Chirps from Center Ice

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

NHL Free Agency, Day 1

Comments Off on NHL Free Agency, Day 1 Posted by on July 1, 2015

Click. Click.

That’s the sound of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins reloading for what is hopefully another successful campaign in the 2015-16 AHL season come this October.

It was a most active day. Several signings made today by parent Pittsburgh which could have a direct result on how the roster shapes up for the farm team. There was another team in the division that was really active on the wires as well, but it isn’t who you think. Let’s get into it.

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Departures included Kasperi Kapanen and Scott Harrington to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Phil Kessel, Tim Erixson and Tyler Biggs. This was the blockbuster trade of the day. Nothing really to get excited about regarding Biggs or Erixson. Biggs had 47 games with the Marlies last year and was 2-3-5. Erixson is a bit more polished, playing 42 games with the Blue Jackets, Blackhawks and Maple Leafs. In return, Toronto gets an NHL ready defenseman in Harrington and an exciting forward prospect in Kapanen.

But that was the only loss that affected Coal Street. What followed came quickly.

Defenseman David Warsofsky, late of the Providence Bruins and a likely replacement for Taylor Chorney, who signed a $700,000 one way deal with the Washington Capitals today. Warsofsky is a 7th or 8th option on defense at the NHL level. If not, look for Warsofsky to get top minutes in Wilkes-Barre. Warsofsky was #95 on the big board.

Center Kael Mouillierat – played last season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Was #15 on the big board. Automatic 20 goal, 20 assist scorer. Saw his first NHL action with the Islanders last season.

Left Winger Sergei Plotnikov – comes over from Russia and is probably ticketed for full time NHL work with Pittsburgh. If not, he’s entry level and could end up on Wilkes-Barre’s radar.

Conor Sheary got his NHL pact with Pittsburgh. #9 on our big board.

Center Kevin Porter – Played every game for Grand Rapids last year. Is good for about 40 points a year. #14 on the big board. Porter is a former Hobey Baker award winner and ex-captain of the Rochester Americans.

Defenseman Steve Oleksy – should need no introduction to anyone that reads the blog on a regular basis. Oleksy has been a mainstay with the Hershey Bears for years and served as their captain. He was #61 on the big board.

What a haul for the Pens. They lose a veteran center in Andrew Ebbett defecting to Europe but make up for it with Kevin Porter. Pens lose one veteran defenseman in Taylor Chorney and reload almost immediately with TWO veteran defensemen in Warsofsky and Oleksy.

button_wsh200     /     HER

Not to be outdone, the Hershey Bears saw all of the moves made by the Penguins today, dialed up their parents in Washington, and announced the following moves…

Carter Camper, Sean Collins and Aaron Ness and re-signed Mike Moore. Camper was average on a bad Binghamton team last year but does have pedigree and should thrive under Troy Mann. Sean Collins comes over from Springfield and is good for 40 points a year. He’ll probably get that and more playing for Hershey. Aaron Ness is an underrated defenseman and former captain of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Was a point a game guy for the Sound Tigers when they were well out of things at the end of the season. Moore was Hershey’s Man of the year last season.

Camper, Collins, Ness and Moore were 54, 45, 38 and unranked on the big board.

For what it is worth, I do not see Taylor Chorney playing any games for the Bears next year. Not at $700,000 a year.

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It does seem silly that the Portland Pirates are in the same division with the Penguins, but they are and were a very active team in free agency. Here are the moves:

Goalie Mike McKenna. Ageless goaltender that doesn’t really go anywhere town wise as he played with the Pirates last season under the Arizona affiliation. 23 on the board, put up career numbers at age 32.

Forward Shane Harper – 19 on the big board – scored 32 goals with AHL Chicago and led the Wolves in points last season.

Defensemen Sena Acolatse, Brent Regner and Cameron Gaunce. Acolatse played with Worcester for a while. Recently with Adirondack Flames. Regner had 29 points and a +21 with the Wolves last year and Gaunce comes over from the Texas Stars and is a smart veteran defenseman. None of these players were ranked by us on the big board.

