Time for another update in what has become a series of blogs about who I think will be part of the 2010-11 Springfield Falcons (seriously I thought I'd be done after one of these with maybe 1 update). Anyway since my last update the Jackets have signed 4 players to 1 year two-way contracts and hired a coach while the Falcons signed a player out of juniors.
So with those additions I figured let's do a full reset and start from scratch. Now some stats and opinions will be repeated from my first blog, but I did some digging and found some new stuff as well. Also after the player's name I'm putting their height and weight with their age.
The Blue Jackets and Syracuse Crunch ended their 10 year affiliation this season; sending both clubs on a search for a new AHL affiliate. The Crunch settled on the Anaheim Ducks, while the Blue Jackets pulled a Columbus Clippers signing a 1 year affiliation (with an option) with the Springfield (MA) Falcons. Now what do I mean by pulling a Columbus Clippers? Well, anyone remember the 2 seasons the Clippers were affiliated with the Washington Nationals, just waiting for the Cleveland Indians affiliation with Buffalo to end. Who are the Jackets waiting on…well another Cleveland team of course. The Jackets are hoping to become affiliated with the Lake Erie Monsters once there affiliation ends with the Colorado Avalanche in 2 years.
But any way a quick affiliation/history lesson on the Falcons. This affiliation change is probably the best thing to happen to the Falcons in a long time. Springfield was the only AHL team last season to not win 30 games and missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season; the club has only made the playoffs once in the last 9 seasons. When the Falcons joined the AHL in 1994 they were affiliated with the last 2 NHL franchises to relocate, being affiliated with the Hartford Whalers until their move to Raleigh and the team remained affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets. The teams remained affiliated even after the Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes. The last 5 seasons the Falcons were affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning (05-07) and the Edmonton Oilers (07-10).
The Falcons figure to be a young team next season with 8 players making their professional debuts, 1 making his North American debut and 2 more will be playing in their first full professional seasons after playing in the AHL late last season.
The Falcon's veteran leadership will come from Center Derek MacKenzie(5'11" 185, 29). This will be MacKenzie's 10th AHL season and 4th with the Blue Jacket's organization. MacKenzie has played in 550 AHL games scoring 147 goals and 185 assists for 332 points. MacKenzie is a threat on special teams picking up 22 power play goals and 27 shorthanded goals over the last 4 seasons. MacKenzie was the Crunch's leading scorer(47 GP 17-30-47) and captain last season picking up 30 assists for the second consecutive season. Last season also included Mackenzie reaching new highs in both games played and points in the NHL before a knee injury ended his season. Trevor Frischmon(5'11 197, 29) is coming off back to back 25 point seasons(75 GP 7-18-25), more of a playmaker than a goal scorer with 56 of his 73 career points being assists. Frischmon has played for a Blue Jackets affiliate since he came out of Colorado College in 2006, finally earning a contract before last season where he made his NHL debut.
Tomas Kana(6'0" 202, 22) rocketed his way up the Blue Jackets depth chart last season. Playing in Alaska of the ECHL when the Jackets acquired him, pretty much as a throw in on a minor league deal from what I’ve read. He was then assigned to Syracuse and developed into a top six forward while also adding some grit to his game with the help of housemate/teammate Jon “Nasty” Mirasty in Syracuse. Kana finished with 28 points in 50 games while making his NHL debut, playing in the Blue Jacket’s last six games picking up his first two points in a game against Detroit. I think 10-11 is a make or break season for Maxim Mayorov(6'2" 187 21), it’s the final season of his entry level deal. For those of you that don’t know Mayorov was the 4th best rated European prospect in the 2007 draft, but slipped to the 4th round due to the lack of a transfer agreement with Russia. Mayorov has back to back 30 point seasons while also getting into at least a few games with the Blue Jackets every year.
The biggest forward on the Falcons will be Tom Sestito(6'5" 228, 22) at 6’5 who was plagued by injuries last season but still managed to score a career high with 10 goals. Sestito was a teammate of Jared Boll’s in Plymouth of the OHL where he scored 42 goals in his final season of junior. Sestito has spent more time in the penalty box then on the ice in the 4 NHL games he’s played in (24PIM, 21:17 TOI) picking up 17 penalty minutes in his NHL debut during the 2008 season. Sestito has picked up 508 in his AHL career making him one of the toughest customers on this years Falcons. One lucky thing is that some Falcon’s fans won’t have to buy new jerseys since Tom’s older brother Tim played for the team from 2007 to 2009. Another family connection is Chad Kolarik(5'11" 185, 24) whose brother Tyler was a 5th round pick of the Jackets in 2000. Kolarik who was picked up in a trade deadline deal ended up leading the Crunch in goal scoring with 26 also picking up 15 points in 17 games with the Crunch.
