Hershey (AHL) and South Carolina (ECHL) 2015-16 Season

Status
Not open for further replies.

hockeykicker

Moderator
Dec 3, 2014
35,052
12,488
Habs fan here.

I'm gonna miss Dietz :(

tumblr_lihgk57e9U1qgbkvi.gif


He's a great signing for you guys. He never really got a fair shake in Montreal imo

What on earth is that dance move? :laugh:
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
Hershey might arguably be the 3rd best team in their division right now with all the signings WBS and LV have made so far. A true #2 skilled C is the biggest need at the moment. Also could use a few more experienced D in case any of the kids don't do as well or someone gets injured.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
Off of Mike Vogel's twitter page. He did an interview with GMBM.

Ah ok I must have missed that this weekend. You would have thought Hershey would have had their **** together and interviewed in season (with eligible candidates) and immediately after the season ended. The whole process has been bad all around
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
Hershey's updated depth chart.

Bourque-Stephenson-Vrana
Carey-Boyd-Barber
O'Brien-Sill-Mitchell
Thomas-Malone-Walker

F scratches: McGauley, Margonari (if actually signed)

Ness-Lewington
Siegenthaler(maybe)-Bowey
Djoos-Dietz

D scratches: Williams

Cannata
Vanecek

Going to have to add some D depth. A solid top 6 center would be another position of need, especially if we lose any of the kids for long periods of time. Boyd gives them flexibility to slide to the wing if anyone makes the Caps out of camp.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
Center UFA options:

Eric O'Dell
Greg Rallo
Corban Knight
Jeremy Welsh
Zach Boychuk
Brian Gibbons

Defense UFA options:
Erik Burgdoerfer (R shot, non vet)
Tyson Strachan (R shot, vet)
Bobby Sanguinetti (R shot, vet)
Colby Robak (L shot, vet)
Patrick Mullen (R shot, vet)
Andre Benoit (L shot, vet)
Marc-André Gragnani (L shot, vet)

O'Dell would be my priority at this point. He has been a consistently good player in the AHL and is younger than most of the others on the list. Also the possibility that some AHL deals aren't going to be announced until after the new GM is introduced
 
Last edited:

Hivemind

We're Touched
Oct 8, 2010
37,008
13,424
Philadelphia
A solid top 6 center would be another position of need, especially if we lose any of the kids for long periods of time. Boyd gives them flexibility to slide to the wing if anyone makes the Caps out of camp.

It certainly seems like somebody is going to make the Caps out of camp. As it stands now, the Capitals would have to roll 13F and 7D (ie leaving a roster spot open) in order for Hershey to have that roster. To me, I'd bet one of Boyd, Stephenson, or Bowey makes the Capitals out of training camp to eat up that last roster spot.

There's also the possibility that Galiev doesn't make the Caps and is down in Hershey (barring him trying to get out of his contract and return to Europe).


Flames just got Linden Vey on a 2-way contract. That would have been a nice move both from a Washington center depth perspective and a Hershey top 6 center perspective.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
It certainly seems like somebody is going to make the Caps out of camp. As it stands now, the Capitals would have to roll 13F and 7D (ie leaving a roster spot open) in order for Hershey to have that roster. To me, I'd bet one of Boyd, Stephenson, or Bowey makes the Capitals out of training camp to eat up that last roster spot.

There's also the possibility that Galiev doesn't make the Caps and is down in Hershey (barring him trying to get out of his contract and return to Europe).


Flames just got Linden Vey on a 2-way contract. That would have been a nice move both from a Washington center depth perspective and a Hershey top 6 center perspective.

My guess is that Stephenson is the one who makes the Caps out of training camp with an outside chance of Walker or Liam O'Brien depending on what type of role they want to fill. If it's another center who can possibly help on the PK and add more team speed, then Stephenson checks all of those boxes.

Walker would add to team speed as well and could provide an energy type role with Chimera moving to the NYI.

O'Brien would add a hard nosed forechecker to the mix if that's the route they would go. He also would provide a little more physical play and toughness to the bottom 6 with Latta departing. He's been a workhorse on the forecheck and an extreme pest (see Tom Sestito :laugh:) and could reduce that role in Wilson's game to allow Wilson to focus on PKing and providing more offense.

Boyd has an outside shot, but he doesn't penalty kill and they would already have a guy (Galiev) filling that more skill/scoring type role in his way.

Bowey theoretically could make Washington I guess. I think he has the least chance out of all the ones you or I mentioned though considering Washington already is going to roll with 7D and Hershey is close enough in proximity for an emergency recall. Plus, Washington was obviously high enough on what Ness brought that they rewarded him with a 2 year deal. I'd assume he gets a majority of the D recalls until he reaches waiver status.
 

Raikkonen

Dumb guy
Aug 19, 2009
10,714
3,166
Russia
What's the point of Stephenson or Bowey to make the team out of camp? Being the scratch?

If there is no injury there is no chance Bowey stays in the NHL with Orlov/Schmidt/Orpik healthy. It's just losing one depth guy (Chorney) for nothing, and it's not like Bowey will have much TOI behind Carlson and Niskanen.

Stephenson/Walker/Vrana/Boyd/Berber are different, but they better get more TOI in the AHL too.

Galiev sitting in the press box is much better because he's not exactly young and his potential is not exactly high.
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
32,263
8,890
G Parker Milner signed by Hershey per his Twitter. Looks like he'll split with Carlson in South Carolina.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
What's the point of Stephenson or Bowey to make the team out of camp? Being the scratch?

