Chirps from Center Ice

Welcome to my 2010-2011 AHL Preview here at Chirps from Center Ice. This was a project for me that spanned over a month doing capsules for all the teams. I provide the team name, the parent NHL team, the record last year, who the head coach is, any offseason moves (not every single one), “the case for” you to believe the team will succeed this year and “the case against” you having any faith this season. I also include the teams beat writer and team twitter feed. Also, the games vs. the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, if applicable. I am going to roll these out by division, every day this week. First is the West Division.

Huge thank you to Jason Chaimovitch from the AHL for providing me with a complete list of beat writers. For the most part, every team has one. I’m providing the ones that I know plus what the league provided me.

The West expands from seven teams to eight, with the addition of the Oklahoma City Barons. The crossover rule that applied in the Eastern Conference last year will apply in the Western Conference between the West Division and the North Division this year.

Let’s get started! 

 

Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers)

Last year: 49-26-1-9 (105 pts.) West Division Champion, lost in 2^nd round in 7 games to the Texas Stars in the Division Championship.

Head Coach: Don Lever

Offseason moves: Darren Haydar, Mark Matheson, Dave Phillips, Andre Deveaux

The case for: Everyone picked Chicago to win the Western Conference last year. That didn’t happen courtesy of the Texas Stars. With Darren Haydar and Andre Deveaux back in town, Jason Krog and friends are serious contenders for their 3^rd Calder Cup.*

The case against: The aforementioned Krog, Deveaux and Haydar are all a year older and a step slower.

Beat writer: (fan run) The Call of the Wild

Twitter: @Chicago_Wolves

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

*- Chicago won two league championships as members of the now defunct International Hockey League

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Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)

Last year: 34-34-7-5 (80 pts.) 7^th place West Division.

Head Coach: Mike Yeo

Offseason moves: Warren Peters, Drew Bagnall, Joel Broda, Josh Tordjman

The case for: A new coach in Mike Yeo could breathe some life into the team. The Aeros return a lot of guys from last year, so the chemistry is there from the get-go. Solid D squad and several young forwards with a lot of potential and Houston can easily play the role that Texas did last season.*

The case against: All-Star goaltender Anton Khudobin didn’t exactly play like one for the whole season. Yes, you can argue the team in front of him didn’t help. No one on the roster is an automatic point-a-game player. Houston finished dead last in a division which has only gotten better now with Alex Giroux, Darren Haydar, Jeff Taffe playing in sweaters for teams in the same division. 23 of the first 38 games are road games, not good for a young team trying to find its legs, will need to be a great road team or else they will be left behind. On top of that, Houston plays 13 three-in-three games this year. This is Mike Yeo’s first time as a head coach. Any uncertainty and it’s more of the same in Houston this year.*

Beat writer: Andrew J. Ferraro (blog / twitter) and The Third Intermission (blog / twitter)

Twitter: @Houston_Aeros

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

*- assisted by Heather Galindo on this one. Follow her on twitter. Read her blog.

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Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators)

Last year: 41-30-2-7 (91 pts.) 4^th place West Division, lost in 7 games to the Chicago Wolves in the West Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Lane Lambert

Offseason moves: Mike Bartlett, Scott Lehman, Brett Palin, Grant Lewis

The case for: If you follow Mark Dekanich and Blake Geoffrion like I do on Twitter, you will see that they are training like beasts to get ready for the year. With the early exit to the Wolves last year in the first round, the ever dangerous Admirals will be out to play dark horse in the West this year.

The case against: “Dark horse” in the West may find you in 4^th or 5^th place come Christmas and fighting a North Division foe for a cross-over spot. Things look good in Milwaukee this year, but if you lose 3 or 4 games in a row in this division this year, you may be on the outside looking in at the end of the season.

Beat writer: In the Crease (team run, you can find Twitter handles there) / Dave Boehler (print) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Twitter: @mkeadmirals

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

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Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton Oilers)

Last year: Expansion team.

