The Wolf Pack return to action from a five day break when they take on the Manchester Monarchs tonight at the Hartford Civic Center. After tonight's contest, the Pack will enjoy another five day period without any games. The rest is definitely much needed, as on December 8th, the Wolf Pack will head to Worcester, Massachusetts to begin one of the more grueling sections of their schedule this season.
Starting with that road game at the DCU Center, the Wolf Pack have 26 games in 51 days. Oh, and all but three of them are against Atlantic Division teams.
The one positive behind this is that the Wolf Pack won't have to travel that far -- they've already completed their two longest road trips of the season. In fact, excluding one game in January where the Wolf Pack head to Albany, New York to take on the River Rats, Hartford isn't scheduled to leave New England until March 3rd when they visit the Philadelphia Phantoms.
There's no question that this stretch of games will be a test for the team. After a prolonged slow start to the 2006-2007 season, in which they picked up only 5 wins in their first 17 games, the Pack appear to be back on the right track. They're currently riding a three game win streak, powered by two dramatic overtime victories.
The question is, can they keep it up?
With the recent performance of each individual player, and the team finally starting to click, things are starting to shape up for the Wolf Pack. At this point, every standings point counts.
Luckily for the Wolf Pack, things aren't as bad as they could be. They're only six points out of a playoff spot, they have a game in hand on Manchester, and they're only 11 points behind division leading Portland. Lose tomorrow night, and they're eight points out of a playoff spot. It may be an old saying, but standings points count as much in December as they do in April.
With twenty games in the books, fans in Hartford have had ample time to get a look at each player and get a feel for what they can bring to the table. So, I've come up with a report card for the first quarter of the 2006-2007 season.
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#2 Dave Liffiton - Defense
20 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 50 PIM, -8
It's a good thing the Wolf Pack don't rely on Dave for his point production, though it would be nice to get a little help from him occasionally. So far, he's on pace for a whopping four points. For a third year pro who improved a lot over the course of last season, I expected him to continue improving. Clearly not the case. He's been outplayed by every other defenseman on the team, with the exception of Martin Richter, and he hasn't really stood out.
Grade: C
#4 Marvin Degon - Defense
20 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 14 PIM, -13
All three of Marvin Degon's goals have come on the powerplay this season. It's not just that he's scoring on the powerplay, it's that he's scoring at clutch times. Between this season and the end of last season, he's scored five AHL goals. One was the game winner in overtime, one tied the game, and two put some life back into the team after they had yet to score. The other was the 9th goal in a 9-3 rout of San Antonio. Degon's not afraid to shoot the puck on the power play either.
Grade: B
#5 - Forward - Dale Purinton
19 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 77 PIM, -6
Dale has improved this season. He's actually stayed out of the penalty box for entire games, and he's not taking that many stupid penalties. He's one of the veterans on the team, and he certainly is playing like one. Granted, he's no point producing superstar, but he has scored some timely goals as a result of hard work. It's starting to rub off on those around him
Grade: B
#7 - Defense - Martin Richter
17 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 10 PIM, -6
Richter has been ineffective thus far. As I pointed out in my previous article, it's hard to notice him out there. I expected him to be more of a force, putting up decent numbers on offense because of his recent numbers in Europe. Unfortunately, he hasn't done that.
Grade: F
#9 - Left Wing - Nigel Dawes
6 GP, 0 G, 7 A, 4 PIM, +/- 0
Though I should really give him an incomplete, as he's only played six games, he's really helped the Wolf Pack offense since his return. Hartford is 4-2 this year when Nigel Dawes in the lineup, and they've won four out of their last five. Now, Rangers fans should know about Nigel Dawes, since he spent a good deal of time with the Rangers this season. Unfortunately, he really didn't get a great opportunity to play on a line with players who can put up points. In Hartford, he played some time with Immonen and Callahan, and that line looked pretty solid.
Grade: A-
#10 - Center - Dwight Helminen
20 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 10 PIM, -6
Dwight had struggled early on in the year (but then again, who didn't). He's still nowhere near on pace for the 32 goal season he put up last year while playing with Dawes and current Anaheim Ducks prospect Colby Genoway, but he's also not getting top line minutes. Most recently, he’s been playing with Craig Weller and Dale Purinton. That right there is not a line that’s going to put up a lot of points. As a positive, Helminen does play a good two-way game.
Grade: B-
#11 - Right Wing - Francis Lessard
6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 38 PIM, +/- 0
I really haven’t seen that much of Lessard, he has only played six games so far this season. He really isn’t expected to do much more than fight, so I really don’t have anything to grade him on
Grade: Incomplete
#14 - Left Wing - Brad Isbister
3 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PIM, -1
For a veteran of numerous NHL games, I expected more from him in his first three games. He wasn’t really noticeable in any of the Pack’s games, and he was a healthy scratch on Sunday. I, and I’m not alone on this one, expect more production from him. He even played with Greg Moore and Jarkko Immonen in his first game, and didn’t look that great. By comparison, Petruzalek, the player traded for Isbister, has a goal and two assists in this first two games with the Albany River Rats.
Grade: Incomplete
#15 - Right Wing - Greg Moore
19 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 13 PIM, -8
If there’s one guy I’d like to see on the scoresheet more often this season, it’s Greg Moore. The Wolf Pack are undefeated when Moore records a point. After gathering just one point in his first nine games, he has five in his last ten. He’s still got some work to do, but he’s been pretty impressive so far this year. He still has some work to do, but that goes for just about every young player on the team.
Grade: B-
#16 - Center - Jarkko Immonen
19 GP, 6 G, 7 A, 6 PIM, -14
After a dismal start to the season, Immonen has rebounded and has scored six times in his last six games. (If you’re keeping score at home, that’s exactly the amount of time that Nigel Dawes has been with the team). It took him a while to get that first goal (at least 33 shots) but once he finally got one in, he’s been the Immonen fans in Hartford saw last season. If I graded him around the ten game mark, he probably would have gotten an F. However, he’s really stepped up his game recently.
Grade: B-
#19 - Center - Brandon Dubinsky
18 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 26 PIM, +3
Last month, I was willing to give Dubinsky the benefit of the doubt. He looked good skating wise, but he wasn’t scoring. Now... nothing’s really changed. For someone as highly touted as Brandon Dubinsky, he really hasn’t been performing that well this season. Even now, when the Wolf Pack’s offense is finally starting to click, he hasn’t been that effective. Something I’ve notice is he always seems to be getting manhandled out on the ice, whether it be getting a hard check into the boards or simply getting outmuscled. I’m not sure what’s going on with him. He obviously has talent, he showed that last year when he was up for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Since that first round against the Monarchs though, he really has fallen off the radar. He has just 3 points in his last 16 games. Hopefully he can do something tonight against the team he played so well against last year.
Grade: D
#21 - Left Wing - Lee Falardeau
16 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 22 PIM, -6
Falardeau, who was real impressive in training camp this season, has been sent to Charlotte after he managed just 3 points in 16 games this season. Honestly, I thought he outperformed Hugh Jessiman, and that Jessiman should have been the one demoted to Charlotte. Whatever way you slice it, neither were that great during the first quarter of the season. I will say that he played a better physical game than he did last year.
Grade: C
#23 - Defense - Ivan Baranka
9 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 12 PIM, -3
Though limited to nine games due to injury, when Ivan Baranka returned to action it didn’t look like he missed a game. In fact, it looks like the injury actually helped him. Since his return, he has three assists in two games. He and Daniel Girardi are probably the two best defenseman in Hartford this season. Baranka plays a solid physical game, and he’s very reliable on defense. Like I said before, his offense appears to be picking up as well. Hopefully he can maintain that.
Grade: B+
#24 - Right Wing - Ryan Callahan
19 GP, 15 G, 6 A, 28 PIM, +3
Callahan has been the driving force behind the Wolf Pack’s offense so far this season. I had high expectations for him entering the year, and so far he’s lived up to and exceeded every one of them. Here’s what I said about Callahan back on October 7, before the season started.
Last Season: Nigel Dawes
Replaced By: Ryan Callahan
Dawes and Callahan are both players who are small in stature, but big in talent. While Callahan checks in at 5’11, the Rochester native exhibited the same scoring prowess that Nigel Dawes possessed in junior hockey last season with the Guelph Storm. Callahan scored 52 goals and added 32 assists in just 62 games while captaining the Storm to the third round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He’s also not afraid to block shots and play the defensive side of the puck. Expect Callahan to play the same role in Hartford that Nigel Dawes did, a top six forward who gets a substantial amount of ice time. Don’t be surprised to see him spend time on the power play and penalty kill units as well.
And sure enough, Ryan Callahan had virtually the same start to the season that Nigel Dawes did. Last season, Dawes didn’t score until his fifth game. After that, he had an outstanding rookie season. This year, Callahan didn’t score a goal until his fifth game, though he did record an assist in his third. So this season, Callahan actually has 15 goals in his last 15 games.
Grade: A+
#25 - Defense - Jake Taylor
0 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PIM, +/- 0
Taylor has yet to play due to an injury.
Grade: Incomplete
#26 - Defense - Bryce Lampman
19 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 34 PIM, +/- 0
Considering that Lampman came off an injury which caused him to miss a great deal of games last season, you figure that it takes a while for him to get accustomed to game action again. Lampman didn’t appear to be playing that well at all until very recently, namely the road game against Houston where he was a +4. Since that game though, he’s playing a lot better. There was a brief period in the game against Bridgeport last Saturday where he didn’t look that great, but once he scored he appeared a lot more confident on the ice. It wasn’t a spectacular goal, he threw it on net and it managed to go in, but sometimes all a player needs is confidence. Right now, Lampman appears confident out on the ice, and he’s playing much better than he did earlier in the year.
Grade: B
#27 - Right Wing - Hugh Jessiman
16 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 17 PIM, -7
After starting the season off very strong, Jessiman reverted back to the player Wolf Pack fans saw at the start of last season. He’s been very disappointing, especially because he was playing very well at the end of last season and appeared ready to contribute in the AHL on a regular basis at the beginning of this season. Since then though, he hasn’t done much of anything.