The final forward returning from last year's AHL team is Mike Blunden(6'4" 211, 23). Now Blunden was more a Blue Jacket than a member of the Crunch last season, playing in 40 NHL games compared to 25 AHL games last season. The Jackets just signed Mike to a two-way deal and I think he has a shot at making the team as a 4th liner but if he doesn't he'll be playing in his 6th AHL season making him one of the most experienced players on the team. Blunden needs only 1 point to reach 100 points in his AHL career.
The only free agent signing at forward the Blue Jackets did this summer was center Kyle Wilson(6'1" 201, 25). Wilson has played with the Hershey Bears the last 4 seasons, also making his NHL debut last season with the Capitals picking up 2 assists in 2 games. Wilson while with the Bears was a consistent 20+ goal scorer including a high of 30 in 07-08, he's also a 30 assist threat reaching that plateau every year except last year when he still had 29. Wilson while at Cornell(02-06)picked up 101 points during his career including 41 his senior year.
The Falcons could have 5 rookies at forward this season. Those 5 are Matt Calvert, Tomas Kubalik, Tyler Murovich, Chris Francis and Kyle Neuber. Matt Calvert(5'9" 164, 20) could have signed with the Blue Jackets last season but decided to return to his junior/hometown team the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Kings were hosting the Memorial Cup meaning they receive an automatic bid in the prestigious tournament. Now while the Wheaties(team nickname) did make it to the championship game they ran into a juggernaut called the Windsor Spitfires led by No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall and current CBJ assistant coach Bob Boughner. Matt just missed scoring 100 points (72GP 47-52-99) this season finishing fourth in the league, now when you look at those numbers know this Matt played on probably the best line in the WHL. The line was made up of Calvert and 2 1st round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft they combined to score 113 goals, 174 assists and a combined +124. Calvert also served as a co-captain last season.
Tomas Kubalik(6'2" 189, 20) came over from the Czech Republic to play with Victoriaville of the QMJHL picking up 75 points in 58 games with the Tigres; he missed time this season while playing with the Czech National Team at the World Juniors Tournament picking up 9 points in 6 games. Kubalik finished tied for 10th in the league scoring just behind future Falcons teammate David Savard. Kubalik even though he's listed as a right wing Kubalik took almost 400 faceoff winning 58% off them. Now Neuber I’m not sure of, I haven’t heard anything about the Jackets signing him but he did play 1 game with the Crunch last season. Kyle Neuber(6'2" 225, 21) drafted in 2009 draft is a potential enforcer for the Jackets, Neuber picked up 526 penalty minutes in 4 seasons in the OHL. Also I some OHL reporters say Neuber possesses “one of the most devastating uppercuts they have ever seen”. If that’s true I can’t wait to see it in Nationwide even if it is just in the preseason.
Here's a video of Neuber from Canucks camp in 2008 (The Jackets drafted him as a 20 year old)
Tyler Murovich and Chris Francis are the only two players signed to AHL only deals. Murovich an Francis will be 2 of the smallest players for the Falcons, both being listed at 5'9" and only about 10 pounds separating them. Tyler Murovich(5'9" 185, 20) played in 5 games last year with the Crunch picking up 6 points in those games. Now Murovich isn't quite a point per game player but he's pretty close picking up 63 in 68 games last year when he was the captain of the Saginaw Spirit(OHL). Now we all remember the loud huh?/smattering of applause that happened when the Blue Jackets selected Portland Winterhawks Center Ryan Johansen 4th overall in June? Well maybe if more Jackets fan checked the Falcons website more they would've seen it coming! I say this because a little over a week before the draft the Springfield Falcons had a press release announcing the signing of Winterhawks center Chris Francis(5'9" 190, 21). Now does this mean nothing probably, but it is kind of a weird coincidence huh? Francis finished 12th in the WHL in scoring with 82 points last year, 56 of them being assists. Francis's career numbers are just as good picking up 189 points in 279games, the only problematic number was a whopping -93 over his 4 seasons.
Those are the 13 forwards that could start the season in Springfield, now on to the defense.
Does everyone remember the old TV show called Growing Pains? Well that might be a good title to keep in mind when thinking about the Falcons defense. Of the 11 potential Falcon’s defenseman I came up with, 5 that could be making their pro debuts after college and junior careers and 3 have played in 3 or less AHL seasons. Hopefully the Falcons can get more offense off the backend then the Crunch did last season with Nick Holden leading the returning D with 23 points. Of the 5 only 2 didn’t score 20 points and Jonathan Sigalet just missed scoring 19 points.