If there is no injury there is no chance Bowey stays in the NHL with Orlov/Schmidt/Orpik healthy. It's just losing one depth guy (Chorney) for nothing, and it's not like Bowey will have much TOI behind Carlson and Niskanen.

Stephenson/Walker/Vrana/Boyd/Berber are different, but they better get more TOI in the AHL too.

Galiev sitting in the press box is much better because he's not exactly young and his potential is not exactly high.

Stephenson is different from Bowey in the sense that this will be his third full professional season. He already got a cup of tea last year which was surprising. Troy Mann has also said he has NHL ready skating. Those are all good factors that make him an ideal candidate to be that 14th forward
 

Hivemind

We're Touched
Oct 8, 2010
37,008
13,424
Philadelphia
A 19 year-old Connor Carrick cracked the Capitals roster out of camp one year. Yes, this blueline is much more crowded than that one was, but I don't think it's out of the question Bowey forces his way into the line-up at the beginning of the year. I wouldn't bet money on it, but I wouldn't be shocked, either. A lot of it comes down to what happens with Orlov.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
The Bourque signing makes the Brad Malone signing look even worse. I'm wondering if Malone or Sill have a shot as being "Latta" next season
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
A 19 year-old Connor Carrick cracked the Capitals roster out of camp one year. Yes, this blueline is much more crowded than that one was, but I don't think it's out of the question Bowey forces his way into the line-up at the beginning of the year. I wouldn't bet money on it, but I wouldn't be shocked, either. A lot of it comes down to what happens with Orlov.

Different blueline, different coaching staff, and different GM. Bowey barely got PP2 time for Hershey and was eased into PK duty last season. He's not ready and there's no need to rush like they did with Carrick
 

Hivemind

We're Touched
Oct 8, 2010
37,008
13,424
Philadelphia
The Bourque signing makes the Brad Malone signing look even worse. I'm wondering if Malone or Sill have a shot as being "Latta" next season

Don't know why I forgot Sill in my previous post on the topic but I think there's a solid chance Sill is the #13/14 in Washington.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
Don't know why I forgot Sill in my previous post on the topic but I think there's a solid chance Sill is the #13/14 in Washington.

He had a very good run in the CC playoffs and was a very good mentor to have around the kids last year.

He did alright in his short stint with the Caps. Maybe Malone was brought in to replace him in Hershey?
 

Chockey Hockey

Registered User
Jul 4, 2014
96
23
I know I'll be hated for this but I would not mind if Mitchell was moved. He was a "no show" in playoffs and also a vet that doesn't bring much offense. I realize he is well liked and supposedly a good leader but I've seen no improvement from him.
 

Langway

In den Wolken
Jul 7, 2006
32,263
8,890
I rather would have had Ryan Bourque if that was their thinking. He was one of the best Hershey forwards down the stretch.

Hell why not sign Gazely? He was arguably their best PK forward and still shouldn't be a vet
Well, you're in luck on both fronts...:)

The Thomas signing seems more puzzling now with Gazley back. Gazley's quite arguably better and didn't require an NHL deal.

Also, Warsofsky promoted to Head Coach for South Carolina.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
Well, you're in luck on both fronts...:)

The Thomas signing seems more puzzling now with Gazley back. Gazley's quite arguably better and didn't require an NHL deal.

Also, Warsofsky promoted to Head Coach for South Carolina.

:huh:

I'm so confused as to what their thinking is. Bourque and Gazley are very similar players in the sense that they are small, fast, and their best attribute is their PKing ability. Bourque is a more physical player than Gazley and that's about the only difference.

The Thomas signing makes no sense now. Like you said, why waste an NHL contract on him and rush to sign him when there were clearly better options out there. The only think that I could think of is that he wanted to play for the organization because he's friends with Wilson. Thomas, Wilson, and Connolly have all been communicating on Twitter or in Instagram photos with one another.

The Bears lost in the finals because they couldn't match the extremely rare combo of size and speed that LE possessed, their goaltending wasn't as stellar, and their overall depth wasn't nearly as good as LE. The only real area they improve with all of these signings is their forward depth. They haven't gotten any bigger and Cannata is arguably worse than what Peters showed down the stretch. I guess you could argue that the kids should all improve but you could also argue that having a true top 6 type center (Gomez) was a big factor for Hershey during their run to the division title.
 

hb12xchamps

Registered User
Dec 23, 2011
8,790
5,390
Pennsylvania
I know I'll be hated for this but I would not mind if Mitchell was moved. He was a "no show" in playoffs and also a vet that doesn't bring much offense. I realize he is well liked and supposedly a good leader but I've seen no improvement from him.

His main attributes are his leadership, penalty killing, and physical play. His numbers could have been career bests this past season if he didn't get hurt but you are correct in saying that he didn't elevate his game in the playoffs. He only had 5 points and was -5. Not the best stat line for your captain.

The organization as a whole has had this fascination with adding smaller type grinder forwards the past few years. Gone are the days when the Bears go out and grab 2-3 top 10 AHL free agents like a in their prime Giroux, Aucoin, Nycholat, etc.

I'm not expecting the Bears to be done. I still would be trying to convince O'Dell to sign in Chocolatetown. He's arguably the best AHL FA still available and fits a position of need in C.
 

Holtbyisms

Matt Irwin is a legit talent
Jul 1, 2012
6,914
3,572
Bedford, PA
I would not be surprised to see Bowey push Schmidt in camp. I guess we'll see but there's a chance. He might bring more to the table even though he's a bit less experienced. Although with them being is love with Chorney that kind of makes somebody inactive for the most part of Bowey makes the big club. I don't dislike Nate Schmidt but part of me wonders if he'll ever progress any further or be one of those AAAA players.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->