Speculation: Minor League Affiliates (Hershey Bears, SC Stingrays) - summer 2018 to summer 2019

[CapsJunkie]

Alexeyev now has 6 goals and 8 assists 14 points in just 12 games

 

[um]

Alexeyev now has 6 goals and 8 assists 14 points in just 12 games

What side does Alexeyev play, for future reference.

 

[Langway]

What side does Alexeyev play, for future reference.

Left mostly.

Highlights from last night's two goal game: Highlights: Hitmen (1) at Rebels (3) – WHL Network

 

[GoCaps2004]

Alexeyev with two assists last night, probably could have been credited with a third assist too. Anyway, his first assist is at the 55 second mark, and it's a pretty sweet pass.

Blades 3 @ Rebels 4 O/T – October 26 – Red Deer Rebels

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Alexeyev looks like a good one. His wrist shot is beautiful.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Little behind on my Bears games! Here's my recap from the 10/19 game against the Charlotte Checkers.

Charlotte's PP is deadly and their PK is ranked #1. Last thing the Bear's needed to do was play a special teams game... guess the refs didn't get the memo. Refs were a joke and at one point in overtime(off cameraon my feed just listening to the broadcast) an official was shoving Sgarbossa off the ice when they went from 4-4 to 3-3 at the first whistle. Refs shouldn't touch players unless they're stopping a scrum/fight. This game was called so tightly it was frustrating for fans of both teams. Bears had to kill off two 5 on 3's. Gersich was definitely the best player on the ice tonight, finally got his goal. Barber brought his shooting stick, just a little unlucky. LuJo was good. Vanacek was also really good, Malenstyn continues to be awesome. I'd also like to say that the Checker's were embarrassing tonight. They dove all over the ice. Didn't get an embellishment call until overtime.

Colby Williams, Tobias Geisser, Shumakov and Samsonov out due to injury.


Vanacek in net, great first save on a very early PP. He had to be on his toes all night because it was a special teams game and we were on the wrong side of it. He was definitely our best PKer. Vanacek made a great save about 3 minutes into the second on a semi break. Ness was backchecking but took another penalty. Great save about 9 minutes into the second. Pretty kick save on a 3 on 2 odd man rush. Huge save with about 5:30 to go. Swiped it off the line as the light came on.


Gersich-Sgarbossa-Barber
Great to see Barber back. He had a nice shot on a 2 on 1 right at the beginning of the second period. Then on the ensuring faceoff he had another good chance off a FO win. Barber got absolutely smoked by former Caps prospect Cajkovsky in the slot. Seemed a little slow getting up but didn't miss a shift.
Sgarbossa took two penalties tonight. Made a good pass to LuJo on Hershey's third goal. Cross ice from the wall to the dot.
Gersich got hit from behind in the corner right in the numbers. Sparked a line brawl where Lewington went after the guy who hit him. Thankfully he was uninjured. Guy who hit him was ejected and given a major, the Bears ended up with a 3 minute PP which they scored on. He had a terrific chance short handed on a lucky bounce. He FINALLY scored on the powerplay on a nice pass from Barber below the goal line. He snapped it five hole. Gersich should have been awarded a penalty shot as he was tripped on a breakaway. Ended up being called a minor for some reason. Gersich picked up a secondary on Hershey's third goal by Johansen.


Malenstyn-Pilon-Megna
Pilon had a nice centering pass on a down low 2 on 1 on the powerplay, just missed Sgarbossa. Used his speed to create the play.
O'Brien had a nice rush down the wing, dropped his shoulder on the D and got a great shot off that hit the goalie in the mask. Good power move.
Coach praised Malenstyn in the pre-game interview quite a bit. Unfortunately he grabbed a really soft call early in the game and put the Bears down two men. Malenstyn crushed Haydn Fluery and another Checkers player in the same shift. Malenstyn took a really scary hit from Cajkovsky from behind driving him into the boards headfirst with 1:47 to go in the game. Thankfully he seemed alright after the hit.


Fjallby-Pinho-O'Brien
Pinho had a Ovi-shot goal on the PP on a smooth pass from Hobbs. Really good shot. I seriously think he's going to be an AHL stud one day at the least. Pinho took a penalty towards the end of the first on a trip. Had a tremendous burst of speed on a 2 on 1 with Fjallby. Got the pass across to him and Fjallby got his stick on it but don't think it got on net. It did however draw a penalty.
O'Brien had a nice rush down the wing, dropped his shoulder on the D and got a great shot off that hit the goalie in the mask. Good power move.
Fjallby wasn't very noticeable tonight through the first two periods. Only noticed him a couple days because of his hair and nothing else. Hah! Was hoping his goal against WBS would get him going offensively. He did have a nice chance on a pass from Pinho and was able to draw a penalty in the third. If he wasn't being hooked chances are he could have gotten the shot on net and it would have been a great scoring chance.


Kammerer-Gustafsson-Whitney
Gustafsson had a nice play where he won a battle behind the net, skated out front on the backhand and got a good shot off. First time all season I've seen him do something that was really noteworthy.
Kammerer made a nice little play towards the end of the second, got a tip pass up to Whitney who had a terrific scoring chance.


Hobbs-Ness
Hobbs had a nice assist on the Pinho goal. Very smooth pass. Didn't like the way he got walked around the middle of the second period though.


Lewington-Johansen
LuJo took a crosschecking call early in the second...terrible call. Refs were a joke all night. Kind of made a bonehead play on the PP where he started fumbling the puck at the blueline and caused himself to be in a bad spot. Play was stopped due to a hand pass. Should have just dumped the puck into the corner. Lujo also hit a post in the third as he was the trailer on a 2 on 1 with Gersich and Sgarbossa. Scored a goal on a nice wrist shot. Just picked a corner and ripped it on the PP. He also was the one who went end to end just about to gain the zone just before he scored.
Lewington went after somebody after hitting Gersich from behind. Wasn't much of a fight as the officials jumped in pretty quickly. Got 17 minutes in penalties here.


