Chirps from Center Ice

Seemingly out of nowhere, kind of like this blog post, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins announced two re-signings today. Blake Siebenhaler and Macoy Erkamps have re-signed and will be in the fold in 2019-20 for the Penguins. AHL deals for both.

Siebenhaler was acquired in a trade with Columbus in the Spring, played one game and then was sent to Wheeling. Erkamps was a fringe defender who appeared in 24 AHL contests with the Penguins.

So that’s 25 games between the two of them, with a whopping four assists, all scored by Erkamps.

Keeping with the theme of attempting to Boil Your Water on Two, the off season re-signings so far have been Joseph Cramarossa, Thomas DiPauli and Erkamps and Siebenhaler. Rarely do I like to compare what other AHL teams do because each developmental process is different, but Hershey has re-signed a boatload of really good players like Liam O’Brien, Steve Whitney and Brian Pinho. They are getting the band back together. A band, mind you, that had a resurgent second half of the season and made it to the second round of the playoffs only to be dismissed by eventual Calder Cup Champion Charlotte. The Penguins are doing the same, but they missed the playoffs for the first time in sixteen seasons with the group they have brought back.

There is a lot of summer left, yes. Free agency hasn’t even begun yet. But the Penguins, with these signings, haven’t made any attempt to give me hope that next year will be any different than the last.

If you are wondering, yes, I am planning on bringing back the AHL Big Board. I was actually working on it when this news dropped. I should, provided everything goes according to plan, have it done this week as far as heavy lifting goes, then it’s just primp and prime for a midweek release next week in time for the July 1 Free Agent Frenzy.

But for anything else breaking, look for a post on here announcing when the Board will be out, then the main show well in advance of the July 1 free for all.