Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: The AHL

2018 Draft Recap, The Old College Try

1 Comment Posted by on June 23, 2018

As with years prior, I use this piece as a recap of the recap of the NHL Draft and the haul that the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted. Here goes.

After no action at all in the first round Friday, all of the picks were made on Saturday. They were…

Pittsburgh then traded up to draft…

Then they waited to 129 and took…

And then in the sixth round…

They traded away their final pick to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for theirs in 2019.

Coal Street with a recap here of the picks and scouting reports on all. Also, if you have a subscription to The Athletic, you can find a recap and grade of Pittsburgh’s draft class here as well.

AHL Big Board will be out this week on the blog. I am aiming for a midweek debut because all I need are blurbs on any restricted free agents not qualified by Monday. Everything else is done but for ranking, but that is seamless because I have a top 30 and really just need 60 more which shouldn’t be that hard. I learned how to have a spreadsheet alphabetize for me two years ago so that’s a breeze.

The plan is to drop a blog post in here advising when the Big Board will be out to give ample time and build up the anticipation.

Pittsburgh, The AHL

Penguins Find New Voice

1 Comment Posted by on June 11, 2018

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will have a new, yet familiar voice handling play by play duties in their 20th season in October 2018.

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Coal Street announced Monday morning the logical and best man for the job, installing Nick Hart as the new play-by-play broadcaster/media relations director for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

In addition, Jason Spess was named manager of team services. Spess served as assistant general manager of the Toyota SportsPlex for the past two years and was an assistant coach with the Wheeling Nailers last season.

From the release…

“Mike did a tremendous job during his seven year tenure in Wilkes-Barre, not only behind the microphone, but behind the scenes handling the team services functions for the club,” said CEO Jeff Barrett.  “We are also happy to hand these new duties to Nick and Jason, who have worked tirelessly for the team over the past several years.”

O’Brien is leaving to pursue other opportunities in Boston, Massachusetts.

In other news…

— Gage Quinney signed an NHL deal with his hometown Vegas Golden Knights. If he doesn’t stick in the NHL, he’ll skate in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves next season.

— Tom Sestito is moving on.

https://twitter.com/TomSestito23/status/1005566476315656192

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I do not necessarily think that Sestito is done playing hockey. We will have to wait and see where Tom ends up.

Finally, the 2018 AHL Free Agent Big Board is being constructed and again this year I am going to crowd source this. If you are interested in contributing, please contact me either on the blog or through Twitter, @nafsnep – many hands will do for clean and light work.

That’s all for now.

The AHL, WBS

Updates 5/31

Comments Off on Updates 5/31 Posted by on May 31, 2018

Getting closer to the start of summer, there have been a few things rolling around that don’t get a whole blog post dedicated to it, but have built up enough to warrant one now. In sum,

— Pittsburgh signed Juuso Riikola to an entry level contract. He’s a Finnish defenseman. Undrafted, steady handed puck mover was second on his Liiga team in points last year.

— The guys from the Pittsburgh faction of The Athletic had a feature piece on him that you can, as long as you are a subscriber, can check out here.

— Lukas Bengtsson made it official and signed in the SHL for next season. It’s a three year contract. Don’t be surprised if the Penguins simply protect his North American rights going forward, but his days are done on Coal Street.

— There is a new ECHL team in St. Johns, Newfoundland and they have a kick ass logo. They will be a Toronto affiliate.

— Etienne Marcoux, who was one of 167 goaltenders the Penguins used at the position last season, earned himself an AHL deal with the Laval Rocket.

— Wheeling has a new head coach. His name is Mark Dennehy. He has ties with Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan. A great hire.

— The AHL extended Dave Andrews through 2020.

— Ex-Penguin Bobby Farnham re-signed with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

— Mama, it’s those men again. Another Athletic piece on Jordy Bellerive, who is a man against boys with Lethbridge in the Western Hockey League. He may make NHL team out fo camp in the fall, but if he doesn’t, he will need to go back to the Hurricanes because he’s too young to play in the AHL.

