2021/22 Utica Comets and ECHL Talk
- Thread starter Emperoreddy
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- Dec 20, 2018
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Yeah, and by far unimpressive. 19 pro games in the last 3 years with 1 assist, all in ECHL Reading. Didn't even play a single game last season. He's already 27 yrs-0ld. The only thing you can say is he's a RD with a little size at 6'2"/194. If we see him in Utica it will because every RHD they have is out and he was the last living RD available OR He the hand of the main Hockey God decided he was the one to get the special gift this season.
Best of luck Jimmy, may the HG force be with you.
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Because when push comes to shove as it always does in the AHL at some point every season, the ECHL affiliate of the AHL team has to end up trying to keep the AHL team afloat when it loses a large number of its players to the NHL and in house injuries at the same time. When a guy like Mazza and some of the others that have been signed get called to the AHL, a majority of them fail miserably. They can't even tread water. Once in a blue moon a guy grabs the ring and makes a move in his career. Darren Archibald and Curtis Valk are 2 examples from the past 8 years with the Utica Comets. It doesn't happen often, but it does occur.
However, it usually happens to guys who have had major success down there. Mazza has been left completely out in the cold over the past 3 years. Trying to patch together a hockey career above the lowest of the minor leagues at 27 with literally nothing behind him to build on is highly unlikely. Every guy thatv signs in the ECHL is hoping with all his hearft that he can put together a game that makes him noticed by the next league up. A career AHL player can make some dough and if he does really well, Europe and better money becomes possible. Nobody signs down there because they consider it an answer to their pro hockey dreams.
Actually if you look at the Devils it's just the opposite. With the number of defensemen currently signed, it's more likely the guys signed to ECHL contracts will be playing lower pairing roles (or end up in the SPHL or being released) rather than playing for the Comets.
Signing local players to minor league contracts also doesn't hurt in terms of attendance and merchandise sales.
Signing local players to minor league contracts also doesn't hurt in terms of attendance and merchandise sales.
- Dec 20, 2018
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I'm not sure what you mean by just the opposite based on the number of players the Devils have signed.
The Devils have signed 7 defenders for the Comets and 7 in Jersey at the moment. The hope would be for Jaros to be sent down giving the Comets exactly 3 RD. That would give the Comets 8 D, 2 more would be the AHL norm and oftentimes those 2 would get some time in the ECHL to get some game time. Any injuries in either NJ or Utica would bring them (or at least one) back up.
The guys that were signed to AHL contracts weeks ago would likely become the two guys I'm talking about. There were times in Utica in the past 8 seasons when 6 or more D were brought in from the ECHL that got game time. Some became regulars for many games. In 2017-18 Dylan Blujus (ECHL Jacksonville) and Adam Comrie (ECHL Reading) were brought in from the ECHL and actually ended up being signed to AHL contracts and played 45 and 41 games respectively. In 2018-19 Colton Saucerman (ECHL Idaho) came in and eventually signed 2 PTOs and played 24 Games. The key point to be made about these 3 guys is none of them came from Kalamazoo which is where the guys connected to Vancouver/Utica were.
If the guys you have in case of emergency are not good enough, the team's management goes searching for better talent.
I am totally at a loss as to how Mazza would help attendance in Utica unless you mean people from King's Park and areas close by driving up to Glens Falls to watch him with the Thunder. Even that's a stretch for a player of such low promise.
Not at all. Mazza's friends and family would likely watch camp or preseason games - as would the Masonius and Kaplan families/friends and possibly others who have followed them through the years.
Would imagine if injuries occur the Devils/Comets would look elsewhere for AHL calibre free agents - as most teams do.
It's not the catastrophe you make it out to be.
Would imagine if injuries occur the Devils/Comets would look elsewhere for AHL calibre free agents - as most teams do.
It's not the catastrophe you make it out to be.
First off the term catastrophe is a bit over the top. I am merely pointing out that when the Comets call a guy up, and they will more times than you can imagine, the normal ECHL guy can't carry the mail.
The NHL teams have formed these affiliations with the ECHL for just that purpose. They won't sign AHL free agents in season until the others have been tried or if the injury is going to keep the guy out for an extended period of time or if the Devil he is called up to replace is in a similar situation. The s--t hits the fan when the parent suffers a few injuries at one time which may also frequently occur at the NHL level and you have 3 or 4, or as was the case in Utica in the past few seasons even more out at once.
The catastrophe occurs when the parent club is suffering multiple injuries and the farm has their own share at the same time. The free agent AHL replacements for the Comets that you propose like it's a simple task are not just sitting at home waiting for a phone call or text message.
My contention since the NHL formed this ECHL agreement so that basically every AHL team now has a farm, that the Parent club needs to find 2 or 3 forwards and 2 or 3 D-men with some actual experience that can step in and fill a void for a given period of time. Toronto and Tampa Bay are among the NHL franchises of the same mind and it's been working out fine for the few of them that have actually taken the time to plan this out.
