Archive for the ‘AHL’ Category

The Quiet Room: Blake Geoffrion

Posted by Jo Innes under AHL, AHL Hockey, Big Hits, Cringe-Worthy, Montreal Canadiens, NHL Injuries, The Quiet Room on Mar 13, 2013

Editor’s note: this post originally ran after Blake Geoffrion’s injury on Nov. 10th, 2012 – we’ve republished it today for those who want to know more about what happened to the former Hobey Baker winner, given the bad news – today he told the Montreal Canadiens he plans to retire from professional hockey.

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Update on the update: John Glennon reports that Geoffrion has yet to officially retire.

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November 12th, 2012

Hockey fans filled the Bell Centre last night, eager to see Montreal’s AHL affiliated Hamilton Bulldogs take on the East Division-leading Syracuse crunch. A massive JP Côté hit on Hamilton’s Blake Geoffrion ended with Geoffrion skating off clutching his bleeding face, and later heading to a Montreal hospital for surgical repair of a skull fracture.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Who’s happiest the NHL may come back soon? Minor leaguers

Posted by Ryan Lambert under AHL on Jan 02, 2013

Jordan Eberle isn't keeping it fair

I was watching a video yesterday of Jordan Eberle scoring three goals for the Oklahoma City Barons in 2:43 (you can watch it here if you want to feel bad and ashamed for the Texas Stars), including the first two coming just NINE seconds apart, and I thought to myself that maybe all that scoring has to grate on the other team. No one likes to lose, obviously, but man, you gotta think the average AHLer is getting pretty damn sick of watching 22-year-old guys who were nearly a point a game in the NHL last year blow past them at 50 miles an hour and make their goalies look ridiculous.

So any progress in CBA negotiations, which seem likely to end in the not-so-distant future, has to give these guys hope. Fun as it may be to watch Justin Schultz put up 45 points in 31 games from the blue line to the average fan, it seems very unlikely his opponents feel the same way. And it’s not just an issue for whatever poor team plays Oklahoma City, which is currently sporting the third-best winning percentage in the AHL’s Western Conference because like any other Oilers team it’s dutifully giving up too many goals, the entire league is being ripped up by guys who should be playing in the NHL. Not that this should come as any sort of surprise, I guess, but when you look at it from a purely points-per-game perspective, the AHL’s best players are all NHLers on holiday. Of the 18 guys in the league who are running at a point a game or better with a decent amount of games under their belts (as of this writing), I figure just about all of them, save for Keith Aucoin, would have been at least considered for full-time gigs in the NHL were they not locked out. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cam Barker be strugglin’

Posted by Justin Bourne under AHL, Lockout News on Dec 17, 2012

Cam Barker has been spending his season with the Texas Stars of the AHL, despite not having a full contract. He was on a 25-game professional tryout, which is the type of standard deal guys put their names on when trying to earn a “real” contract at best, or while waiting for a teammate to get hurt at worst. Either way – it’s a foot in the door.

Welp, Barker’s 25-games are up, and they gave him the axe.

The guy led the team in shots during his time with the Stars, firing 66 pucks on net. He also scored three times and added five assists. Yet, was a healthy scratch on occasion so the Stars could give their up-and-comers – names like Jamie Oleksiak, Jordie Benn and Brenden Dillon – the minutes they felt were necessary.

It’s really crazy how far (and how fast) Barker has fallen. In no way am I defending his play, which seriously bottomed out over the past few years, but man, he’s a 26-year old defenseman who’s approaching 100 career NHL points. And now, it seems, like he just can’t do it anymore. Often, prospects get every conceivable opportunity when they look good in junior, and teams try to force a guy to be an NHL player, but sometimes things just don’t pan out. Maybe that happened here.

I can’t predict what happens next for Barker, but I’m sure it involves another AHL team. It could be an ECHL one while the lockout persists, but once it’s over, he’s no worse than a decent AHL defender. Then again, there’s little reason to think the lockout will end, so Barker could find himself falling from NHL defender to making his debut in his first “four-letter league.” Ex-NHLers tend to want to avoid those.

(S/t to Pro Hockey Talk)

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Red Wings’ prospect Riley Sheahan’s drunk driving charge is straight out of Mad Libs

Posted by Justin Bourne under AHL, Detroit Red Wings, Legal Trouble, That's Not Good on Nov 27, 2012

Riley Sheahan is a 20-year old Red Wings prospect currently playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. On October 29th he was pulled over in scary, dangerous condition. Here’s what you need to know:

* He was going the wrong way on a one-way street in a 2012 Jeep Wrangler. That’ll get you pulled over pretty consistently.

* He failed two sobriety tests before refusing to blow into the breathalyzer.

* He was wearing a purple Teletubby costume. …Stay with me here.

* The officers thought they pulled over his teammate Brendan Smith because they were shown Smith’s ID, which Sheahan later admitted he carries to get into bars. As in, he must have given that one to them by mistake.

* He agreed to be breathalyzed at the police station, where they charged him with “super-drunk” driving, as his blood alcohol level was .30. The legal limit is 0.08, and the baseline for a “super-drunk” charge is 0.17.

He pleaded not guilty(?), and has his next hearing December 13th, where he’ll be facing up to 180 days in jail, and possible deportation, given that he’s not an American citizen.

Sooo, yeah: maybe that was more of a cab night. (Who wears a Teletubby costume out thinking “I’m sure I’ll be good to drive home, I’ll take the vehicle there.”)

As pointed out by MLive.com (linked below), the Red Wings top pick in the draft was also charged with public intoxication and minor alcohol consumption in 2010 during his first year at Notre Dame.

I’ll refrain from too many snide asides here, given the danger he put himself and others in, but you can’t help but cock your head to the side here and wonder what kind of night that was: wrong way, “super-drunk,” purple Teletubby digs, wrong ID…geezus. Pull it together, man.

(Stick-tap to MLive.com, via Pro Hockey Talk)

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One-Touch Passes: AHL gets a TV deal, Phaneuf gets engaged, is Visnovsky an Islander or a Duck?

Posted by Justin Bourne under AHL, Dion Phaneuf, Lubomir Visnovsky, One-Touch Passes on Sep 04, 2012

Pic from people.com

OMG, you guys, did you hear? Dion Phaneuf proposed to his now-fiance Elisha Cuthbert and she said YESSSSSS. Cray cray.

By all accounts (okay, one), they had 40-some people go to a lobster restaurant in PEI, where he proposed. At least he didn’t do it like this asshole.

How is this news relevant to you, you ask?

….I got nothin’. Read the rest of this entry »

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