was assisted by Darren Haydar and Brent Sterling. Haydar now has points in each of the eight matches played this season, the longest streak going in the AHL.

Derek MacKenzie scored the final Chicago goal in the third period at 5.59, followed by a Phantom power play goal by Mark Cullen at 10.17. Philadelphia put 14 shots on goal in the final period but was unable to get past Chicago goalie Michael Garnett.

Garnett, who I described going in as having a cold hand, was assisted by much better defense in the game. Plus, he just looked better too, putting aside a season high 34 of 36 shots. The penalty kill unit did not do very well, letting two go in on six attempts, while the power play was one for seven attempts.

It was a Philadelphia game and a good fight or two comes with the turf. Wolf Boris Valabik and Phantom Frederik Cabana spent five in the sin bin for a pretty good bout in the middle of the first period, followed less than a minute later by a handbag fight between Wolf Joey Crabb and Melrose Park native Gino Pissellini.

Although Valabik and Cabana were mouthing off to each other for their five minute sin bin sits, the last fight of the night was a third frame bout between Wolf Guillaume Desbiens and Phantom David Printz. Desbiens did a spectacular check on a Phantom, leading Printz to charge in to defend his teammate.

Chicago, now 1-3 at home, faces Iowa on Saturday night at the Allstate. The team then starts its annual November "circus" road trip. This year it will be six games in three weeks.

Scouting Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Phantoms come to the Allstate Arena with the top spot rotating. The story so far, Ken Hitchcock, the Philadelphia Flyers head coach was fired on Sunday. Elevated to his position was John Stevens, his assistant. Stevens had been the Philadelphia Phantoms head coach till this year. When he left the Phantoms, he elevated Craig Berube to be Phantoms head coach. But now, as head coach of the Flyers, he called on Berube, again, to be his assistant.

Kjell Samuelsson, the assistant coach of the Phantoms for six years, was promoted to the job of head coach when Craig Berube was elevated. Berube had occupied the post only since the start of the season.

In addition to turmoil at the top, the Phantoms ended last season with a losing record. Although the Phantoms had won the 2004 Calder Cup Championship against the Chicago Wolves, most of their key players, such as Antero Niittymaki and Jeff Carter, were now playing in the NHL.

Obviously, the Phantoms are close to the Flyers, which is underscored too by their use of the Wachovia Spectrum, the old Flyers home, which is across the street from the Flyers new home.

Meeting the Chicago Wolves for an early season inter-division game, the Phantoms are on a four game road trip. They dropped two games in Norfolk, Virginia against the Chicago Blackhawk affiliates, the Admirals over the weekend. From Chicago they finish the trip in Grand Rapids this weekend before a Sunday game in Philadelphia.

The bottom line is that the Wolves have a good chance to take one at home against a team that is changing the color of the corner office and was already struggling with the results of the last season.

Samuelsson coaches a team that is 3-2-1-0 for the year. Veteran Marty Murray with eight points and former Blackhawk Mark Cullen with six points are leading the team offensively. Second-year goalie Martin Houle holds the pipes with the assistance of rookie Rejean Beauchemin.

The Wolves enter the contest with an 0-3 record at home. Goalie Fred Braithwaite was off with a suspected hand injury and Rockford Ice Hogs goalie Frederic Cloutier is on a day-to-day call up. Michael Garnett, who played in Atlanta part of last season and had a nine game win streak in the late AHL season with the Wolves has had a cold hand in the net so far this year.

Third home loss powered by 4 goal Jaffray hat trick

Last season there were 90 hat tricks during the AHL season. Only ten were in excess of three goals. The Chicago Wolves had the dubious honor of hosting a Manitoba Moose player on his night. Jason Jaffray kept the Moose in the game with the Wolves last night, and scored four of the team’s seven goals on their way to creating the Wolves third straight home loss this season.

The Wolves led the game 4-2 heading into the third period, powered by two goals by Nathan Oystrick when Mike Brown found the back of the Wolves net bringing the score to 4-3. Less than 2 ½ minutes later Jaffray had his hat trick and the game was tied. Then the Moose scored twice on Penalty Kills, first with Mike Keane, then again with Jaffray. Lights out for the Wolves as an empty net goal put the final touch on a disastrous night.

While the Wolves Penalty Killing unit is ending 89.8 percent of opponents chances, they are only connecting on 14.3 percent of the Power Play and the defense, at least on home ice, is disappointing. Michael Garnett, who was in goal tonight, was forced to defend the net too many times as shown by the two short handed goals as well as the lead loss.

The Wolves face former Calder Cup rival the Philadelphia Phantoms on Thursday at the Allstate. The Wolves remain winless at home.

Scouting the Manitoba Moose

The 3-1 Chicago Wolves victory over the San Antonio Rampage on Friday sets the stage for the Wolves return to the Allstate Arena on Tuesday. The Manitoba Moose face the Wolves in the first inter-divisional game of the season. The Moose are old foes of the Wolves from the days of the International Hockey League and one of the I-six, one of the six surviving IHL teams to gain membership in the American Hockey League.

Manitoba has been mentioned by some people as a team that might someday be promoted to the NHL. Home to the old World Hockey Association Jets and tenants in the the MTS Centre, the front office of the Moose is considered one of the best, if not the best, in the AHL. If hockey is going to return to Canada’s smaller cities, Manitoba might be one of the first.

Matt McGrath, a Moose fan wrote me, "for the third consecutive season the Moose will have a new head coach, this time Scott Arniel. Arniel, the former Manitoba Moose and Winnipeg Jet spent the 05-06 season as an assistant coach to Lindy Ruff in Buffalo. The Moose are coming off their best campaign in their ten-year history, recording 100 points. Although a disappointing game seven loss to Grand Rapids in the Division Finals spoiled a great season." For Manitoba, the meltdown in game seven of last year’s North Division playoffs to Grand Rapids, was as great a disappointment to Moose fans as not making the playoffs were to the Chicago Wolves fans.

