Final look — Midwesthockey.info Year in Review — AHL

By Jim den Hollander

Midwesthockey.info

The American Hockey League’s Central Division standings sees sometimes drastic changes on a week-to-week basis. That’s what makes it so great.

This season the Lake Erie Monsters had a hot and cold season. At different times, the squad found itself among the top four positions or out of the post season hunt.

The team got hot at the right time though, winning 10 of its final 11 contests and then carrying that momentum into the post season where it posted a 15-2 record including wins in its final nine games to hoist the Calder Cup.

Not bad for a team that had never advanced beyond the opening round.

It seems the best remedy for Cleveland was aligning with its home state team. This season was the first for the Monsters-Blue Jackets affiliation and clearly it paid off in a big way.

Playoff Awards

Calder Cup Champion (Playoff Champion) – Lake Erie Monsters

Richard F. Canning Trophy (East Conference Playoff Champion) – Hershey Bears

Robert W. Clarke Trophy (West Conference Playoff Champion) – Lake Erie Monsters

Robert W. Clarke Trophy (West Conference Playoff Champion) – Lake Erie Monsters

Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (Playoff MVP) – Oliver Bjorkstrand (Monsters)

Regular Season Awards

MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy (Regular Season Points Champion) – Toronto Marlies

Frank Mathers Trophy (Regular Season East Conference Champion) – Toronto Marlies

Norman R. ‘Bud’ Poile Award (Regular Season West Conference Champion) – Ontario Reign

Sam Pollock Trophy (Regular Season Central Division Champion) – Milwaukee Admirals

Emile Francis Trophy (Regular Season Atlantic Division Champion) – Hershey Bears

F.G. ‘Teddy’ Oke Trophy (Regular Season North Division Champion) – Toronto Marlies

John D. Chick Trophy (Regular Season West Division Champion) – Ontario Reign

Les Cunningham Award (Regular Season MVP) – Chris Bourque (Hershey Bears)

John B. Sollenberger Trophy (Regular Season Top Scorer) – Chris Bourque (Hershey Bears)

Willie Marshall Award (Regular Season Top Goal Scorer) – Frank Vatrano (Providence Bruins)

Les Cunningham Award (Regular Season MVP) – Chris Bourque (Hershey Bears)

Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Memorial Award (Top Rookie) – Mikko Rantanen (San Antonio Rampage)/ Frank Vatrano (Providence Bruins)

Eddie Shore Award (Top Defenseman) – TJ Brennan (Toronto Marlies

Aldege ‘Baz’ Bastien Memorial Award (Top Goaltender) – Peter Budaj (Ontario Reign)

Harry ‘Hap’ Holmes Memorial Award (Lowest Goals Against Average) – Matt Murray/Jeff Zatkoff (Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins).

Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award (Coach of the Year) – Rick Kowalsky (Albany Devils)

Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award (Sportsmanship/Perseverance) – Tom Kostopoulos (Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins)

Yanick Dupre Memorial Award (Community Service) – Ryan Carpenter (San Jose Barracuda)

Other Awards Still to be presented:

James C. Hendy Memorial Award (Executive of the Year)

Thomas Ebright Memorial Award (Outstanding Career Contributions)

James H. Ellery Memorial Awards – Outstanding Media Coverage

Ken McKenzie Award – Marketing Executive of the Year

Michael Condon Memorial Award – Outstanding Service – On Ice Official

Presidents Awards – Presented to Team and Player rewarding ‘Excellence in all areas off of the ice’

Lake Erie Monsters

The Monsters have been a member of the American Hockey League for nine seasons. In the previous eight the team qualified for the post season just once – falling in the opening round to Manitoba Moose in 2010-11.

This time around the team got hot just before the post season and didn’t just carry that into the playoffs, it swaggered in and bullied four teams on its way to hoisting the Calder Cup. The team dropped just two games in the post season – both against the Grand Rapids Griffins who responded with some desperation after falling behind 3-0 in the Central Division Championship series.

The team was loaded with a core group of a dozen or so talented forwards but also blessed with some great leadership from players like Ryan Craig, the veteran captain who wrapped up a great season hoisting his first Calder Cup and veteran defender Jaime Sifers.