Grade: F
#29 - Goalie - Al Montoya
12 GP, 2-7-0, 2.83 GAA, 90.0 Save %
Although he has been playing a lot better than he had last season, consistency is still an issue for him. If you watch Montoya, you’ll see flashes of brilliance. You’ll say to yourself “Wow! How did he stop that?” Then, not even a couple minutes later, the opposition will score a weak goal and you’ll wonder “Wow! How didn’t he stop that?” His record isn’t a record of his performance though, as his team hasn’t scored goals in the games he’s played. Although, this past Sunday he allowed five goals and still managed to win, so that’s up to your own interpretation. He did earn the win, but he allowed five goals. Which is more important to you? I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Grade: C+
#34 - Left Wing - Dane Byers
18 GP, 1 G, 7 A, 63 PIM, -5
I’m going to say exactly what I said last month about Dane Byers. He’s one of -- if not the best -- the Pack’s best physical wingers. I’m also going to use the same example that I used last month, but it really epitomizes what type of player he is. At the end of the second period in the game vs. Wilkes-Barre, Byers narrowly missed a scoring chance. He was drilled from behind into the boards by Marc-Antoine Pouliot. The referee was going to call a penalty, but Byers decided to take things into his own hands. He instantly dropped his gloves and gave Pouliot a major league beating. Byers wound up getting the extra penalty on the play, but there is no way in my mind that that was the correct call. Byers doesn’t back down from anything, and he will stick up for himself and his teammates. He’s far from an enforcer, but he’ll drop the gloves if he has to.
Grade: B+
#36 - Right Wing - Craig Weller
20 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 24 PIM, -6
Weller’s only really been noticeable in two games this year -- when he scored twice and the Pack beat Portland 4-3, and when his goal gave Hartford a 3-2 overtime win against Bridgeport. He hasn’t fought as much as he did last year, but he’s also playing disciplined hockey.
Grade: B-
#40 - Goalie - Steve Valiquette
11 GP, 6-5-0, 2.79 GAA, 89.9 Save %
Valiquette has been more reliable than Montoya this season, he’s generally not a goalie who is going to let in soft goals. However, he has had some games where he hasn’t looked that great -- then again, so has pretty much everyone else on the team. The really interesting thing is to look at Valiquette’s numbers, and then look at Montoya’s numbers. They’re almost similar, with the exception of the wins and losses.
Grade: B
#44 - Left Wing - Lauri Korpikoski
20 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 9 PIM, -3
Korpikoski is a very technical player. He knows where his teammates are, and he knows where he has to be on the ice. He can get there easily, he’s got great skating skills. The problem with him is not him off the puck, it’s when he has the puck. Like I said last month, he can pass well, shoot well... it’s just that when he does it it’s usually too late. He plays a very disciplined game, and doesn’t lose his cool and take unnecessary penalties. So far this year, he’s only been called for two minors.
Grade: B
#48 - Defense - Daniel Girardi
20 GP, 0 G, 15 A, 6 PIM, +/- 0
While Callahan is making a name for himself on offense, Girardi is making a name for himself on defense. The prospect who probably gets the least attention from Rangers fans, is probably the most complete all around defenseman in Hartford at the moment. Recently, Girardi has been on an amazing assist streak. He has recorded at least one assist in 7 of his last 8 games, and in those 8 games he has 12 assists. This stands in stark contrast to earlier in the year when he had just 3 assists in his first twelve games. Not only is he a great puck mover, but he rarely makes mistakes in his own end of the ice.
Grade: B+
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Here’s the thing with the grades. I tried to take into account how each player did in every game this season. Obviously, if I graded them after 10 games and then after 20 games, there’d be a big difference between the two scores. These are more or less an average -- a ballpark figure even -- of how the guys have done over the first quarter of the season.
That pretty much wraps up the first twenty games of the 2006-2007 Hartford Wolf Pack season. Hopefully over the course of the next twenty games, the Pack can get back to at least a .500 level, and hopefully out of last place in the Atlantic Division.
At least the team isn’t last in the AHL in goals scored anymore. That honor goes to the Syracuse Crunch.
- Calder
If you ever played Little League Baseball, you probably remember someone telling you that "winning isn't everything".
So far this season, no philosophy means more for the Hartford Wolf Pack than that one.
In case you haven't heard, the Wolf Pack are the youngest team in the AHL this season. With an average age of 22 years, 10 months, the team's inexperience is showing in the early going this season. The team currently is in last place in the Atlantic Division with a less than stellar 4-9-1-0 record. Collectively, the team hasn't clicked yet.
Hardly a reason to panic.
Fourteen games into the season, and the Wolf Pack have scored 32 times. That averages out to about 2.29 goals per game. Now, if you factor out the nine-spot that the Wolf Pack put up against San Antonio on Saturday, and you have a team that has scored 23 times in 13 games. If you do the math, you get an average of 1.76 goals per game.
The reason?
I'm willing to say it's a lack of veteran leadership. We've already established that the Pack are the youngest team in the AHL. Dale Purinton is the resident elder on the team, with goaltender Steve Valiquette close behind him. Czech defenseman Martin Richter, tough guy Francis Lessard , and hard-hitting winger Craig Weller round out the list of Pack players who are 25 years old. None are playing well.
Valiquette had been steady in goal for the Pack up until the past couple of games. Then, he started letting in real soft goals. It wasn’t noticeable in Saturday’s game vs. San Antonio because the Pack scored nine times, but on Sunday vs. Lowell it was pretty evident.
Dale is Dale. He’s not going to score goals, or create plays... because he can’t from the penalty box. Entering Sunday’s game vs. Lowell, Dale had accumulated more penalty minutes than anyone in the AHL (58). He’s accumulated six fighting majors so far, and one misconduct. The rest were minors.
Lessard, who is currently injured, has only played in four games this season. Weller hasn’t been himself. He’s had one good game so far this year, that being the Pack’s 4-3 victory over Portland where he scored twice. That was the only game I can safely say that Captain Craig came to play.
As far as Martin Richter goes, he’s underachieving. I doubt the Rangers brought him back to North America to do absolutely nothing -- in which case he’d be doing an excellent job. As it stands, Richter has been barely noticeable on the ice this season.
All the top teams in the AHL -- Portland, Hershey, Wilkes-Barre, Rochester, Omaha, Chicago -- have veteran players who help ease the transition of young players into the pro game. That, and their leaders are producing. If the Pack had a veteran to lead the way, I think their record would be much better than 4-9-1-0.
Maybe I’m wrong.
However, the Pack’s poor record is not necessarily an indicator of how the kids are playing. In fact, many of them actually are playing quite well. It’s just a matter of getting them to play well together that they’re still working on. Some have really stood out and have showed a great deal of promise, others have been less than great. For the record, the stats I’m referring to from this point on are all entering Sunday’s game vs. Lowell.
Al Montoya is perhaps the epitome of the Wolf Pack’s struggles this season. Individually, he’s been phenomenal. He’s the #8 goalie in the entire AHL with a 2.32 goals against average and a 91.9% save percentage. However, his record is 1-6. He just hasn’t gotten great offensive support in the games that he’s played in. On October 21st, he stopped all but one of 32 Portland shots. The result? A 1-0 loss. He’s played a lot better than he has last season, making several key stops on breakaways which he wouldn’t have stopped last season. The effort and performance are there, the results aren’t.
Go figure.
Marvin Degon, who joined the Pack on an Amateur Tryout at the end of last season, has played very well for the Pack so far this year. Not only is he shooting the puck a lot more (he registered seven shots on goal last Wednesday vs. Wilkes-Barre), but he’s also putting up decent numbers on offense for this team. I said in my first article that he was going to have to help produce on offense with the departure of Thomas Pock. Sure enough, he has. He and Dan Girardi are the two main guys who quarterback the powerplay, Girardi tends to pass more (as evidenced by his five assists on Saturday vs. San Antonio), Degon is the one more likely to shoot. If people got to the rebounds, the Pack would be a lot better off. Problem is, they can never seem to find the rebounds of anyone’s shot.
Jarkko Immonen hasn’t found the scoring touch that he had last season, though I highly doubt that he has lost it all together. His teammates are trying to set him up, he just can’t seem to put the puck past the goalie. He is putting the puck on net though -- in four games this season he’s had five or more shots. Like the rest of the team though, there’s no real reason to panic. Everyone’s struggling at the moment, and once they click, you’ll start to see results.
Lee Falardeau has been a lot more physical this year than he has in the past. He doesn’t seem to have a problem laying people out, dishing the rough stuff, and getting involved in the gritty side of the game. Another player I’ve noticed has gotten slightly more gritty is Greg Moore. He’s pretty strong on the puck, and he’s made a couple of real strong moves driving to the net. However, he’s also made some rookie mistakes. On Sunday in the game vs. Lowell he led a Wolf Pack odd man rush out of the zone in the third period, only to have the puck slide off his stick and right to a Lowell defender. Like everyone, they’ve got some work to do.
The four best Wolf Pack players out on the ice on a given night so far have been Ryan Callahan, Dane Byers, Lauri Korpikoski, and Brandon Dubinsky.
Callahan, like everyone else on the team, started the season off slow. Then, he caught fire. Beginning with the Wolf Pack’s trip to Norfolk, he’s scored nine goals in his last nine games -- including a hat trick in Saturday’s defeat of San Antonio. I said last month that he was going to have to fill the void left by Nigel Dawes, and he’s done pretty much exactly what Dawes did last year. Both of them started off slow, only to wind up leading the team. Callahan is undoubtedly the best player the Wolf Pack have iced this season. He’s tough to knock off the puck, isn’t afraid to dig pucks out of the corners, and has a cannon of a shot. He seems to be everywhere on the ice -- he’s always involved in the play.
Dane Byers, who I was skeptical about early on in the year after a lackluster performance at the end of last season, has really turned a lot of heads in Hartford. Not only is he very physical, but he’s turned into a decent point producer. There is one play in particular that stands out in my mind when I think about Dane Byers, and it happened at the end of the second period in the game vs. Wilkes-Barre. After narrowly missing a scoring chance, Byers was drilled from behind into the boards by Marc-Antoine Pouliot. The referee was going to call a penalty, but Byers decided to take things into his own hands. He instantly dropped his gloves and gave Pouliot a major league beating. Byers wound up getting the extra penalty on the play, but there is no way in my mind that that was the correct call. Byers doesn’t back down from anything. He’s far from an enforcer, but he’ll drop the gloves if he has to.