McGrath gloated about a stronger Moose team, "Manitoba looks to have a strong veteran presence upfront with the likes of Winnipeg native Lee Goren returning for a third season in the organization, Brad Moran was brought in from Switzerland, former Moose (01-04) speedster Brandon Reid and Tyler Bouck was resigned to a two-way deal. Add players like Jesse Schultz, who had a breakout season with 67 points last season while leading the Moose in scoring and Jason Jaffray. Moran is returning to North America in the hopes of working his way up again, after a rough season with Langnau in the Swiss league which saw him play just 18 games due to a shoulder injury. The British Columbia native is a proven sniper having recorded 72 points in 80 games with the Crunch during the 04-05 season. The 99-00 Western Hockey League player of the year had a very successful junior career with the Calgary Hitmen, improving his point totals each season. Reid, has spent the past two seasons in Europe. Last season he finished third in scoring with Rapperswil in the Swiss league with 34 points in 44 games. Former first round pick Nathan Smith will be back for a fifth season, the centre had a solid start to the 05-06 campaign recording 9 points in 20 games while showing a lot of poise for a breakout season we had all been waiting for before going down with a season ending injury. Rick Rypien, a fan favorite should also spend time in Manitoba, the scrappy Coleman, Alberta native made his NHL debut with the Canucks last season.

"Manitoba’s defense will have a new feel to it and should be improved from a year ago. Led by veteran Joe Rullier, a tough physical player who has spent the past six seasons patrolling bluelines in the AHL with Lowell, Manchester and Hartford. Maxime Fortunus, Prestin Ryan and Nathan McIver will all return for their second season with the Moose. While free agent signings Nick Kuiper and Reagon Rome look to be solid pick-ups. Rome, from Nesbitt, Manitoba, split last season between Manchester where he recorded 4 assists in 13 games and Reading (ECHL) where he recorded 30 points in 49 games while also the team captain. Kuiper, a solid-stay-at-home defenseman will enter his third season of pro hockey having spent the past two with the Norfolk Admirals. The UMass-Amherst graduate has played 143 games recording 5 goals and 17 points with Norfolk."

The Moose are 2-4 this season. They are on a two game road trip, having lost 2-0 to the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday. The Wolves return from a two game Texas road trip sweep of the San Antonio Rampage. The Wolves have lost all their home games so far this year. They are 4-2 this season.

Wolves stampede Rampage

Tyson Nash, a San Antonio Rampage winger, blamed the 6-1 stampede Wednesday night, won by the Chicago Wolves, on defense. In an interview with the San Antonio Express yesterday, he said the game would have been 15-1 if not for goaltenders Philippe Sauve and David LeNeveu. The Rampage had the material, he said, but couldn’t put together 60 or even 20 minutes of hockey.

Sauve and LeNeveu split duties in the loss, the third road victory for the Wolves. The Wolves now have a perfect season, they’ve won every road game and lost every home game (3-2). It does seem that if the guns get rolling, the Wolves win. And they can’t seem to get things going, yet, at home.

Fred Brathwaite did a great job between the pipes for the Wolves, putting aside 25 of 26 Rampage shots on goal. In addition, the line of Darren Haydar and Steve Martins was on the ice for three of the Chicago goals, with another goal by Haydar on a line with Derek MacKenzie, Kevin Doell, Nathan Oystrick and Jimmy Sharrow.

Haydar and Jason Krog are currently number two and four in the AHL for top scorers with nine points each. The two Wolves previously played together on the University of New Hampshire Wildcats for one season, 1998-99.

The Wolves play the Rampage again tonight. They have six points in five games played, behind the Iowa Stars with eight points and four games, and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and Peoria Rivermen with seven points. They return home for a rare Tuesday night game against the Manitoba Moose.

Scouting San Antonio-- more of the same

Last year the key question I had about the San Antonio Rampage was what is the Gretzky touch. The Rampage, then, and their NHL affiliate, were broadcasting the connection to the great one. Yet what I saw on the ice was a lot of players from the Utah Grizzlies moved to Texas. The Grizzlies hadn’t done well in the lockout year and yet the San Antonio team was stocked with them.

It’s a year later and by all accounts a very large yacht payment has been invested into the Rampage. No one is expecting a repeat of the terrible season they had last year. Last place in the AHL and a record low 153 goals in the season.

Will money turn the league rug into something to respect? I have to wonder. Change is happening from the bottom in San Antonio. I’m not talking about the Zamboni guy, but the players. The top three people, Laurence Gilman, the GM and coaches Pat Conacher and Gord Dineen are unchanged from 2004. They still have to have one winning season.

The roster has changed a lot. Ten players remain from last year, which is about the same as many teams. However there has been some power added. Don MacLean, who played on the Grand Rapid Griffins last season and had 32 points.

Ryan Garlock had 20 goals in the Ontario Hockey League last season. Bill Thomas out of the University of Nebraska- Omaha had 27 goals in his last season. Kyle Wilson, out of Colgate University, had 23 goals last season. Oliver Latendresse, up from the Quebec juniors, had 41 goals last season. That’s just about the entire front line. I’m not real impressed.

The D has Matt Jones, a native of Downers Grove is returning. Travis Roche, a former Wolf, Bryan Helmer and Nick Martens, former Grand Rapid Griffins, and Logan Stephenson, up from the Western Hockey League juniors, are new to the defense. The addition of the experienced players from the Griffins and Chicago help.

