Aeros returning for 2011-12

Here is a quick look at a group of players that will definitely be with the Aeros come opening night:

AEROS

Defense (8):
Jeff Penner
Drew Bagnall
Sam Lofquist
Justin Falk
Tyler Cuma
Kris Fredheim (AHL deal)
Kyle Medvec
Nate Prosser

Forwards (11):
Carson McMillan
Jeff Taffe
Kris Foucault
Jon DiSalvatore
Chad Rau
Jarrod Palmer
Jed Ortmeyer
Warren Peters
Matt Kassian
Joel Broda
David MacIntyre
Cody Almond

Goalies (2):
Matt Hackett
Darcy Kuemper

This following is a group that will likely see time with the Wild. Some, of course, more than others.

WILD (4):
Marco Scandella
Casey Wellman
Colton Gillies
Jared Spurgeon

And these players are categorized accordingly:

Europe (1):
Dennis Endras

Back to Juniors (2):
Brett Bulmer, Colton Jobke

Free Agents (4):
Patrick O'Sullivan, Scott Campbell, Robbie Earl, Pascal Morency

Already Gone (5):
Jamie Fraser, Max Noreau, Brandon Buck, JM Daoust, Josh Tordjman

Ortmeyer and Bagnall back in the fold

The Wild have re-signed forward Jed Ortmeyer and defenseman Drew Bagnall.
Both will spend a good chunk of time in Houston, but they will get their chances to play in Minnesota, too.

I think Bagnall was a lock to come back, but Ortmeyer was probably a little iffy. Having Yeo in St. Paul probably helped that cause.

Bagnall is a two-year deal; Ortmeyer is for one.

Congrats to Fletcher, Jim Mill and Co. for getting these two back in the fold.

Aeros coaching finalist down to three

Got the news yesterday that, barring any real surprise, the next Aeros head coach will either be Trent Yawney, Gary Agnew or Ryan McGill.

If those names sound familiar, they should. No matter which direction they go, the Aeros will have a very good hockey person in charge of the team come October.

Yawney coached in Norfolk and is good friends with Todd McLellan, who coached the Aeros in their early AHL days. Yawney has been an assistant under McLellan in San Jose and is the former head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.

I am a little less familiar with Agnew, but he was in charge of the Syracuse AHL team for many years and then was an assistant under Claude Noel in Columbus.

As for McGill, Aeros fans probably saw his coaching style with Omaha/Quad City Flames. He them moved up as an assistant with Calgary, where he has been since the team moved to Abbotsford.

I am reaching out to see what I can find out about these guys from colleagues who have covered their teams. My gut says Yawney is going to get the gig, and I really hope I am right.

He did a lot with some weird Norfolk teams and was completely hosed in Chicago.

Here is a quote from one of my peers, Trys Wykes about Yawney: "He was awesome. One of the best people I've ever dealt with. He can be a tiny bit grumpy in certain situations but I miss him tremendously. An amazing father figure to young players. Houston and Minnesota will be lucky to have him."


Yawney in Chicago

Wykes covered the Norfolk Admirals for many years for the Virginia Pilot. Read this article he wrote about Yawney from back in the day.


Ryan McGill

McGill comes highly recommended, too. From another colleague, Joe Clark, who is now the GM for the NAHL team in Odessa: "His teams were always competitive, and you know what ... they always, always worked their asses off. And he does not sugar coat anything with the prospects. Tells them what they have to do to get better. Kind of reminds me of Barry Trotz in that regard. He is really old school, but he is great at developing guys."

I will update this post if/when I hear back about Agnew. For now, I will go with this quote from Lindsay Kramer, who covers the Crunch in upstate NY: "He always had the knack for teaching and relating to younger players, identifying their strengths and putting them in a position to do well."


Agnew in Columbus

This is a great year to be in the market for an AHL coach. All of these guys will make a great head coach. It will be a tough choice for Fletcher, Mill and company. But again, I really hope that Trent Yawney is our guy.

Hockey? In Reliant Stadium? In September?