But what has the Blue Jackets excited is the host of young talent at virtually every position from the crease where both Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg played a part in leading the team to the Calder while also making solid debuts with the Blue Jackets as well; defense where a younger group including Michael Paliotta (23), Dillion Heatherington (21) and Dean Kukan (22) got even younger when 2015 First round pick, Zach Werenski (18) came over for the final seven games of the regular season following his second and now final year at University of Michigan and then played a key role in the team’s playoff success.

And up front, well, this club was loaded. Recent first round picks Kerby Rychel and Sonny Milano certainly made their presence felt and there are a ton of others on a team that boasts depth as perhaps its best weapon. Oliver Bjorkstrand, was the playoff MVP and the 21-year-old forward could be among the players who get a good look at camp this fall. T.J. Tynan and Michael Chaput, both 24 were among the most consistent contributors and there are a host of others like Daniel Zaar, Alex Broadhurst and Josh Anderson that all picked up 30+ points. In a recent online Q & A session, Aaron Portzline from the Columbus Dispatch, estimated there could be four players from this group that could start the season with Columbus in the fall, but there are more that will make it tough to make cuts.

Among the four will likely be one of the two regulars in goal for the Monsters. Both Forsberg, 23, and Korpisalo, 22, took part in the post season. Forsberg’s numbers were a little better in Cleveland through the season, it was Korpisalo who appeared to make the most of a second half call up to Columbus when Sergei Bobrovsky was sidelined. One of these two will almost certainly be with the Jackets when the team begins the 2016-17 season this fall. The other will be a call up away as well.

Finally, head coach Jared Bednar who wrapped up his second season at the helm of the team that previously played out of Springfield, following up five seasons as an AHL Assistant Coach at Abbotsford, Peoria and finally Springfield, has been getting a lot of well-deserved attention from NHL clubs. Don’t be surprised to see him surface as an NHL Head Coach in the days ahead.

Milwaukee Admirals

The Admirals got hot as well at the right time and entered the post season as the top seed in the Central Division.

Unfortunately, the team was unable to carry that momentum into the post season and found themselves brushed aside by the Grand Rapids Griffins in the opening round of the playoffs in three straight games – two at the Bradley Center.

The Admirals however boast a slew of young prospects including 19-year-old left winger Kevin Fiala who finished as the team’s top scorer with 50 points (18g, 32a) and center Vladislav Kamenev, also 19 who picked up 37 points (15g, 22a) in just 57 games.

Up front there are others such as Pontus Aberg, Max Gortz, Frederick Gaudreau and Max Reinhart all still under 25 while the defense is equally as youthful led by Taylor Aronson who contributed 40 points (4g, 36a) in 64 games and 20-year-old Trevor Murphy collected 32 points (11g, 21a) in 59 regular season contests. Jimmy Oligny, 23, also was a regular on the blue line and Jack Dougherty, 20, gave a glimpse of what was to come, appearing in three games after wrapping up his junior career with a 52 (11g, 41a) point campaign with Portland of the Western Hockey League.

The Admirals have a reputation for producing top goaltenders and this past season was no different as Juuse Saros, 21 and Marek Mazanec, 24 split the work evenly between the pipes – both posting solid numbers and combining evenly on eight shutout performances with four each.

Grand Rapids Griffins

The Griffins endured one of the weirdest campaigns with lengthy streaks of both wins and losses. However, the team managed to get things right heading into the post season and pushed the division champion Admirals aside before finally succumbing to the Monsters in a tough six game series, rallying for a couple of wins after dropping the first three games of the series.

Incidentally, the Griffs were the only team of four to earn a win against the Monsters in an otherwise perfect playoff record for a team on a mission.

The Red Wings gave several players a chance on the roster at various points including Anthony Mantha who finally made his anticipated NHL debut late in the campaign.

Mantha, 21 and Andreas Athanasiou, may possess the best chance to stick with a Red Wings team that will be looking for offensive firepower with the departure of Pavel Datsyuk during the early off-season. Both looked comfortable in the ‘Winged Wheel’ jersey during late season stints and returned to a solid post season run.

While the Wings have finally settled into the Salary Cap era which calls for developing talent in the system more often than pulling out the wallet, there seems a never-ending talent pool in Grand Rapids.

Along with the aforementioned forwards, the Griffins also have Martin Frk, 22 and Tyler Bertuzzi, 21 already with AHL seasoning while Zach Nastasiuk, 21 split time between the Griffins and Walleye in Toledo (ECHL).

On defense the Griffs are loaded and will remain that way with the most recent draft picks likely coming aboard in the upcoming season.