Finally, in the nets, the team has returned David LeNeveu. The stats for anyone from San Antonio are startling. So let’s say we don’t know how he’ll do. I always considered Karl Goehring the best goalie on the team last year and he’s in Milwaukee now. Joining LeNeveu between the pipes is Philippe Sauve. I guess he’s a bit of a mystery too. Like LeNeveu, Sauve played last year—13 games in with the Calgary Flames and the Phoenix Coyotes during which he let in 39 goals.

The owners of the Rampage also own the National Basketball San Antonio Spurs. They hope to create a sports community, much like the Brewers owners hope to do with the Milwaukee Admirals. It doesn’t seem to be working in Milwaukee and to date it’s not happening in San Antonio either.

I think the addition of some money will help, but change has to occur at the top. I’ve read some assessments saying the Rampage will be at the top of the league at year end. I don’t see it.

Admirals home and home game 2

I feel like a puck bunny. Hippitty Hop to see Alexander Radulov tonight at the Allstate. Radulov is the Milwaukee Admirals new sensation, a Russian who played in the Quebec minors last year and is already shaking up the AHL after just two games.

People must have felt like this about Gretzky, Ovechkin and Hull.

Not only has this wonderkind been on the ice for every goal scored by Milwaukee this year, he scored two of them himself and assisted in all of the other goals. And here is another factoid. Of the 14 goals scored against Milwaukee so far, Radulov has only been on the ice for two goals against Milwaukee.

It is almost as if his very presence is stopping the goals, though it must be something he is doing on the ice. This is one dangerous player.

The Ads have him on a line with Rich Peverly and John Vigilante.

Memorize his baby face and number 22 Chicago. We’re going to be hearing his name a lot when we play the Ads.

Scouting Milwaukee Admirals

Claude Noel returns to steer the Milwaukee Admirals through another season after a Calder Cup run last year. Noel has earned the respect of Wolves fans for his ability to take young head-strong players and mold them into a winning team. Particularly in 2004 when he ran the team even though it had significant financial woes and a trustee management, Noel shows he can take rough material and win.

He is joined on the bench this year by assistant coach Lane Lambert, the former assistant coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Prior to Bridgeport, Lambert was the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, a team that posted a 26-41-3-2 record in 2004, and the Moosejaw Warriors, in 2003.

Noel takes the ice with a team decimated by departures. Of the top ten scorers from last year’s team, just three have returned, Rich Peverly, 46 points, Kevin Klein, 42 points and Sheldon Brookbank, 35 points. Joining them is Ramzi Abid, who scored 76 points last year with the Chicago Wolves at wing. Abid’s most memorable stat, however, is his 165 of penalty minutes, which I remember as occurring at the most inopportune times.

Alexander Radulov has been eagerly expected for months by Admirals fans. The Russian winger did not make the Calder Cup run last year and was just assigned to the Admirals by the Nashville Predators this week. Playing in the Quebec minor’s Remparts for the past two season, Radulov posted 75 points in the 2004 season and 152 points last season. That’s a doubling of production and pretty exciting.

Another newcomer is Kim Staal. No, he isn’t related to the famous hockey family, however he posted 21 points in 34 games in the Malmo team of the Swedish league.

The nets are in a bit of disarray. Unfortunately, Pekka Rinne was involved in a personal incident and suffered an injury over the summer. I believe he won’t return till late this calendar year. Rinne was simply excellent and his return will be eagerly awaited.

In the meantime Karl Goehring will be the Admirals final defender. Goehring played last season in San Antonio and so I’m reluctant to post his stats. He was a better goalie than the defense there.

Milwaukee enters the Bradley Center for their second game of the year at the Bradley Center after being spanked by the Omaha Knights 7-1 last weekend in their opener. Chicago is coming into the game after opening away 5-0 against Peoria.

Scouting Peoria Rivermen

The Saint Louis Blues may not have been the worst team in the NHL last year, they just did their best to be worst. It was a terrible thing to watch, as the former owners went on what could only have been a deliberate effort to beat the Chicago Blackhawks and every other team in the league to the bottom, showing good players the door and discouraging whatever effort was put forth.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, many good players ended up on their AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, who gave a respectable showing for the first year in the conference and division. In fact, I’d expected them to beat the eventual Calder Cup contender Milwaukee Admirals in the playoffs.

This year is different. New owners in St. Louis mean a more focused team there, and it also means new people in Peoria. Starting at the top with head coach Dave Baseggio. Baseggio is already known in Chicago as he was former head coach of the Calder Cup contenders Bridgeport Sound Tigers, they fought the Wolves for the Calder in 2002, and lost. Still, to get that far is nothing to fart at. Baseggio’s Sound Tigers have been to the big game and we can expect a more active Blues organization to push the Rivermen harder too.

Chris Beckford-Tseu has come up from the Kelly Cup victor Alaska Aces to man the pipes, along with a Czech, Marek Schwarz. The Alaska Aces play on big ice and their final victory last year was over our affiliate, the Gwinett Gladiators. Beckford-Tseu has been as high as the Worcester Ice Cats, the pre-AHL Rivermen and also the ECHL level Rivermen. He also spent 16 games in the AHL last season. At the Aces he had a 1.87 GAA and .929 saves. I see him as being the main man as Marek spent the entire 2005 season with Sparta Praha in the Czech Republic. He posted .920 saves and .92 GAA.. Marek spent the 2004 season with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.

I’m glad to see Rocky Thompson is one of the people returning to the Carver Arena. Thompson put up 247 Penalty minutes last season for the Rivermen, one goal and five points. Still there is a place in hockey for muscle.