Hitting on the news, I don’t see Riikola coming over here to play 50+ games in the AHL personally, but if he wants to learn the North American game he may have to….Dennehy is a good hire because he did more with less at tiny Merrimack College which was a small fish in the big pond known as college hockey in the Northeast….There are a lot of things I don’t like about the AHL (teams playing 68 games, linesmen who are in over their heads on a nightly basis, a training ground for referees who are cast in a bigger spotlight who are sometimes in the same boat, the high price of AHL Live, etc.) but the one constant is Andrews and his vision has catapulted the AHL into the second best brand of hockey in North America and some would say the world. The League will be at 31 teams in 2018-19 with the inclusion of the Colorado Eagles and may get to 32 if NHL Seattle is granted a franchise, so what better man to keep running the ship than Andrews. It was said that he was close to retiring, but he was talked into staying around for a little while longer. The League will be better for it.

Toronto swept Lehigh Valley in four games and Texas dispatched pesky Rockford in six. These two will play for the Calder Cup starting Saturday in Toronto.

That’s pretty much it. When news builds up on me I’ll drop another post in, but for now enjoy the warm weather.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Conference Finals Previews

1 Comment Posted by on May 17, 2018

Four teams remain in contention for the Calder Cup. They are the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Toronto Marlies, Rockford IceHogs and Texas Stars.

Interesting series developments here. In the East, it’s a battle of the top two teams in the Marlies and Phantoms. In the West, it’s the veteran Texas Stars vs. the undefeated in postseason Rockford IceHogs.

Let’s take a crack at predicting each series, starting in the West.

     Rockford IceHogs vs. Texas Stars     

How the IceHogs got here: They haven’t lost a game yet, sweeping the Manitoba Moose in four games. The Moose led the Central Division for large chunks of the season while the IceHogs toiled at the cut line for most of the season. But as Rockford proved, it’s a new season now.

How the Stars got here: Beat Pacific Division Champion Roadrunners in five games. They got opportune scoring from their forwards and excellent goaltending from Mike McKenna and used experience to dismiss youth in a quick series that lasted just five games.

How they matchup: 1-2-0-1 if you are a Stars fan, 3-1 if you are a Rockford supporter.

How Rockford wins: IceHogs were unfazed by the Central Division Champion Chicago Wolves in Round One and smoked the division champs in a three game sweep. They stared down a Manitoba side that is going to be good next year and swept them. In order to do that to Texas, they will need to get to McKenna early and often, bottle up the Stars offense and make this series look as easy as the two prior. Easier said than done.

How Texas wins: It’s the experience that got the Stars here, and the experience that gets them past a pesky Rockford side that is that, “hot team at the right time” club that you sometimes see in these postseason tournaments in the AHL.

Prediction: It doesn’t end in a sweep, nor does it with Rockford advancing. Texas in six.

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     Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. Toronto Marlies     

How the Phantoms got here: Beat Providence easily in four games, and Charlotte the same way including the longest game in AHL history. Phantoms are playing tough teams and beating them easily.

How Toronto got here: Survived a scare in five games with Utica, then swept away a Syracuse team that looked at times to push the Marlies for the North Division lead in the regular season.

How they matchup: 0-1-0-1 if you are a Phantoms fan and 2-0 if you are a Marlies fan.

How Lehigh Valley wins: Alex Lyon stole the series for the Phantoms making 94 (yes, ninety-four) saves in Game 4’s five overtime thriller. The Phantoms will be heavily relying on their net minder to get them past the Toronto Marlies.

How Toronto wins: They made it look easy against a team they are familiar with in Syracuse, and will need to overcome their closest challenger in Lehigh Valley who finished runner up in the Conference. These teams played just two games against each other in what can only be described as a small, maybe insignificant, sample size.

Prediction: It’s the unstoppable Lehigh Valley Phantoms who are blitzkrieging opponents vs. the immovable object in the best all around team in Toronto. I haven’t picked the Phantoms to win a playoff series yet in this series I have been doing for the blog because I thought that the teams that they were facing in Providence and Charlotte were better than them. I know that Toronto is the better team here. Marlies have been good all season and know that they are a series away from playing for the ultimate goal. Toronto in five.

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That’s how I see it shaking out. If you still have a team in it, enjoy the ride.

The AHL

2018-19 Schedule Matrix Announced

1 Comment Posted by on May 11, 2018

I think Hershey was the first team to announce a schedule matrix of opponents for 2018-19 on Thursday. Other teams followed suit slowly. Well, Friday it was the Penguins turn.

