Tag Archives: AHL

Cody Hodgson aims to leave Canucks behind

Posted on January 5, 2013 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Talk to Cody Hodgson about his life in the AHL, the lockout, travel, his past back injury or Buffalo, and he’s loose, and downright verbose.

Bring up the Canucks, and, well, he’d rather you not.

That — as he pointed out Friday not long after arriving in Abbotsford — is in the past.

But it’s also in his future. Because Hodgson will never escape the Canucks. That’s what happens when a NHL general manager paints you as a whining diva who can’t play defence, not long after he walks you out the door in a season in which the team was a favourite to win a Stanley Cup.

Hodgson is more comfortable now than a year ago. But that’s as obvious as it is predictable. He’s out of Vancouver.

“I had a great summer. Being off for four or five months, I could really go through the whole [Gary] Roberts program, and I had some time to rest and let everything heal and...

Ex-Canuck Cody Hodgson passes on his past

Posted on January 4, 2013 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

Cody Hodgson is not a big believer in rear-view mirrors.

The former Canuck centre likes to focus on what lies ahead and prefers to leave the past behind him.

That seems especially true when it comes to revisiting his rocky relationship with the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2008.

Hodgson, who is spending the NHL lockout with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, paid the obligatory compliments to Canuck fans and his former teammates before the Americans beat the Heat 5-2 on Friday night in Abbotsford.

But in an interview with a small group of reporters after Friday’s game-day skate, Hodgson brushed back attempts to dig a little deeper into his relationship with his past team.

“No, I try not to look back as much as possible,” he said. “I am here with the Rochester Americans and the Buffalo Sabres organization now and I have moved past that. Since the summer, I haven’t really looked back on it to tell you the truth....

Kuzma: Canucks preparing for the unknown

Posted on December 29, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

The first post-lockout domino should fall in these parts like a giant Douglas fir if the Vancouver Canucks expect to maximize a return for Roberto Luongo. Should a shortened season come to fruition, a 48-game sprint will test the Presidents’ Trophy winners resolve to not trip over expectations or run out of gas. Or run out of bodies.

“We’re definitely confident,” said defenceman Kevin Bieksa. “But it’s going to be a unique situation. We don’t know how much time we’ll have (to get ready) and we’ll still probably have a few little changes to our lineup.”

In the big picture they may be little. But they will be important.

What the Canucks could or should ice if play commences Jan. 19 starts in goal. Cory Schneider has honed his game in Switzerland and by being crowned the starter in the third game of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring — in advance of his three-year, $12 million US contract extension —...

Nugent-Hopkins on the cusp

Posted on November 11, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Ryan Nugent Hopkins still looks like a kid out there, especially with that cage protecting his face after two front teeth were pushed back when the Burnaby native was clipped by a stick two weeks ago. And while the gifted centre is a tempting target for AHL opposition while playing for the Oklahoma City Barons during the NHL lockout, he's also on Hockey Canada's radar.

Should the lockout persist, Nugent-Hopkins could anchor the first line at Team Canada's world junior tournament selection camp Dec. 10-15 in Calgary to prepare for the event in Ufa, Russia. The camp roster will be named Dec. 3 and after being one of the final cuts last year, the 19-year-old Edmonton Oilers playmaker believes international exposure could accelerate his learning curve, just like it did for linemates Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall, who are also playing for the Barons during the lockout.

"If it comes up, I'm definitely going to talk about it more," Nugent-Hopkins...

McCarthy’s first pro shortie eclipsed by record goal

Posted on November 8, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Under normal circumstances, Steve McCarthy’s first professional shorthanded goal would have been highlight material. Especially after the rushing Abbotsford Heat defenceman went wide, then cut smartly to the net to finish a timely play last weekend against the Toronto Marlies.

However, the shorthanded effort by teammate Ben Street on the ensuing faceoff — just three seconds later — was far from a normal circumstance. His record-setting goal during the 3-0 victory had the Hockey Hall of Fame calling to request the centre’s stick. The goals eclipsed the pro hockey mark for the quickest two shorthanded efforts: Jody Gage of the Rochester Americans scored twice in an eight-second span on March 25, 1989.

