Chirps from Center Ice

Wow. Regular season over yesterday with a 4-2 win vs. Adirondack. What a season. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins ended the year with a 58-21-0-1 record good for 117 points and the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy which is awarded to the team with the best record in the regular season.

But, we don’t play for Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophies. We play, as does every team, for the Calder Cup Trophy awarded at the end of the year.

The Playoff Preview will be up later this week. For now, time to pass out Fourth Quarter Grades.

Keeping with our Third Quarter, Second Quarter and First Quarter grades which precedes the following, read nothing into these grades other than what some guy with an iPhone, a Twitter feed and a blog has to think about the players.

All stats are from the American Hockey League’s Daily Report from April 11.

Brett Sterling: Finished out the year with 65 games played and a 27-26-53 and a +13. Dubbed “The Ticket” by me. Newcomers to the blog often ask, “ticket to what?” The Ticket to the Calder Cup. Production is off a bit this year but he’s been slowed by injury. Still, a lethal scoring threat every time he steps over the boards. Grade: A

Tim Wallace: Eclipsed 300+ games played in a WBS uniform. In 62 games, finished 20-17-37 and a +8. Always steady. Never a liability. Said it all along all year here. Grade: A

Chris Collins: Role player. Played 77 games this season. Watch him score a big goal in the playoffs to win a series. Finished 13-21-34 and a +17. Grade: B

Ryan Craig: The Captain played 71 games this season. This is his team. Refuses to lose. Refuses to quit. Finished 19-29-48 and a +6. Ready to lead this team to a Calder Cup. Grade: B+

Robert Bortuzzo: If he has a great postseason, he should be given a serious look for full time work in Pittsburgh. Certainly has the size. Fans I talk to though in Wilkes-Barre say that he is the fourth defensemen some nights and cringe when he steps over the boards. I don’t know how at 79 games played and a 4-22-26 and at the tops of the list in the AHL in +/- with +28 it’s a valid argument that he is anything but the top defensemen here on the farm. Grade: A

Jesse Boulerice: 67 games played. 4-7-11 and a -13. Enforcers usually aren’t needed when playoffs roll around, so maybe he is a scratch from here on out. Grade: C

Steve Wagner: Him getting hurt was probably a blessing for Corey Potter, who has blossomed out to an offensive juggernaut. 69 games played for Wagner and a 5-23-28 and a +16. Will be back for playoffs. Grade: C+

Brian Strait: Paired with Bortuzzo all year. 75 games, 2-8-10 and a +22. These are “shut down defenseman” numbers. If defense wins Championships, it starts and ends with guys like Strait. Grade: A

Geoff Walker: Will score some pretty goals and some big goals. In 70 games, went 11-19-30 and +15. Was dinged up in a game vs. Hershey on this past Saturday night but should be fine for playoffs. Grade: B-

Zach Sill: Played every single game for Wilkes-Barre this season. Enjoyed nearly double his offensive production from last year. A grinder. 11-19-30 and a +16. Could he get a look with Pittsburgh next year? Grade: B+

Keven Veilleux: Slowly learning how it works at the pro level. I forecast a big playoffs for Veilleux. Played 66 games and went 12-24-36 and +17. This team may go as this second year pro goes in the playoffs. Grade: B+

Carl Sneep: Played 61 games for WBS this year in his first pro season and ended 4-13-17 and a +18. Will continue to develop in the playoffs but the mistake threshold is basically minimal from here on out. Grade: B

Bryan Lerg: Netted the overtime division clinching goal in Hershey a few weeks ago. Scores some big, big goals. Watch him in the playoffs. Has a nose for the net and is always by it. Played in 65 games and went 15-17-32. Grade: A-

Corey Potter: When Wagner went down with injury Potter became the offensive defensemen we all knew he had the capacity to become. Played in 75 games and was 7-30-37. His +24 puts him near the top of the league leaders for +/-. Grade: B+

Joey Mormina: Another body coming back from injury. Played 50 games for WBS and was 2-9-11 but a +17 so he’s on the ice when the goal is scored for than it is against. Don’t be surprised if he scores a playoff goal or two. Grade: B

Ben Street: ECHL Rookie of the Year. Will score some huge goals for WBS in the playoffs. 36 games played for Wilkes-Barre this year and 12-11-23 +9. Never looked out of place since his call-up. Grade: B+

Andrew Hutchinson: Success of the Penguins’ power play runs through Hutchinson the quarterback of it. 54 games played for WBS this season. 7-29-36 and even. Prone to a turnover sometimes. But, I think he’ll tighten up the game be fine. Grade: B

Joe Vitale: Coming off of injury also. Plays like his hair is on fire constantly. 60 games played for WBS this season and a 9-21-30 +13 to show for it. Makes the plays on the back end of what sets up a goal most times. Grade: A

David Marshall: Call-up from the Nail, occasional scratch here and there. For WBS played 22 games and finished 2-3-5 and a -1. Fringe player. That is, if guys like Nick Johnson were in town Marshall would be an afterthought. Not a knock on Marshall by any means. Is a steady third / fourth line forward. Grade: C+

Nick Petersen: In a recent game in Syracuse set the WBS record for assists in a game with five. In 23 games is a 5-9-14 and a +7. Destined for big things next year. This year’s Calder Cup run will give him a head start on next year. Grade: B

Nick Johnson / Eric Tangradi / Dustin Jeffrey: If Wilkes-Barre does NOT win a Calder Cup this year, it will be in large part that we don’t have these guys playing. Jeffrey is done in the AHL having nothing left to prove. Tangradi and Johnson suffered concussions. Only Tangradi came back from his and played for Pittsburgh yesterday. Grade: Incomplete

Jason DeSantis: 19 games played for WBS and 1-4-5 +5. Looked great some nights and shaky the next. With the D corps healthy and DeSantis the “in residence” player on the Clear Day roster expect DeSantis back in WBS only if Wheeling bows out of the Kelly Cup finals in the ECHL. Grade: C+

Joey Haddad / Andrew Orpik / Ryan Schnell / Tyler Murovich: Wheeling Reinforcements here. Haddad has the most upside. Orpik is still learning at the ECHL level. Schnell is a budding fighter and Murovich only saw two games for WBS. Grade: Incomplete

Paul Thompson / Viktor Ekbom: Thompson is the unsigned diamond in the rough Pittsburgh always signs. Ekbom is a Swede getting a taste of North American hockey. Thompson has played more games and is a 1-2-3 and a +4. These guys will be watched closely next year. Thompson could see playoff time. Grade: Incomplete

Brad Thiessen: Awarded the Leagues’ Most Outstanding Goaltender Award. Shocked many by not winning league MVP despite going 35-8-1 with a 1.94 GAA and a 0.922 SV%. Set a goal to be the best goaltender in the AHL and has accomplished it thus far. The icing on the cake is the Calder Cup trophy. Grade: A+

John Curry: Wilkes-Barre’s most decorated goaltender. Has played some outstanding hockey as of late. Picked it up in the third quarter and will win playoff games. Finished 23-13 with a 2.44 GAA and a 0.905 SV%. In sincerity, Wilkes-Barre is blessed to have two awesome goaltenders. Grade: A

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Fourth Quarter Grades! Comments are open, or if you want to speak direct to me you can always e-mail me your thoughts.

Let’s Go Pens!