Quick Roster Notes

Per Wild beat writer Michael Russo, the Wild have placed Matt Kassian on waivers with the intent of returning him to the Aeros. Also per Russo, Marco Scandella and Justin Falk were told they could move out of the team hotel and find some more permanent housing in the Twin Cities area, so it looks doubtful that we'll be seeing them with the Aeros this season.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

While we all wait on the edge of our seats to see what Anton decides, here's some info and video from the Aeros players at prospect camp.

First up is a guy the team signed yesterday, Joel Broda. I think there's some skepticism around him because he was not signed by the Caps, who drafted him two years ago. And then he didn't go at all in the most recent draft. But the Wild like him and apparently he can put some points on the board, so they're giving him a shot for a mere 3 years. Here's the Wild's feature on him, which I thought was pretty refreshing that they actually addressed the skepticism to some degree.

Forgive me now because I will forever be calling him Josh. I have no idea why. Josh Brolin maybe? Anyway, it's gonna happen, but I'll at least try to get his name right in the paper, should the opportunity arise.

Here's a quick interview with him from prospect camp:


A college guy from Cold Miami, Jarod Palmer, also came aboard this summer and could spend some time in Houston. Really didn't know much about him but loved this interview with him. Can't beat a guy who doesn't speak in athlete cliches. Also? Rawr. Just sayin'.



Outside of the new guys, our old buddies Justin Falk, who's getting married in a few weeks, and Colton Gillies put in some face time, too:





Awww, poor Colt. Least they could do is use real whipped cream.

Lastly, some video with Aeros new assistant coach Darryl Sydor, one of the two new assistants who will be behind the bench with Coach Yeo, talks about retiring as a player and the challenge of moving to the coaching ranks:

The first cut is the deepest

Well, gang, that was a pretty wild game, but I'm sure I'll forget half of it because, well, Brusty was in net and that kinda gives me amnesia about everything else that happened.

I'm just gonna go random-style hitting the high/lowlights for me. I watched the whole game from the corners, by Brusty's net (because as usual, who knows how long we've got him? Must soak it all in. And also, press row was one seat short... or possibly had one scout too many and I figured I'd "sacrifice" and let John and Andrew have the seats... haha).

But that means I didn't see any of the goals for except on replay and had a pretty distorted perspective of most of the offensive play.

I do know that Falk getting a goal was kind of a big deal, right? And in fact, I thought he had quite a good game defensively as well, as did most of the rest of the team. It seemed like most of the failed efforts were happening in the neutral zone, but the boys were great around their own net, as Brusty's near-shutout can attest.

Not to say Brusty didn't play an incredible game, particularly through such challenging circumstances as, well, a giant gash in his leg from a skate.

He got cut with about 5 minutes left in the first period, and was clearly injured. I could tell it was something around the knee, but he kept looking at the outside of his knee and normally if you do something internally to your knee, you don't need to keep making visual inspections. So I wondered if he might have gotten sliced.

Now, think about the mental focus required to play knowing your leg has a big, bleeding gash in it. Not that he had a choice, considering his back-up (no offense, Mr. Crawford) and frankly, Brusty has something to prove with every game he plays in the AHL. I think he proved it tonight.



Though I gotta tell ya, I've never quite been quite as "OMG" as when I walked out of the visitor's tunnel tonight at the start of the second to see back-up goalie Jeff Crawford skating around the net... or quite so relieved to see Brusty finally skating toward the net (amid quite a buzz in the crowd).

I was really just like, "What now?" And actually even started thinking about what other goalies I knew were in the building for the Houston Hockey Series game and whoever else might be there. Weird.

I saw Crawford outside the locker room after the game and really wanted to stop him and say, "Man, you lived so many beer league goalie dreams tonight." I think he knows it though. Just to even open the gate for an AHL team, much less get out there in front of the net for the start of a period and almost get to play? Amazing.

KC made it sound like the plan is to get a local guy to back up again when they head to Milwaukee this weekend, rather than calling up someone the team knows, like Brett Jaeger in CHL Texas. Not sure I agree with that call given the extent of Brusty's cut (30 stitches! OMG!). I know Brusty's in a situation where he really would have to probably have his leg cut off completely before he'd leave a game, but still. Having someone who COULD play a reasonably good pro game sounds better than beer league goalies.

