Wild Assigns Players to Aeros Roster

Apparently I'm no longer on the Aeros PR email list, but since Heather and Andrew are on vacation, and since I still got the info, here's a list of re-signings the Wild just made, and a list of players they just assigned to the Aeros roster as the NHL gets ready for the lockout.

Re-signed by the Wild and assigned to the Aeros are:

1. C David McIntyre
2. RW Carson McMillan
3. RW Jarod Palmer

And also assigned by the Wild to the Aeros roster are:

1. D Drew Bagnall
2. C Joel Broda
3. D Jonas Brodin
4. RW Brett Bulmer
5. D Josh Caron
6. D Brian Connelly
7. RW Charlie Coyle
8. D Tyler Cuma
9. RW Justin Fontaine
10. LW Kris Foucault
11. D Chay Genoway
12. C Mikael Granlund
13. G Matt Hackett
14. D Colton Jobke
15. D Steven Kampfer
16. G Darcy Kuemper
17. LW Johan Larsson
18. D Kyle Medvec
19. C Zack Philips
20. C Chad Rau
21. D. Marco Scandella
22. LW Jason Zucker

Rise of the Wolves continues

If the Vancouver Canucks can stay mostly healthy down the stretch, the Chicago Wolves are a final four AHL team in my opinion. Since the new year, they have done nothing but win, and right now, I'd take them in a best of 7 against just about any team save for maybe the OKC Barons.

Wolves move into Top 4 after an
impressive week on the ice. 

With Climie and Lack in net, the pressure is off to score four goals a game to get a win. The continuity is there to build chemistry and confidence. (In the dictionary, that is a synonym for "Houston Aeros"). Since most of our readers are Aeros fans, be very glad that the Wolves are in a different division this year. Playing the Wolves just two more times this year may be a blessing in disguise.

Other big winners this week were Abbotsford, Hamiltion and Texas .... All three had great weeekend, and the Bulldogs have won four straight. Toronto won two of three last week to keep a hold on the No. 2 spot. They are probably the best home team in the AHL and will be a very tough first round opponent for someone.

Big losers last week were the Rochester Amerks, Grand Rapids and Rockford. King Loser title for the week goes to the Houston Aeros for playing with just 16 skaters on Friday, 17 on Saturday and losing both games to the Abbotsford Heat. Houston lost all three in the stretch, but did play a very good game against Milwaukee on Valentine's Day. The Aeros probably deserved at least a point in that game, but the posts were very kind to the Milwaukee netminder.

The Aeros exist to help the Minnesota Wild, and they have to field what they think is a competitive team in the NHL. Aeros fans will continue to suffer until the ship is righted in St. Paul. When they get their act together, things should stabilize in Houston. That does not mean they'll get better, but that will likely put an end to playing with too few players in big division games.

Minnesota has been a joke for about two months, and the Aeros are only in the top 8 of this poll because they continue to have the fewest regulation losses in the conference.

Right now the Aeros are a team without confidence, and the guys in the locker room, while not publicly, are questioning their stance with the organization. Jim Mill keeps saying that he is trying to do everything he can to make the Aeros better. But his No. 1 priority right now is helping his GM make the Wild better. Things have to change for the better up there, or those guys are only going to have one more year to show they've made some progress.

Don't expect sweeping changes for the better in advance of the trading deadline. The best moves for the Aeros right now is just hoping the Wild get healthier before too long.

2011-12 Western Conference Power Rankings
Edition 4, February 20, 2012

PR	Team	Record	Streak	Last	+/-	For the record …
1	OKC	33-14-2-3	0-1	1-2-0-0	-	Lost 2 of 3 to MKE and SAT
2	TOR	29-18-4-2	0-1	2-1-0-0	-	16-5-3-1 at home
3	CHI	30-18-1-3	4-0	3-0-0-0	+2	Hottest team in the West
4	CLT	30-19-2-3	0-2	1-1-0-1	-	Jumped TOR in standings
5	SAT	28-22-2-1	1-0	1-1-0-1	+1	Lost two straight to Texas
6	PEO	28-22-2-1	1-0	2-1-0-0	+1	Won four of six to stay hot
7	HOU	25-16-3-9	0-3	0-3-0-0	-4	Expect more disappointment
8	ABB	28-20-3-0	2-0	2-0-0-0	+2	Powered past weak HOU
9	MKE	26-22-2-1	0-1	1-2-0-0	-	Split huge series at OKC
10	LEM	26-23-2-2	1-0	2-1-0-0	+1	Keep moving up with wins
11	RCH	23-21-6-3	0-2	1-2-0-0	-3	Have lost 4 of 6 to fall back
12	HAM	24-23-1-4	4-0	3-0-0-0	+2	4 straight wins, but 5-5 in L 10
13	TEX	23-25-2-2	2-0	2-1-0-0	+2	Huge weekend sweep of SAT
14	GRR	20-21-5-4	0-2	0-1-1-0	-2	Played fewest games in West
15	RFD	21-26-2-4	0-3	0-2-1-0	-2	Lost 3 straight in a bad week