Ryan McMurchy is up from the University of Wisconsin where he put up eight goals and 25 points in 40 games last season. He is joined by Konstanin Zakarov, who is up from the Alaska Aces and Mike Glumac, who spent a good part of the 2005 season in St. Louis. Also another rookie winger, Michal Birner of the Czech Republic, who is just up from Saginaw in the OHL. He produced 31 goals and 85 points in 60 games last season. And the final rookie winger is Magnus Kahnberg, a Swede who played on Vastra Frolunda HC Indians in 2005, producing 33 points in 45 games. Out of this group, the only one I’ve seen before is Zakarov, who played a fine tournament in Traverse City about a month ago. He was among the standouts of the Blues squad.

I’ve always liked Charles Linglet, but apparently he has not been loved back. Most of the 2005 season he spent in Peoria, but he was also in Las Vegas for a while. Linglet’s contribution to the team last year was 21 points in 38 games. Another Rivermen player I liked was winger Peter Sejna. Sejna produced more than a point a game for the Rivermen in 2005, went up to the NHL for six games and is back on the ice for the Rivermen again this year. Even discounting his NHL contribution, 2005 was his best year. Once again, Sejna will be a key man to beat on the ice.

Moving on to the centers, Trent Whitfield is coming down from the Blues. He spent part of the 2005 season in Peoria, but starts here. While producing 53 points in 41 AHL games, he only produced 7 in 30 NHL games last year. His NHL career has probably peaked, but he is still very dangerous at this level. He is joined by Denis Pederson, who most recently played in Germany, but has more than 200 NHL games stretching back to 1996. Pederson was producing about .8 points per game in Germany, which has recently seen many of its NHL alumnae return to the US. Two other centers, Ryan Ramsay and Cam Keith, spent time last year on the Aces squad and return to the Rivermen.

D man Patrick Wellar spent most of the year in Alaska in 2005. Mike Stuart, who I believe is related to the Collin Stuart of the Wolves, is back on D. However, what I mainly see in the defense men is sophomore blue men, returning. If you thought the Rivermen had a solid defense last year, you’ll see more this year. The team finished the year with the fourth best PP, lets remember, technically tied for second place with the Admirals and the Aeros. And fifth among all teams for PK, technically tied with the Lowell Lock Monsters for fourth.

Keys to winning, discipline. The Wolves still face a team that can defend and has some good scorers. We need to stay out of the penalty box. Putting early pressure on the goalie can’t hurt either as neither has played with this defense line.

Scouting the Chicago Wolves

John Anderson is leading the Wolves into another season as head coach, disappointed by not making the post-season, Anderson and General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff have managed a large shake-up of the team. Marty Howe retired from the assistant position over the summer and was replaced by Muskegon Fury Head Coach Todd Nelson. Nelson led the Fury to Colonial Cup championships in 2004 and 2005 and late into the post-season of the 2006 season. Anderson too came up from the United Hockey League Quad City Mallards to the Wolves. It’s a tough league with a lot of undisciplined talent.

Out too are many fan favorites, including Ramzi Abid, Karl Stewart, Billy Tibbets, Kip Miller, Scott Barney, Bobbie Nardella… In fact of last year’s top-ten ranked scorers, only two, Kevin Doell and Mark Popovic, are returning. In are some faces Wolves fans should already be familiar with, including Darren Haydar who scored 92 points with the Milwaukee Admirals last season. Steve Martins of the Binghamton Senators, who scored 76 points last season. Martins played with the Wolves during their International Hockey League days. Jason Krog who played in Sweden and Switzerland last season, but has 175 NHL games and 52 NHL points. Brett Sterling who was a finalist for the last two years for the Hobey Baker award. Cory Larose, who put up 63 points for the 2004-5 Wolves. The Atlanta Thrashers also assigned Alex Bourett, the 16th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, and defenseman Boris Valabik, formerly of the Kitchener Rangers and the 10th pick in the 2004 NHL draft to the Wolves.

The Wolves blue line has had a tendency to wander off or not assist the PP. I’m looking forward to a better year as we’ll see Valabik there, as well as Jimmy Sharrow and Scott Lehman, standouts in the Traverse City tournament a month ago. I was disappointed with the showing of Nathan Oystrick at that tournament. However, it was pointed out to me that Oystick was recovering from mononucleosis at the time. Nevertheless, he pulled a lot of penalties due to lack of discipline. Troy Milam is coming up from Gwinett. I saw him in Toledo last spring on the Gladiator’s way to the Kelly Cup finals. He should be a real asset.

All-in-all, a better defence. Backing up this d-line are Michael Garnett and Dieter Kochan. Garnett had a pretty rough year last season. A bad start in Atlanta was finished well, but he was suddenly sent down to Chicago. He apparently had a chip on his shoulder and though initially welcomed by the fans, played poorly for several weeks. Suddenly, in mid-March, he changed his attitude and went on a winning streak that only petered out in the final few games of the season. From hero to dog to hero to dog to hero. If Garnett can hold it together, the Wolves will have a great season: Garnett has shown he can be a champion. However, if Garnett loses his composure, the season may turn into a wreck.
Kochan played with the Portland Pirates for 15 games last season, as well as a Russian team. In the long-run Atlanta is apparently going to send Fred Brathwaite when there is less chance of his being picked up on waivers.

This team has the potential to have one of the highest scoring lines in the league. Garnett should be able to defend the goal well while the new defense line looks more disciplined than the line from the previous season. If the Wolves can get out in front on goals, they should be able to defend their lead. PP and PK were not good last year. Most of the team’s hot heads: Stewart, Tibbets and Abid in particular, are gone, so team discipline should be better. Though the team had one of the best short handed stats in the league, that power (in Stewart and Tibbets) is now gone. Martins may have the speed and certainly has the skill of either of those players however. So the thrill of the sudden reversal is still there.

