Chirps from Center Ice

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

Crunchy Bears

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 15, 2011

Had to come up with a snazzy blog title to get you caught up on AHL moves in the East Division. Syracuse and Hershey were the only ones who have made moves since the last time I updated. So here goes:

Washington / Hershey:

Jacob Micflikier and Daren Machesney. The latter is a bit of a surprise, but the former is an agitator. He had a career high in points with the Charlotte Checkers (29-32-61) and adds scoring to an already loaded Bears front line. Machesney looks like the third goalie for the Bears. They will have Braden Holtby as number one, Dany Sabourin as number two. Perhaps Machesney signs and ECHL deal and is sent to the Bears affiliate in South Carolina? Surely the Bears won’t carry three goaltenders, right?

Anaheim / Syracuse:

Mathieu Carle. Crunch fans I follow seem to believe that this is an upgrade to their blue line. It would appear as if Syracuse is having itself a nice little offseason. Carle’s +19 was third on the Hamilton Bulldogs last year.

For those wondering about development camp, there hasn’t been any updates as to who has been impressive, who has done what or anything really. There will be a scrimmage Saturday then camp breaks. That’s about it.

The AHL

What’s Your Schedule Look Like?

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 14, 2011

Breaking of the monotony of who signed where, the Pens announced the schedule matrix this morning. Without further delay, here it is…

EAST DIVISION
Hershey Bears (Washington) (6/6)
Binghamton Senators (Ottawa) (5/5)
Norfolk Admirals (Tampa Bay) (5/5)
Syracuse Crunch (Anaheim) (4/4)
TOTAL (20/20)

NORTHEAST DIVISION
Albany Devils (New Jersey) (2/2)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders) (2/2)
Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) (2/2)
Springfield Falcons (Columbus Blue Jackets) (2/2)
Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia) (1/1)
TOTAL (9/9)

ATLANTIC DIVISION
Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) (2/2)
Portland Pirates (Phoenix Coyotes) (2/2)
St. John’s (Winnipeg Jets) (2/2)
Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins) (1/1)
Worcester Sharks (San Jose Sharks) (1/1)
TOTAL (8/8)

NORTH DIVISION
Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) (1/1)
TOTAL (1/1)

Gone are Charlotte, Toronto and Abbotsford from last year. Good to see Manchester and Portland back on the schedule, both are great cities to visit.

Teams are announcing that the actual schedule of who plays who on what day and where will be released in “early August.” So take that as before August 15 which puts us at approximately a month away.

Yet to be announced by the Pens is details on Opening Night and the five guaranteed dates. Also, the League has yet to announce details on an All-Star Classic location. Stay tuned.

The AHL, WBS

Brad’s Backup

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 13, 2011

Announced today that the Pittsburgh Penguins signed goaltender Scott Munroe to a one year NHL contract. It is anticipated that Munroe will backup Brad Thiessen in Wilkes-Barre.

Munroe spent last year in the KHL where he appeared in 31 games and had a 9-12-2 record with a 3.03 GAA and a 0.896 SV%. Before that he spent a year with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he had a 19-16-3 record with a 2.52 GAA and a 0.920 SV%.

I expect Munroe to see 25-30 starts this season behind Thiessen. He will have probably the best team he has ever had in front of him, so we will see how he fares.

The bottom line at the end of the day is whether or not Scott Munroe is seen as an upgrade over Patrick Killeen and on par with what John Curry was as Thiessen’s back up with a good team in front of him. Time will tell.

Pittsburgh, WBS

Best of What’s Available

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 13, 2011

We are about two weeks into free agency and a majority of the big names are signed with new teams. I have chronicled who has signed with our East Division brethren throughout the month. For a refresher, simply scroll down on the page and click “older posts” at the bottom left.

Wilkes-Barre is still in need of ~~a goaltender and~~ ** either a power forward or a center or maybe both, depending on whom you talk to. So I decided to go through Bombulie’s list again and come up with a top ten of “best of what’s available” at the center / wing and goaltending position, in no particular order:

Name	Position	Blurb
Robbie Earl, HOU	RW	I had him on my list a few weeks ago. Speedy guy who can kill penalties and lead a rush.
John Zeiler, MCH	C	Another from my initial list. From Pittsburgh area and an ex-teammate of Geoff Walker.
Paul Szczechura, NOR	C	I’m probably the only one in Wilkes-Barre save for Bombulie or anyone on Coal Street who can spell Szczechura without having to look it up.
Tim Wallace, WBS	RW	Why not? Two different schools here. One side says if he didn’t re-sign initially he was gone, the other say the longer he isn’t signed the more likely he is to come back.
~~Carter Hutton, WOR~~	G	~~Bombulie had him at 212 on his list. Unqualified RFA. It is a guy like this that Wilkes may be pursuing and not someone like…~~ **
~~Tyler Weiman, MTB~~	G	~~Tops on this wish list from a few weeks ago. Shocked that he has not signed yet. If Pittsburgh wants to add a fourth goalie to an NHL deal to push Thiessen on the farm, he’d be the perfect fit.~~ **
Denis Hamel, ADK	LW	Ageless wonder. Started last season without an AHL team. Phantoms sign him and nearly turn their season around. 66 games and 50 points at 34 years old.
~~Barry Brust, BNG~~	G	~~We couldn’t beat Binghamton last year and it was in large part due to this guy.~~ **
Brandon Segal, TEX	RW	When you look up, “power forward” in the dictionary, Segal’s face is there.
~~Graham Mink, PEO~~	RW	~~When you look up, “power forward” in the encyclopedia, Mink’s face is there.~~ *