The Wild's Wild Transaction Train Continues

Just in from St. Paul...next to board the Wild's Wild Transaction Train are Matt Kassian, Jed Ortmeyer, Chad Rau, and Nate Prosser.  Returning to Houston on the Wild's Wild Transaction Train are Casey Wellman and David McIntyre. 

Frankly, from the way the Wild have been playing, I wouldn't be too surprised if the Wild just send all of their NHLers to Houston and call up the entire Aeros squad.  It's not like the AHL guys could do any worse in the NHL at the moment, right?

What's this mean for the Aeros, well, who needs consistency or chemistry?

Happy New Year, Jed

Happy New Year, Jed Ortmeyer. You're the newest contestant on the Minnesota Wild wheel of recall.

Orts has been recalled to the Wild as Jarod Palmer is placed on the IR. Good for Orts, but damn it Wild, stop hurting your players already.

Kassian To The Show

The call-up express that is the Minnesota Wild continues today as Matt Kassian has been called up to the Wild.  Jon DiSalvatore, who played last night, is on his way back to Houston. 

Does anyone know if the guys on the Aeros roster get to keep their frequent flier miles on United/American/Southwest/USAir/Delta from all of the trips back and forth to St. Paul?

DiSalvatore and Prosser Called Up To Wild

One of the things John Torchetti was lamenting after last night's 2-1 OT win over the Rampage was just the lack of continuity with the Aeros.  What with the injuries and call-ups, it seems as if the Aeros have new players, new line combinations, and new lineups seemingly every game, which makes it difficult for the guys to settle into patterns and learn the tendencies of their linemates.

It was hoped last night, what with some guys having been recently returned, and four days between games, that the Torchetti would be able to get the actual Aeros out on the ice, get lines back to what they were supposed to be when the season started, and get some continuity to the team. 

That's not how things are going to be however. 

Jared Spurgeon was knocked out of the Wild lineup last night be a vicious hit into the boards, so the phone call came down to Houston.  On their way to St. Paul are Jon DiSalvatore and Nate Prosser.  David McIntyre tweeted last night that he hopes to return to the lineup soon, but otherwise, there may be some more guys from the ECHL/CHL joining the team this week.

For you Wild fans, be nice to DiSalvatore.  He's the team captain, and he does all of the little things that help your team win. This year, he's been sacrificing points so as to get the dirty, unrewarded stuff handled, and he's a great locker room guy.  Here's a piece I wrote on him for AHL.com about a month ago.

And if there's anything we can ask for the New Year, it's that the Wild get healthy and become, once again, the Minnesota Wild, and not the Minnesota Aeros as I've seen them referenced in some places, because that will be for the better of both clubs.

Some Prodigal Sons Return

It's a Christmas Miracle...the Wild have reassigned Jed Ortmeyer and Jeff Taffe to the Aeros.  This means that a) either the Wild are actually getting healthy, or b) they're going to try some different Aeros next week.

Aeros return to action on Monday night when they host San Antonio at 7:05.

Game Day Update - Aeros vs. Texas

I have to give John Torchetti some credit. The Wild organization is in the middle of its worst-ever rash of injuries, and the new coach never seems bothered about all the talent that is missing from the lineup.

Part of me thinks he's frustrated beyond belief, and he just doesn't want to say anything. But another part of me thinks he really is calm about the whole ordeal because he's got real good goaltending at his disposal.

The Minnesota Hospitals keep dropping like flies, and it looks like the Aeros are going to lose at least one more forward today before their game against the Texas Stars.

This kind of reminds me a little bit of what happened to the Ottawa and Binghamton Senators last year. Early in the season, a lot of guys got hurt and they kept getting hurt. Bingo never really had it's full roster until the playoffs, and we all say what happened when they had everyone together.

That was a scary-good playoff team.

And now, with the Aeros 11 games over .500 and with a ton of overtime/SO loss points, they have some breathing room. If Kuemper keeps playing as well as he has, the Aeros can win games 2-1 (or keep losing in the shootout). So long as the defense and goaltending keep getting better, the Aeros will have a fighter's chance while the work around the recall of Warren Peters, Casey Wellman, Cody Almond and the injured Jarod Palmer, Jed Ortmeyer and Dave McIntyre.

