AHL Affiliate Thread - Send them the Wolves

[NotOpie]

I wonder if we ranked our defenseman prospect pool what it would look like....so, I'll take a real quick, uninformed stab. I'm going to rank them using my own metric of combined NHL readiness and raw talent combined. Given where this discussion has been, I'll probably weight readiness a bit higher than upside. Here goes:

Oliwer Kaski
Jesper Sellgren
Roland McKeown
Joey Keane
Anttoni Honka
Joakim Ryan
Max Lajoie
Alexander Nikishin
Domenick Fensore
David Warsofsky
Ronan Seeley
Cade Weber
Ville Rasanen

I could see Kaski, Sellgren, Keane, and Honka vying for a spot over the next year or two. Personally, I think McKeown is an insurance policy for a #7 guys. If Dougie isn't re-signed, then a guy like Kaski makes a lot of sense. The key issue that I see is the skill vs. size dynamic that seems to have developed. We need to ensure that our defenders are skilled, but we also need guys who can win board battles.

 

[WreckingCrew]

Much like he did in his short regular season NHL appearance last year, Geekie leads the AHL in PPG @ 2.5 (and 2 GPG)

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Much like he did in his short regular season NHL appearance last year, Geekie leads the AHL in PPG @ 2.5 (and 2 GPG)

Making the AHL look like a joke is a good way to say "Yup, I'm an NHL player".

 

[Anton Babchuk]

I wonder if we ranked our defenseman prospect pool what it would look like....so, I'll take a real quick, uninformed stab. I'm going to rank them using my own metric of combined NHL readiness and raw talent combined. Given where this discussion has been, I'll probably weight readiness a bit higher than upside. Here goes:

Oliwer Kaski
Jesper Sellgren
Roland McKeown
Joey Keane
Anttoni Honka
Joakim Ryan
Max Lajoie
Alexander Nikishin
Domenick Fensore
David Warsofsky
Ronan Seeley
Cade Weber
Ville Rasanen

I could see Kaski, Sellgren, Keane, and Honka vying for a spot over the next year or two. Personally, I think McKeown is an insurance policy for a #7 guys. If Dougie isn't re-signed, then a guy like Kaski makes a lot of sense. The key issue that I see is the skill vs. size dynamic that seems to have developed. We need to ensure that our defenders are skilled, but we also need guys who can win board battles.

McKeown is a Group 6 UFA after this season. I highly doubt he re-signs with the team, given that he's played a total of 10 NHL games in 4+ years so far and has little to no chance of cracking the lineup on a regular basis. He'd be much better off in basically any other organization.

I feel sorry for him. If he had been acquired by the Hurricanes six or seven years prior he probably would have had a Jay Harrison/Brett Carson/Derek Joslin/Michal Jordan type of career. In other words: being not good, but making a ton of money in the process of being not good. Instead he's stuck in the AHL making 70-100k a year. If I were him I'd be out of the door the first chance I got in hopes of finding team that will actually play me in the NHL. There are definitely worse defensemen currently in the NHL than Roland McKeown.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

McKeown is a Group 6 UFA after this season. I highly doubt he re-signs with the team, given that he's played a total of 10 NHL games in 4+ years so far and has little to no chance of cracking the lineup on a regular basis. He'd be much better off in basically any other organization.

Well yes, I actually see him traded at the deadline to some club like Anaheim as maybe a minor throw-in for a Hakanpaa deal.

McKeown unfortunately got caught between a rock and a hard place at the wrong time. I'm sure that the Canes have been looking for a trade partner, though, similar to what they did for Clark Bishop. Maybe they finally find a team that wants to give him a shot at the deadline.

 

[Lempo]

McKeown is a Group 6 UFA after this season. I highly doubt he re-signs with the team, given that he's played a total of 10 NHL games in 4+ years so far and has little to no chance of cracking the lineup on a regular basis. He'd be much better off in basically any other organization.

I feel sorry for him. If he had been acquired by the Hurricanes six or seven years prior he probably would have had a Jay Harrison/Brett Carson/Derek Joslin type of career. In other words: being not good, but making a ton of money in the process of being not good. Instead he's stuck in the AHL making 70-100k a year. If I were him I'd be out of the door the first chance I got in hopes of finding team that will actually play me in the NHL. There are definitely worse defensemen currently in the NHL than Roland McKeown.

I don't know about the latter part... he's been actively developed, loaned to SHL for this season and whatnot. IF he's now good to get an NHL job and to keep the NHL job once he gets it, it may have lots to do with the organization he has been in.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I don't know about the latter part... he's been actively developed, loaned to SHL for this season and whatnot. IF he's now good to get an NHL job and to keep the NHL job once he gets it, it may have lots to do with the organization he has been in.

Right. I see Carolina finding a trade partner for McKeown, though. He's been a loyal soldier to the organization, not dissimilar to Clark Bishop, and I'm sure they'll do him a favor. I don't think it's a coincidence that a huge portion of the AHL guys that were dealt by us to other organizations are making the NHL and are doing very well. Even an alleged non-prospect in Forsling, after a career AHL season in Charlotte, has carved out a bottom-pairing role on a very good Florida team.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

In fairness, Forsling had "kinda" carved out a role in Chicago before coming to Carolina. He had seasons of 38, 41 and 43 NHL games. The Canes were just too deep for him to get a chance, but he was an NHL player on some teams.

I'm not sure if McKeown will find that level of success elsewhere, but possibly. He could end up like Trevor Carrick though, where he's just not NHL caliber, even on bad teams. I do think McKeown is better defensively and his game may translate better to a bottom pairing / #7 role than Carrick though.

 

[UncMike]

AHL transactions show Joakim Ryan being sent down to Chicago.......

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

AHL transactions show Joakim Ryan being sent down to Chicago.......

Interesting. My first thought was maybe TT is back and Geekie or Lorentz needed to go back to the taxi squad, but I thought I read TT didn't even make the trip.

 

[UncMike]

Interesting. My first thought was maybe TT is back and Geekie or Lorentz needed to go back to the taxi squad, but I thought I read TT didn't even make the trip.

Might need to be seen in a game in order to be moved?......just guessing

 

[MinJaBen]

Might need to be seen in a game in order to be moved?......just guessing

Or might need to be in a game to be ready.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Or might need to be in a game to be ready.

Chicago plays Friday. Im not saying one of y’all is right.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Looks like they forgot to update the graphic.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Wolves involved. Guess Warm and Keane will stay put with the big team.

 

[UncMike]

Any idea how many players are in protocol?

 

[hblueridgegal]

 

[UncMike]

Chicago signed a dman to a PTO-Matt Murphy

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Bokk, Lajoie, and Cotton are on a tear tonight, and the Wolves are currently leading 4-0. Lajoie is having one of those under-the-radar career-best seasons in the AHL this year, not dissimilar to Forsling last year. I wonder if a defense-starved team is keeping an eye on his development over here for the next time that he goes through waivers.

 

[spockBokk]

Sounds like Bokk and Cotton are each having a night

 

[hblueridgegal]

Suzuki on the board

 

[Tryamw]

LaFontaine misplayed but no goal by Omaha
gophers score the first goal.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Cotton 2 Gs, 1 on the PP
Bokk, 1 G, 1A
Lajoie 1 G, 2As
Suzuki 1 G
Rees, no scoring -1
Bibeau stopped 23 of 26

 

[UncMike]

Was there any mention of which scratches were Covid related?.....if any

 

[hblueridgegal]

Says Bokk is much more engaged now and is much more comfortable being in the US now, with the club/teammates and being a pro. Happy with his progress and effort.