Overall, the division and the conference look tougher. The NHL salary cap has changed one thing, just about any team seems to have the potential to win the Stanley Cup at this point. The minor teams are also showing greater depth. Still, I see the Wolves entering the playoffs and making it to at least the second round.

Minor League Favorites

THIS LIST WAS LAST UPDATED ON 5/14/2007

BLOGS AND FAN SITES

DISCUSSION BOARDS

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UNITED HOCKEY LEAGUE TEAMS

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BLOGS AND FAN SITES



My edited posts

Michael's Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic (Penguins organization)
PPPS- a weekly AHL Podcast
Michael- My Mundane Mid-Life (Chicago Wolves)
Blog on Chicago hockey
Wirtzsucks-- A Chicago Blackhawks fan site
Jeremey Piniak's five hockey talking points
Two Minutes for Cross-Checking- Iowa Stars & Philly Phantoms
Milwaukeehockey.com ’Unofficial’ Milwaukee Admirals fan site
Admirals Zone Norfolk Admirals blog and fan site
BinghamtonHockey.com blog
Dave Wolf’s Grand Rapids Griffins fan site
Michigan minor league hockey blog
Shortymac discusses QC Mallards
S Palmerston's take on the Hamilton Bulldogs
Some futzy woman writes on Milwaukee sports
Four guys discuss Chicago Sports
Heather Creegan's So Very Obsessed- Providence Bruins
Crossbar Minor League blog
Rochester Americans and Florida Panthers blog
Chris Roy's Skate the Plank
Jason watches the Baby Pens from the Igloo
Major Blogs by Dan Hickling
The 300 Level watches Blackhawk hockey
Kansas City Blog
Brian Rosenberg watches the MetroCentre debate
Windy City Sports Blog
Aeros equipment Manager Blog
Chicago Wolves playoff blog
A minor league hockey blog by C J Nordenson
Michigan minor league hockey by Matt MacKinder


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Wolfkeeper
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Gwinnett Gladiators fan forum
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Rochester Americans discussion board
Wilkes Barre Penguins fan site
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Peoria Rivermen fan site
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Iowa Stars discussion board
Providence Bruins fan site
IceHogs fan forum
IceHogs fan forum by Rockford Register Star
Michigan Minor League Hockey by MLive
Heckler's Corner- Cincinnati (Forum is active.)
Cleveland Hockey Forum
AHLBoards discussion boardAHL Central, was the
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Patrick Williams AHL blog
Aaron Sim's Aaron's Angle (broadcaster of the Milwaukee Admirals)
Lisa Colonno in Des Moines Register
Michael Sharpe in Binghamton Press-Sun Bulletin
Jonathan Bonbulie in WBS Times-Tribune
Lindsay Cramer in Syracuse Post-Standard
Dave Eminian in Peoria Journal Star
Justin Cohn in Fort Wayne Gazzette
Soundin' Off by Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post


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American Hockey League
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A new start

It may be more than 80 degrees out, but hockey season starts in less than two months, and the pre-season and the training camps in just a few weeks. Why am I obsessed with minor league hockey? First, I never got hooked on the Chicago Blackhawks. That is the price of not televising your games. Instead, at the age of 45 I went to see the Chicago Wolves win the Turner Cup.

Today I’m a season ticket holder. The Wolves are one of about 26 professional teams in the Chicago area, and join to become one of about 60 professional teams in the greater area by which I include places like Peoria, Milwaukee and South Bend. Places within about 150 – 200 miles of the city. I won’t even start to list all the NCAA teams in that region. Plus there are interests like harness, horse and greyhound racing, boxing, NASCAR and drag racing, etc.

It is a tough media market. The ads here are expensive. There is a lot of competition.

So, where are the Chicago Hounds in all of this?

The Chicago Hounds plan to skate in the still-to-be-completed Sears Center in Hoffman Estates starting in October. New to the area, they’ll play in the UHL, or United Hockey League. To give some perspective to the casual fan, the Chicago Wolves are in the American Hockey League, the AAA level of hockey. About a third of their players move up and down to the NHL each season.

The next level is the ECHL, which was once known as the East Coast Hockey League. Those players generally move up to the AHL or sometimes the NHL. The UHL is in the next level down of AA Hockey. Maybe one player a season will move to the NHL. The Rockford Ice Hogs were the best development team in the UHL last years, they sent two players to the Chicago Wolves and three players to the Milwaukee Admirals. That’s about a third of their typical lineup.

The Hounds announced an exciting signing of Coach Greg Puhalski from the Fort Wayne Komets. And the first signing of player Greg Koehler. But I’ll be damned if I understand who they are marketing this thing to. The stealth marketing discussed earlier: it is continuing.

What’s more, they aren’t saying value to the hockey fan. My AHL Wolves tickets run about $15 a seat, $18 for a single ticket on day of game. That’s row eight, sort of at the angle behind the net. The same Hound tix look to cost $26 day of game. For that, I give up AAA hockey and accept low AA hockey. Milwaukee Admirals tix, this season are about $19 on the glass, $16 or so for the Rivermen glass seats. And at those AHL games, I saw a lot of NHL talent on the ice.

I’d rather drive the additional 45 minutes and see the Ice Hogs. $19 for a glass seat.

Billy Tibbetts a Bruin

Now Billy Tibbetts has long attracted as many readers to this blog as my entries about Harry Dumas. (I think it's great to write Billy's name and Harry's name in the same sentence, don't you?) Billy will not, apparently, return to the Rockford Ice Hogs. This is frustrating, I think, to Rockford fans, among whom I include myself. But a news report in the Rockford Register Star specifically mentioned Tibbetts as being out.