While I don't have much of a feel for the game tonight, I do think Saturday is an automatic loss at OKC. Sunday could go either way with both teams playing a third game in three days. Rochester has several players on recall to the NHL, and they are not very good away from home.

Back to tonight ... the last-place Stars are 2-0 against the Aeros at Toyota Center. But they are without Bachman, their clear-cut No. 1 goalie. Tyler Beskorowany has played the last five games for Texas, and he is 3-2 with all three wins coming against first-place teams (Charlotte and OKC).

For some reason, I think the law of averages play out here, and the Aeros get a win. I think they lose Saturday and pick up a at least a point on Sunday. I have no idea why I am this optimistic with all the regulars out of the lineup, but over the last several weeks, they just keep finding a way to get points.

Why should this weekend be any different?

Almond Called Up

Just a quick note...

The Wild suffered some more injuries to their forwards in last night's shootout win over Edmonton. So you know what that means...

Cody Almond has been recalled from the Aeros and will be joining the Wild. I've seen nothing about the Aeros making any corresponding roster moves, but seeing as they've been playing virtually every available player on the roster, bringing in a healthy forward is hopefully high on some to-do lists, even if it is to just be a healthy scratch. Oops, my bad, I didn't see the news from yesterday about Harrison Reed being signed.

BTW: The Aeros defeated Lake Erie in Cleveland last night by a 2-1 score with the first goal from, that's right, Cody Almond. Chad Rau got the game-winner early in the third.

Peters to The Wild

Guess what, kids. The injury bug appears to be alive and well with the Wild yet again. As a result, Warren Peters is on his way to join the Wild.

Becoming Wild: Part 1 - "Mike Yeo is a badass"

What words of wisdom did Mike Yeo have for the Aeros when they were down 3-0 to Milwaukee in game 6 of the division championship series?

Well, now you can find out. Check out the first episode of the "Becoming Wild" series that is documenting the Wild's offseason and starts with the Aeros playoff run.

It's basically "Mike Yeo 101: For Wild Fans" but for Aeros fans, it's just neat to relive a little of that amazing playoff run.

You can go here: http://wild.com/becomingwild to see all the episodes and see when the next ones are showing.

The Aeros Prepping For The Playoffs

My story in the mothership today is a brief primer on the Aeros being in the playoffs while taking a quick shot at the mediocrity of the rest of the city's professional teams. But my space there is limited, and there's a lot of important stuff that I didn't get to go with, and which, quite frankly, works a lot better over here.

So while the team was having it's media event yesterday -- hey, look, TV cameras -- I spoke to Jon DiSalvatore and Mike Yeo about the team's play the past couple of week and Yeo falling on the grenade and blaming himself because he stressed the wins instead of the process. We also spoke a bit about prepping for the playoffs and about how you can prep for the playoffs when what seems to be 3/4ths of the team is in Minnesota.

DiSalvatore thinks the big problem during the Oklahoma City series and the games that followed were that the guys got too caught up in all of the different playoff scenarios and started paying too much attention to the numbers and not enough to what they were doing on the ice. But he thinks it's something they've corrected.

"I think that what was happening is that we were just getting focused on some of the numbers games – there’s been a lot of number crunching that goes along with such a tight division – we kind of looked at some of those and maybe made some of those a little bit of a focus as opposed to the process and the fundamentals of our game that we needed to get to," he said. "But I think the last two games of the weekend we did that.

"The game in Milwaukee, we had a really solid start, and I think we were really happy with the start, and it just kind of fell apart for us a little bit. But then we really pulled it together in Chicago, and we got to a place we were really happy with going into this week and moving forward."

And I got Yeo to talk a little bit more on what he meant last week when he took the blame for stressing wins and points instead of stressing the system and the process. Essentially, with the quote to follow, he wants the guy's focusing on their shift. He wants them to win their shift, win their play. He wants them controlling the things they can control and not worrying about the bigger things.

"I think mentally, when you go into a game, it’s all good and well if things are going to according to plan," he said. "Maybe you score that first goal and you have a lead and things are going well. When you have that type of approach. But where I think that successful teams and good teams really separate themselves is the ability to get it done when things aren’t going well and you have to do a better job of focusing on your game and the little things that make you successful.

"When we went into those games, we were thinking about winning and getting points. If the other team scored first, or if we got a bad call in the second period, it really took us off our game and we lost our focus from there. But if we just concentrate on the focus, and the process as we like to say, and the next shift, and the next guy just going out and doing it the right way, we found it a lot easier to get back to our game."