So Andrew posted the story on the "preseason" game to be played at Reliant Stadium. And while I like the idea of a preseason game in Houston, the idea of playing it at that lifeless hanger known as Reliant Stadium, in September, just strikes me as a monumentally bad idea.

I've got some thoughts on this, and I posted them over at the mothership today. Let's just say that I'm troubled at the lack of involvement from the Aeros, the venue, the lack of an agreement with Reliant, and the lack of involvement on the part of the Toyota Center and Les Alexander.

In the comments I was shocked to discover that Phoenix does actually have a fan, and that somebody thought it was my job to write positive PR for hockey so that the sport will grow. I think if you ask my editor at the Press he would probably say that I write too many positive things about hockey when he would much prefer to see me bitching about the Texans, Astros, or Rockets.

But just in case you, dear readers, don't know it: I like hockey. I want hockey to grow in Houston. I want the NHL here on a full-time basis because it bugs me that Dallas has a team and we don't. I just wish that this Coyotes/Stars game at Reliant Stadium made more sense to me because, right now, it just has "failure" written all over it which, in turn, will shine this gigantic negative light on the city of Houston.

But what do I know, right?

NHL Preseason coming to Houston

This story is developing, but it looks like there will be a preseason game in Houston this year.

A game between the affiliates of the Texas Stars and San Antonio Rampage.


http://starsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/06/stars-to-play-pre-season-game-at-reliant.html

Here is the Phoenix Coyotes press release:

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=566563

Yeo to be named Minnesota Wild head coach

Russo is reporting that Mike Yeo will be announced as the new head coach of the Wild tomorrow. So, the Aeros are on the hunt yet again for a new coach.

Personally, I'm delighted for Mike. I really can't say enough nice things about him as a person and as a coach and he absolutely has earned the opportunity to be a head coach in the NHL.

And as a Wild fan myself, the last two years have been a dreadful experience, so I'm looking forward to watching the sort of team Mike puts on the ice. I will be rooting for him AND for the boys.

I think a good number of them will be guys he's coached down here, if they go for a youth movement up there, so it's a good transition for them, too.

But of course, it's always a bit pins-and-needles time when you get a new coach down here. So here's to the team making another good choice when they fill his big shoes.

All the best of luck to Mike. I hope Wild fans enjoy him as much as we have.

I'm sure we'll (and by we, I mean someone with actual quotes) be back with more before long, but I wanted to get it out there.

Max Noreau traded to Devils

It is official - Max Noreau has been traded to the New Jersey Devils for Dave McIntyre.

I will try to get more details on this, but trade has been confirmed by Aeros GM Jim Mill.

Quick thought - this is not a shocker with the number of dmen in the Wild system.
Also, MacIntyre is a center originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2006. He recorded 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 78 games for Albany last season.

Both teams pick up something they need with this deal.

Noreau was the "oldest" Aero in sense of his tenure with the team. He and his massive slapshot will be missed.

Best of luck, Max!

Rumor Time!

OK,

I have to stir the pot a little bit; the offseason is already driving me crazy.
I do have a chat planned with Jim Mill next week. Just want to get his thoughts on the season and the team he built for that very exciting Calder Cup run.

How much fun was that?

Moving on ...

The first and biggest question on everyone's mind is will Mike Yeo and Daryl Sydor be back next year to coach the Aeros? Well, do the Wild want to go with an experienced head coach or do they want to take another chance on a rookie coach?

And if they do that, who comes to Houston to run the show for Season No. 18?

I think the Wild DO promote Yeo. I think he takes Darryl Sydor with him and I think the Wild make the playoffs in 2013. My hunch is based solely on the fact that I don't think the Wild want to miss out on Yeo. Talk around the league is that Yeo is a true up-and-comer. If the Wild don't hire him now, someone else will nab him.

This is not a new theory, and I am not claiming it as such. I am just saying that this is what I think will happen.

And for another bold prediction, let me tell you who I think will lead the Aeros next season: Terry Ruskowski.

