Bulldogs are stacked this year...Jared Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Brendan Gallagher, Louis Leblanc, Blake Geoffrion, Aaron Palushaj, Cedric Desjardins...should be a great young team if they can build some fast chemistry.
In a normal AHL season theyd be pretty good but this year thats a middle of the pack team.
Bulldogs are stacked this year...Jared Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Brendan Gallagher, Louis Leblanc, Blake Geoffrion, Aaron Palushaj, Cedric Desjardins...should be a great young team if they can build some fast chemistry.
Not stacked at all. Rochester and Toronto have way more talent for starters.
The IceCaps have perhaps the most well rounded team in the AHL. Their depth and leadership is absolutely amazing. As of right now, they're a team built for the playoffs. By acquiring a proven goaltender in Dekanich, this will give Pasquale the push he needs to battle for the net and also time to rest. Brian Sutherby, a great leader in Arsene and a potential 30 goal scorer in Whitemore are only adding to an already lethal team that was the IceCaps last season.
Add in Burmistrovs speed and skill set, and Hunter Tremblay who could potentially put up 20+ goals this season, The IceCaps have the potential to have another year of scoring by committee with the addition of a 20 goal scorer on all 4 lines.
I have them battling for 1st in the east all season long.
With all due respect, you could pretty much make the same post for virtually every AHL team and just substitute players.
As for Dex, I'm a big fan of his, but after missing all of last season, he has a lot to prove. There are many goalies who were never the same after major ankle surgery.
How about those Admirals continuing the regular season win streak just like that... #30 reached. How long before that streak ends? Must be something in the air in Norfolk :p
Not exactly Calder Cup favorites, but the Monarchs are looking mighty good right now...went 3-0 in the preseason and are off to a good start going 2-0 so so far this season. They really struggled to score last year, but with the additions of guys like Toffoli, Prokhorkin, Andreoff, and Weal, the Monarchs can make some noise this year.
I am excited about Abbotsford's chances but it is hard to tell since every team is much deeper than usual. The mix of good rookies like Baertschi and Reinhart with AHL vets and young would be NHLers is really nice.
bridgeport was flat out dominating in the wins over the whalers and the bruins. Strong this year...interestingly poulin didnt look very good in the net to me.
bridgeport was flat out dominating in the wins over the whalers and the bruins. Strong this year...interestingly poulin didnt look very good in the net to me.
Strong last year as well! To me its looking like most if not all of the contenders last year will be in it again this year.
Everyone is saying -insert favorite team here- is stacked and going to win, but I think Syracuse has a really good chance at winning, breaking last years AHL win streak records, swept Marlies in Finals, and they've added a few solid pieces like Connolly to the team and a goalie to make Tic run for his money.
Id say Norfolk is pretty good. They were a playoff team last year with Syracuse, and then they added Vatanen, Lindholm, Etem, and Frederik Andersen. 2-0 so far.
If the lockout ends, who do you guys think is the favorite? I'm going with a homer pick in the Hershey Bears. Only help they got was Holtby and Orlov who can be replaced by Grubauer and any of the other 8 defensemen they have on their roster (P. McNeil, Oleksy, Marshall, Brouillette, Schilling, Stafford, Wellar, Kundratek)
If the lockout ends, who do you guys think is the favorite? I'm going with a homer pick in the Hershey Bears. Only help they got was Holtby and Orlov who can be replaced by Grubauer and any of the other 8 defensemen they have on their roster (P. McNeil, Oleksy, Marshall, Brouillette, Schilling, Stafford, Wellar, Kundratek)
I really only know Abbotsford but if the lockout ends they will probably lose Baertsch, Horak, Brodie and Irving but still have Byron and Nemisz to return from injury to replace some of the scoring, Irving is expendable to the Heat because of Taylor and Brust, Brodie will be a loss but they could get Brett Carson and/or Derek Smith as well. There is also a chance of one of the Flames forwards being demoted
If the lockout ends, who do you guys think is the favorite? I'm going with a homer pick in the Hershey Bears. Only help they got was Holtby and Orlov who can be replaced by Grubauer and any of the other 8 defensemen they have on their roster (P. McNeil, Oleksy, Marshall, Brouillette, Schilling, Stafford, Wellar, Kundratek)
Nice reasoning with 1 little flaw.
Holtby's the only reason we're doing as well as we are. The Bears have been outshot in all but 1 game this season, and though Sabourin is a good goalie, he's not NHL caliber. The Bears will be fun to watch this season, but I don't see them playing in June.
Lake Erie Monsters should be just fine if the lockout ends. You can make a strong case they have virtually the same team as they would have had with no lockout.
Mark Olver is perhaps the most likely to go up as a 13th forward or in the event of injuries, if they don't sign another depth forward. Could also perhaps see Malone, Sgarbossa or Lerg getting a stint.
Avs have 7 NHL D without Barrie / Elliot / Gaunce, and I suspect the plan was to start and keep them in the AHL for a majority of the season unless someone makes a strong case they belong on the parent club.
Still too early to predict, but I gotta go with the Abbotsford Heat. Maybe the best defensive team in the AHL. Really bought into Troy G. Ward's system. Not to mention some excellent goaltending combined with some dynamic offensive weapons in Baertschi, Horak, Brodie, etc.
Still too early to predict, but I gotta go with the Abbotsford Heat. Maybe the best defensive team in the AHL. Really bought into Troy G. Ward's system. Not to mention some excellent goaltending combined with some dynamic offensive weapons in Baertschi, Horak, Brodie, etc.
If the lockout ends they still have most of the same defense and will have Taylor and Brust still.
