We are almost 2 months into the season and the Pack has only played 8 home games. The boys are off on another road trip to Newfoundland this weekend. The home town crowd is becoming restive. A number of puck bunnies are on suicide watch.

*sigh*

The Pack has played 20 games now, meaning it is time for the update I promised while they were on their West Coast (Sun! Sand! Mormons!) trip. Under Coach Ryan McGill, in his first AHL job, the team has gone 9-6-3-2, and leads the league in goals, assists and points as of this week. Asst. Coach Nicky Fotiu has guided the team to some new-found toughness, and in the process has helped the Pack to 2nd overall in PIMs across the league. Several, okay, one player from the Pack has been called up to the Rangers, and he may wish he was back down here lighting the lamp rather than toiling on the fourth line in New York. And our goalies are getting a tour of benches across the NHL as the goalie shuttle is in full operation again this year.

That said, let’s check out the team.

Goalies:

Johan Holmqvist played his first game at the HCC this year this week, after nursing a fractured hand since the beginning of the season. After a quick warm-up win in Charlotte, he joined the Pack for two games, and then joined the Rangers to back up Danny the Boy Wonder for a few more. Whenever Johan goes to New York, even just as a backup, he comes back to us quicker and more focused. No difference this time, as Johan returned to us in style this week with a shutout for his own personal home opener. Johan looks rested and healthy, and was seeing the puck as well as he ever has the other night. 15 saves in one period isn’t all that shabby. Welcome back, Johan, we missed you.

Jason LaBarbera is currently up with the Rangers, doubtless wondering whether he will get the start in Dallas tonight after Blackburn looked decidedly blah last night in Atlanta. Jason is looking much more agile than last year, the one sticking point in his development from my point of view. His conditioning looks much improved (including ditching that extra weight he was carrying last year) and his confidence has skyrocketed. So far this year he has gone 7-5-2-1 with one shut out, and a 2.75 GAA, 91.6%. If Richter hadn’t gotten injured, Jason was the one who would be looking to backup Danny for years to come. Now, who knows?

Scott Meyer played five games, and you can bet that will be it for him for quite a while. He went 1-2 (and was pulled two other times) with a horrendous 4.83 GAA and 83.7%. The only reason he is still in Hartford is because there isn’t anyone better in Charlotte. To paraphrase Larry Brooks, the only way he gets to play is if Johan or Jason gets lost on the way to the arena.

Former Pack goalie Milan Hnilicka is available after clearing waivers with Atlanta upon the arrival of Byron Dafoe. It seems fitting that he is now sporting the Steve Passmore facial hair. Anyone else think he would be a nice backup to Blackburn? No? *sigh* Damn.

Defensemen:

Joel Bouchard played 39 minutes the other night. In the paper today, he boasted that he can play 35+ a night because of his excellent conditioning. This is the same guy who gave interviews at the beginning of the season complaining that he is really belongs in the NHL. It’s a good thing he’s actually valuable (and our only veteran dman right now) because he is awfully irritating. In 20 games, Joel has been 6-10-16 and is +6 with 20 PIM. Joel is what Mike Mottau thinks he is – an offensive defenseman who understands that second word in his title. Joel can be depended on to generally do the smart thing on the ice, and is apparently helping to keep our team full of rookies on the right track. I don’t know if he’s really NHL material, but he’s a good one to have on our team, as much as he bothers me.

Mike Mottau, to be fair, is having a much better season. Always a good interview, he said in today’s paper that he is working on his ‘negatives’, which include his defensive work and making simple plays – which I agree whole-heartedly on. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right? But as I said, Mike has been doing better this year, playing much better in his own zone and wandering off behind the opponent’s net much less often. I have joked that he needs an ankle bracelet or something to zap him when he hits the other team’s blue line, but I swear he turns back at that point more often than not now. Before injuring his leg this week and thus ending his streak of consecutive games back through last year, Mike was 1-11-12 in 19 games, and was +16 with 12 PIM. Much, much better, Mike.

Richard Lintner I can’t say much about because I don’t think I have seen him play. He may have played one game at home, but I think that was the game I boycotted. He is 2-7-9 in 8 games, and a +6 with 14 PIM. I resented his arrival, though, as it sent Jeff State back to Charlotte. However, Richard got hurt again and Jeff returned, so it’s all okay I guess. He returned to the ice tonight in Newfoundland, and promptly sucked up all the ice time the kids have been getting. Granted, it sounds like he's a good dman (based on what I hear through the online broadcast) but he's another offensive one. Hope he gets called up soon.

Tomas Kloucek… poor kid. Nothing goes right for him. In the 17 games he played this year, he went 3-4-7, and +6 with 81 PIM. Then came the concussion. It kills me to say this, but maybe we need to get him out of here for his own sake, before the roof falls in on him or he gets run over by the Zamboni. Tomas had been veering between very active, hard hitting games and games in which you wondered if he played. The goals were a shock to everyone, including him. What do the hockey gods have against him, though? Is he related to Martin Straka by any chance?

Matt Kinch has played 6 games and gone 1-3-4 as a +6 with 2 PIM. Matty may be the invisible man. He's described as an offensive dman, but he takes good care of his own zone, so perhaps he's a defensive dman who happens to score. Then again, since in the Ranger tradition we pair offensive dmen together, rather than with stay-at-home dmen to cover for them, he just looks really responsible in comparison to the others. In an interview tonight, he cited Mike Mottau as the one he is learning from the most on the team. He just returned from a separated shoulder.

Pat Aufiero just returned to us from Charlotte due to our rash of injuries on the blueline. Another offensive defenseman, he gets lavished with time along with Bouchard and Mottau. I’ve noticed a lot of defensive lapses, and he seems to spend a lot of time on the ice looking around like he is waiting for someone to tell him what to do. The Labrador puppy image still stands – a lot of running around without much purpose. Pat is 1-1-2 in 7 games, is even with 6 PIM. Despite reports to the contrary (Hartford Courant) Pat is actually still with the team.

Vlad Chebaturkin is out indefinitely with a separated shoulder. Prior to that, the big guy was 1-0-1 in 13 games, +2 with 20 PIM. The Vlad Malakov of Hartford. Need I say more?

Dean Arsene I like very much. Dean runs around on the ice and knocks people over, then fights them if they try to get back up. In 9 games, he has gone 0-1-1, is even, with 36 PIM. Dean fights passionately, and wins. His defense is a bit raw, but so was Dale’s when he was here. Give him time, he’s just a kid.

Jeff State I like very much as well. Jeff will fight if he has to, but seems to prefer just running people over, Lindros-style, in pursuit of the puck. Jeff can be counted on to make the smart outlet play and get the game going in the other direction. As a true stay-at-home defenseman (that creature only rarely sighted in Wolf*Pack blue), Jeff also protects our goalies and clears the crease of bodies. Think Tomas without the tendency to take himself out of position so much. Jeff is 0-1-1, +3 with 54 PIM in 13 games.

Craig Weller just returned to us from Charlotte, and promptly got injured (I believe yet another shoulder separation). In only 6 games, it is hard to say too much about him, but he is another hard hitting (and fighting) defenseman. In the 6 games he has played, Craig has gone without points, is +2 and has 6 PIM. Craig is only a temporary call-up due to the injuries, and could use more time in Charlotte before anyone can really judge his potential.

I'll be back later with the report on our forwards.

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