Korpikoski reminds me of Jozef Balej. He’s strong on the puck, has good hands, and can shoot. His only drawback is that he holds on to the puck too long, and tries to make a lot of stuff look pretty when it doesn’t have to. He’ll also throw his weight and size around, but he’s not one to drop the gloves. He has before, but it didn’t go so great. He’s also a great skater, and can move quickly and get just about anywhere on the ice in a matter of seconds. The biggest knock on him is he holds on to the puck too long. He can pass well, shoot well... it’s just that when he does it it’s usually too late.
The last guy I’m going to touch on is Brandon Dubinsky. The stats don’t say much at all, I realize that. He’s got two goals and an assist in 11 games so far this season, but I mentioned before effort doesn’t necessarily generate results. He’s playing a great deal with Dane Byers and Craig Weller, so that might explain it. However, the kid is tough. I remember in the Wilkes-Barre game, a Penguins player was skating in on Montoya. Montoya made the save and the Penguins player kept on skating and got right up against Montoya as the ref blew his whistle. Dubinsky wouldn't stand for it, and he came right in and grabbed the guy and took him down to the ice. It was good seeing him stick up for Montoya like that. Also, although his offensive production isn’t there -- and realistically only Ryan Callahan’s is -- he’s made some strong power moves to the net. In the game vs. Lowell he jumped around two or three guys to get to the puck in the corner.
Bottom line, the guys are young. They’ll get better over time. You can’t expect instant gratification from a group of prospects. At this point, winning is not everything. It’s not like they’re completely lost out there -- they know what they have to get done and they’re putting the effort in, they just haven’t clicked on a regular basis.
The recent addition of Nigel Dawes can only help. If he can kick start either Jarkko Immonen or Dwight Helminen, the entire team’s offense is bound to improve.
When they do finally click, this team will be even more fun to watch.
- Calder
October 4th, 1997.
PJ Stock sends the crowd of 12,934 into a frenzy when he scores the first goal in Wolf Pack history.
A decade later, he and head coach E.J. McGuire return to their old stomping grounds to drop the ceremonial puck and kick off the 10th season of Hartford Wolf Pack hockey. The names and faces are much different than they were back in the late 1990's, but the mission has remained the same. Hence, the Wolf Pack's new slogan for the upcoming season: "10 Years... 1 Mission".
The mission, of course, being to win perhaps the most coveted trophy in all of minor league hockey: the Calder Cup. The Pack managed to accomplish that feat back in 2000 under the guidance of John Paddock, and in doing so etched their names in the annals of the American Hockey League. However, that's in the past. This season, the Pack have a chance to capture the Calder Cup yet again, with a highly talented team set to take the ice tonight for the first time in the 2006-2007 season. Led by second-year captain Craig Weller, who inherited the reins from Ken Gernander midway through last season, the Pack appear to be a considerably more offensive and physical force than they were last season. Sure, they have a considerable list of departures, but they’ve filled the void with new faces who have the potential to blossom if given enough ice time.
Let’s look at the long list of departures. Noticeable players who aren’t returning from last season are forwards Nigel Dawes, Alexandre Giroux, Martin Sonnenberg, Chad Wiseman, and Colby Genoway, defensemen Thomas Pock and Martin Grenier, and goaltender Robert Gherson. The Rangers and Wolf Pack replaced these players with a an influx of new talent who are ready to step into an AHL lineup and contribute on a regular basis.
Last Season: Nigel Dawes
Replaced By: Ryan Callahan
Dawes and Callahan are both players who are small in stature, but big in talent. While Callahan checks in at 5’11, the Rochester native exhibited the same scoring prowess that Nigel Dawes possessed in junior hockey last season with the Guelph Storm. Callahan scored 52 goals and added 32 assists in just 62 games while captaining the Storm to the third round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He’s also not afraid to block shots and play the defensive side of the puck. Expect Callahan to play the same role in Hartford that Nigel Dawes did, a top six forward who gets a substantial amount of ice time. Don’t be surprised to see him spend time on the power play and penalty kill units as well.
Last Season: Alexandre Giroux
Replaced By: Lauri Korpikoski
How can one possibly replace the offensive capabilities of one Alexandre Giroux? It’s not easy, but the Wolf Pack will rely on Finnish prospect Lauri Korpikoski to elevate his game to another level. The stat line on the first round prospect doesn’t say much, but keep in mind that he was a teenager playing in the competitive Finish Elite League with players who have been playing considerably longer than him. Korpikoski managed just seven points in 51 games, but he wasn’t getting an excessive amount of ice time like he will in Hartford. When he came over to North America at the end of last season he scored 2 goals in 5 games before calming down in the playoff run. Over the summer he got bigger, stronger, and now he’s ready to play top line minutes. Expect a big season from Korpikoski, he’ll get some help from his talented line mates.
Last Season: Martin Sonnenberg
Replaced By: Lee Falardeau
Martin Sonnenberg was the epitome of a pure energy player, someone who brought 110% to the table every night and led the team on the ice. Now, Lee Falardeau is ready to take over. Falardeau, known for being a solid third liner in previous years, is all set for a breakout season. He scored four goals in the final two preseason games, and appears more confident out on the ice. He is one of the more experienced players in the locker room, and while he may not wear an “A”, neither did Sonnenberg. That didn’t prevent him from leading, and it won’t prevent Falardeau either. He’s already turned a lot of heads, and you should expect him to turn a lot more as the season progresses.
Last Season: Chad Wiseman
Replaced By: Zdenek Bahensky
Bahensky joins the Wolf Pack from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, where managed 55 points in 62 games last season. Respectable numbers, but they don’t take into account the number of punishing hits he laid down. Having seen Bahensky in a couple of preseason games, I can safely say the kid hits. He hits hard, and he hits often. He may not put up the numbers that Chad Wiseman did playing on the checking line last season, but he definitely adds a significantly more physical presence on the ice. You don’t notice Bahensky for his offense, you notice him because he’s laying people out at center ice. The Pack concede leadership and offense at this position in favor of physicality, a fair trade off considering the amount of other offensive talent.
Last Season: Colby Genoway
Replaced By: Greg Moore
One of the more pleasant surprises last season was the offensive explosion put forth by the Nigel Dawes-Dwight Helminen-Colby Genoway line. Genoway will be replaced this season by another former college hockey player in Greg Moore, who signed with the Wolf Pack last year following the end of the Maine Black Bears season. Moore recorded points in both regular season games he played, and added 7 points in 13 playoff games. With an expanded role and top line minutes this season, expect Moore to put up similar numbers to those he put up in college. Moore (no relation to former Wolf Pack center Dominic) recorded 106 points in 153 career college contests, with his final year being his most productive. He nearly doubled his total points production recording 44 points including 28 goals, compared to his previous high total of 23 points including 14 goals.
Last Season: Thomas Pock
Replaced By: Martin Richter / Marvin Degon
You would have trouble finding anyone who could duplicate Thomas Pock’s record setting 61 point season, but if anyone could even come close it’d be Czech defenseman Martin Richter. Richter, who is now in his second tour of duty with the Wolf Pack, wasn’t an offensive force in his previous games with the Wolf Pack. However, after a strong season in the Czech Republic, Richter is back with the Pack and ready to contribute. In the 2005-2006 season, Richter recorded 26 points from the blue line for his team. By comparison, and I’m only using this as a bench mark, the most points Rangers superstar Petr Prucha recorded in a Czech season was 24. Now, I’m not expecting Richter to come in and put up the same numbers that Thomas Pock did -- or put up Prucha like numbers -- but I am expecting him to put up some better numbers on offense than he did during his previous stay with the Wolf Pack. He should also be able to play better defensively than Pock did, though I only have one preseason game to back that claim up. He’ll have Marvin Degon helping him out on the point as well. The right-handed defenseman had no problems transitioning into the AHL game following the conclusion of his college career last season. Degon himself into a mainstay on the Wolf Pack’s blue line. Look for him to improve his offensive production.
Last Season: Martin Grenier
Replaced By: Francis Lessard
The role of enforcer this season will more than likely be played by Francis Lessard, who earned a contract with the Pack after training camp. In 36 games last season with the Chicago Wolves, Lessard tallied 5 points and 161 penalty minutes. An interesting note about him, he scored his only two goals of last season just 50 seconds apart. So, when he scores, he scores in bunches. He brings 91 games of NHL experience to the Wolf Pack locker room, and he won a Calder Cup in 2003 with the Chicago Wolves.
Last Season: Robert Gherson
Replaced By: Steve Valiquette
The Wolf Pack’s biggest upgrade this season came in the goaltending department, with the departure of Robert Gherson and the arrival of proven AHL goalie Steve Valiquette. Valiquette, who split time between the pipes with Jason LaBarbera in the 2004-2005 season joins Al Montoya between the pipes for this season of Wolf Pack hockey. This is a smart move, as should Montoya be injured in any way, the Wolf Pack have a goalie who has proven himself over an extended period of time to take charge. Additionally, Valiquette has the opportunity to mentor Montoya, which will help him improve as a goalie.
Hartford fans should also expect a lot from Brandon Dubinsky in his first full professional year. A top-six forward, Dubinsky exploded onto the AHL scene during the playoffs last season following the end of the Portland Winter Hawks’ season. Now, playing with powerful wingers like Greg Moore, Lauri Korpikoski, and Ryan Callahan, he has the opportunity to expand on his performance last year where he more or less dominated the final few games of the series vs. the Manchester Monarchs, before calming down in the next round vs. Portland.
Hugh Jessiman, who was disappointing to say the least in his first pro season, has worked all summer and looks to make a significant impact on offense this season. To do this, he needs ice time. However, to earn ice time, you have to prove you deserve it. I think he’s at the point where he needs to make an impact, and I also think that he can. He missed a great deal of his last season in college due to an injury, and didn’t wow anyone in his first few games with the Wolf Pack. However, following his demotion to Charlotte and subsequent call up to Hartford, he became a point every other game player. He has to do more than that this year, and he knows it.
Dwight Helminen, Jarkko Immonen, David Liffiton, Dale Purinton, Ivan Baranka, Jake Taylor, Bryce Lampman, and Daniel Girardi all return to Hartford a year older and wiser. Baranka, Liffiton, and Lampman, who have recovered from their injuries, are expected to contribute regularly on defense this season. Lampman, who will likely be given an “A”, is one of the older players in the locker room and has the responsibilities to match that fact. I think he’s capable of putting up numbers similar to those of former defense partner Lawrence Nycholat, assuming he stays healthy.