With the AHL’s best penalty kill on a 39-for-40 run, it sets the stage for a monumental challenge for the Heat Friday and Saturday against the visiting Oklahoma City Barons. The Edmonton Oilers’ farm club (5-4-0-1) can ice an NHL power-play alignment that includes Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins,...

Top Canucks prospect Zack Kassian suspended one game by the AHL for bumping official

Posted on November 8, 2012 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

Top Vancouver Canuck prospect Zack Kassian has been suspended one game by the American Hockey League for an incident that occured Tuesday night in Charlotte while Kassian was playing for the Chicago Wolves, the Canucks’ AHL farm team. According to the Wolves, Kassian accidentally bumped an official on his way to the penalty box to serve a second-period hooking minor. He was given no other penalty on the play. The suspension for making contact with an official is automatically one game. Kassian has four goals, three assists and 24 penalty minutes in 11 games for the Wolves. He’ll miss their Friday game against the Milwaukee Admirals.

...

Can Walter take the Heat and make it sizzle?

Posted on October 21, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

ABBOTSFORD — Ryan Walter has a masters degree in leadership and his powers of persuasion have been effective on the ice, behind the bench, in the broadcast booth and in the corporate community. And just when you think the 54-year-old New Westminster native with more than 1,000 games on his NHL playing resume could gear down from the daily grind, the Abbotsford Heat president has geared up for his biggest challenge.

Walter hears the rumours. Francesco Aquilini will purchase the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre and his Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames will come to an agreement so the ASEC can house an AHL affiliate area fans can more readily identify with. It would ease a big tax burden in the fourth year of a 10-year supply fee agreement that guarantees the Heat a break-even point with an annual budget of $5.7 million. And because average attendance has dropped from 3,897, to 3,807 and 3,545 in the 7,046-seat facility...

Jaw-dropping AHL show in Abbotsford wins new fans

Posted on October 21, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

There was some-thing harmonious about the NHL going dark and what happened in the third period of an AHL game an hour outside of Vancouver.

What the Abbotsford Heat needed, they got Friday. A terrific hockey game with drama, intensity and jaw-dropping performances from some players withy dynamite potential.

They got a packed house that was just noisy enough to help breathe life into a game - a 3-2 shootout win for Chicago - that frankly didn't need much tire pumping. They got a moment too, a Roman Horak breakaway. The centre who played 60 games with the Flames last year, knifed his way through the heart of the Heat, before Wolves' Eddie Lack snuffed out his scoring chance with a brilliant save.

The crowd responded with chants of "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie."

Sure, they were cheering for the visitors. But for a moment, hockey was alive in Abbotsford, even if it is not well.

There were 3,800 on hand for the first game...

Plenty of time for Kassian to find upside development; prospect has been a force playing for AHL’s Wolves

Posted on October 11, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

If it was an encouraging assessment following what would have been the NHL regular-season opener for the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday in Calgary, it may have carried more clout.

However, even at the AHL level, any positive developments regarding the ongoing maturation and transformation of Zack Kassian from fourth-line plugger to productive power forward are welcome.

As the Chicago Wolves prepare to open their AHL regular season Saturday, the Canucks have not only stocked their affiliate’s roster in lieu of the lockout that has no end in sight, they have provided a platform for Kassian, Jordan Schroeder and Chris Tanev to log major minutes and build their levels of confidence to contribute at the next level.

And if the good early returns on Kassian continue, then the constant comparisons to Cody Hodgson in the trade-deadline swap last February will subside. Especially if the slimmer, quicker and more responsive Kassian gives the Canucks reason to believe that there’s a much bigger upside...

Connauton ready to prove himself

Posted on October 3, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Kevin Connauton could get caught up in the numbers.

He could wonder why he wasn’t playing in the Chicago Wolves’ AHL preseason opener Wednesday or how the parent Vancouver Canucks project the promising blueliner with the booming shot and room to improve defensively.

With his entry-level contract expiring next summer, there’s pressure to gain a greater vote of confidence after two minor-league seasons and prove he can eventually present the Canucks with a power-play option.