Ruskowski was the modern Aeros first coach in 1994-96, losing his job in the middle of the second season.

Most recently, he coached the Laredo Bucks until he parted ways with that organization after last season. He was in town quite a bit during the latter part of the postseason run and even worked with the black aces.

He was on the road with the team in the finals helping out.

I am sure Mill will get a ton of resumes the second if/when Yeo moves on the NHL. Certainly Ruskowski will throw his name into the hat. What a story that would make if the former teacher replaces the former student?

Your thoughts?

Here are Ruskowski's stats courtesy of www.hockeydb.com

Polaroids From A Season Past

Heather started this the other day when she went on about Pirate Radio and how it reflected her view of the season. That got me thinking -- which is always a dangerous thing -- and perhaps it was Heather's thinking, or perhaps it came from watching Elton John videos when getting the "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" post. But to me, this season represents Almost Famous, one of my favorite movies.

I don't know how many of you've seen the movie, it's one of my favorites, but it bombed at the box office way back in 2000. Anyway, it's about this kid named William Miller, based on Cameron Crowe, the writer and director of the movie. And it's the story of how this 15-year-old-kid lands an assignment in 1973 from Rolling Stone -- who thinks he's much older to write a story on a band called Stillwater. He joins the band on tour, and while it's supposed to be a short journey, he finds that he just can't get away from them, going from San Diego to New York City.

I've left out a lot of the nuance, and I've really simplified the story. But there's a scene about halfway through the movie where the band has a huge fight, and they find themselves in Topeka, Kansas and on the verge of breaking up. William and the guitar player, Russell Hammond, wind up at a party in a suburban neighborhood where Hammond takes LSD and calls himself a golden god before jumping off the house into the pool. William gets him to safety, back on the band bus, and they're off for the next venue.

Here comes the point I've been building to. And I'll post the clip at the bottom. But they're all gathered on the bus, all wondering what the future holds when Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" starts to play. And slowly, one by one, the entire bus breaks out, singing the song. And William says to woman next to him, Penny Lane, played by Kate Hudson, whose character is sleeping with Hammond in the movie, that he needs to go home. And she looks at him and says, "You are home."

So what's the point of all of this? Heather talked about how there's nothing better to her than being on the press row during a game with Andrew and myself. And that's damn special. But for me, it was last Saturday night/Sunday morning. It's about 3:00 a.m. and I'm on the Pennsylvania Turnpike heading to Philadelphia so that I could catch my flight home. I'm tired. I'm trying to find anything on the radio to keep me awake. There's no traffic. No traffic. And it dawns on me. It's me, but there's nothing better than this. On the road, covering a hockey team in the playoffs. Sure, Kate Hudson's not leaning her head on my shoulder like in the movie, and I'm not on bus with a bunch of folks singing "Tiny Dancer," but I'm home.

It's all over now. Next week I'm bag to my normal world of temporary legal employment. That world that pays my bills. But I know where my home is.

Now at the end of the movie, William has to write his story. Throughout the movie, he's been taking Polaroid photos, and as he writes his story, he looks at the photos. So I hope you'll indulge me a bit as I share with you, my "Polaroids" of the season.

1. I'll remember Jean-Michel Daoust putting on a pair of boots worn by the Dynamics -- he was in his suit -- after one of the Peoria playoff games. Heather was there, she saw it, too. And I remember after another playoff game, going through the media dining room to get the media room to write. And the player wives, girlfriends, and children were gathered in the room. And there was Daoust, a huge smile on his face, playing with the kids.

2. I remember the first time we interviewed Jared Spurgeon after a game, right before he got called up to the Wild. He looked so young, so tiny -- Daoust looked like a giant compared to Spurgeon.

3. There was Colton Gillies choking up, struggling to answer, as I asked about his memories of Derek Boogaard.

4. It's not so much the game seven game-winning goal against Milwaukee that I remember so much, but instead I still see Chris Jerina jumping up from his seat and banging the glass.