Rookies Corey Potter, Jakub Petruzalek, and Dane Byers round out the Wolf Pack’s lineup, and they’ll be joined by gritty third-year pro Mark Lee. Hartford also has other players in the pipeline, most notably Bruce Graham, Rick Kozak, and Chris Holt. Holt achieved cult idol status in Hartford last season after his performance in the playoffs following the injury to Al Montoya, but he’ll start the season in Charlotte where he’ll get more playing time. Also in Charlotte are goalie Alex Westlund, forward Mike Ouellette, and defenseman Ryan Constant. Constant earned a contract after his performance in training camp, where he played out of his head. He once won an award for being a “human wrecking ball”, which was well deserved. He hits hard, and despite his small stature he is not the type to be pushed around.
The Pack kick off their milestone 10th anniversary season tonight against their I-91 rival Springfield Falcons. Next Friday, October 13th, they take on their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Civic Center. Hartford hockey fans have waited 145 days for one moment -- tonight. The game starts at 7, the block party starts 5, and the excitement starts right now. Tonight, our players come back.
For a tenth season -- Let’s Go Wolf Pack!
- Calder
I had a feeling the Sykora trade would come back to bite us in the behind.
Flashback to January 8, 2006. The Hartford Wolf Pack are in Maine getting set to take on the Portland Pirates. Defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, who was recently sent down by the Rangers, was getting set to play his fifth AHL game of the season with the Pack. However, the Rangers had other plans for the talented young defenseman. The call came in, and Kondratiev had been traded to Anaheim (Portland’s parent club). In a matter of moments Kondratiev was in the Pirates locker room getting ready to play against the Wolf Pack.
Flash forward - it’s now May 14, 2006 and again the Wolf Pack are in Portland taking on the Pirates. This time, it’s Game 6 of the Atlantic Division Finals. The game is in it’s 63rd minute, tied at 4 in overtime. Dwight Helminen, Colby Genoway, Brandon Dubinsky, and Nigel Dawes scored for the Wolf Pack but their goals were matched by Pierre Parenteau, Aaron Gavey, and former Wolf Pack Garett Bembridge
(twice). Recent ATO signing Greg Moore, who played his college hockey in Maine, trips a Pirate defender and gets called for a penalty. Parenteau scores a power play goal 58 seconds later, and just like that the Wolf Pack’s season was over.
The defender?
None other than Maxim Kondratiev. He got the last laugh.
Disappointing? Very. Then again, any overtime goal that ends your team’s season is disappointing. Fans can ’What If?’ all they want, but nothing is going to change what happened. Considering the Wolf Pack barely managed to get out of the first round, a loss to the division leading Portland Pirates was not surprising. Especially with the Pack being forced to play 4 consecutive road games in that series. But then of course, we’re talking about a Wolf Pack season that was full of surprises.
Consider opening night. The Manchester Monarchs were in town, and they had built themselves a comfortable 3-1 lead with 1:19 remaining in the second period. Twenty seconds later Craig Weller cut the deficit to 3-2, and the Pack entered the third period only down by one. A little less than five minutes into the period, Brad Smyth (then with the Monarchs) served a bench minor for delay of game. Ivan Baranka scored on the ensuing power play and the game was tied. The game appeared to be heading to overtime, but unfortunately for the Monarchs a bench minor for too many men on the ice did them in, as Jarkko Immonen redirected a blast from Joe Rullier (then with the Wolf Pack) past Adam Hauser and into the back of the net with 52 seconds to go. Smyth served the bench minor. At this point, fans knew they had something special. They had a team which wouldn’t lay down and die. Instead, they had a team with character and determination which would be evident throughout the entire season.
The Pack faced a minor setback over the course of the next three games, dropping one goal games to the Springfield Falcons twice with a defeat by Lowell in the middle. In the first three games of the season, the Pack had used three different goalies. Al Montoya, Chris Holt, and Bernd Bruckler each appeared in their first AHL games in the first 8 days of the season. The entire previous season they had only used two. Chris “Five” Holt didn’t make any friends in Hartford with his lackluster performance in the first handful of games in his professional career. If you don’t believe me, check the earlier posts from this season in the Wolf Pack forum. The general consensus was that he could rot in Charlotte. Through the first 10 games of the season, the Pack boasted an 6-2-1-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record, and all of their games had been decided by a single goal.
The month of November started off well for the Wolf Pack. Their third win of the month was their first game decided by more than a goal, and it gave them 7 wins on the season. Just three days following that 5-3 triumph over I-91 rival Springfield, goaltender Al Montoya suffered a broken finger in practice. This left Montoya out 4-6 weeks, and the Wolf Pack with Chris Holt and Bernd Bruckler to tend the goal for Hartford. The Wolf Pack managed 3 points in their next 6 games, going 1-4-0-1 and allowed 31 goals.
The one bright spot during this poor stretch of the Pack’s season was a kid by the name of Daniel Girardi who was recently called up from the Charlotte Checkers. Girardi, who made his AHL debut against the Lowell Lock Monsters on November 12, 2006, quickly became a fan favorite in Hartford with his solid defensive play and key offensive contributions. He made an immediate impact, recording three assists in his first two games. He also managed to keep a +5 rating (for what it’s worth).
With Montoya still sidelined, and the team still without a solid net minder, the Wolf Pack’s future was looking grim. Their record had slipped to 8-6-1-2, and their appeared to be no relief in sight.
November 22nd, 2005 enter Robert Gherson. The 22 year old goalie was signed to a PTO agreement and would start in the following night’s game against the Albany River Rats. Having spent the previous season with Quad City of the UHL, and appearing in only 1 career AHL game before, Gherson got a chance to prove he belongs in the AHL. He made it count. In a game which Hartford was out shot 50-33, Gherson held the fort and limited the River Rats to two goals. Hartford scored seven. Gherson would appear in six consecutive games for the Pack, and they would earn at least a standings point in every one of them.
The second weekend of December proved... interesting for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Ty Conklin, assigned to the Wolf Pack from the Edmonton Oilers, started consecutive games against the Springfield Falcons and Philadelphia Phantoms. For the most part, fans were glad to see him leave. Conklin split shootout decisions, winning Friday night’s contest versus the Falcons, but allowing three consecutive goals to Phantoms shooters to take the loss in Saturday night’s game. Keep in mind, this was after he dashed out to the blue line in overtime to chase down a loose puck. Not too many people were happy about that one.
Al Montoya returned on December 14, 2005 with a solid performance in a 4-1 win over Manchester. He’d win his next two games as well, before the Pack were humiliated at the hands of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in their first game after Christmas. The rest of the calendar year was not nice to the Wolf Pack, as they dropped decisions to the Syracuse Crunch two days later and Providence Bruins on New Year’s Eve. On January 1, 2006 the Wolf Pack’s record stood at 17-9-2-5.
The Pack rang in the new year with style, winning five of their first six games in 2006. Unfortunately, the team couldn't continue their winning ways and played incredibly flat the next two weeks of the season. A Wolf Pack team which had started off 5-1 had dropped four of their next five decisions, and at this point management decided it was time for a change. Jeff Taffe, who was acquired from Phoenix in the Jamie Lundmark deal, had been playing with the Wolf Pack since November 4th, 2005. In his 36 games with the team, he recorded 22 points. He was dealt back to Phoenix in exchange for Martin Sonnenberg, who many consider a career AHLer. Sonnenberg brought experience, leadership, and pure energy to the Wolf Pack. This trade would prove extremely important to the Pack’s success.
Once Sonnenberg showed up, the team did a full 180 degree turn. They got hot, plain and simple. Aside from two poor performances (an 8-2 road loss to Lowell, and a 5-1 road loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers), they were unbeatable. They rolled to an impressive 14-2-0-1 record over their next 17 games, defeating powerful opponents while they were at it as well. They defeated the eventual division champion Portland Pirates 6-0 in the Cumberland County Civic Center thanks to a franchise record five-goal night from Jarkko Immonen. The next week, they beat one of the best teams in the West in the Houston Aeros 4-3 thanks largely to a goal by Sonnenberg 45 seconds into the game. Two weeks later, they rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Albany River Rats 5-4. On March 1st, they snuck out a 7-6 overtime win over the Norfolk Admirals. They headed to Texas, where they defeated Sonnenberg’s former team the San Antonio Rampage 4-2 and followed up with an impressive 5-1 victory over the Houston Aeros the next night. Unfortunately for the Wolf Pack, Sonnenberg got injured in that victory over the Houston. When the team returned to Hartford, they replaced him in the lineup with Rick Kozak.
Hartford lost their next three games.
At this point, management decided it was time for another change. Defenseman Joe Rullier, who was less than thrilled to be playing in Hartford, was loaned to the Manchester Monarchs. Rullier had played the past four seasons with the Monarchs and was always a fan favorite with the Manchester faithful. Returning to Hartford was veteran forward Brad “Shooter” Smyth. The previous season, Ken Gernander surpassed Smyth as the franchise’s all time scoring leader. Smyth took back the title in his first game back with the Pack, scoring 5 points in a 8-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phantoms. Sonnenberg returned to the Pack’s lineup two nights later in Norfolk. The Pack lost 3-2, but rebounded the next night and gained a 5-4 win on the strength of a hat trick by Alexandre Giroux. This game also marked the debut of Marvin Degon, who would become a solid defenseman throughout the Calder Cup playoffs.
March 22, 2006 marked Sonar’s Edu-Skate, and another tilt with the Wolf Pack’s newest rivals the Manchester Monarchs. Rullier was welcomed back to the Civic Center with boo’s, whereas Brad Smyth was instantly embraced in his first home game since rejoining the Wolf Pack. This was a very different Monarchs team than Hartford had seen before, most of their scoring had been traded (or in Smyth’s case, loaned) away in favor of gritty players such as Tim Jackman and Joe Rullier. One very noticeable difference on Manchester’s team was Alexandre Daigle, a former #1 overall draft pick who spent some time with the Wolf Pack. Manchester struck first, thanks to a power play goal by none other than Joe Rullier. Colby Genoway answered 2:03 later with a power play marker of his own. Rullier took his third penalty of the first period at 16:24, and Dwight Helminen scored the eventual game-winner on the ensuing power play. Nigel Dawes would score later on in the game, and Hartford took the contest 3-1. Ivan Baranka injured his hand in this game while fighting Konstantin Pushkarev and wouldn’t play in any of the Pack’s remaining games. The two teams wouldn’t meet again until the playoffs.