* – Mink signed with Hershey today. The rich keep getting richer.
** – three hours after this blog post published, the Pens went out and signed Scott Munroe from the KHL.

So there you have it. The natives are getting restless for ~~a backup goalie and~~ another winger / power forward. Nab one of these names, and I think it is safe to say that people will feel good about going into the 2011-2012 campaign.

The AHL, WBS

A “Bad” Addition

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 13, 2011

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost both Mike Rupp and Eric Godard to free agency this summer. Rupp signed a few weeks ago with the New York Rangers and Eric Godard signed yesterday with the Dallas Stars. That is a lot of tough muscle lost in two guys.

Ray Shero responds last night by signing Steve MacIntyre. Who is Steve MacIntyre? For the past couple of years arguably the baddest man in the American Hockey League.

Jonathan Bombulie from the Penguins Insider had a YouTube compilation of some of MacIntyre’s battles. If you look at MacIntrye closely in some of the videos, it doesn’t even look like he breaks a sweat against the meatheads he is clubbing.

A couple of thoughts on this signing: 1) I don’t see MacIntyre ever being sent to Wilkes-Barre, 2) If he does, he will have no problem clearing. The game is evolving beyond goonery and fights every game. MacIntyre is part of a dying breed of guys who all they know how to do is fight and skate. 3) If he ever gets sent to Wilkes-Barre, he’ll provide no offense and may generally be a liability on the ice even strength. That doesn’t mean that I won’t stand and cheer if he were to pummel Hershey’s Joel Rechlicz in a fight.

Late Edit: Perhaps if MacIntyre were ever to be sent to Wilkes-Barre he could take Ryan Schnell under his wing. The teanm announced this morning that Schnell will be returning. Good news.

You can also follow MacIntyre on Twitter, @Smacker33

Keep chirpin’. Go Penguins.

Pittsburgh, The AHL

Dustin’s Return

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 12, 2011

Announced today that Dustin Jeffrey was re-signed to a two-year contract.

First year of the contract is a two-way contract and the second is a one-way.

Big debate on the Twitter side whether Jeffrey needs to clear waivers in order to be sent down.* There are a lot of factors. Age, years of service, injury, etc. I have no idea if he needs to clear.

Finally, please vote if you haven’t already in the poll to the upper right of your screen. Thank you, and Go Penguins!

* – edit: He does.

Pittsburgh, WBS

Stockpiling the Cabinet

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on July 11, 2011

Announced today that Pens defenseman Joey Mormina will be back in the fold for 2011-2012.

Wilkes-Barre is now stacked at the defenseman position. Thinking from top to bottom, the defensive depth chart looks something like this in my mind:

Alexandre Picard
Boris Valabik
Robert Bortuzzo
Brian Strait
Joey Mormina
Carl Sneep
Simon Despres
Alex Grant
Philip Samuelsson

Picard in my mind can stay up all season for all I care. Mormina never really put up flashy numbers from a points perspective (2-9-11 last season) but boasts a nice +/- (+17 this past season, +37 in 2008-09) so it is a quality re-signing. Also, Alex Grant and Philip Samuelsson would probably do well in Wheeling if Picard were to come down. I do not foresee Simon Despres being sent to Wheeling.

Elsewhere:

Washington / Hershey:

Patrick Wellar and Julien Brouillette. Wellar is a re-signing, but was a key member of that Hershey blueline. Brouillette is a non-vet defenseman from Lake Erie.
Christian Hanson. There was a grass roots effort here in Wilkes-Barre to sign Hanson, a Pittsburgh native and a center. Since everyone here in Wilkes-Barre wanted him and Hershey signed him, stings a little.

Ottawa / Binghamton:

Lee Sweatt. Defenseman from the Vancouver organization from last year. Bingo has defensemen leaving like rats to a sinking ship, so bodies on the blueline are a necessity.
Tim Conboy. Another defenseman. Played with Portland last season. Before that was with Carolina / Albany (when they were the River Rats)

As noted earlier, Pens prospect camp opens tomorrow. I have a list of players attending and brief thoughts on Eric Tangradi, Keven Veilleux, Nick Petersen and Simon Despres. Scott Stuccio is there and will be updating the masses. If an interesting tidbit arises, I will have thoughts here.

The AHL, WBS

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