The team was running through a full practice yesterday, which was kind of strange to watch seeing as how a lot of the guys who will be playing playoff games last week aren't actually with the team. Yeo said he was focusing yesterday, and he wants the focus on Sunday, to be on sharpening skills and getting the execution back after no games this week. Of course, that can be a problem with players missing, and Yeo addressed that issue.

"Certainly, chemistry-wise, our line combinations and power play units, everything is different because those guys are up there. So even on a day like today, when we’re working things, there’s different guys on the ice than they’re going to be playing with in game one of the playoffs. I think that one thing that we do have is a lot of consistency in the way we play the game. Line one is going to go over the boards and they’re going to play the same way as line two, line three, and line four. Because of that, I think guys can fill in different positions and read off of each other better than if we didn’t play quite as structured a game or as much of a team concept that we have."

I've spoken with DiSalvatore in the past, and one of the things he's talked about is that making the playoffs is great, but he's never made it past the first round and he would really like to advance. So I asked what he was telling the young kids, and about what he's seeing from the team.

"There’s a lot to that [to not just being happy to get there]. I know from my [experience] I get to share with the guys, it’s not every year. Just because you make it here the first time, and you’re on a team that’s special, it’s not every year that you get on a team like this. With the turnover in this league, it’s a special group, and it’s something that you want to take advantage of, and not take for granted thinking that every year you’re going to be on a group that has the potential to do what we have to do.

"Obviously it’s one game at a time, one series at time, and we don’t want to look too far ahead. But that’s kind of the thing you want to put to the young guys. But the young guys are just going to do what they do. They almost don’t care, which is kind of a good thing going into the playoffs. They’re just free."

It's going to be interesting to see what the team does on Sunday. Despite all of the call-ups, the two primary scoring lines are intact -- knocking on wood -- and Matt Kassian is back, which will hopefully offer up some protection for Patrick O'Sullivan and Robbie Earl. But some of the team's key defenders are in Minnesota, and the Barons really got to Matt Hackett. It's entirely possible that Sunday's game will mean absolutely nothing to the Aeros. Yeo has said he wants to go full out on Sunday because he doesn't want the guys thinking they can just flip a switch when the playoffs roll around, but if the seeding and home ice and opponent issues have been settled by game time, it's worth wondering, isn't it, whether it's really worth risking the health of some of these guys against a team that went hunting heads for last time out.

And Today In Wild Injury News...

Marco Scandella broke a finger in the Wild game this afternoon. And some other Wild D are suffering from lingering injuries. So Michael Russo is reporting that the Wild are calling up a defenseman from the Aeros this afternoon. Which is kind of surprising in that I don't think the Aeros have that many extra defensemen lying around.

But that's the news. No word on who the call-up will be. But I'm pretty sure that the Aeros are going to desperately miss anyone called up. And some advice, if you're a player called up to the Wild, make sure that all of your insurance policies are updated.

Just A Brief Apology

Humor can be hard to detect on paper/computer sometimes, especially mine, which can be a very dry humor at times. So I just wanted to clarify that the part in this post about Marco Scandella being called up just for the purpose of sitting in the press box was meant to be in the same humorous tone as the parts that followed.

And let this serve as a reminder, as much as those of us in Houston are devoted to the Aeros and their attempt to reach the playoffs, the Wild are striving to do so the same thing, and just like the Aeros, they've been decimated to injuries to some key players who normally don't get hurt, like Cal Clutterbuck. So while we might all like to think there is some conspiracy by the Wild to harm the playoff chances of the Aeros, that is not the case, and for the most part, I think we can agree that Wild management has done a pretty good job of stocking the team with talent this year with guys like Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer and Patrick O'Sullivan and Drew Bagnall, guys who, without their being here at all this season, would mean the Aeros were nowhere near being playoff contenders.

So that's my say, and I'll get back to the bitching and moaning and poor attempts at humor after tonight's win over the Moose.

Wellman To Wild

And the Minnesota Wild injury-mill continues as Cal Clutterbuck isn't feeling good after a hit last night. As a result, Casey Wellman has been called up to the Wild where he joins Warren Peters and Jed Ortmeyer. The Aeros are also dealing with some injuries to Drew Bagnall and Jamie Fraser on the defensive end of things.

So, have fun this weekend.

Ortmeyer, Prosser On Way to Wild

This just in...Jed Ortmeyer and Nate Prosser have been called up to the Minnesota Wild. Not sure if this is a short term thing, or if it's long term, and haven't heard about recalls from ECHL. But that could hurt the Aeros this weekend.

Oh, and to fend off the conspiracy talk, remember, Houston is a minor league team that serves to fill the needs of the Wild during the season, not vice versa.

