Norfolk Admirals | CollegeHockeyPlayers

20May

Richard Panik(14) Norfolk Admirals

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#52 overall), Slovakian-born right wing Richard Panik(14) wasn’t exactly a shoe-in for a roster spot on their AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals at the beginning of his rookie season but has managed to find his niche when called upon.

In 64 games he produced a very reasonable 19 goals and 22 assists.

In the Calder Cup Playoffs though, the 21-year old has been all about being in the middle of the action and it’s paying off with key goals. He has 3 in 12 postseason contests including the overtime game-winner of the Semi-Finals that got the Norfolk into the Conference Finals.

The 6’2″ 215 lbs. forward still has 2 years left on his 3-year entry level deal and chances are he’ll keep improving his game and quite possibly find his path to the net with increasing frequency.

15May

Jaroslav Janus(30) Norfolk Admirals

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | Leave a comment

3rd-ish year Norfolk Admirals‘ Slovakian-born goalie Jaroslav Janus(30) got his first start in the AHL Calder Cup Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and blanked Connecticut Whale 4-0 to help his team take the 3-2 series advantage. He was a Tampa Bay Lightning 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#162 overall).

A couple of nights later he would be in net again to sail his team to a 2-1 win into the Conference Finals.

In 2011/2012 he played in a career high 34 games winning 23 games with a 2.36 GAA and .914 SV%.

In the playoffs he’s really shutting down the opposition with a 1.69 GAA and .937 SV%. He has 3 wins against 1 loss.

This is the final year of his 3-year entry level deal. He’ll almost assuredly be qualified for another season and maybe even sign an extension for 2 more.

Between this 22-year old and their other goaltending prospect, Dustin Tokarski, this should be the future of the Lightning‘s occupancy between the pipes.

10May

Alexandre Picard(9) Norfolk Admirals

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

Former Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 1st round pick in the 2004 draft (#8 overall), left wing Alexandre Picard(9) is finding his scoring touch in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs with his new team of the 2011/2012 season, Norfolk Admirals.

The 6’2″ 206 lbs. power forward was signed to a one-year two-way contract by Tampa Bay Lightning at the beginning of free agency.

In 67 NHL games over the first five years of his pro career with the Blue Jackets, he only managed a pair of assists. He was not recalled this season and in 49 AHL games scored 6 goals, 19 assists for 25 points.

He did however have his best plus/minus with a +9.

Through 7 seasons, he’s played 351 AHL regular season games scoring 111 goals and 121 assists.

In 9 postseason contests he has seemingly exploded for 6 goals and 6 assists and leads the team and league in scoring.

He potted another two in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, including the winning tally to put the Admirals up in the series 3-2 in the best-of-7.

02May

Mike Vernace(48) Connecticut Whale

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

6th year defenseman Mike Vernace(48) has been on quite the ride through the AHL this season as he was traded twice and is currently playing for his third team in the 2011/2012 season.

Ironically all three teams he skated for are still in the postseason.

He started the year with Norfolk Admirals, the team he’d been with for the entirety of 2010/2011 and even got into 10 games with the parent club Tampa Bay Lightning.

From there he was dished to Florida Panthers but skated only with San Antonio Rampage.

That relationship lasted only 22 games before he was once again passed along to New York Rangers in a trade deadline deal and reassigned to Connecticut Whale, where he’ll play his former team, the Admirals in the AHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in a best-of-seven series.

Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 7th round pick in the 2004 draft (#201 overall), the 6’ 216 lbs. blue liner has only appeared in 22 NHL games throughout his playing career.

It’s a bit doubtful that he’ll crack New York Rangers‘ lineup next fall or if they’ll even sign him up for another year, as he’ll be a UFA at the conclusion of the playoff run.

We still think he’s got plenty of pop to crack a big league lineup.

29Apr

Dustin Tokarski(34) & Martin Jones(31)

Posted in AHL | Leave a comment

Norfolk Admirals‘ 3rd year goalie Dustin Tokarski(34) and Manchester Monarchs‘ 2nd year net minder Martin Jones(31) exchange handshakes at the conclusion of their AHL Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Jones sat his first playoff game of the series but was the goaltender on record for the previous three contests, including a Monarchs‘ 5-2 win in game 2, the Admirals‘ 1st loss after 29 straight victories that started back on February 10. Almost appears like Tokarski is giving him a nod with the shake for that win.

