Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

There Goes the Farm!

Leave a comment Posted by on February 10, 2011

The old saying of, “there goes the farm” rang true this morning as Pittsburgh recalled four players this morning. Ryan Craig, Nick Johnson, Joe Vitale and Brett Sterling.

For those in Pittsburgh who frequent the blog, let me give you a quick thumbnail of what you are getting:

  1. Brett Sterling (18-21-39 +12) – most lethal offensive threat on the team. Nicknamed by me “The Ticket” to a legitimate Calder Cup run this Spring. A bit undersized at 5’8, but you can’t teach goal scoring ability, and Sterling certainly has that.
  2. Joe Vitale (8-19-27 +12) – no one that I have seen or heard of watches more WBS games than me, other than people directly affiliated with the team or perhaps Jonathan Bombulie of the Citizens’ Voice. No one on Wilkes-Barre works harder than Vitale. The kid is all heart. Usually sees second or third line duties here in Wilkes-Barre, brings speed and intensity every shift. At 5’11 is another undersized center, but he will win more faceoff than he loses. He has the right attitude. You will more than likely be seeing him full time in Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.
  3. Nick Johnson (20-19-39 +12) – his time has come. Leads WBS in scoring. This may be his last chance at NHL work with Pittsburgh. At 6’2 is the right size you need for speed and quickness. Really needs to make the most of this oppurtunity.
  4. Ryan Craig (13-20-33 +6) – our Captain. If I had to pick one of the four call-ups to get scratched, it’s probably Craig. 6’1, 215 center from Western Canada knows how to play the game. If he does dress he won’t be a liability on the ice. Saw 54 games with Tampa Bay a few years ago so the NHL game is not foreign to him.

Does Wilkes-Barre need to worry? No. Offensively we are deep. The defense corps here in WBS is intact. Defense wins you Championships. This is adversity we are dealing with. Time for Wheeling replacements like Ben Street, Joey Haddad and the like to show what they are capable of. In response to the call-ups from Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre recalled Ryan Schnell and David Marshall. (mormally I’d link, but trust me they are here) Bombulie will probably have more later on his blog.

That which does not kill you, only makes you stronger. We will get through this. That’s all I have for now. Let’ s Go Pens!

Pittsburgh, WBS

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