Hartford won four of its next five games (including a 9-3 trounce of Springfield with five third period Wolf Pack goals), pushing it’s total record with Martin Sonnenberg in the lineup to 20-4-0-1. They then dropped consecutive decisions to Norfolk, Portland, and in-state rival Bridgeport before rebounding to beat Lowell 3-2 in overtime thanks to a goal by Marvin Degon. Including that defeat of Lowell, the Pack finished the season on a four game winning streak and a final record of 48-24-2-6.
A lot of players had come into Hartford that fans hadn’t seen the entire season, and they were thrown into the lineup. Hartford couldn’t overtake Portland as the top seed in the division, nor could they be overtaken by Manchester or Providence and lose home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. First round draft pick Lauri Korpikoski scored a goal five minutes into his first AHL game and Greg Moore recorded a point in each of his first two AHL games. Later, Brandon Dubinsky would become a key center in the Pack’s playoff run, and Marc Staal got some ice time as well. I wasn’t as impressed with Staal as I thought I would be, I don’t think he made the transition to the pro game as well as some of the other kids did. There’s no question he has potential, but I don’t think he’s ready for the Rangers.
Al Montoya tended the goal for the Pack’s first playoff game against the Manchester Monarchs, and did a great job. He allowed just one goal, and that was to Alexandre Daigle. The goal was Daigle’s first professional playoff tally, but it wouldn’t be his last. None of the Pack’s 39 shots could beat Barry Brust, and the Monarchs took Game 1 by a score of 1-0.
Game 2 became an essential must win for the Wolf Pack, and they knew it. Nigel Dawes finally solved Barry Brust at the 8:43 mark of the first period with a power play goal. That lead stood for roughly thirty minutes, but Mark Ardelan evened the score on the power play with 1:02 remaining in the middle frame. Chad Wiseman regained the lead for Hartford 7:42 into the third period, but Richard Petiot scored an unassisted goal to tie the game less than two minutes later. The score remained 2-2 and the game went to overtime, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. At the 16:17 mark of overtime Martin Sonnenberg snuck one by Barry Brust and sent everyone home. The series headed to the Verizon Wireless Arena tied at a game a piece.
Dwight Helminen and Daniel Girardi scored power play goals on both penalties during a 5 on 3 advantage to take a early 2-0 lead in Game 3, but the lead was erased before the first period was over. Manchester scored again in the second period and early in the third period to take a 4-2 lead, which marked the end of Al Montoya’s time in the Wolf Pack’s goal. Robert Gherson entered the game and allowed a goal to Jeff Giuliano. Hartford trailed 5-2 with 15:15 remaining in the third period. Some considered the game over. The Wolf Pack, however, did not. Nigel Dawes, Alexandre Giroux, and former Monarch Brad Smyth scored third period goals and sent the game to overtime. Despite Hartford out shooting Manchester 15-8 in overtime, neither team found the back of the net. The game was sent into double overtime, setting the stage for an even more dramatic finish than that of Game 2. This time however, the Monarchs would emerge victorious as Giuliano faked out Marc Staal and Gherson and scored the game winner 1:46 into the fifth period. Brust finished with 45 saves, and Manchester managed just 31 shots on goal compared to Hartford’s 50.
In Game 4, the score was 1-0 after 20 minutes of play thanks to a Colby Genoway goal. However, a second period boarding penalty by Joe Rullier more or less energized the Wolf Pack. Nigel Dawes scored his third goal in three games on the power play following the call on Rullier, and Hartford wouldn’t look back from there. The Wolf Pack scored three more power play tallies, finishing 4 for 8 with the man advantage, and added two more even strength goals en route to a 7-0 victory. Genoway (2-3-5), Dubinsky (2-2-4), Dawes (2-2-4), Degon (0-3-3), and Girardi (1-1-2) all recorded multi-point nights in the blowout.
And so, the series returned to the Hartford Civic Center for a pivotal game five. Hartford chased Barry Brust from the Manchester net 46 seconds into the game, and before the game was even 14 minutes old the Wolf Pack had built themselves a 4-0 lead.
At this point, things go horribly wrong.
Joe Rullier assists on an Alexandre Daigle goal with three minutes remaining in the first period, and Al Montoya gets injured in the final few seconds of the opening frame. Rob Gherson came on in relief and allowed seven goals, Manchester won the game 8-6. Rullier finished with 3 assists.
Remember that Chris Holt guy? This is where he comes in. He had been doing color commentary with Bob Crawford, but with the Monarchs on the verge of winning their first ever playoff series, the Wolf Pack elected to start Chris Holt. Holt, who has never appeared in an AHL playoff game makes 29 saves in Game 6 and forces a game 7 at the Hartford Civic Center.
And what a Game 7 it was.
Martin Sonnenberg opened the scoring 3:42 into the game from behind the net, putting the puck off Adam Hauser and in. Dany Roussin, who played junior hockey with Sidney Crosby, tied the game later in the first period. The game remained tied until the third period, when Alexandre Giroux took a pass from Martin Sonnenberg and beat Adam Hauser for the game-winning goal. The third period of that game, especially towards the end, was the loudest I think I’ve ever heard the Civic Center. Chris Holt held the fort, and the Wolf Pack showed that character and determination to win and stunned the Manchester Monarchs.
Chris Holt. Who Knew?
Anyways, the Portland series didn’t go as well for the Wolf Pack as fans hoped it would. Chris Holt played amazing, and gave everything he possibly could give. Portland was just too good a team. Hartford found themselves in a 3-2 series hole, with Game 6 on the road, and needed a win to stay alive. Game 6 went to overtime, and the Wolf Pack’s entire season was irrelevant at that point. One goal would decide it. The past seven months didn’t mean anything.
It was simple. You score, you play again. You don’t, you’re off for the summer.
I had a feeling the Sykora trade would come back to bite us in the behind.
- Calder
Well, every good thing has to come to an end.
The Hartford Wolf Pack appeared to be peaking at just the right time, heading into the final 20 games of the season. Following a 8-2 shellacking at the hands of the Lowell Lock Monsters on January 27th, Hartford steamrolled the competition in their next 15 games, going 13-1-0-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL). During that stretch, their only regulation loss came at the hands of their in-state rivals, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Sean Bergenheim scored four goals, a Sound Tigers franchise record, and Wade Dubielewicz stopped 40 Wolf Pack shots. That seems to be a pattern for the Wolf Pack, but I’ll touch on that later.
The Pack had pulled to within two points of first-place Portland in the Atlantic Division, and could tie them with a win on March 8th at the Hartford Civic Center. In what was perhaps the biggest game of the season thus far for the Pack, they simply did not show up to play. Portland simply outplayed them in virtually every aspect, though the Pirates were out shot 37-24. After the first period finished scoreless, Pack captain Craig Weller took a penalty just 1:54 into the second period, and the Pirates scored just four seconds after it expired to take a 1-0 lead. Geoff Peters would score his 18th and 19th goals of the season before the second period was halfway over, and the Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The lone bright spot on the Pack’s night came late in the second period, after Nigel Dawes broke into the Pirates zone shorthanded, lost the puck, and made a quick turnaround feed to Dwight Helminen who one-timed the puck past Jani Hurme for his career-high 24th goal of the season. As fans started to get back into the game, any hope of a third period comeback was quickly erased when the Pirates scored with just 5 seconds left in the second period. The Pirates weren’t finished, as Geoff Peters would complete his hat trick at the 4:50 mark of the third period. It was a difficult game to watch. The Pirates were without one of their top scorers, Dustin Penner, who was up with the parent Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at the time of the game. Penner always seems to elevate his game when the two teams meet, once recording a four goal game at the Hartford Civic Center. However in his absence, the rest of the team elevated their game and newly-acquired netminder Jani Hurme was amazing in net, stopping 36 shots. This was a game that the Pack probably could have won, had they not come out flat. The Pirates have already clinched a playoff spot. The parent club Mighty Ducks of Anaheim moved into a tie with the Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference today. If the Ducks can stay in the playoff picture, then Portland may not get as much help down from their parent club as I originally thought they might. It will be interesting to see the names Portland puts on their Clear Day roster.
Heading into the weekend, the Pack had two relatively easy contests vs. the Springfield Falcons, and the Binghamton Senators. The Pirates had back to back contests against the Hershey Bears, the East Division’s second place team. Now, one would hope the Pack could rebound and cut back in to the Pirates lead on the division. Hartford had a notably easier schedule than the Pirates, as the Falcons and Senators both are sitting towards the bottom of their divisions. Hershey is a strong team with a lot of potential, and could possibly overtake the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as the top team in the East. However, not only did the Pack lose on consecutive nights, but the Pirates split with Hershey, gaining two points on the Pack.
I don’t know what it is about the team, but it seems to be characteristic of Hartford. The team surges towards the playoffs, only to lose a big game which would propel them towards the top of the division. Last season it was against the Manchester Monarchs, who the Pack were chasing the entire season. Ultimately, they lost a couple key divisional games vs. the Monarchs down the stretch, only to surge later in the season and come up short of the division title on the final day of the season.
I viewed this past weekend as a chance to rebound for the Wolf Pack. They were blown out on home ice on Wednesday night, and the Falcons and Senators were both struggling. However, the Pack continued their recent losing ways, with poor games against poor teams. I don’t really know how to explain it. For some reason, the Pack tend to play good against teams they shouldn’t beat (for example, they swept the season series vs. the Houston Aeros), and lose to teams they should beat (this past weekend). In addition, whenever they shoot the puck on goal, they seem to lose. Twice this season the Pack have put up 50 shots, and twice this season they only scored one goal on those 50 shots. More recently, the past three games for the Pack have resulted in only three Wolf Pack goals. Jani Hurme, Gerald Coleman, and Kelly Guard combined to stop 103 of 106 Hartford shots, a 97.16% save percentage.