No real changes from last year but for the addition of the Cleveland Monsters to the schedule docket. Wilkes-Barre will play every Eastern Conference team at least once and also go back to Grand Rapids, Rockford and Milwaukee.

Breakdown goes as follows….

Opponent Home Road   Opponent Home Road
Binghamton 2 2 Milwaukee 1 1
Bridgeport 4 4 Providence 3 3
Charlotte 2 2 Rochester 1 1
Cleveland 2 2 Rockford 1 1
Grand Rapids 1 1 Springfield 3 3
Hartford 3 3 Syracuse 1 1
Hershey 6 6 Toronto 1 1
Lehigh Valley 6 6 Utica 1 1

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Thoughts:

  • I am not a fan of playing Charlotte, a divisional foe, just four times. Those games matter.
  • Further, I’m not a fan of playing Syracuse just twice. Those games turn into premier games in that it’s the only time all season that you will see the club. I don’t associate that at all with the Crunch.
  • Easy fix is to simply take two games off of the Hershey and Lehigh Valley series, only play the Phantoms and Bears 10 games, and add a game to the Charlotte series and one more to Syracuse.
    • That would likely mean that the Penguins would have to play three straight in Charlotte. I don’t know that they would want to do that because of distance.
  • The Cleveland series will likely be a back to back Friday-Saturday series in Cleveland.
  • I’m not complaining, but I would have liked to have seen Iowa and Chicago on the matrix instead of the same combination of Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and Rockford. But hey, they are Western Conference teams.

Overall, pretty business as usual. Schedule should be out pretty soon, once the Calder Cup Finals wrap up in about a month.

The Offseason Moves List has its own dedicated page now, which you can access here or just use the tab at the top of the blog.

Next blog update will be the Conference Finals Preview. Toronto is in, awaiting the winner of Lehigh Valley and Charlotte. Texas is a game away from advancing past Tucson and Rockford has Manitoba in a 3-0 hole. Look for that very soon.

The AHL, WBS

2018-19 AHL Alignment Announced

1 Comment Posted by on May 8, 2018

This announcement from the League happens every year around this time and with how scarce news is while playoffs are still ongoing I figured I would drop in and note the news.

For the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and the rest of the Atlantic Division, the news yesterday didn’t really do much to affect the order of business. There were no changes. Divisional opponents remain Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hershey, Hartford, Lehigh Valley, Providence and Springfield. The Penguins will play the Bears and Phantoms 12 times, that you can bank on and a bunch more with the other teams in the division.

The rest of the alignment was standard and no real surprises. Expect the Penguins to play the Cleveland Monsters a few times next season as the Monsters join the North Division and come over from the Western Conference.

In the Western Conference, Texas and San Antonio leave the Pacific to join the Central Division and the new, 31st AHL team in Loveland, Colorado will play in the Pacific Division with the other part time teams that play 68 games.

Full release here. No mention of playoffs, but I would assume that now that you have every team in order with teams in a division where everyone plays the same amount of games, we can scrap the idea of ranking teams by percentage points and go back to straight up points.

The AHL

2018 Divisional Final Previews

Comments Off on 2018 Divisional Final Previews Posted by on May 2, 2018

Well, since the Penguins are out of the playoffs and nothing to do for the next six months, I may as well stay up with the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs. I have had a few people ask me if I was going to continue to preview the next round and beyond so I may as well continue.

So in this round, it’s the teams that made it, how they got here, how they stack up and my prediction.

I was 5-for-8 in my first round picks. I picked Chicago, Grand Rapids and Providence to advance in round one. Chicago got swept, Grand Rapids got blown out in Game Five on home ice and Providence didn’t have enough for Lehigh Valley, going out in four games.

Hopefully this round will go better for my predictions. Here we go…

     Leh. Val. Phantoms vs. Charlotte Checkers     

How the Checkers got here: Made no mistakes and capitalized on Wilkes-Barre / Scranton’s. It was a methodical dissection of one of the better AHL teams in the league. Charlotte was favored in some circles but the sweep of Wilkes-Barre was a surprise.