Xavier Ouellet, 22, has already had a call up or two with the big team and he is likely the best defensive prospect at this time. However, Robbie Russo, 23 and Ryan Sproul, 23 are both on the cusp as well and Brian Lashoff, 25, has been a regular call up as well. Meanwhile, recently drafted players, Joe Hicketts, 20 (Victoria, WHL) and Vili Saarijarvi, 19 (Flint, OHL), are both coming off of impressive campaigns with their respective junior clubs. Hicketts will likely start the 2016-17 season in Grand Rapids and Saarijarvi is still eligible for another season of junior.

In goal, the work was primarily split between Jared Coreau, 24 and Tom McCollum, 26. Their stats are similar although Coreau did get a little extra work and posted a half dozen shutouts on the season compared to just one for McCollum.

Rockford Ice Hogs

While the three teams above got hot at the right team, entering the post season, the Ice Hogs, who led the division at various points over the season stumbled into the post season and ran into a team on a mission in the first round, surrendering in three straight to the Monsters.

The best news of the off-season is likely not a big surprise. The Ice Hogs announced last week it will continue its affiliation with the Chicago Blackhawks for five more seasons. That arrangement has worked out well since it was established a few years back.

The Ice Hogs were led by seasoned veterans, such as Micheal Leighton and Drew MacIntyre between the pipes along with captain Jake Dowell and veteran forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie up front.

But there is some good young talent with the team as well including 22-year-old Vinnie Hinostroza, a smaller, but agile forward who led the team in scoring with 51 points (18g, 33a) and then went on to help Team USA at the World Championship tournament in the spring as well.

Ryan Hartman, a 21-year-old winger also enjoyed a fine season with 35 points (15g, 20a) and centers Mark McNeill, 23 (25g, 23a – 48pt) and Tanner Kero 23 (20g, 19a – 39 pt) should get consideration in the next couple of seasons as well, although they may have to do it as wingers.

On the blue line, 22-year-old Ville Pokka played in all 76 games and put up 45 points (10g, 35a) to finish third overall while Kirill Gotovets, 24 and Nolan Valleau (22) seem like good young prospects as well.

Meanwhile, a pair of 21-year-old defenders – Robin Norell and Carl Dahlstrom both made debuts late in the season and 22-year-old Sam Jardine appeared in six games while playing another 50 with the ECHL affiliate at Indianapolis.

With a late season injury to Leighton, Mac Carruth, 24 stepped in from Indy and was the key man between the pipes in both the late season and playoff contests.

Chicago Wolves

The Wolves finished short of the post season and trailed the front runners from early on. While there are several veterans in leadership spots on this team, there are some young prospects as well.

Last season the Blues say a pair of players – Colton Parayko and Robby Fabbri make the jump to the big team with only moderate tuning in the AHL (both less than 20 games) and there are several others who could be making the jump as early as this fall.

At least a few, like forwards Ty Rattie and Danny Kristo along with defenseman Jordan Schmaltz, have already gotten a taste of life in St. Louis. Among the best prospects now are center Ivan Barbashev and goaltenders Pheonix Copley and Jordan Binnington.

It will be interesting to see what young talent is added to the Wolves club for the upcoming season and that could determine whether the team will be able to challenge for a playoff spot in 2016-17.

Iowa Wild

The Wild once again found itself all but out of the race early last season, but the team played .500 hockey (16-15-3-3) through the second half and while the post season was too far away to matter, the team threatened to capture both Winnipeg and Chicago until the late going.

Veteran goaltender Leland Irving played a little more than half of the games in goal and while his won/lost record wasn’t great, he posted a decent .913 save percentage.

The team didn’t score much this past season – Winger Zach Mitchell, 23 led the way with just 42 points (20g, 22a) in 70 games and center Grayson Downing picked up 40 (19g, 21a) in 56 games. The team has several young prospects up front including 19-year-old Chase Lang who followed up a solid run with Calgary and Vancouver of the WHL with an 11 game stint, scoring twice and adding an assist.

Among the best young defensive prospects are Mike Reilly, 22 who led the blue line corps with 23 points (5g, 18 a) in 45 games and Gustav Olofsson, 21 with 17 points (2g, 15a) in 52 contests. Both are learning under the tutelage of veteran team captain Maxime Fortunus in Iowa and both spent time with the Wild this past season as well.

In goal, Steve Michalek, 22 is learning the ropes from Irving as well.