Head Coach: Todd Nelson

Offseason moves: Alexandre Giroux, Ben Ondrus, Shawn Belle

The case for: Two words: Alexandre Giroux. Giroux is hands down the most dangerous AHL player in the league. He can get you easily 50-60 goals. If he doesn’t stick in Edmonton, will easily make the Barons instant contenders. One player does not a team make? I tried to live by that philosophy while Giroux was murdering my team while playing for the Hershey Bears.

The case against: The Oilers are one of the worst teams in the NHL aren’t they? If the Barons do make any kind of noise in the West, you’d have to assume that parent Edmonton will raid the farm at a moments notice.

Beat writer: Ryan Aber (blog / twitter)

Twitter: @OKCBaronsHockey

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

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Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues)

Last year: 38-33-2-7 (85 pts.) 5^th place West Division.

Head Coach: Jared Bednar

Offseason moves: Dean Arsene, Graham Mink, Nathan Oystrick, T.J. Hensick, David Spina

The case for: Shhh! Peoria doesn’t want you to know! They only added legit AHL All-Stars and guys who know how to win Calder Cups. They are the dark horse pick this year. *BIG HANDS* Nothing to see here….

The case against: Goaltending. Incumbent Ben Bishop begins his third season as full-time netminder in Peoria this season. He’ll need to continue to improve or else the Rivermen could easily lose a lot of 6-5 games this year.

Beat writer: Dave Eminian

Twitter: @Peoria_Rivermen

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

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Rockford IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks)

Last year: 44-30-3-3 (91 pts.) 4^th place West Division, swept in the Division Semifinals by the Texas Stars.

Head Coach: Bill Peters

Offseason moves: Jeff Taffe, Wade Brookbank, Brandon Pirri

The case for: Jeff Taffe will add firepower if he gets sent to the AHL. Fans in Rockford are hopeful he is.

The case against: Chicago won the cup. But, they lost a ton of firepower. Where do you reload? Right. The AHL team.

Beat writer: (by committee) Rockford Register Star

Twitter: @goicehogs

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

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San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix Coyotes)

Last year: 36-32-5-7 (84 pts.) 6^th place West Division.

Head Coach: Ray Edwards

Offseason moves: Joe Fallon, Matt Climie, Nolan Yonkman, Mathieu Beaudoin, Garrett Stafford, Pete MacArthur, David Brine

The case for: See above. Climie stepped in nicely in goal for the Texas Stars when #1 and AHL All-Star Brent Krahn went down with injuries, winning the Hamilton series and nearly stunning Hershey taking the Bears to six games before losing. Beaudoin and Stafford were huge reasons for the Stars’ success last year. Yonkman was the Milwaukee Admirals captain last year and will bring leadership to this team.

The case against: You can say it’s a rag tag group of role players, with no real name which strikes fear in opponents. With how loaded the West is with names like Giroux, Taffe, Hensick and Haydar, San Antonio will be better, but don’t expect a long playoff run if the Rampage do get there.

Beat writer: Tony Uminski

Twitter: @sarampage

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

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Texas Stars (Dallas Stars)

Last year: 46-27-3-4 (99 pts.) 2^nd place West Division. Won Western Conference Championship in first year of existence; lost to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup Championship in 6 games.

Head Coach: Glen Gulutzan

Offseason moves: Wow. This team got raided. Unless you count Cody Chupp who the Stars brought in as an amateur tryout contract late last year and 2008 sixth round draft pick Matt Tassone these are the lone signees.

The case for: Stars start season two looking to avenge the loss in the Calder Cup to the Bears, especially after being up 2-0 coming home to play three straight.

The case against: The offseason losses coupled with the fact that teams will not be snuck up anymore while playing the Stars is a recipe for mediocrity in the West Division this year.

Beat writer: (by committee) The Statesman, 100 Degree Hockey (website and twitter), D’Ann Faught (website and twitter)

Twitter: @TexasStars

Vs. WBS: Do not play.

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So that’s all in the West. If you spot glaring errors or gaping omissions, please notify me in the comments section. Tomorrow we head to the North Division.