The team has potential to score goals, but these past three games seem to tell otherwise. Obviously, the team is going through a slump. Hopefully they can find a way to break out of it, I just hope its sooner than later. The one thing that Hartford has got going for them this season is offense, though the new rules do contribute to that in some sense. However, the Pack have five players with 20 or more goals, I believe that’s the highest such total in the league, though I’m not entirely sure. Jarkko Immonen and Alexandre Giroux are tied for the team lead in goals, both with 29 goals. Rookie forward Nigel Dawes is only one goal behind them, he’s got 28 goals on the season. The other two members of the Wolf Pack’s top line, Dwight Helminen and Colby Genoway, have 24 and 21 goals respectively. Immonen and Dawes are probably the two most talented players out of the bunch, and both have legitimate shots to crack the Rangers lineup at some point during the next season. I honestly don’t think they’ll be ready for opening night, but injuries may arise at some point, and Immonen and Dawes are probably the go-to guys for the Rangers in the future. I’ve been a fan of Immonen since opening night, he’s a real talented center who’s good with the puck, which explains his current ranking of tied for 11th in the AHL in goals. Dawes struggled to start the season, but since the establishment of the Dawes-Helminen-Genoway line, he’s been solid. Both of them are rather effective on the powerplay, Immonen (15) and Dawes (11) have combined for 26 out of the Wolf Pack’s 76 powerplay goals thus far.
Another player I feel deserves a look in New York is Alexandre Giroux. While his preseason may not have been all that impressive, he’s improved every season that he’s been in the American Hockey League. Last season he put up 32 goals in 78 games, this season he has 29 goals in 59 games. I think that he could be a good player for the Rangers on the third line, paring him with Dominic Moore and Jed Ortmeyer might pay off for the Rangers. Giroux not only can score, but he adds a physical presence as well. He’s respectable at both ends of the ice, though I’m not entirely sure he could crack the top two lines in New York. With Prucha and Dawes likely being the top two prospects at left wing for a long period of time, it seems as if Giroux might be the odd man out. Before the seasons over, and after the Rangers secure a playoff spot, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in New York for a couple of games to give the star players a rest.
The defensive prospect in Hartford that seems to draw the most attention from the Rangers fan base is Thomas Pock. As much as I like Pock’s offensive ability, he hasn’t really improved much on defense over the course of the season. There is absolutely no question that he’s a talented player offensively, but all other aspects of his game are lacking, to say the least. Yes, he’s spent some time in New York, and I agree with his call ups. The Rangers at the time needed a puck moving defenseman who could quarterback the powerplay, and Thomas Pock was the closest thing to that in the system. Ultimately, I have to say the Rangers made the right call when they traded for Sandis Ozolnish at the deadline, instead of keeping Thomas Pock up. If Pock works on his defense, there’s no question in my mind he’d be able to stick in New York. He’s got time to do that in Hartford, that’s why the Wolf Pack are here in the first place. The Pack are here to develop players for the New York Rangers, and I think they’ve done a very good job at doing that. He’s not ready for the NHL just yet, but I think he will be in a couple seasons.
One kid on the Pack who doesn’t get enough credit is Daniel Girardi. He may not have an NHL contract, but he definitely deserves one. When he was first called up to Hartford, he earned a lot of fans with his first couple of games, he was very solid on defense and put up three assists. He basically played himself onto the team, I don’t think he gave the coaches any reason to send him back to Charlotte. He’s a very disciplined defenseman, he rarely loses his temper. In fifty games he’s taken all of nine penalties, nothing more than a minor a game. In fact, he went 21 consecutive games without once visiting the penalty box. To further pad his resume, he’s a right handed defenseman, something the Rangers don’t have too many of in their system. Girardi also has a knack for scoring timely goals. If my count is right, six out of his seven goals have broken a tie and given the Wolf Pack the lead, and the only one that hasn’t was an insurance marker in the 5-1 victory over Houston. He’s probably the best all around defenseman in Hartford, offensively and defensively.
Rangers fans should be glad to hear Hugh Jessiman is improving as the season progresses. Since he was recalled from Charlotte on January 17th, he’s recorded 14 points in 24 games. His physical presence isn’t as great as some of the other players on the team, such as Craig Weller, but he definitely is more noticeable than he was before his stint in the ECHL. He looks more confident along the boards, and even got into a fight once. I think that he and Jake Taylor should just stop fighting.
I think that pretty much covers it. It’ll be interesting to see how the Pack’s next couple of games pan out, whether they continue to struggle or get back on track. They travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phantoms on Wednesday, before heading further south to take on the Norfolk Admirals on consecutive nights. Then, the Pack return home to take on the Manchester Monarchs at 11 AM on Wednesday, March 22nd.
- Calder
Well, the 2005-2006 Hartford Wolf Pack season is halfway over, and it has certainly been an eventful one thus far. By my count thirty-two different players have seen a Wolf Pack uniform this season, and obviously some of them stand out far more than others. So, for this edition of Calder’s Corner, I’m going to try and give a run down of each of them, seeing as I haven’t given an update in a while. So, without further delay, I present to you:
The 2005-2006 Hartford Wolf Pack Halfway Report
#1 Ty Conklin - Goalie
Now for those of you who don’t know, Ty Conklin was assigned to the Wolf Pack by the Edmonton Oilers on a conditioning assignment at some point in December. He since has returned to Edmonton (Halleluiah). He started in two games which went to shootouts, one of which the Pack won, and one of which they lost. In the game which the Pack lost, I think no one in attendance is ever going to forget the scene of him skating out to the blue line in Overtime trying to beat the attacker to the puck. Now up until that one play I was a fan of the guy, but seeing as I don’t think he ever got to the puck (hard to tell from my seat), and it almost cost us a game vs. a mediocre team which we probably should have won, I was glad to see him return to Edmonton.
#2 David Liffiton - Defense
The offensive production of Liffiton is up from last season, which is good for a physical stay-at-home defenseman. He’s also second on the team with 99 penalty minutes, with fighting majors included. Overall I’d say his game is improving, he still makes some mistakes when pressured, but for the most part is a steady defenseman. He drops the gloves too, which is a bonus, but his overall game needs some work.
#3 Maxim Kondratiev - Defense
I think the Rangers were pretty smart to make the trade for Sykora, with a rumor circulating that Kondratiev may be headed back to Russia and may not sign in North America. One of the more interesting moments of the Wolf Pack season was Max playing one night in Manchester, then heading to Portland (AHL Affiliate of Anaheim) with the Wolf Pack on the day he was traded. Just minutes before game time, with word of the trade reaching the Wolf Pack, he switched locker rooms and walked to the Pirates dressing room where he suited up in his new jersey. Interesting, to say the least.
#5 Dale Purinton - Defense
Does anyone really want to see him in New York again? There seems to be a general negative feeling towards Dale from the entire Rangers fan base. Honestly, there are a lot of kids coming up through the system who have more talent then Dale, and eventually there won’t be room for him. There have been rumors that have been going around that Dale will be named captain down here, which has drawn mixed reactions. He’s been hurt for a good portion of the season, only appearing in 9 games.
#7 Joe Rullier - Defense
He’s improving. Towards the start of the season he really wasn’t doing much, but he now has 11 points in his last 11 games, including a 3-point night against the Manchester Monarchs, his former team. Other than that I really don’t know what to say about him.
#9 Nigel Dawes - Wing
He’s been phenomenal for the Pack so far this season. Not only is he sharing the team lead with 32 points, but he’s staying out of the penalty box. Aside from his 2-penalty performance on opening night, he’s been to the box in only 4 out of 38 games. I think the biggest knock on Nigel was his size, and that might be the only thing keeping him out of the NHL. He’s proving that he still can score at a higher level, and score often. Right now he’s scored 2 goals in each of his last 3 games, and he’s second only to Dwight Helminen for the team lead in goals.
#10 Alexandre Giroux - Wing
He was on an unbelievable streak in November where he put up 15 points in 10 games, but then he got injured. I don’t know how he was able to do it, but he returned to the lineup rather quickly after his foot was broken, but he managed only 2 points in 9 games he appeared in in December. So far he’s got 5 points in 7 games in January, hopefully he can return to the form he was in during that incredible streak earlier this season.
#11 Blake Bellefeuille - Forward
He’s now with the Philadelphia Phantoms, was playing with Charlotte before Hartford signed him to a PTO and he played five games. I honestly never saw him play, so I can’t really say much. Like I said he’s no longer with the team.
#15 Hugh Jessiman - Wing
He didn’t do anything while he was up in Hartford, but he seems to be performing well in Charlotte, I think it’s time for a call up personally.
#16 Jarkko Immonen - Center
He’s one of only two Wolf Pack players to appear in all 40 games thus far, knock on wood. If the Rangers needed a center it’s either him or Dwight Helminen who would get the call up, and it’s a difficult call to choose between the two of them. Jarkko has been pretty consistent all season, and is tied for the team lead in scoring with 32 points.
#19 Daniel Sparre - Wing
Before he came down with a viral infection he had 6 points in his first 11 AHL games. Since he returned to the lineup he only has 3 in his last 14. He’s small and he’s quick on his feet, and the two goals that I’ve seen from him were both nice. On one of them he came out of basically nowhere and knocked in a rebound, nobody picked him or the puck up. Hopefully he can improve on the offensive side a little more.
#20 Dwight Helminen - Center
The last time Hartford had a 40 goal scorer was when Brad “Shooter” Smyth lit the lamp 50 times way back in 2000-2001. Helminen has 20 goals in 39 games so far, and accordingly is on pace to hit the 40 goal milestone. The line of Dawes - Helminen - Genoway has been the best line Hartford has seen this season, with the 3 players putting up a total of 95 points in 40 games. They’ve all been phenomenal, especially Helminen. He’s improved a tremendous amount since the 04-05 season, probably due to the fact that he’s not only a penalty killer anymore. I’m in shock he didn’t make the all star team.
#21 Chad Wiseman - Wing
Should be the best player on the team, but for some reason is not. He’s been decent all season, 27 points in 29 games, but he’s been in the AHL for 4 seasons now, and was slated by many to be the team’s next captain. He’s not playing up to what fans expected him to play up to, but he’s been decent when he’s played.