By failing to court the coveted Justin Schultz, not reaching terms with Sami Salo and not qualifying Marc-Andre Gragnani, there will be a need for more offence from the back end.

Jason Garrison and Alex Edler are go-to guys now, but the 22-year-old Connauton could be one sooner or later.

“You try not to read into things like that too much and obviously there’s some sort of opportunity there, but I don’t want to look too far down the road,” said Connauton, who had 13 goals and 33...

NHL talks like watching paint dry

Posted on September 30, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

Mike Gillis lauded the refurbished Kensington Park Arena on Sunday, a project in which Vancouver Canucks Sports and Entertainment and RONA worked in unison over five months to improve the ceiling, lightning and foyer of the Burnaby facility.

Meanwhile, representatives for NHL owners and players met for five hours in New York on Sunday and did the same by slapping a new coat of paint on peripheral issues — health and safety, drug testing and player movement — rather than fixing the fiscal foundation in hopes of making meaningful process to end the lockout.

The two sides weren’t scheduled to meet Monday but that could change with a phone call.

So the Canucks general manager will travel to the Chicago area, where the AHL affiliate Wolves have opened a camp bolstered by 23 Canuck players and prospects because the collective bargaining impasse has wiped out the preseason and could soon affect regular-season games.

The Canucks were scheduled to host Phoenix in exhibition...

NHL lockout: Wolves coach Arniel faces new challenge

Posted on September 26, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

The trickle has turned into a flood.

When the Vancouver Canucks assigned 23 players to their AHL affiliate on eve of the NHL lockout, it was a double-edged sword for new Chicago Wolves head coach Scott Arniel.

When camp opens Friday, he’ll work with assistants Mike Foligno and Nolan Baumgartner to quickly assess 49 players and ice the top 20. But it’s never that simple in the American Hockey League because a balance between nurturing talent and winning is imperative.

“It makes for a very big camp and some very tough decisions,” Arniel said Wednesday, knowing the Canucks’ brain trust will be present next week to monitor the process. “We still have to find depth because if the NHL gets its season back up and running, we’re going to need it.”

Not only have the Wolves been bolstered by Zack Kassian and Chris Tanev who will play in the NHL if the season is saved — and those on the cusp...

Canucks waive Joslin, Debsiens, Mullin, Gordon, and probably Fin at this point

Posted on September 13, 2012 by admin in Province Hockey | No comments

You know you’re a locked out fan when…. you take your dog for a walk and you both use the same tree. Wait, no, that’s the red neck joke. OK, you know you’re a locked out fan when your favorite team begins lining up it’s pieces for a lockout by sending some of it’s lower rung players through waivers, presumably so they can be placed on the AHL farm team. As reported on Twitter by @News1130Sports and @RenLavoieRDS , the Canucks have put Guillame Desbiens, Derek Joslin, Patrick Mullen (Not Chris Mullen like many of you probably hoped), and Andrew Gordon on waivers today. The logical assumption is this was done so they could play for the Chicago Wolves and work on their skills by playing actual hockey, instead of staying at home playing Ryan Kesler on NHL ’13. (I hear Ryan threw out his shoulder fist pumping after scoring three goals in a historic comeback against Bieksa last month.)

With that being...

Canucks keen on ‘gamer’ Eddie Lack, lock up goalie with two-year deal

Posted on August 27, 2012 by admin in Sun Hockey | No comments

VANCOUVER — Based on his new contract with the Vancouver Canucks and a looming NHL lockout, netminder Eddie Lack appears headed for another American Hockey League hockey season in Chicago.

The 24-year-old Swede signed a two-year deal Monday with two components: a two-way clause in the first year for $650,000 at the NHL level and $85,000 in the minors, and then a one-way clause in the second year for $850,000.

Canucks assistant general manager Lorne Henning, who oversees the big club’s minor-league assets, disputed the notion Lack is a lock to play for the AHL Wolves.

“I don’t know about that,” Henning said, his comment based on the assumption that Roberto Luongo will be moved along, creating an opening behind Cory Schneider. “Eddie is very capable of surprising you. Nobody really knew who he was two years ago and then he came into camp and was the surprise of camp. Obviously we still have two goalies right now, so it depends...