Jonathan Sigalet(6'1" 185, 24) if he plays in Springfield he’ll be the team’s most experienced defenseman; this will be his 6th full AHL season after coming out of Bowling Green. Sigalet led the Crunch in +/- last season with a -2 (yeah it was that kind of a season for the Crunch). Last season was the first season in the AHL that Sigalet wasn't a + player.
The only defenseman from the Crunch to wear a Blue Jacket’s jersey last season was Grant Clitsome(5'11" 185, 25) (giggle quickly then move on). As a 9th round pick (just a heads up the NHL draft now has only 7 rounds) it’s probably amazing that he’s played in the NHL at all, let alone picking up multiple points in his NHL debut(only the second one ever-Voracek). He’s the 2nd lowest draft pick ever to play for the Jackets, Andej Nedorost selected 286th overall is the lowest (Clitsome was selected 271st). Nick Holden was supposed to compete for the 7th defenseman spot on the Jackets until a summer bout with Mono ended that and possibly led to Clitsome making his debut. Holden is a big body with a scoring touch; he just hasn’t found it in the pros yet, Holden still holds the record for most points in a season by a defenseman for his junior team the Chilliwack Bruins. Holden and Clitsome will be competing again for the 7th defensive spot on the Jackets this preseason.
Fans of the Jacket’s Kris Russell will probably enjoy Brent Regner(5'11" 175, 21) whenever he makes it to the NHL. While Regner is a little bigger than Russell both had comparable numbers during their final 2 years in junior, both having 47 points their 3rd year and at least 67 points their final year. Regner seemed to be more of a playmaker in the WHL than Russell with him having 52 assists and picking up 67 points his final year of juniors, while Russell scored 32 goals in his final season before turning pro (hey Kris anytime you want to do that in the NHL that would be great). Now I know these guys were probably playing 25+ minutes in the WHL, so I can only go off the stats I have so take these numbers as you would. I’m expecting a big season from Regner, the only reason I can say this is because Brent added at least 30 points every season in junior including a whopping 41 from his first full season to his second WHL season (6-47-67). The only other defenseman leftover from last season’s Crunch is Michael Ratchuk(5'10 175, 22). Ratchuk was picked up in the trade for Stefan Legien, so far one of the few trades by Scott Howson that I’m not a fan of. I’m going to be honest I haven’t read many positive comments about Ratchuk, from puck-rakers saying he was awful after being picked up to another site saying he was a -8 through 4 games. That’s probably why the Dispatch said he could be switched to forward next season.
The only defenseman the Blue Jackets added might be a familiar name to central Ohio hockey fans, Nate Guenin(6'2" 210, 27) played at The Ohio State University from 2002-06. Guenin became the Falcons most physical defenseman the minute he signed on the dotted line. Guenin is fifth all time in penalty minutes at OSU(400) and has picked up 431 penalty minutes in 275 AHL games while scoring 61 points.
Everyone remember when I brought up growing pains earlier, well these are who I was talking about, the group of 5 rookie defenseman making their professional debuts this season. When the AHL season starts October 8th this group will be made up of 2 19 year olds, 2 20 year olds and the old man of the group 21 year old Theo Ruth. The Hockey News’s future watch issue 4 of the Blue Jacket’s top 10 prospects are among these rookies.
The only rookie defenseman believed to have a shot at making the Blue Jackets out of training camp is 2009 1st round pick John Moore(6'2" 189, 19). Moore played with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL last season picking up 47 points in 61 games including 3 in his OHL debut (2-1-3). Moore was the Ranger's leading scoring defenseman and finished 9th in the league. Moore continued to impress during the OHL playoffs picking up 16 points in 20 games despite his team pulling a Boston Bruins in the OHL’s Western Conference Finals blowing a 3-0 lead to eventual Memorial Cup Champ Windsor. Moore also won the 08-09 Defenseman of the year in the USHL while playing with the Chicago Steel. Now a lot of people think Moore will make the Jackets out of training camp, I’m on the fence; it’s not a negative thing I’m thinking long term. OK say he makes the team is he really better than any of the top six we have right now? (Commodore bashers put your hands down!) That means he makes it as a 7th defenseman where he’ll spend most of the time in the press box or playing 3rd pair minutes when he does play. So I say send him to Springfield where he’ll probably play in all situations and develop properly. Sorry about that went on a bit of a tirade; let me put my soap box away and ill move on.