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Also, I wanna give props to Danny Irmen for being in on 3 of the prettiest goals of the season. He had another one tonight. His role in them isn't always super pretty, but he's right there with them on the pretty plays, setting up, going hard to the net. Great stuff!

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It was tough to watch that Gillies hit and ensuing human damage up close tonight. Apparently Gillies was hurt on the play, too, but he'll have plenty of time to heal up while he serves whatever suspension the league hands down.

It looked like the guy he hit is going to be okay, but it's always terrifying to see a player in a motionless heap on the ice like he was. Poor EMT was eating his dinner, too. Somewhere some french fries go wasted.

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Okay, I've gotten about 6 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours. I'm gonna go play dead for a few hours.

More wrap-up from Constantine

Don't miss this great continuation of O'Donnell's "exit interview" with Constantine.

Topics covered include:

• Constantine's season MVPs
  
• Mitch Love's contribution on and off the ice
• Justin Falk's impressive climb up the depth chart
• Max Noreau's future as an NHL defensemen
  

Justin Falk Feature

Falker is from Snowflake, Manitoba, which is close to Winnipeg.
The Winnipeg Sun did a feature on the Aeros d-man that was in their paper this morning.

Here is a quote from Constantine from the story:

["He's a bit of a slow starter," said Constantine. "His personality is really good, but it's a little laid back and people like that take a little time to get comfortable.

"He started a little slow and tentative and then he gained confidence. It's kind of how the playoffs have been for him. I really believe he is a tremendous prospect. He's big and he's athletic. As long as they're patient enough to let due course happen, he'll be a good NHL player."]

Photos from R3-G1

Thanks to Chris Jerina, who is chilling (literally) up in Winterpeg this weekend and getting shots of the boyz for us. He said he doesn't have his photo editing software to put his usual post-production touches on them, but they look good to me.

As usual, you can see 'em all here, and here are a couple of my favorites (click to embiggen):

I'm such a sucker for a "pensive goalie" shot.

Basket of Puppies defending his goalie. Rawr.

I don't want to see this anymore
(but it's a nice shot with a splash of goalie nuzzling going on).

All photos: Chris Jerina

Round 2, Game #3 -- Aeros vs. Milwaukee -- Photos

We'll start with the Krys Kolanos goal. He had the whole net to look at as the puck came off of MacIntyre right to him.

Here you can see the puck (circled) is in and between the legs of Robbie Earl.Some celebration, Kolanos style.

A huge hit on Ryan Jones by Justin Falk. The stick between the legs of Jones is his own.

Some Clayton Stoner, with playoff beard for Ms Conduct and her fans.

Late in the 1st period Anton Khudobin had a huge stop on a Cal O'Reilly break away.

Another Anton Khudobin stop in the 2nd period.

And the look from Anton as he talks to the crowd as the #1 star.

More Photos tonight.

All Photos:Fred Trask

Round 2, Game 2: Shut Down

Well... that was more like it. That kind of dominant shutting down of the Aeros offense and the blossoming of the Admirals powerful scoring is why I predicted Milwaukee in 5.

I don't blame Dimples for the loss, and while I would have liked to see him stop a couple of those that he didn't: a) it wouldn't have mattered anyway because the Aeros couldn't score and b) he did have several highlight-reel saves that could have easily put the Ads up by more than 3 by the end of things. It's a wash, in my mind. He played fine.

The real story of this game, however, was how effective the Ads were at keeping the Aeros scorers at bay. Locke had a fat goose egg for shots on goal. Kolanos only had two.

I'm not gonna go back and check this stat, but when Kolanos has more PIM than Shots on the scoresheet, that's a guaranteed loss for the Aeros. Not good.

Here's the thing: Unlike Milwaukee, most of our skilled forwards are not strong physical players who can power to the net. We have a bunch of danglers and dekers who tend to over-complicate their own paths to the net and get lots of turnovers.

The Aeros pretty well got bitch-slapped anytime they got in the slot or around the net and that kept MacIntyre's job really, really easy. I'm not sure it would take a full hand to count quality scoring chances for the Aeros.

So, the only way the boys are gonna stand up to the way the Ads are playing is to be willing to pay the price to go to the net. I saw Hrkac in the low-slot several times trying to create opportunities for his wingers and that was terrific. In fact, that's what ultimately worked on the Earl goal. The rest of the game, the slot was devoid of green sweaters.