5. I remember being on the ice after game seven against Hamilton as the guys came out to the salute the crowd.

6. Jon DiSalvatore always had this little twinkle in his eye during the playoffs. It was like he couldn't believe how much fun he was having, and just how much he was enjoying his teammates.

7. There were the three games toward the end of the year against Oklahoma City. That beating that Patrick O'Sullivan took shift after shift, game after game. And I thought that those people who thought O'Sullivan was soft had obviously never really seen him play because I couldn't believe the punishment he was taking, punishment he was taking yet kept getting up from.

8. I think the biggest thing I'll most remember about this team is the same thing Jon DiSalvatore will most remember. It's the guys. The way they rallied around each other. The way they sacrificed the good of their game for the betterment of the team. It was a joy to cover this team, to be around this team.

9. And I'll remember the press box, table more like it, that I shared with Andrew and Heather every game. How's that awful old song from the early-70s go, "We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun." It's hard to believe it's over. Thank you for allowing me to share a table with you.

10. I remember that game when Patrick O'Sullivan joined the team. And it became evident then just how special this team could be.

11. And I still can't get it out of my mind. Robin Lehner throwing his stick in the air and the Senators going into full on celebration mode as the Aeros sunk to their knees on the ice, not able to believe it was all over. And I'll remember the fans, applauding the team, applauding the Sens as the Calder Cup was rewarded to them and they passed it around.

And finally, some thank yous and acknowledgements.

Thank you, Rich Bocchini, for your assistance throughout the season. He took over the media relations position literally right before the season started. He was under constant pressure throughout the season, but whatever I needed, or Andrew, or Heather, he got us.

Thank you, Joe O'Donnell. You're a true professional who we're lucky to have here on your way to the big time.

Thank you to Dave Maxwell who helped with access, and with getting us the players we needed for interviews. He was a special help on the road during the playoffs when he was conduit to the locker rooms in Peoria and Milwaukee and made sure I got the players I needed.

Thanks to team trainer Jody Green for coming through with the sinus meds I so desperately needed in Peoria after game four. And thanks to the entire medical staff who so generously shared their spot on the corner with me after I tried the photography thing.

Thanks to the entire Aeros staff of trainers and equipment guys we talked to and bumped in to and got in the way of every night. Thanks to Gary and the rest of the security staff.

Thanks to Mike Yeo, Darryl Sydor, and Brian Wiseman for not treating me like the idiot about hockey that I truly am. And thanks to Jim Mill for that same reason. Maybe someday I'll know all of the ins and outs of hockey like I do of baseball.

Thanks to Jon DiSalvatore for always being willing to take questions, even after painful, difficult losses. And thanks to Jed Ortmeyer for that same reason.

I want to thank Fred Trask for being with us, and me, in spirit. I was afraid that Fred would be upset with me for trying to photograph the games, because Fred should have been the one doing that. But Fred offered me advice on what cameras to purchase and gave me tips on what I should try to doing to make my work better. Thanks, Fred. I'm just your temporary replacement, and I hope that someday I can relinquish back to you the role of T3I photographer.

Thanks to Chris Jerina, our Midwest Bureau Chief, for so willingly traveling all around Illinois and Wisconsin and other parts to provide us with photography and news.

Thanks to Andrew and Heather. And thanks to everybody for reading.

Who would have thought in December that this season would have gone like it did? Who would have thought then that everybody would be so disappointed? It was a special season for the Houston Aeros, and it's one that I'm happy that I, in my own way, was able to participate in. That we all, in our ways, were able to participate in.

And as promised...

And JM Heads for Europe

The season is over, so it's time for players to start signing new contracts, changing teams, etc. And today the first Aero departed for greener pastures as JM Daoust signed with the Straubing Tigers of the DEL.

Good luck Jean-Michel. I enjoyed watching him, even when he wasn't on the ice as he seemed, from my eye, to be one of the chemistry guys every team absolutely needs to have. And read the Google translation story that I linked to you because there you'll be amazed at what Dauost was able to accomplish weighing only 75-pounds.