David Savard(6'1" 200, 19) led all Blue Jackets and QMJHL defensemen in scoring with 77 points in 64 games (13-64-77). Savard won the 2 awards a defenseman can win in the QMJHL while also being named a first team all star and helping Moncton make it to the Memorial cup. The Awards Savard won were the Emile Bouchard Trophy given to the league’s top defenseman and the Kevin Lowe Trophy as the league’s best defensive defenseman. Now you’d think winning the best defensive defenseman award would mean something in any league. Especially since the Q shoots out a superstar forward about every season, winning the award hasn’t led to NHL success only one winner is a NHL player. Now I found this quote describing Savard’s game very interesting “His +32 rating also attests to his outstanding defensive ability. He has a tremendous ability to read and react in his own zone, is hardly caught out of position and is great at clearing the puck when needed, all while exhibiting superb offensive instincts.” Thanks Hockeysfuture.com for the quote. Savard is another player that did what Regner did going from 12 his rookie year to 44 to 77 his 3rd and final season in juniors.
Steven Delisle(6'6" 209, 20) probably has gotten the least press of these rookie defenseman. Delisle is one of the Jacket’s biggest prospects at 6’6 but he uses his size more for positioning than punishing opponents, one site seems to think it’d be a good idea teaming him up with a offensive defenseman (kind of like the Jurcina-Russell combo from last season). Delisle was the captain of Gatineau before being traded to Rouyn-Noranda. Delisle appeared to be good for about 30 points while playing in junior. THEO! Hmm I don’t like it sorry Teddy you’ll never replace Mr. Welsh in Nationwide’s heart. Theo Ruth(6'1" 199, 21) or as he’s probably mostly known as the player we got for Sergei Fedorov is leaving Notre Dame a year early to begin his professional career. Ruth is a stay at home shut down type defenseman that will never be known for lighting up the scoreboard picking up only 17 points during his college career. Cody Goloubef(6'0" 195, 20) was a member of a Wisconsin defensive corps in which almost every member was either a 1st or 2nd round draft pick except the two that haven’t been drafted yet. I got to see Goloubef play at the Frozen Four last season but it was hard to get a read on him with both games being blowouts one for the Badgers and the other they were on the receiving end of. Of the two players coming out of college Goloubef is far more offensive picking up 37 points in 118 career games. So I’ve talked about 11 defensemen who’ll be competing for 7 or 8 spots in Springfield, meaning unlike last season whoever the CBJ hook up with in the ECHL will actually have a few Blue Jackets prospects on the team.
The Crunch’s two main goaltenders were Dan LaCosta and Kevin Lalande and both have been banished to Europe, meaning the Jackets have 2 new AHL goaltenders. Gustaf Wesslau(6'3" 187, 25) (pronounced VESS-lauw) will be making his North American debut this season. For those you that might not know international hockey is played on a rink 15 feet wider than North American hockey, so that could lead to some adjustments in the early parts but that’s probably why he’s came over for development camp. Wesslau finished second in the Swedish Elite League with a .917 save percentage and 3rd with a 2.29 GAA. In helping his team Djurgarden reach the league finals he finished with a 1.80 GAA and a save percentage of .940. Wesslau is rumored to be getting the bulk of the work in Springfield, and with neither goalie from last year being brought back the Jackets needed a backup. The team brought back from Europe David Leneveu(6'1" 187, 27), in fact LaCosta is playing on a tryout with the team Leneveu played last year. Now when you look at his college numbers(46GP 39-5-2 11SO) that's not a typo he was that good at Cornell, he's never been able to come close. Now he was above .500 his last 2 seasons in North America including winning a career high of 20 games with the Iowa Chops in 2008-09. Leneveu played in Austria last year with Salzburg helping them with the league championship going 6-2 with a 2.17 GAA in the playoffs.
Here's a video of Wesslau
The coach of the Falcons is Rob Riley, Riley comes from a hockey Family. Riley's father coached the Black Knights 36 years, Rob the next 18 years compiling a 257-288-33 record (.473 win percentage) in 578 career games from 1986-2004 and now younger brother Brian is at the helm(whoops wrong branch of the service!) Riley's father coached the 1960 Olympic team for the United States first gold medal.
There you have it the first edition of the Springfield Falcon and Columbus Blue Jackets affiliation. The only thing the team has left to decide on, is Riley's assistants and if you think youre getting an update for that you're crazy. The team will have to send a few players to the ECHL my prediction is Ruth, Delisle and maybe a forward depending if the Jackets send downa forward not mentioned in this blog.
As always i thank you for reading, also follow @En4cer45 and @CBJprospects on Twitter in mid September for live as they happen updates from the Traverse City Rookie Camp!
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