The 22-year old Tokarski has one more year left on his 3-year entry level contract. It’s very possible that the 5’11” 198 lbs. backstop could compete for the starter job with Tampa Bay Lightning next season. He showed flashes of brilliance in 5 games in 2011/2012, despite only one win.

25Apr

Mike Brodeur(29) Houston Aeros

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | Leave a comment

For the first time in his 8-year pro career, goaltender Mike Brodeur(29) didn’t sign a contract to play with a team for the 2011/2012 season.

This is after two seasons in the Ottawa Senators‘ system, where he appeared in 7 games from 2009-2011. Last season he appeared in NHL, AHL and ECHL games.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, he signs a pto 3 weeks before the end of regular season with Houston Aeros and finds himself to be the back-up but would come in to relieve an injured Matt Hackett in each of the first two games AHL Calder Cup Playoffs and got the call to start game 3 backstopping 31 shots for the 1-0 win to put them back in the series.

Aeros did get bounced from the Calder Cup Playoffs by Oklahoma City Barons on Tuesday night.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 7th round pick in the 2003 draft (#211 overall), it’s a wonder where the 29-year old will end up next season. We wouldn’t be surprised to see him go the Europe route.

13Apr

Mark Barberio(8) Norfolk Admirals

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

Tampa Bay Lightning 6th round pick in the 2008 draft (#156 overall), 2nd year defenseman Mark Barberio(8) is having himself another career year with their AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals.

He leads all defenseman in the league with 47 assists, tied for 2nd in plus/minus (+25) and overall points (60). In his first campaign he established a new record for points, assists and points among rookie defenseman.

He was recently named winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the outstanding blue liner for the 2011/2012 season and also picked as a 1st team AHL All-Star.

One surprising note in all that is good so far in his pro career, the 22-year old has yet to receive an NHL recall despite all the success.

It’s seemingly the one thing that has eluded the 6’1″ 200 lbs. d-man.

He’s in the 2nd year of his 3-year entry level deal.

30Mar

Norfolk Admirals’ AHL record-breaking win streak

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

When Norfolk Admirals put together a win streak that extended to 18 games, the team entered the AHL history books for the most games played in a single season without suffering a loss.

Now that the Admirals have racked up 21 straight victories it’s starting to get downright ridiculous and folks are wondering if and when it will ever end.

They broke the 17-game win mark set by Philadelphia Phantoms in the 2004/2005 season. The Phantoms also won the Calder Cup that year, which no doubt has speculators hedging their bets.

One thing is for sure, opposing teams are seeing more of Admirals‘ players embracing after scoring goals than they want to on any given night.

09Mar

Dustin Tokarski(34) Tampa Bay Lightning

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

3rd year Tampa Bay Lightning 5th round pick in 2008 (#122 overall) goaltender Dustin Tokarski(34) got a bit of a surprise when they decided to start him in his 1st NHL call up of the season. It was the first time he’d started a game.

He’s deserved it with his impressive play in net for the very good AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals. He has 27 wins against 11 losses and a 2.34 GAA and .905 SV%. He also has 4 shutouts.

While not the biggest guy in the crease at 5’11” 195 lbs. he plays the angles well and looks to be blossoming into a bona fide big league goalie and at this point the Lightning could use one of those as they inch closer to a playoff spot.

He has one more year on his 3-year entry level deal, which included a first year slide.

01Mar

Keith Aulie(3) Tampa Bay Lightning

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

Keith Aulie(3) is a monster of a 22-year old, 2nd year defenseman at 6’6″ 217 lbs.

He’s been in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system from the start of his pro career and played in 57 NHL games (2 goals and 2 assists).

With their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, he’s skated in 64 games (3 goals, 7 assists).

All of that ain’t so bad but in 2011/2012 with the two teams, he has only 3 assists and is a -10 plus/minus.

He must have slipped pretty low on their depth chart because they dumped him at the trading deadline for prospect forward Carter Ashton.

Could be that they just needed more up front than on the blue line.

He will debut with his new team Tampa Bay Lightning in the upcoming weekend. The team needs to make sure it has defense that takes up a lot of space with their goaltending worries, as they stumble and surge, pushing for a playoff spot.

He was originally a Calgary Flames‘ 4th round draft pick in 2007 (#116 overall) but played most of his rookie season with Abbotsford Heat.