#22 Thomas Pock - “Defense”
You’ll notice defense is in quotes. In my opinion, Pock would be better slated as a forward. If the Rangers are looking for someone to quarterback the power play, it’s not Thomas Pock. Yes, his offensive numbers have improved tremendously from last season, but he lets the puck out of the zone way too much. Plus he’s made some critical errors at defense which have been costly to the team. He’d be better off up on the forward lines, and I think that it’ll become noticeable once he gets into some NHL games this season.
#23 Ivan Baranka - Defense
This kid hits hard. Not only did he almost decapitate some guy on opening night, but he also served some guy on Saturday which drove the unlucky recipient of the check straight THROUGH the bench door.
#24 Petr Prucha - Wing
I think you all know how Petr Prucha is doing in New York.
#25 Jake Taylor - Defense
Fighting, not the best idea for Jake Taylor. I say this because he was sporting a nice bruise on his face after he got nailed by Wilkes-Barre / Scranton forward Daniel Caricllo and he hasn’t played since the incident. Other than that, he’s improved. He hasn’t been spectacular, but the quality of play has improved. Other than him and Rullier, New York doesn’t really have any other options for right-handed defensemen, unless they elect to give Daniel Girardi a look.
#26 Bryce Lampman - Defense
Out for the season. Shoulder injury requires surgery, he probably could have been our best defenseman this season if he stayed healthy. He’s the “Blair Betts” of this season, as Betts could have been one of our best forwards last season if he didn’t get hurt. Lampman only got into 11 games this season.
#27 Martin Grenier - Defense / Forward
Probably would be better suited as a forward if he ever made it to the NHL, seeing as he’s pretty much only a fighter. He’s been taking shifts at forward for a while now, because of a lack of bodies, and he’s a real big body. He’s 6’6, 260 lbs. according to the AHL site, so I’d wish we could see more of him standing in the slot, because he’d be difficult to move and would be a good screen.
#28 Jeff Taffe - Forward
Not a fan of Taffe honestly. He got off to a real good start, but since then has tapered off and hasn’t been producing as much lately.
#29 Al Montoya - Goalie
Coming into Hartford he had some enormous shoes to fill, seeing as Hartford fans were used to seeing reliable, consistent goaltending night in and night out. Jason LaBarbera and Steve Valiquette was the best goaltending tandem in the AHL in 04-05, each with spectacular GAA’s and save percentages. So far, Montoya is 13-3. One of those losses was in overtime, one was to the best team in the AHL, and one was on a night where Hartford only managed 1 goal on 50 shots. Keep in mind, he’s a rookie.
#30 Bernd Bruckler - Goalie
Was impressive in his AHL debut, but other than that wasn’t really spectacular. He’s now down in the ECHL.
#31 Chris Holt - Goalie
A 4.49 GAA in seven games played speaks for itself.
#34 Robert Gherson - Goalie
Please sign this kid. He’s so much better than Holt, and has an identical save percentage to Al Montoya. Despite the fact that he’s on a personal three game losing streak, when Montoya was injured he bailed the Pack out big time. He earned the Wolf Pack standing points in his first nine games as a member of the Pack, winning 6 of them.
#36 Craig Weller - Forward
Every season he keeps getting better and better. He hits hard, he’s improved his offense for the third straight season, and he’s been solid and consistent all season long. He does his job every night, and I mean every night. He has not yet missed a game this season.
#37 Bryan Rodney - Defense
I haven’t seen him, but apparently he’s supposed to be a real good offensive defenseman. He played on the same team as Daniel Girardi in juniors.
#38 Bruce Graham - Forward
Currently out of the lineup due to a viral infection. He’s been pretty good, considering he’s only 20. He earned a spot on the team with his performance in training camp, and he’s a pretty big body, (6’5) but needs more muscle.
#39 Colby Genoway - Forward
Easily one of the best forwards Hartford has had this season, very useful power play player as well. He’s getting top line minutes with Dawes and Helminen, and he’s using them well. He’s put up 31 points, only one off the team lead. He’s also a rookie, and at times will make rookie mistakes, but he’s playing very well. I do not believe he has a NHL contract, but if he keeps up his offense, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with one soon.
#44 Ryan Hollweg
I think you guys know how he’s doing in the NHL.
#47 Lee Falardeau - Forward
He started off strong, picking up 6 points in his first 9 games since being called up from Charlotte of the ECHL. However, he has since cooled off, he only has two points in his last 20 games. On an all around scale, his game is up from last season. However, I’m concerned that he went 15 games without a single point, especially on a Hartford team which has the fourth most goals for in the entire AHL.
#48 Daniel Girardi - Defense
Beats out Rullier and Taylor for the best right-handed defenseman on the roster in my opinion. He’s been solid since being called up from Charlotte, exceeding my expectations from him. At first I figured he was only going to be up for the a couple games, but he’s been great for the Wolf Pack blue line. Again, I don’t believe he has an NHL contract, but the Rangers don’t have a lot of right-handed defensemen. He should get a look.
#81 Fedor Fedorov - Forward
The Rangers should have kept Balej, simply put. I had high hopes for Fedorov, but he’s simply not producing.
That’s it for this edition of Calder’s Corner, hopefully you’ve all been caught up to speed on the Wolf Pack, who currently stand at 22-11-2-5, in sole possession of the 3rd place spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with 51 points on the season. They trail the division leading Portland Pirates by 6 points and the second place Manchester Monarchs by 2.
- Calder
Last winter, right around this time in fact, the Wolf Pack put up two 6-0 wins in a three game stretch. However, smack dab in the middle of these two wins was a score that was downright frustrating. The Lowell Lock Monsters defeated Hartford 1-0 in a 13 round shootout on Friday, December 3rd, 2004. Even more frustrating, Hartford could not beat Lowell’s goalie once. How a team goes from scoring half a dozen goals on one game night, to not being able to hit water if they fell out of a boat the next is beyond me.
That’s your history lesson for today, now let’s move on to vocabulary. Today’s word is consistency. This is something over the past two seasons, Hartford as a team has simply not been. However, there were some things you could count on in the past. If you saw a game, you could count on these five things to happen (barring injury to one of the players):
1. Jozef Balej would pull off an amazing move, then lose the puck.
2. Trevor Gillies would fight someone
3. Jason LaBarbera or Steve Valiquette would bail us out of a game
4. Ryan Hollweg would knock someone into next week
5. Jamie Lundmark would take a stupid penalty
Other than that, no one really knew what to expect. Our offense was pretty much hit or miss all season long. However, I think we all hoped this season with the new coaching staff in place, and a revamped roster, that we might actually be able to be a consistent team.
However- let’s look at the streaks Hartford has been on this season
W1
L3
W3
L1
W3
L4
W1
L1
Well, the only thing consistent about Hartford’s season is that they’ve been around .500 all year long. Basically, the season has been a bunch of streaks. Already there have been two three-game winning streaks. In fact, there was a point this season where Hartford was on an eight-game point streak. However, the team followed it up by losing four out of its next five games.
To give credit where credit is due, Al Montoya was not in net for our last seven games. During that time frame, we are a whopping 2-4-0-1. The team cannot solely rely on Al Montoya. This season and last season are entirely different. Barbs and Valiquette were interchangeable, if you put either out on the ice; our team had an equal chance to win that game. If we play Bernd Bruckler or Chris Holt over Montoya, the Wolf Pack have a significantly less chance of winning that game. This cannot be the case all season long. It will not work out; as is evidenced by the past three-week’s games. What if Montoya goes down again? What if Weekes or Lundqvist gets injured and he has to play backup for a significant period of time in New York. Well, hopefully they would find a veteran to play backup in New York so that Monty could get some more ice time in Hartford, but that might not be the case.
The team is going to have to find a way to win without Al Montoya. Whether it be scoring a lot of goals, smartening up on defense, or not taking stupid penalties and then allowing the other team’s power play to walk all over them (as was the case in a 5-3 defeat Sunday 11/20 @ Portland, Portland scored 5 PPG’s), this young team needs to improve.
Also, hopefully the team won’t develop into a reliance system. What I mean by that is the team needs everyone to do his part on offense and defense. Alexandre Giroux, Jarkko Immonen, Chad Wiseman, Colby Genoway, and Nigel Dawes are giving Hartford good offensive chances on every night that they are in the lineup. However, aside from those five players (and their 34 goals), the rest of the Hartford roster has only lit the lamp 28 times. Granted, Hartford is averaging 3.647 goals per game, but what would happen if any of these guys were out of the lineup for an extended period of time? The rest of the team would have to pick up the slack and step up. Now, the last thing I want to see is any of these guys out of the lineup, but the NHL is back this season, and their services may be needed with the parent club, should the need arise. Genoway should be offered a contract soon in my opinion; he improved greatly over the summer.
Consistency is going to be extremely important to our team this year. Injuries and call-ups will happen, and the rest of the team is going to have to learn to deal with that. Relying on one group of five skaters for 54% of your goals scored simply won’t work. There’s no guarantee that they will continue to light it up for the rest of the season, and if they trail off, someone’s got to step up.
Retraction- I said in my last column that I don’t think we have a clear starter (in net) right now. Well, I think it’s fairly obvious, following their recent performances, who Hartford’s clear-cut number one netminder is. (Once he returns from injury, of course.)
- Calder
To start this edition of Calder's Corner, I'd like to take a moment to check in on some familiar faces from last season's team. These guys parted with the Rangers organization and each of them went their separate ways. Here's how they're doing so far in 2005-2006:
Layne Ulmer seems to have regained his goal scoring touch with San Antonio of the AHL. He's tied for the team lead in goal scoring, lighting the lamp 5 times in just 8 games. Not bad for a man who scored 7 goals in 65 games last year. Coincidently, this Saturday is “Mullet Night” in San Antonio. The best mullet in the house wins a trip for two to Phoenix! What a great opportunity for Layne to see some NHL ice time. Yes, it really is a promotion.
Jozef Balej has himself a pair of goals, and a pair of assists as well. Through 6 games for Manitoba he's also racked up 10 PIM. Fedor Fedorov, who the Rangers acquired from Vancouver in exchange for Balej , was averaging a point a game, 1-4-5, before being called up to New York.
Jeff MacMillan has not recorded a point in three games for Syracuse of the AHL, the Blue Jacket’s affiliate. He does have 10 penalty minutes to his name.