The defensive pairing of Stoner and Rogers just got their lovely asses kicked tonight, both being on the ice for the first three Admirals goals. I know they're being paired against the best the Ads had to offer but they both need to be better.

Justin Falk, on the other hand, couldn't have been better. I know I rave about him all the time, but man, to think where he started the season, looking scared out of his mind when he had the puck, to now where he's consistently reading plays like a wily veteran and getting his stick in there, blocking shots, playing a simple but extremely effective game. It kinda blows my mind. Kid's got the goods. He and Lundbohm were the only + players on the night, and with that goal differential, I'm amazed anybody was above 0.

Pouliot's lucky he's so good on the PK or I'd have sat him by now if I were Constantine. He's incredibly unfocused and lazy with the puck. Ugly, thoughtless passes, that breakaway shot was a joke--he's got better moves than that, turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Brutal stuff and he's back to playing in a way that, outside of the PK, is disruptive to the flow of the Aeros offensive efforts.

Meanwhile, I like Climie in goal. I'm not saying start him. I'm just saying, he's big and calm and right where he's supposed to be. Look out because he's likely the Texas Stars goalie next season. You figure he's learning the Aeros shooters like the back of his hand right now in practice, eh?

Alright, that's enough from me. Come on home, boys. Prove me wrong.

Round 1, Game #4 -- Aeros vs.Peoria -- Photos 2

Here are a couple of shots of Matt Climie, he's a big one at 6' 3".

Ms C. has been touting the play of Justin Falk. Here is a big hit on Peoria's Julian Talbot.
Here is the hug from Robbie Earl on the Hrkac goal. You can see Legace is already yelling at the ref.
As the Aeros celebrate, referee Frederick L'Ecuyer explains to Manny Legace that the goal is good.
Anton Khudobin comes across the crease hard to stop the shot of Steve Wagner on the Peoria power play.
Unfortunately, he didn't make a solid stop and Peoria ties the game at 2.
This one was a back breaker. On a shot that looked high and wide, Khudobin got a glove on the puck only to have it flop to the ice behind him and trickle in before he could locate it.
Jesse Schultz gives the shot everything he has, as he stretches out airborne, on the back end of a 2 man penalty. He beats Manny Legace to bring the Aeros back within one goal.

All Photos:Fred Trask

Interview with Tom Lynn; Brusty bobblehead

See, this is what I get for actually going to the games and not listening to the broadcast. Anybody who listened to the game on Thursday knew Scandella was signed and arrived last week. A tip woulda been nice... Bueller? Beuller?

Anyway...

Regardless of your feelings toward him, I always get a lot out of interviews with Lynn. He really doesn't pull many punches from what I can tell, particularly when it comes to player evaluation. In this interview, he talks tough love with regard to Pouliot, and a bit on some of the younger prospects like Falk. If you're into that stuff it's worth a listen.

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Please, won't someone buy this for me?

Ahh, the wonders of Google Alerts.

Here's a tip, bobblehead maker: Just leave the mask off the goalie bobbles. Bless his heart--that's awkward.

Oh yeah, and check out that player stick. You don't need locker room access to know goalies have bigger sticks.

Anyway, yeah, I totally need that. Imagine, he has a bad game, you can thump him on the head and he'll just nod and wiggle at you. You can't stay mad at that!

You could even wad up little bits of paper and make a game of trying to flick it through that gaping 5-hole, or right in that pie plate of a catcher. Hours of fun.

UPDATE: And just to keep from appearing to be fixated on Barry by making two posts in a row about him, I'll just tack on the What's Bugging Barry? segment that Joe posted today.

Next year's rookies

Lost in the shuffle of the goalie drama was a little blurb from Russo about the Wild being in contract negotiations with two of the prospects I mentioned here. I figure with a three-game-loss weekend, looking down the road to potentially happier days might be a nice diversion.

Carson McMillan's Calgary Hitmen swept the first round of their playoffs, though their opponent for the next round starting Friday has yet to be decided. Still looking like they'll go deep and we won't see him this season, but in Russo's feature on him today, he is projected to play in Houston next season.

Apparently he's a bit of a Clutterbuck clone, which is mighty appealing, isn't it? Gritty winger who likes to hit and will go to the net, contributes a bit of offense, fearless. The trick is to still do all that stuff in a smart, controlled way even at professional speeds. Here's hoping...