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Couple of well known names snagged by the Rangers.

Forward Jayson Megna, fan favorite of this blog, 26 on the board. Megna scored 39 points with the Penguins last year but fell out of favor with the NHL brass as there were more unproven names that were called up ahead of him. It’s a needed change of scenery for Megna.

Brian Gibbons – 91 on the board. Will want to stay healthy. He and Megna would make a dynamic duo on probably one of the quickest lines in the AHL.

Matt Lindblad, Magnus Hellberg and Viktor Stalberg – coming over from the Providence Bruins and Milwaukee Admirals, respectfully, all unranked.

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Depending if they filter into Central Massachusetts, some solid signings for the Falcons in forwards Dustin Jeffrey (#5) and Craig Cunningham (not ranked) as well as defenseman Dylan Reese (#18)

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It almost looked like they weren’t going to do anything today but the Flyers made some big time signings today which could end up in the Lehigh Valley.

Ex-Penguins Chris Conner and Tim Brent. Conner was #8 on the big board. Brent comes back over from Russia, playing in the KHL. They also signed defenseman Davis Drewiske, who had 22 points and a +15 for Hamilton last year. Phantoms are going to need more help than this if they are going to want to stay competitive in Pennsylvania with the Penguins and Bears and afloat, with eight other teams in the new Atlantic Division.

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Re-signed Jeremy Smith. Smith was a free agent. Third on the Boston goalie depth chart, a consistent goaltender that can win 20 games and have a save percentage right around 92%.

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Forward Joe Whitney. 10 on the big board and led the Albany Devils in scoring all four seasons he played in the Capital District. Nothing official reported by the Islanders, but the reports were everywhere from all the reputable guys.

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Here’s Coal Street’s recap on the guys added today that could have an impact on the farm this season and make sure that you bookmark their shiny new blog, Skating on the Susquehanna.

Jonathan Bombulie may write for the Pittsburgh Penguins these days, but here are his thoughts on the haul that could be assigned to Wilkes-Barre in the Fall.

The AHL Free Agent Big Board and the Offseason Moves Lists have been updated accordingly.

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Depending on how Day 2 shakes out around the division, I’ll drop another blog update Thursday.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

AHL Top 100 Free Agents — The Big Board

12 Comments Posted by on June 29, 2015

NOTE: Final update of the board was made August 19, 2015. No further updates will be made to the board after this date.

When Jonathan Bombulie announced earlier this year that he was taking a job in Pittsburgh to cover the beat of the NHL version of the Penguins, one of the things that he left behind was his yearly AHL Free Agent “Big Board” which is a massive list of minor league hockey players ranked, 1-100 and beyond, that debuts right before the start of NHL Free Agency.

Well, thanks in part to the efforts of many, it lives on.

This massive, massive project, doesn’t renieret completed without the help of a broad spectrum of bloggers and journalists alike, from nearly every corner of the American Hockey League. Jason Iacona connected with several bloggers from throughout the AHL and what you see today is the efforts of those who lended a hand in typing up a capsule on a player from the Eastern Conference that the Western Conference never sees, or vice versa.

Before we get to the list of the Top 100 Unrestricted Free Agents, thank you to the following people…

Stephen Meserve from 100 Degree Hockey in Texas who created the spreadsheet that everyone contributed to as well as his thoughts on the Texas Stars free agents.

Nathan Mallett from Runnin’ With the Herd, laid the groundwork for the Top 100 list and contributed greatly to the capsules of the San Antonio Rampage as well as other teams.

Heath Sorey of Beneath the Scope, who went above and beyond the call and provided capsules for not only the Anaheim prospects of the Norfolk Admirals team he blogs for, but several other AHL teams.