Joel Bouchard came to the Wolf Pack towards the end of 2004-2005, mainly for the playoff run. Unfortunately, that was short lived. He’s now with Bridgeport, and I believe he got hurt on opening night. Not exactly sure.
Trevor Gillies, who was our enforcer last season for those who don’t know, has become an offensive machine for Portland, which is now the affiliate of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He’s recorded one goal and has an assist to go with it. That’s two points in five games. Watch out AHL. He also has 19 penalty minutes.
Lawrence Nycholat continues to contribute on offense for whatever team he is with. He’s scored twice, and added four assists in seven contests for the Hershey Bears of the AHL.
Jeff Hamilton is scoreless in 7 games for Kazan Ak Bars (or possibly Ak Bars Kazan) of Russia. That’s shocking. Who would have thought Gillies would ever be outscoring Jeff Hamilton? Yes, I know that they’re in different leagues. It was a joke. Well, not the fact that he’s scoreless, he really is. Bear with me.
Steve Valiquette I could not find stats on. Sorry guys.
Now, I’m going to say this twice because when I saw it I couldn’t believe it. Lucas Lawson has 9 points in 14 games. Lucas Lawson has 9 points in 14 games. Yes, Lucas has had the hot hand in Finland, he’s ranked third in scoring on JyP Jyvaskyla with his 1 goal and 8 assists. For those keeping track, JyP was also Jarkko Immonen’s Finnish team.
And finally, Jason LaBarbera has been on a tear in the National Hockey League. He’s won every game he’s started for the Los Angeles Kings, and is boasting a 1.50 GAA and a .942 Save Percentage. Good to see him doing good in the NHL, disappointing for me to not see him with the Rangers.
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And now for the current Wolf Pack roster.
Highlights
As previously stated, Fedor Fedorov was called up to the Rangers. To make room for Sergei’s brother, the Rangers sent Dale Purinton back to Hartford. Unfortunately, this pretty much means that my idea for the costume contest at the Civic Center Saturday Night is dead. With my luck, Dale would probably be scratched that night, and if he sees “Colton Orr” walking around the Civic Center... well ... I like having both my eyes.
Now, there seems to be a big question mark surrounding Hugh Jessiman. Hugh has shown me nothing. Nothing at all. He has not recorded a point, his hits aren’t that strong, his skating doesn’t look that great. Pretty much everybody on Hartford is outperforming him. Yes, even Dale. When you look at a list of the people drafted after him in 2003, you can easily see perhaps he was not the best choice. Dustin Brown has developed into a nice young impact player for the Kings, Brent Seabrooke has 6 assists in 8 games with the Blackhawks, Zach Parise is shaping up to be a great NHL rookie as well. Hugh, so far, nothing.
As far as everyone else goes...
Goalies - Montoya and Holt are not LaBarbera and Valiquette. We can’t fall back on them to win us games. Montoya started on opening night, but so far they’ve both been fairly even. They’re both 1-1, and have each allowed 7 goals. Montoya’s GAA is slightly lower, but Holt holds a slight edge in Save Percentage. To me, I don’t think we have a clear starter right now.
Defense - The defenseman I think the majority of Rangers fans are concerned with is Thomas Pock. He’s picked up his offensive game, he’s recorded four points in five games. This is a great improvement over last season, where he recorded a whopping total of six points in 50 games. His defensive capabilities are up in the air, I don’t think he does a good job of keeping the puck in our zone when we are on the power play. As a result, we’ve got to chase clearing attempts down the ice. The rest of the defense I’ll cover next week.
Offense - Jarkko Immonen continues to score for us, he’s got 4 goals in 5 games. I think he’s been our best offensive player. He knows where to be, gets there, and makes the most of it. I’ve seen three of his goals, and they were all on the power play. One he knocked in a rebound, one was a last-minute tip in to win the game, and one was a loose puck which he floated up and over the goalie. Another name on offense you might recognize is Nigel Dawes. He scored his first professional goal this past Saturday night on the road in Hershey. He also added an assist in the Wolf Pack’s 6-5 win. Outside of that game, he has not recorded a point.
Well, that about does it for this edition of Calder’s Corner. If there’s any specific players you want me to profile more in depth, send me a message on the forums. Thanks for reading.
- Calder
If you missed the opening night player introductions at the Hartford Civic Center, you wouldn't have had the slightest idea just exactly who the 2005-2006 Wolf Pack are. Hartford's 23 man opening night roster featured only 10 returning regulars from last year's 50-Win team. Alexandre Giroux, Martin Grenier, Dwight Helminen, Bryce Lampman, David Liffiton, Steve MacIntyre, Thomas Pock, Jake Taylor, Craig Weller, and Chad Wiseman all are back this season (more on Chad later.)
Now, as far as the newcomers go, I'm not exactly sure what the best way to describe them is. Four of the players have seen AHL action in a Wolf Pack uniform before, those being Ivan Baranka, Nigel Dawes, Colby Genoway, and Dale Purinton. Baranka and Genoway were here last season, but were not regulars in the lineup. Genoway played 4 games towards the end of the season, and Baranka appeared in only 1 playoff game. Three of the players have played in the AHL before, but were never in a Wolf Pack uniform until last night. Those guys were Fedor Fedorov, Joe Rullier, and Peter Worrell. The other 6 players are AHL rookies, who have never played pro hockey in North America before. Those are Chris Holt, Al Montoya, Bruce Graham, Jarkko Immonen, Hugh Jessiman, and Daniel Sparre. I know, it's confusing.
As far as first impressions go, I'm just going to break it down player by player.
Ivan Baranka - Scored a goal in his first AHL regular season game. Fedorov made a great pass to him which he snapped by Adam Hauser on the powerplay to tie the game. Very physical game, nearly decapitated one of the Monarchs in front of the penalty box. However, nearly decapitating an opponent is grounds for a roughing call, and he was penalized accordingly. I don't really have any complaints on Ivan so far, he played well.
Nigel Dawes - For some reason he was playing with Bruce Graham and Craig Weller. I do not know why. Nigel scored 50 goals last year in the WHL, and isn't exactly the kind of player who throws checks around. He took two penalties, one for interference and one for hooking. He had a real good scoring chance in the third period, but Manchester's goalie got a pad on it and kept it out of the net.
Fedor Fedorov - Jozef Balej 2.0. He's bigger, he's stronger, he still plays with the puck too much. He tried to pull some crazy move on the Monarchs defenseman, and well, he lost the puck. He got off 4 shots on goal, all of which were denied by Adam Hauser. However, he did get two assists in his first game with the Wolf Pack, which has to count for something. Both his points came on the powerplay, so hopefully he keeps it up.
Colby Genoway - I have to look at the boxscore to see what he did. He took 3 shots, and none of them went in. That was pretty much it from him.
Alex Giroux - Had an assist on the game winning goal, other than that not much.
Bruce Graham - Played a very good first game. Threw some hits, used his size, looked very good out there. Got two assists as well, though one of them was on Craig Weller's funky goal which I have no idea how it got in.
Martin Grenier - Solid defense, was one of only 4 Wolf Pack players to end up with a +/- that was not zero. He threw some hits, played the penalty kill, etc. Nothing from an offensive standpoint, but that's not his game.
Dwight Helminen - One shot on goal, was a -1. Didn't see him do much.
Chris Holt - DNP
Jarkko Immonen - By far the best player on the ice for both teams. Highly touted European center, who most of the Rangers fan base had Sharpied in as a starter on Broadway this season. Well, he's here in Hartford, and I think the entire Wolf Pack fan base is glad to have him. 2 Goals in his first AHL game, both of them beautiful. The first one came off a rebound which he batted past Adam Hauser, the second was the Game Winner with 52 seconds to spare on a nice deflection. He knew where he had to be on both the goals, got there, and made the most of it.
Hugh Jessiman - He threw some hits out there, looked pretty decent. No Points, No Shots, No +/-, just threw some hits. It was his first game, so I'm not worried about him at all.
A - Bryce Lampman - Took a penalty 25 seconds in and was a -2. Not the best game he's played.
David Liffiton - Scratched.
Steve MacIntyre - Scratched.
Al Montoya - He looked good out there. Made some key saves, no bad goals in my opinion. I believe Connor James's second goal of the game shouldn't have counted because the net was off before the puck was in, and 7,500 people probably agree with me, but the refs ruled it a goal. 22 Saves for Al in his debut.
Thomas Pock - He doesn't keep the puck in his own zone. When someone goes to clear it out he'll go to block it, then he'll miss it, and the puck will go down the ice and we have to waste powerplay time chasing after it. Also, this goes back to last season. He's pushed as this great offensive move the puck kind of defenseman, but I'm just not seeing it. Hopefully he can put up some numbers this season. Someone has too now that we don't have Nycholat.
Dale Purinton - Scratched. He was there, though.
Joe Rullier - I was waiting for him to fight someone, and then he didn't. He's a big, tough defenseman who got a lot of cheers from the Monarchs fans when he took to the ice, being a former member of their team. As I said, didn't fight, so I can't be a critic on that part. I was a little confused as to why he was on the powerplay, but I guess we're just trying some stuff out to start the season.
Daniel Sparre - I really didn't notice him. Played with Giroux and Immonen though.
Jake Taylor - Got an assist on Immonen's first goal. Was a -1.
A - Craig Weller - Scored a funky goal which he banked in from behind the net off of the goalie. Threw some nice hits.
A - Chad Wiseman - For the second straight season he has a chance to score our first goal on opening night and he screws up. Made a move on Hauser, no finish though. Also, he took a slapshot to the face, and was bleeding pretty bad. Reports are that he fractured his cheekbone and he underwent surgery October 9th. No word on when he'll be back, but most of you have seen what happened to Mars Sundin.
Peter Worrell - Scratched. He is one big man though.
Powerplay went 3/9, penalty kill went 1/7.
The Wolf Pack raised Ken Gernander's #12 to the rafters prior to the game, making him the first Wolf Pack player to have his number retired. Ken played 8 seasons with the Wolf Pack, was the team's only captain, holds numerous records, and is still many fans' favorite player. The faces, the jerseys, the coaches, all changed. The one thing you could always count on was Ken Gernander. He now will be one of Hartford's assistant coaches. Congratulations Ken, you deserve it.
So That's it for Calder's Corner this week. Next week Hartford takes on Springfield and Lowell.
- caldercup0
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