Today, they are also in the process of signing signed Cody Almond, whose Kelowna Rockets are squaring off in round 2 of their playoffs against the Tri-City Americans on Friday. I've gotten to be friends with one of their photographers, so I've asked for a bit of a scouting report and maybe a photo, which I'll put here if I can get one.

Justin Falk is from this same 2007 draft class as these two guys, so there will be quite the youth movement between those three.

Aeros vs Peoria 3/21 -- OMFGMANNYLEGACE

My subject pretty much sums up the game for me. I mean, I knew I was a fan of the guy and I was excited to see him (but still hoping he'd lose, just not in an embarrassing way), but I didn't realize HOW excited I was until the teams hit the ice.

My delight at getting to see him in person pretty much consumed the game for me, even though it was an incredibly important game that I normally would have been all, "Booyah, bitches!" after with the win. It was more like, "Oh, good win. OMFGISTOODTHREEFEETFROMMANNYLEGACE!"

Yeah, I'm a card carrying member of the Dork-Out for Goalies Club. And I'm okay with that. And judging by John's post-gamer, that feeling was shared in the Aeros locker room, so I'm in good company.

But once I get past that, I gotta say, I was impressed with the team tonight and here's why: I felt like when they came out, they were seeing the ice really well. Passes were connecting perfectly and they were gutting their way out of difficult situations with grace, but I didn't feel like the feet were moving in the first period. And watching Legace, I wasn't sure he was even breaking a sweat. His body language was totally, "When are you gonna start taking real shots at me, fellas?"

Here's why I'm impressed though... in spite of that, they dominated play nearly the entire game with their strong puck possession, everybody was shooting at the net (maybe they read my blog and decided to play the odds?) It was clear that the priority was getting lots and lots of rubber at Legace, and they carried out the master plan beautifully. AND they did it after a 6 day layoff. Who are these guys?

And by the third, they definitely had Manny working hard as they spent an inordinate amount of time in Peoria's zone. (And as a side note, I completely agree that Manny should have been the #2 star... stopping 20 shots and getting the win is great, but Manny was tested pretty hard with the PP activity the Aeros had and 30 saves. He kept the Rivermen in this game, no doubt about it.)

Finally, props to Jason Ryznar for the game winner against a damn good goalie. They come few and far between for that guy, but he makes 'em Count. Ah-ah-ah-ah....

And to avoid being too Sunshine Clubby, I will say there were some colossal defensive lapses. Like, slap-yo'-mama stinkers.

Falker had a bad game, but also made some critical blocks in front of Schaefer, so maybe there's a balance there. Some guys have a nack for having their stick in the right place at the right time (Lord help me get thru this sentence without saying anything dirty) and he strikes me as one of them. (Phew.)

It just goes back to decision-making with the puck in open ice for him. I get the "John Scott Uh-Ohs" in my gut when he's touching the puck in any capacity other than clearing the rebounds from in front of Schaefer or blocking shots. But he's a kid still and works hard, so there's time.

Finally, presumably Madsen was the Hrkac scratch. While Hrkac did appear to be sucking wind pretty hard and was a step behind at times, I hate to say it, but I think he's an improvement to the line-up over Madsen. What say you, Aeros fan? Two blondes, 20 years apart... which one do you hitch your playoff wagon to?

Aeros vs Peoria 3/21 - Part 1 - Scoring

This was a huge game and a huge win for the Aeros. I thought they came out strong for the first 5 minutes with several chances on Manny Legace but couldn't drive them home. Unfortunately Justin Falk had a horrendous game. Almost 4 minutes into the game Maxime Noreau fanned on a pass across the rink in the defensive end, the pass handcuffed Falk and he turned the puck over to Cam Paddock in the high slot. Paddock muscled a shot past Nolan Schaefer who just couldn't squeeze the new pads shut. Here you can see the puck crossing the line.

The Aeros were able to tie it at one with this goal from Matt Beaudoin. The Aeros had put on quite a bit of pressure and finally got Legace moving from left to right getting the puck past him.

The Aeros closed out the scoring with this goal in the 3rd period from Jason Ryznar. There was nothing Legace could do as Ryznar would bang home a Lammers rebound into the empty net from the doorstep.

I'll have another post later with more pics from the game as well as some requested Legace.

All Photos:Fred Trask