Where has Billy gone? There’s no word yet from the Chicago Wolves. However, Tibbetts is known to have been accepted for a reality television show starting this fall. The usually reliable Billy Tibbetts website is silent on this matter. However, here is a link to the show So you want to be a Bruin where you can enjoy Billy discussing why he wants to be a Boston Bruin.

Billy’s birthday, by the way, is October 14th, which happens to be the date of the home opener.

DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

Bloomington Prairie Thunder local connections

It is two months to go till they drop the puck. The site, for the Chicago Wolves, will be the Carver Arena in Peoria, Illinois, home to the Peoria Rivermen. So many things will change between now and October 7th. However here are a few things we now know. First, several ECHL Rivermen players are now wearing sweaters bearing the logo of the Bloomington Prairie Thunder. I took an unofficial look at the US Cellular Arena in downtown Bloomington. It is a place that my wife described as a bride, waiting to be raped by the horde of fans from Rockford and the Quad Cities.

The smell of a new arena… Contrast that, if you will, with the dingy smoke that is the home of the Toledo Storm, the Toledo Sports Arena. I doubt the US Cellular Arena has had a single event yet. It smells of plastic, it has carpets without beer stains or cigarette burns and the blank canvas that lies under every sheet of ice. It is a far cry from the Sports Arena. Yum… can you taste the blood, I mean love?

Give me the Sports Arena, where fans lean over the glass and scream at the players. Where they get ejected for interfering with play, where they drown out the singer of the national anthem screaming curses at the Canadian players. It may not be love, but it is hockey.

We found a wonderful picture taken at the Sports Arena during the Kelly Cup playoffs. The Gwinnett Gladiators had just won the game and were preparing to congratulate the Storm. In the stands you see the fans giving one finger salutes to the Gladiators.

I’ll give the Prairie Thunder this, so far I’ve noticed a great marketing campaign from the team. Although I haven’t been personally contacted, I see ads in the local phone book, on radio and in the visitors guides. I’m impressed by their effort to reconnect with the base of ECHL fans that had followed the Rivermen. Derek Booth was the first clear sign of that effort. Booth was a captain of the Rivermen four years ago, and has coached in the SPHL at Fayetteville, bringing them to the post season twice.

The first player Booth brought aboard was former Rivermen Trevor Baker. Baker will fill a position as player/coach in the position of forward.

Over at the Chicago Hounds they must believe in stealth marketing. I’m definitely a season ticket holder of the Chicago Wolves, but also purchase enough to be considered a low end STH of the Rockford Ice Hogs and the Milwaukee Admirals. I’d think I might be considered in their target demographic? Well, nothing on the horizon so far. Am I not reading the right newspapers or listening to the right radio stations or driving on the right highway? (I only pass by the Sears Center twice a week each way).

What’s wrong with me?

Thank god for Google news alerts.

The first player signed by the Hounds was Greg Koehler. He’s got pretty good stats in the UHL and has been in professional hockey for about ten years. But unlike Baker, I just don’t see a local connection. The same couldn’t be said for the head coach of the Hounds. Greg Puhalski wanted to go to Chicago, leaving a successful coaching position with the Fort Wayne, Indiana Komets organization. I think Puhalski intends to make this area his home for a long time to come. And welcome to you Greg!

How long till they drop the puck?

The Calder series is finished. This quiet time is being used to develop a new blog for my family. In the meantime, I hope to share the comments of people who have been friends and foes on the hockey sites this past year-- the wisdom I've gained from the back and forth with them is beyond what I could ever have hoped for.

Guest scouting report: Ads v Bears

Matt moderates the excellent discussion board MooseHockey.com. Here he previews the Milwaukee Admirals versus Hershey Bears Calder Cup Finals. Thanks Matt!

Milwaukee Admirals: 49-21-6-4 (4th overall, 1st in West)

Vs

Hershey Bears: 44-21-5-10 (7th overall, 2nd in East)

Season Series: 0-0-0-0

All-Time Series: 1-0-1-0 (Milwaukee)

Playoffs: 12-3 (Milwaukee) - 12-3 (Hershey)

Milwaukee Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Hershey Affiliation: Washington Capitals

All-Time Recaps:

Nov 23rd 2002: Milwaukee 3 Hershey 3 (@ Hershey)
Mar 26th 2003: Milwaukee 4 Hershey 1 (@ Milwaukee)

Milwaukee veterans: Simon Gamache, Greg Classen, Sheldon Brookbank, Steve Lingren & Rick Berry

Hershey veterans: Kris Beech, Boyd Kane, Mark Wotton, Colin Forbes & Lawrence Nycholat

Milwaukee Admirals playoff history:

The Milwaukee Admirals have qualified for the post season for the 4th time in their 5 year AHL history

Number of individual series won: 8 Number of individual series lost: 2

Games won: 31 Games lost: 19

Calder Cups: 1 (2004) Losing finalist: 0

Overtime games: 4-1

Hershey Bears playoff history:

The Hershey Bears have qualified for the post season for the 57th time in their 68 year history

Number of individual series won: 54 Number of individual series lost: 48

Games won: 256 Games lost: 233

Calder Cups: 8 (Most recent-1997) Losing finalists: 10 (Most recent-1986)

Overtime games: 44-43

Preview:

Milwaukee and Hershey meet for the first time in the playoffs; previously the two teams have only met twice. That was during the 02-03 season. The teams have changed considerably since then, only current Admirals players to play against Hershey during 02-03 was Darren Haydar and Greg Classen. This is Milwaukee's second trip to the Calder Cup Finals in three seasons, having swept Wilkes-Barre four games to none in the championship series in 2004. Current Admirals Haydar, Classen, Scottie Upshall, Simon Gamache, Brian Finley, Nathan Lutz, Greg Zanon, Brandon Segal and Libor Pivko including head coach Claude Noel (03-04 coach of the year) were part of the 2004 championship team. Hershey's last trip to the Calder Cup came back in 1997 where they defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs four games to one to win there 8th Calder Cup title. Included in that team is current Admiral defenseman Steve Lingren, although he only played 12 games. Milwaukee has defeated Iowa (4-3), Houston (4-0) & Grand Rapids (4-0) to get to the Finals. Hershey swept Norfolk (4-0), Wilkes-Barre (4-0) before downing the Portland Pirates (4-3). Hershey became only the second team in AHL history to start the Calder Cup playoffs a perfect 10-0. This marks the Bears 19th trip to the finals. Milwaukee claimed the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as the Western Conference Champions while Hershey claimed the Richard F. Canning Trophy as the Eastern Conference Champions. Milwaukee is 4-0 all-time in Calder Cup finals games while Hershey is 52-48. The last two Calder Cup finals have resulted in sweeps (Milwaukee over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4-0 in 2004 and Philadelphia over Chicago 4-0 in 2005). Milwaukee is coming off a 5-4 win over Grand Rapids and will have had a nine day break in between games.


Upfront Milwaukee is led by Darren Haydar and Simon Gamache. Gamache finished second to Haydar in playoff scoring in 2004. Haydar is 20th overall in Calder Cup playoff scoring history with 66 points in 50 games (29+37) while Gamache is not far behind ranking 21st on the all-time list with 65 points (29+36) in 53 games. Haydar and Gamache have combined for 50 points this post season. The other 25 players to appear in at least one playoff game have combined for 90 points. Greg Classen is third on the team in scoring, after winning the cup in 2004 he played a season in Finland before returning to Milwaukee. Scottie Upshall (48th overall, THN Future Watch) and Jordin Tootoo have been big contributors since coming down from Nashville. Libor Pivko had a career year but is currently injured. 2005-2006 CHL MVP Alexander Radulov is expected to be signed to an ATO after leading his Quebec team to the Memorial Cup. Milwaukee’s top line consists of Greg Classen centering Darren Haydar and Simon Gamache. Hershey is led upfront by former Admiral Kris Beech who played for Milwaukee earlier in the season. Former Moose Jaw Warrior Tomas Fleischmann leads the team in playoff scoring; coming off a tough rookie campaign in Portland in 04-05 he produced 30 goals this season. He even played 14 games with Washington. Veteran winger Boyd Kane won a Calder Cup with Philadelphia last season, he was captain. Centre Brook Laich played 73 games with Washington this season and is having an impressive post season. Fifth year pro Graham Mink is playing in the post season for only the second time in his career and is making the most of it. AHL All-Star and former Brandon Wheat King Eric Fehr (30th overall, THN Future Watch) had a strong regular season but is a streaky player and is finding it tough to draw into the line-up in the post season but scored two big goals in there game seven win over Portland. Graham Mink and Tomas Fleischmann recorded at least a point in all seven games.

Defensively Milwaukee is led by Kevin Klein who has proved his worth to the Nashville organisation having a great sophomore season. His play has continued into the post season. Klein helped lead the Guelph Storm to the Memorial Cup in 2004, although did not win the tournament. Greg Zanon has provided great leadership in just his third pro season out of Nebraska-Omaha. He had a career year offensively while improving his all around defensive game. Steve Lingren was signed towards the end of the season to help fill out the defense, he spent most of the season with Victoria (ECHL) and has put up good numbers. Ryan Parent (67th overall, THN Future Watch) was signed to an ATO a few weeks ago but has just recently been drawing into the line-up and is proving his worth. Shea Weber (4th overall, THN Future Watch) has been Milwaukee's top d-man this post season, the offensively gifted blueliner spent 28 games with Nashville and even potting a pair of goals in in four playoff games with the Preds. Hershey are led by AHL all rookie team Mike Green, who is the leading scorer amongst Bears blueliners. The former Saskatoon Blade has spent 22 games with Washington this season. Veterans Lawrence Nycholat and Mark Wotton both have plenty of playoff experience. Former Moose Tyler Sloan was recently signed to a PTO. Former Caps first round pick Jeff Schultz has made a smooth transition to the pro game since signing an ATO. He signed the ATO when the Calgary Hitmen was eliminated from the playoffs.

In goal, Milwaukee is led by North American pro rookie Pekka Rinne. Rinne is 8-0 since coming down from Nashville and is a major reason why Milwaukee is in the Calder Cup Finals. This is the second straight season a team with a Finnish goalie is in the finals and third in the past five. During his time in Nashville he played two regular season games, mainly serving as Chris Mason's back-up. Rinne has a good chance to win the back-up job in Nashville next season. Rinne was taken 258th overall in 2004 out of Karpat in Finland where he played three seasons including 77 games. During the regular season with Milwaukee he went 30-18-2. Rinne's back-up is former first round pick Brian Finley, Finley started as the number one goalie in the first round against Iowa while Rinne was up with the Preds. Finley then injured his groin forcing ECHL call-up Jake Moreland to play two games including the decisive game seven. Finley was current Moose goalie Wade Flaherty’s back-up when Milwaukee won the cup in 2004. In goal for Hershey is Frederic Cassivi. Cassivi led the AHL in wins during the regular season and has had a superb post season including four shutouts. Cassivi was part of the 2002 Chicago Wolves team which won the Calder Cup. He split time with Pasi Nurminen and Norm Maracle. He played in one NHL game this season with Washington, a 4-3 loss to New Jersey on November 11th 2005. Cassivi was named the top goaltender for the month of February 2005, while he was a member of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks last season and led all goalies with 10 shutouts. His back-up is Kirk Daubenspeck, a seventh round draft pick (151st overall) by Philadelphia in 1992. He has spent the majority of his career in the ECHL. He has just one AHL playoff game to his credit back in 2000 with Rochester.