Special thanks to Daniel Lavender from Admirals Roundtable for his contributions on the Milwaukee Admirals, Matt Trust from Chocolate Hockey for Lehigh Valley and Hershey, Tracey Lake from Thoughts Inside the Box for Albany, Eric Rodgers from Tend the Farm for Oklahoma City, Darryl Hunt from 210 Sports for Worcester, Jenni Probst from Chasing Checkers for Charlotte and Chris Roy from the Maine Hockey Journal for Portland.

We all hope that you enjoy the list. After the jump, dive into the Top 100 AHL Free Agents Available, then the “Best of the Rest” list below. Note that any Restricted Free Agent not tendered a qualifying offer will be added in on future edits, most likely starting tonight or by noon tomorrow, when the market goes live.

Dive in…

Read more of this post

The AHL

Draft Recap 6/27

Comments Off on Draft Recap 6/27 Posted by on June 27, 2015

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t have a selection in the first round of the NHL Draft of Friday, but they had four picks on Day 2. Let’s take a look…

I’m lucky that I am able to keep up with the happenings in Wilkes-Barre and the AHL as a whole. NHL Draft Prospects isn’t my cup of tea, but there is a cadre of folk with knowledge, so here they are…

https://twitter.com/IanAltenbaugh/status/614807454765973505

There is a local connection too.

Here is his draft profile page with a bit more on him from Pittsburgh and some highlights that Coal Street tweeted out:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR4D7akmXs4]

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Coal Street mined a shootout goal of his:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d9NW4rVaW8&feature=youtu.be]

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Also, a clarification and an update. First, Bobby Farnham is a restricted free agent. It was discovered by Jonathan Bombulie yesterday that due to his NHL service time, Farnham is actually a restricted free agent, it’s in the link at 5:58. I have updated the Offseason Moves List accordingly.

Finally, if you thought that the AHL Free Agent Big Board was going to go away when Jonathan took off for Pittsburgh, think again. I spearheaded an effort with other AHL bloggers to bring it back. I have been in contact with Mike Cignoli from the Citizens Voice about putting the big board up on the Penguins Insider blog and that is where it will most likely end up. If not, we have a Plan B in place to place the Big Board either here or mirrored on this blog and the other blogs where the contributions were made. Keep an eye out for this coming either late Monday or Tuesday.

Pittsburgh, WBS

Kuhn to be Kind; Kuhnhackl Re-Signs 6/23

1 Comment Posted by on June 23, 2015

Announced Tuesday morning that the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Restricted Free Agent Tom Kuhnhackl to a one year deal.

Kuhnhackl took a big step forward for Wilkes-Barre in 2014-15, 30 points in 72 games. He flourished on a line with Carter Rowney and Dominik Uher. Rowney is already signed up for next season and I expect Uher to be qualified and re-signed soon, so the claim that the band is getting back together holds true.

Obie’s thoughts…

[tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/613346843913797632]

I updated the 2015 Offseason Moves List.

Oh, in case you were wondering about the headline, it’s a play on this.

WBS

Hey! Sullivan Man!

1 Comment Posted by on June 18, 2015

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced the ninth head coach of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins on Thursday morning.

His name is Mike Sullivan.

Coming on the heels of the news that John Hynes departed for the New Jersey Devils on June 2 and took Alain Nasreddine with him on Wednesday, the search for a new man to lead the prospects on Coal Street was on.

Sullivan comes over from the Chicago Blackhawks organization where he served as a player development coach for the AHL affiliate of the Stanley Cup Champions, the Rockford IceHogs. Prior to that he served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks, the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was an NHL head coach once with the Boston Bruins.

He’s got quite a resume coming in as a coach with work in the AHL and NHL. I think he may be the most experienced coach coming into the job in Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins history. Michel Therrien coached the Montreal Canadiens prior to coming into the job in Wilkes-Barre in 2003. The rest didn’t have much if any NHL / AHL coaching experience at all before taking over as head man of the prospects on Coal Street.