As The Goalies Turn

This is interesting, and probably something to watch because, per Russo, the only healthy Wild goalie at the moment is Anton Khudobin. Neither Backstrom or Theodore are practicing, and it's just Khudobin and the strength coach.

The Wild don't play again until tomorrow night, so it's possible that Theodore will be healthy enough to play, but this is the Wild, so it's just as possible that the Aeros are currently turning over every rock in the Chicago area so they'll have a backup goalie for Hackett tomorrow night should Tordjman be called to backup Khudobin, or vice versa.

PER HEATHER: Tordjman's on an AHL-only deal. So if anybody goes up, it's Hackett. But hey, I said vise versa, right?

And The Latest EPIC FAIL From St. Paul

I try to defend the Aeros/Wild connection. I try to defend the thinking up in St. Paul. After all, it's my firm belief that the Wild own the club, and that the Aeros exist for the benefit of the Wild so our complaints about whether they sign or don't sign guys who really aren't in the plans of the Wild don't really matter into the equation, but...

It was my firm belief that, no matter how good it was for the team, the Aeros season ticket holders were being screwed over by the Wild moving one of the home games to St. Paul. Now the Wild's basic piss-poor response was that the Aeros fans would be allowed to either use their existing ticket for admittance to the game in St. Paul, or else it could be exchanged for tickets to another game in Houston, which kind of made no sense since a season ticket holder actually already has tickets for all of the games. But since when has logic had anything to do with anything, right?

That brings us to the latest announcement from the Wild re this Aeros game in St. Paul. They've changed the date of the game. So if you're one of those people who booked a trip to St. Paul so that you could use your ticket to watch this game, well, screw you.

Instead of playing the game on the afternoon of Saturday, February 12, before the Blues/Wild game that night, the game has been moved to Sunday afternoon, February 13. Which, you know, probably just screws you up if you're actually flying home on Sunday.

Then again, the season ticket holders don't really matter, right? They can always move more games to weekday afternoons and give the tickets to school kids, or they can always sell tickets to people who want to bring their dogs to a game for some reason.

I would suggest you call or send an email or something, but we all know it wouldn't amount to anything.

Peters recalled by Wild

Russo reported tonight that Warren Peters was the lucky call-up to the Wild this weekend in case a couple of the guys can't go tomorrow.

Until we found out Peters was the guy who'd been sent up, I really thought Wellman was just auditioning for his call-up in front of the GMs, but no. So much for cynicism. That just happened.

Good for Peters though, as he really stepped up his game after a somewhat ineffective first few games of the season. He's been a mover and shaker for the Aeros the last few weeks.

Setting the stage: Marlies, Call-ups, More Reading

I was startled awake at 5 o'clock this morning from a dream that a black widow spider was jumping at me. And in the hour and a half I've been awake, my day has only gotten peachier.

So, here's hoping a depleted Aeros team can rescue the bad start to my day with a win over the Toronto Marlies tonight. That would be nice.

Just some updates to set the stage for tonight's international showdown:

Lots of injuries in Minnesota mean Wellman is still up. They sent Gillies back to Houston, but called up Matt Kassian in his place. And Cody Almond was the latest sacrifice to the NHL gods with a call-up yesterday.

This all kinda sucks for the Aeros. The Marlies are coming off a huge 6-1 win over San Antonio two nights ago. I was going to say they've been enjoying warm Texas weather for a few days, but really, it's been pretty cold since they got here, so.... neener.

That said, the Marlies are 3-6-0 at the bottom of the North division just like the Aeros are at the bottom of the West division, so it might actually end up being a really good match-up. Basement cat vs. Basement cat.

That said, I can't say when I've been happier about a guy making his NHL debut as Kassian will be doing tonight against Calgary. He just seems like one of the good guys to me. And he's been a good soldier for a lot of years in this organization. He's worked his way up the system, made improvements where he needed to in order to become a consistent contributor and not just a 3-minute-a-game enforcer.

I'm sure he sees the bold writing on the wall: That breed of hockey player is dying. You have to be able to play regular shifts now and contribute to the overall game.

And this call up is a nod to the effort he's put into rounding out his game. Here's an article from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune with some good quotes from him.

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch, a couple of links from me to you. First is a little bit on Carson McMillan who already has 5 points in 10 games after having only 8 points in 56 games last year. It would certainly provide some unexpected offense if he were to keep up that pace.

Second, my Pro Hockey News piece came out this week giving a wrap-up of the last (or should I say first) 10 games. You guys already know all that stuff because you read T3I (and thank you for that) but just in case you can't get enough about the Aeros, give 'er a look.

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See you guys tonight.