How the Phantoms got here: Outlasted a Providence team in just four games. Bruins stole Game 2, and but for a close Game 1 and an overtime series clincher in Game 4, the division champs withstood a good Bruins team that just lacked the offensive punch that Lehigh Valley utilizes.

How they matchup: 4-4 both ways. So an even matchup if there ever was one.

How Charlotte wins: Continue to make no mistakes, push the Phantoms into pressure which worked somewhat for the P-Bruins in round one that got Providence some goals.

How Lehigh Valley wins: Use home ice and the raucous PPL Center crowd and the advantage of being the best team in the Division. There are a lot of similarities between Charlotte and Lehigh Valley, but it was the Phantoms that stayed at the top of the division and Charlotte who remained in fourth for much of the second half of the year.

Prediction: This may be the most exciting of the divisional finals. I got Charlotte in six. I witnessed first hand how it can methodically dissect a team and run away. Lehigh Valley’s inconsistencies are exposed and Charlotte advances.

     Toronto Marlies vs. Syracuse Crunch     

How the Crunch got here: Finished off a sweep of the Rochester Americans quite handily. Syracuse was the better team in the regular season matchup and quickly dispatched Rochester in three games.

How the Marlies got here: Got a scare from Utica, who pushed Toronto to five games. Garret Sparks 37 save clean sheet in Game 5 was enough to push the Marlies past the Comets to avoid the upset.

How they matchup: 3-5 if you are a Crunch fan and 5-2-1-0 if you are a Marlies fan.

How Syracuse wins: This is a strong group, but so is Toronto. So is it a clash of styles or the team that makes fewer mistakes? The Crunch have been here before. So it’s that experience that they need to use to carry themselves against the Marlies.

How Toronto wins: Well, whatever it was in the two games in Utica, burn that tape to the ground. It’s not a back to basics for a team that had 112 points in the AHL this season. But this is a matchup that favors Toronto, so it’s limiting your mistakes and capitalizing on the opponent’s that pushes the Marlies to the conference finals.

Prediction: Toronto in seven. Marlies outlast the Crunch in a classic between two heavyweights.

     Tucson Roadrunners vs. Texas Stars     

How the Stars got here: Needed just four games against an Ontario Reign team that started to give fits. But then Mike McKenna stepped in and didn’t allow a single Reign goal the rest of the way. Texas’ veterans outlasted a Reign side.

How the Roadrunners got here: Dispatches the San Jose Barracuda quite handily in four games. Tucson avoided the hot run that the Barracuda ended the season on and avoided the upset from the fourth seeded Pacific Division team.

How they matchup: 1-1-2-0 if you are a Stars fan and 3-1 if you are a Roadrunners fan.

How Texas wins: Nothing is going to change here. The veteran Stars continue business as usual against Tucson.

How Tucson wins: Continue to be the class of the division. Adin Hill closed out Games 3 and 4 with back to back shutouts. Roadrunners ride they goaltender forward to that special group of forwards.

Predication: I can see an “old lion” of Mike McKenna vs. “young lion” Adin Hill here and a good old fashioned goaltenders duel. Regardless, I get the sense that youth prevails. Tucson in six.

     Manitoba Moose vs. Rockford IceHogs     

How the Moose got here: Took out the defending champion Grand Rapids Griffins in five games. Overwhelmed the Moose in the deciding game and crushed the defending champs on their home ice.

How the IceHogs got here: Swept the Division Champion Wolves in three games. A four seed should not make it look as easy as the IceHogs did against the Wolves.

How they matchup: 2-1-1-0 if you are a Moose fan, 2-2 if you are an IceHogs fan. This one should be fun.

How Rockford wins: IceHogs used swagger and a fearless approach against a Wolves team that looked dangerous. Rockford exploited Chicago’s weaknesses in a big way and made it look easy. They need the same against a Moose team that was on top of the Central for about 90% of the season.

How Manitoba wins: Moose took out the defending Calder Cup Champion Griffins in five games. They outlasted the Griffins and made it count when they needed it to in the decisive game. Outlasting Rockford here is something that a Moose team that spent more time at the top is something that Manitoba will need to do to advance.

Prediction: Series screams seven games. There may be others here that go the distance, but this series in particular talks, walks and looks like a seven game series. Manitoba in seven.

That’s how I see this round shaking out. Good luck to you if you have a team still in it.

The AHL

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