So I see it as a great hire.

Nothing announced as far as assistant coaches yet. I anticipate that something will be announced in the coming weeks. Sullivan will most likely be actively involved in the process.

Check back later in case the Penguins put up a podcast with the new coach. If they do I will link it in here.

Let’s Go Pens!

WBS

Rowney Re-Signs 6/15

1 Comment Posted by on June 15, 2015

News out of Coal Street Monday afternoon was that they re-signed F Carter Rowney to a one year AHL pact.

Rowney had a breakout year this season for the Penguins, seventh on the team in points with 10-21-31 and a +14 in 63 games for the Penguins in 2014-15. He also had a 64.25% GF% and a 63.83 ESGF%.

I considered Rowney a Priority One guy for the Penguins to re-sign in the offseason. This is an AHL deal, so his Europe prospects were probably there but he most likely wanted to give it one more run in North America and possibly a shot at an NHL deal in 2016-17 or beyond.

Regardless, with Tom Kostopoulos re-signing a month ago and Barry Goers in the fold again, it would look like the band is getting back together.

Mike O’Brien had these series of tweets which I found appropriate…

[tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/610508440306348032] [tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/610509270308790272] [tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/610509642800697344]

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EDIT: The Pittsburgh Penguins announced later in the afternoon that they have signed D Niclas Andersen to a one year entry level contract. Andersen is a 27 year old left-handed defenseman that is 6’1 and 218 pounds. He captained Brynas of the Swedish Elite League this past season. He was a fourth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2006 but never signed. From the limited information out there that I can read that isn’t Swedish, he looks like a defensive defenseman. He’s projected to be a depth guy, which means that he could see Wilkes-Barre in the Fall.

I have updated the 2015 Offseason Moves List appropriately, including the Andersen news.

Let’s Go Pens!

WBS

Monarch Coronation — Manchester WINS Calder Cup

Comments Off on Monarch Coronation — Manchester WINS Calder Cup Posted by on June 13, 2015

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Blogger Note: Special to Bob Howard and the Power Play Post Show.

The Manchester Monarchs were the AHL’s best team all season long and finally reached the pinnacle of success tonight in winning the Calder Cup over the Utica Comets in five games.

Too fast, too tough, too good. These could be words used to describe the Monarchs in the regular season and post season as divisional foes St. John’s, Portland, Worcester and Providence all learned in the regular season and Portland, Wilkes-Barre / Scranton, Hartford and Utica learned in the postseason.

Manchester will soon come home to a celebration for their fans and when the confetti and noisemakers are cleaned up, the team will re-locate about 3,000 miles West and set up operations in Ontaio, California with four other AHL teams making the journey out to the Golden State.

For Manchester, a 14 year run in the AHL concludes with a championship. A 2-1 win over Utica in five games.cc15champs_200

All of the scoring was done in the first period.

Zach O’Brien created a turnover and Nick Shore won a puck battle in the Utica zone and dished to Adrian Kempe who scored at 10:02 to put the Monarchs up 1-0. It was Kempe’s fourth goal in three games this series and the sixth consecutive time on the road where he has scored.

Manchester scored on a power play 3:07 later when Vincent LoVerde scored on a one timer to make it 2-0.

Manchester starting goaltender Patrik Bartosak turned away 31 shots, with the only blemish coming with 14.8 seconds left to play in regulation by Cal O’Reilly with Utica’s starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom pulled for the extra attacker.

Undeterred, the Utica Memorial Auditorium was filled to capacity again, as 3,835 fans packed the Aud in the hopes of cheering their Comets to a win.

Jordan Weal won the Jack Butterfield trophy as MVP of the playoffs with a league best 22 points (10-12-22) along with a +12 in 19 playoff games.

So ends another season of AHL hockey. The 80th season will be here before we know it and the face of the league completely changed with five California teams and a total of eleven affiliation changes or relocations.

Is it October yet?

The AHL

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