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Originally Posted by John-Eric Iannicello
Taking a look at the rosters within the division, I imagine Rochester will give the Marlies their biggest headaches this season. They have a good group of young talent: Markus Foligno, Luke Adam, Zemgus Girgensons, Phil Varone, Mark Pysk, Brendan McNabb, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc to name a few.
And have a real strong infusion of veterans including some with NHL experience. Mark Mancari is a top AHL forward in any other season, Nick Tarnasky is a goon who can chip in offensively, but is NHL experienced also (he was apart of those goon videos in the KHL last season). Corey Tropp was very strong for the Sabres last season, Cody Hodgson I expect will rip it up offensively. Kevin Porter spent the last few seasons in the NHL and I imagine he scores highly also.
Their goaltending is solid also, and have a good coach. Just by taking a look at the roster, I imagine they will be one of the top teams in the division (with the Marlies of course  ). That's not to say the other teams are push overs, Marlies will battle with all of them, but Rochester should give them the biggest challenge. |
It is going to be interesting to see how the NHLers do in the less organized AHL.
One thing the Marlies did was add AHL veterans to the line-up, in Aucoin and Yeo. We'll have to wonder whether any improvement is due to a better prospect base, or a better group of AHL veterans.
Leafs could use a couple seasoned veterans to provide leadership. Having a couple vets with a winners' attitudes could go a long way.