Tao Jersey Jones
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DeVito is a 26 yr-old 5'9"/172 lb right shot forward. He played 4 seasons at NCAA Div III Morrisville State. Morrisville is 30 miles southwest of Utica. He is another "local" guy based upon he NJ fan philosophy as he hails from Averill Park.
He has played 3 pro games in ECHL Worcseter at the end of the 2019-20 season and hasn't played since. He is a Thunder signing and his future in the hockey world is purely up to his play there this season.
I'm told the families of Jimmy Mazza, Joe Masonius, Jordan Kaplan, and probably Nick Vito will watch camp or preseason games.
Joe Masonius, Jordan Kaplan, Samuel Laberge, Patrick Grasso, and Mareks Mittens have signed AHL contracts. 2 others familiar to NJ, Tyler Irvine and Ryan Schmelzer have also signed AHL contracts. Usually most of the AHL contracts attend the NHL training camp, but not necessarily all of them. They and some of the NHL signed players are normally shipped out early. The most promising prospects hang around through preseason contests and get sent down near the final day of camp. The waiver eligibles go at the last minute when most of the NHL teams have already decided on their final roster and most of the waived players slip through.
ECHL signed players don't usually get invites to the NHL training camps. There have usually not been more ECHL players than those with Vancouver connections sent to Kalamazoo in attendance at the Comets camp either. Don't know how NJ will handle this. Have to just wait and see the NJ Camp roster when it's released and then later the Comets camp roster.
I'm sure the Thunder will hold it's own, albeit short, camp. Maybe that's where some of these families will go to watch.
There will be a rookie tournament played in Buffalo between 9/17 and 9/19. The roster listing who will attend has not been posted here yet.
He has played 3 pro games in ECHL Worcseter at the end of the 2019-20 season and hasn't played since. He is a Thunder signing and his future in the hockey world is purely up to his play there this season.
I'm told the families of Jimmy Mazza, Joe Masonius, Jordan Kaplan, and probably Nick Vito will watch camp or preseason games.
Joe Masonius, Jordan Kaplan, Samuel Laberge, Patrick Grasso, and Mareks Mittens have signed AHL contracts. 2 others familiar to NJ, Tyler Irvine and Ryan Schmelzer have also signed AHL contracts. Usually most of the AHL contracts attend the NHL training camp, but not necessarily all of them. They and some of the NHL signed players are normally shipped out early. The most promising prospects hang around through preseason contests and get sent down near the final day of camp. The waiver eligibles go at the last minute when most of the NHL teams have already decided on their final roster and most of the waived players slip through.
ECHL signed players don't usually get invites to the NHL training camps. There have usually not been more ECHL players than those with Vancouver connections sent to Kalamazoo in attendance at the Comets camp either. Don't know how NJ will handle this. Have to just wait and see the NJ Camp roster when it's released and then later the Comets camp roster.
I'm sure the Thunder will hold it's own, albeit short, camp. Maybe that's where some of these families will go to watch.
There will be a rookie tournament played in Buffalo between 9/17 and 9/19. The roster listing who will attend has not been posted here yet.
Far more concerned about the likes of Bratt and Severson still being on the Devils roster than I am with some camp signings for the ECHL club.
Devils731
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- Jun 23, 2008
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i too wonder why the minor league thread is discussing minor leaguers rather than randomly discussing the NHL players you want to bag on.
Would prefer the minor league thread discuss minor league prospects - Mercer, Clarke, Daws, Vukojevic, - rather than "bagging on" local guys given a camp invite to get a pro experience and possibly be available as potential emergency fill-ins should a need arise.
Lou is God
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This is just straight out trolling now, what does Bratt or any current Devil have to do with this thread?
Trolling? Was making the point that bashing players who are merely trying to extend their pro careers doesn't make much sense and has little to do with the success or failure of the Devils in the future.
Seems to me that denigrating those players is far more abusive.
Lou is God
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These are not kids, they're adults, I'm sure they'll survive any remark made in here about them. Get real bro.
Why would that even be a concern. I have seen no evidence of either of them being anywhere else. Unless Fitz saw fit to make a trade with one of them in the deal, they are Devils.
Also analyzing the potential path of a player is not "denigrating" him if the assessment is not positive. when you enter the pro ranks you are instantly open to evaluation. If that evaluation is not positive, then i guess it would be up to that player to maker the said poster eat crow. Incidentally I am 100% ready to taste the cawing bird if I'm wrong.
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You are still new to our group. You will learn that some posters have drums they beat regularly and in odd places or odd moments.
Interesting to see how long the sell out streak lasts after we introduce the Devils brand of last-place hockey on the people of Utica
UticaHockey
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I think the sell out streak will end very quickly (if they report the attendance accurately) because of the COVID surge. The Syracuse Crunch this week announced that all fans 12 and above will need to show proof of vaccination to attend any Crunch games. Comets fans on social media are already fighting with each other about what they will do if the Comets adopt a similar policy (either proactively or because of county or state mandate). The antivax crowd is threatening to demand refunds on season tickets. These are the times we live in.
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Clam Jensen
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