Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: The AHL

AHL Power Rankings: Week 22

1 Comment Posted by on March 9, 2015

Note: The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins signed defenseman Danny Syvret to a PTO this afternoon. Details on this can be found here.

There is a new number one in the Week 22 offering of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings. It should come as no surprise to anyone that it’s the Grand Rapids Griffins, who have points in their last 15 contests.

But there is a lot going on outside of Grand Rapids. Take the Northeast Division for example. Syracuse is the top team there. The Crunch are the team that the Politburo says will not make playoffs this season. In second, it’s the Springfield Falcons, who have lost three in a row. Next is the Hartford Wolf Pack, who have a six game losing streak. The best team in the Northeast Division may actually be fourth place Albany, who split two with the St. John’s IceCaps in a weekend battle between two teams that are desperately trying to get back into the playoff discussion.

Oh, an easter egg for you to find in this weeks rankings. The Politburo said last week that Syracuse would miss playoffs. There is a team that is not in playoffs currently that the the Politburo says will make the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

In order to find out who, and to see where your favorite team ranks, please click through the jump if you didn’t link in direct….

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Power Rankings

He Ain’t No Syv — Penguins Sign D Danny Syvret

1 Comment Posted by on March 9, 2015

Programming Note: I am pushing back the Week 22 AHL Power Rankings back an hour. They will be out at 5 instead of their standard 4 p.m. time. 

The Penguins announced they have signed defenseman Danny Syvret to a PTO today. Syvret had previously been on a PTO with the Iowa Wild, but was released this morning.

Syvret is an excellent pickup for Wilkes-Barre. Here are a few examples of why I make that claim:

[tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/575009437405999104] [tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/575010356591861760] [tweet https://twitter.com/CVCignoli/status/575012240019030018] [tweet https://twitter.com/CVCignoli/status/575013058151587840]

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In 58 games with Iowa this season, Syvret is 4-14-18. But don’t look at those numbers and run away screaming. The Wild have been piss poor all season long. Last season with Hartford, Syvret was seventh overall in defensemen scoring and led Hartford overall in scoring. He’s probably happy that he is heading to a contending team that can make another deep run into the playoffs.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ASaunders_PSN/status/575010700545798144]

That is easily fixable. Not only is Drazenovic still out week to week, but Pierre Leblond’s services probably won’t be needed come late April and beyond once Drazenovic does return.

This was probably a match made in heaven for all parties involved. For Syvret, he was on a PTO with an Iowa team that wasn’t going anyplace. He was more than likely headed to a contending team for the stretch run anyway. For the Penguins, they lost Reid McNeill to injury this weekend, so the need for a defenseman over a forward was a priority. On top of all that, with today being the AHL trade deadline, there haven’t been many moves at all. Technically this wasn’t a trade, but there weren’t many teams willing to swap AHL contracts with so many teams both in the Eastern and Western Conference still in the hunt for the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

I am guessing that Syvret will make it to town and be available for Wednesday’s meeting with Hershey.

Also announced today, Penguins Goaltender Matt Murray was named AHL Player of the Week (again) after his history making weekend.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS

AHL Power Rankings: Week 21

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 21 Posted by on March 3, 2015

The AHL’s Daily Playoff Primer debuted this week, meaning that we are close to the end of the season. About at the three quarter pole for all teams.

But there is much work to do as teams jockey for playoff positioning.

There are three teams in the AHL that are on an absolute tear, and are ranked 1-2-3 in this weeks Rankings. A Penguin and a Griffin walk into a bar and say to the Bear tending bar….I forget the rest, but you get the idea….

If you are new to the Rankings, the way this works is that you click through the jump below to read more or if you clicked in from someplace else, you can just keep scrolling…

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Power Rankings

Yes, I’d Like to Return This…

2 Comments Posted by on February 26, 2015

So the stays of J-S Dea and Harrison Ruopp in Wilkes-Barre were short lived. They were returned to Wheeling Thursday.

Jonathan reported Wednesday that Bobby Farnham practiced in a limited role and has not been ruled out for games Saturday in Hartford and Sunday in Bridgeport. So the extra forward Saturday will probably come down to Farnham, Adam Payerl or Josh Archibald.

On Archibald, he performed better in Wheeling so he gets to stay. I still have no idea why Ruopp was recalled. If anyone knows, please leave me a comment.

On a potential suspension for Dylan McIlrath on Farnham Sunday, the AHL was mum this week so he’s not going to be suspended. While I respectfully disagree with the lack of action on behalf of the AHL, we have to move on.

If you live in Pittsburgh and get MyPittsburgh TV WPMY22, you will be able to watch the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins on television. This was announced on Thursday. The games will be 3/14 vs. Hershey, 3/21 vs. Binghamton, 4/4 vs. Lehigh Valley and 4/18 vs. Norfolk. Press release with channel information here.

Pens are off Friday, I am planning on taking in the rematch between between Hershey and Binghamton from the Southern Tier on AHL Live. This is the final game in hand that the Bears, who have a five point lead in the East Division in the Penguins, play.

Unless something jumps off the page Friday, expect the next blog update Saturday at 3 p.m. for the Gameday setup vs. Hartford.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

AHL Power Rankings: Week 20

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 20 Posted by on February 23, 2015

There are about eight weeks left in the regular season. There are teams on the up and up and teams plummeting downward. There are teams that have been contenders all season long and teams that haven’t been relevant since the start of the season.

As you pick though this weeks offering of the Week 20 Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings, you will see what I mean. Teams like the Grand Rapids Griffins trending up and in a three way tie for first in the Midwest Division and teams like the Bridgeport Sound Tigers that started out with so much promise, but are dead last in the Eastern Conference.

No team among the leaders last week went without a regulation loss in the top five this week, so I figured instead of throwing the top eight into a blender to keep one and two the same and then adjust accordingly from three on back. Pop through the jump if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up this week…

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Power Rankings

AHL Power Rankings: Week 19

2 Comments Posted by on February 16, 2015

Special President’s Day start time to the Week 19 AHL Power Rankings here at 11 a.m. on Monday. Here are a few things to look for…

There is a new number one this week.

There is a team the Politburo describes as, “quietly underrated.”

See if you can find the description of the team that is interjecting themselves into the most exciting divisional race to watch in the AHL.

A question for some fans of some teams that read this blog. I’m really interested in your replies.

Something or nothing for a team in the East Division.

An apology to a team the Politburo messed up on last week.

Plus much more. Click through the jump if you didn’t link in direct.

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Power Rankings

AHL Power Rankings: Week 18

2 Comments Posted by on February 9, 2015

It is mid-February. Where did January go? If you are in the Northeast, you probably think that it is still January with all the snow that is out there, but in the AHL, we are about ten weeks away from the end of the season and there are some teams that are solidly in, some teams that are teetering on the brink of destruction and glory and some teams that are so checked out that they are already making plans for a long offseason.

But there is still time to make a run. You may delay, but time will not. Better hurry!

There is a new number one this week. Last weeks number one didn’t slip too far, click through the jump to see where your favorite team ended up.

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Power Rankings

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