Notes: Hershey has eight former first round draft picks in their line-up: Kris Beech (7th overall 1999), Dave Steckel (30th overall 2001), Boyd Gordon (17th overall 2002), Mike Green (29th overall 2004), Eric Fehr (18th overall 2003), Jeff Schultz (27th overall 2003), Jakub Klepis (16th overall 2002) and Jonas Johansson (28th overall 2002). Milwaukee has three; Scottie Upshall (6th overall 2002), Brian Finley (6th overall 1999) and Ryan Parent (18th overall 2005). Milwaukee d-man and Manitoba native Rick Berry is a former Hershey Bear, playing parts of three seasons from 1998-2001. Milwaukee d-man Steve Lingren is a former Bear 1996-1998. Current Bear Kris Beech played 48 games with Milwaukee this season, putting up 50 points, before Nashville traded him to Washington. Beech played for Wilkes-Barre in 03-04 and against the same Milwaukee team in the Calder Cup finals before going down 4-0. The past four playoff MVP’s have been goaltenders; Nurminen-02, Holmqvist-03, Flaherty-04 and Niittymaki-05.

A shrinking UHL

The Championship season for hockey is drawing to a close. First, congratulations to the Alaska Aces, winner of the Kelly Cup in a 4-1 series victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators. It is hard to argue with sold-out crowds and an outstanding series victory.

The series in Toledo, which was the outstanding roadtrip of the season, allowed me to see several future Wolves on the ice. I’m primed for next season. Congratulations too, then to the Gladiators, who reached the finals for the first time.

Other notes, the UHL Colonial Cup goes to a local team: the Kalamazoo K-Wings in a 4-1 series victory over the Danbury Trashers. Sadly the UHL is undergoing a shattering number of teams leaving the league.

This is all being prettied up by the UHL as a retrenching of the league into the Midwest. The Richmond River Dogs moving to Hoffman Estates to become the Chicago Hounds; the Fraser City, Mich. Motor City Mechanics closing for a year, the (Glen Falls, NY) Adirondack Frostbite in danger of folding, which in turn threatens the second-place Danbury, Conn. Trashers and the Elmira, NY Jackals, as the travel budgets could not take trips to the next closest teams, about 400 miles west.

The St. Charles, Missouri River Otters are shopping for “investors” or will also pull out of the next season. The Moline, Ill. Quad City Mallards underwent a bruising front office battle that is discussed HERE. Plus, the website ArenaDigest.com noted that the Rockford Ice Hogs are unprofitable. The only bright spots are the new Bloomington, Ill. Prairie Thunder, the outstanding attendance at Fort Wayne, Ind. Komets games and the new Sears Center built for the Chicago Hounds.

While a retrench of the team makes sense, there is a nice tight geographic group in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, it is not encouraging that so many UHL teams have such a short life.

Other notes: The NBA Cleveland Cavs purchased the rights to the AHL Utah Grizzlies and will move the franchise, pending approval, to Cleveland. After all the Cleveland fans went through, it is great that a local group is taking control. AHL hockey is back in Cleveland in the 2007-8 season.

The World Cup of Hockey finished several weeks ago. It goes almost unnoticed in North America, but is the BIG hockey tournament in the rest of civilization. The top teams: GOLD Sweden, SILVER Czech Republic, BRONZE Finland. Here are the rest of the standings: 4th Canada, 5th Russia, 6th Belarus and
7th United States. In total 16 teams were ranked. And the North American game continues to battle for the dominance it once had.

Another key championship is the juniors Memorial Cup, held each year on the Queen’s Birthday. This year saw Moncton, New Brunswick, the home team, battle in the final with the Quebec Remparts. Congratulations to the Remparts for winning. Congratulations too to Moncton. It’s a long way to the Atlantic, but I heard they threw a heck of a party in Moncton.

A key player may come out of the Memorial Cup: Alexander Radulov was named CHL Player of the year. He may join Milwaukee in the Calder Cup Final, filling in one of the lines! There's a good discussion of him HERE.

Before we take a side trip to Milwaukee, however, there is a report on the Wolfkeeper site, citing the Hockey News, that Harry Dumas is not being given a contract for the next season. We’ll miss Harry and his immaturity… No, we actually won’t. See ya’ later Harry. I’m sure you’ll get references from the teams. Harry was written about HERE.

Radulov will be the last player to join the Calder Cup race. The Portland Pirates gave the Hershey Bears a scare when they brought three NHL players from the completed Anaheim Mighty Ducks season to Hershey, Penn. for the game seven conclusion of the Eastern Conference. Center Ryan Getzlaf, left wing Dustin Penner and right wing Corey Perry joined for eight points in the playoffs. A good effort, but not enough to upset the Hershey Bears win.

So, it comes down to the Bears versus the Admirals. The Ads of course have been amazing: nine games in a row, just slaying their opponents. As I said in the previous post, they have surprised me. But here is a wonderful note about the Bears run: the first opponent was the Norfolk Admirals. How many teams have met teams with the same name twice in a league championship? What happened? I wish Bob Howard was around to tell us!

Second, opponent, Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins and the third opponent was the Portland Pirates. How many teams have met this many nautically themed teams? There are only four other teams like this in the AHL, the Peoria Rivermen, the Lowell Lock Monsters, the Albany River Rats and the Cleveland Barons (associated with the San Jose Sharks and they use a shark in their logo.).

I’m giving my nod to the Hershey Bears in six. Not only have they done well for me in the post-season pickem’s, I sense they want it more and have had a harder schedule to the top. But the Ads have surprised me and surprised me again, and then, again… We go to the game tonight at the Bradley Center. Go Bears.