Siegenthaler-Pyett
Silly penalty by Siegenthaler just a minute into the game, took a slashing penalty in open up when somebody went inside outside on him on the rush. Siegenthaler was really good on the Checkers second 5 on 3. Big time block may have saved a goal. Threw a big hit in the middle of the second behind the net, separated the man from the puck, took the puck and made a nice outlet. Siegenthaler had one of his brain farts again trying to go d to d behind the net and turned the puck over. It led to an onslaught for about 45 seconds at the end of the second period. Thankfully a post was hit and Vanacek was able to do enough. Great play with about 6 minutes to go. Poked the puck away from a man wide open in the slot using his reach.

1st Period
0-1: Just as the end of a 5-3 expired. Goal was technically at even strength but the man was just released from the box. Kind of a flubbed shot went right to a man out front of the net who banged it into an empty cage. Vanacek not at fault here.
1-1: Carlson to Ovi style goal except it was Hobbs to Pinho. Pinho blasted in a one-timer from the top of the dot that beat a very promising young goalie in Carolina's system. PP Goal.
1-2: Powerplay goal, another crash the net scenario. Vanacek made a good save but the Bears were just outworked during a scramble.

2nd Period
2-2: Gersich finally scores on a sweet pass from the corner below the goaline from Barber. Hit Gersich right out front who wristed it five hole. This was a PP goal.

3rd Period
2-3: Bears all kind of standing around here. Siegenthaler on ice for this one and got a little crossed up with another Bear causing the man behind the net to roll to the front and tap in a wide open goal off the dish from a player that two Bears were chasing.
3-3: LuJo had a nice zone entry on the PP, sent the puck around the back of the net to Gersich who sent it to Sgarbossa in the glove side dot, he went cross ice to LuJo who was at the other dot and beat the goalie with a nice wrister.

Shootout
Barber and Sgarbossa missed the net. Checker's scored on both of their first two attempts and made them look easy.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Second half of a back to back against Charlotte on the road from 10/20. Ikonen making his AHL debut tonight. Powerplay and PK was really good yesterday, jumped from last to middle of the pack in %'s after the refs decided to take the game over. Refs also took this one over. This group of officials is potentially the worst I've seen in my life in a professional game. You can tell the younger Bears are all starting to develop some chemistry on special teams though. I guess playing two games in a row with over half the game on the PP/PK was a good learning tool. One thing they definitely need to work on it PP zone entries. They look lost getting into the zone unless it's a dump and chase. The Bears really hate Cajkovsky it seems. He was absolutely hammered a number of times by guys tonight. Charlotte pulled the goal down 2-0 with 5 minutes to go in the game... kind of interesting call. Refs lost complete control of this game at the end. It took longer to get through the final 3 minutes than it did the first 17 minutes of the 3rd. They were a disaster. I hope we don't get this combo again and I hope the AHL takes notice of their job for these two games.


Vanacek making a back to back start again, so is the Checkers goaltender. Was very good in the 1st period. Made some huge saves about 2 minutes into the second on a one timer about 2 feet away from the crease and then a follow up that came from the glove side dot. Vitek made a great series of saves on the PK with 14:15 to go in the second. Post to post on a one timer, beauty of a save with about 15 to go in the 3rd on the PK. Refs called a penalty on him for knocking the net off when he tried to push off with his skate while the Checkers had the goalie pulled. Didn't like the call at all. He was definitely the #1 star today. Played absolutely outstanding against a high powered Checkers team and secured himself the shutout. He stole this game.

Gersich-Sgarbossa-Barber
Barber lines up on offensive zone draws like Ovi does, right behind the center ready for a one timer. He took a bad penalty when he retaliated on a hit he didn't like. Barber got sent to the showers with 1:30 to go for unsportsmanlike like. With all the powerplays the Bears had I really wish he would have gotten more looks since he plays the Oshie spot on the PP1 unit. Then again despite the ridiculous amount of powerplays they had they struggled mightily to enter the zone and get setup most of the time.

Carbery said in the pre-game interview that Shane Gersich is a leader both on and off the ice already. I would like to see him doing more zone entry work in a similar fashion as Kuzy. Bears occasionally try the slingshot but it looks ineffective because the wrong man is carrying the puck so often it seems.


Fjallby-Megna-Malenstyn
Fjallby had a great scoring chance right out of the gate. Rushed down the wing with speed, then cut inside, split the D and fired against the grain. Goalie made a good stop but a heck of a play by AJF. Fjallby later in the first made a very similar play except he dished to Malenstyn who then got a backhand shot off but it was stopped since he didn't get much of the rolling puck.

Megna made a terrible pass right at the end of the Bears PP causing Siegenthaler to have to back off and let the man out of the box take the puck and skate in on a 2 on 1. Thankfully the puck bounced because he went after the puck carrier not the wide open man driving the net.

Malenstyn absolutely destroyed a Checker with about 2:30 to go in the first. Fantastic hit, got there same time as the puck. Don't think it was a coincidence it was the guy who hit Gersich from behind the day before. Beck made a great sliding block on the PK at the top of the slot and was able to boot the puck out of the zone while making the block. Big open ice hit on Cajkovsky in the 3rd.


O'Brien-Pinho-Pilon
LOB has really been a difference maker on the offensive side of the puck this year and picked up another goal. He looks like he's been given organizational advice to either start rounding out his game. He had a chance to score again on the PP right at the end of the first on a nice pass from Pilon.

Pilon with the primary assist on LOB's goal. Had a shot block at the point with 11:30 to go in the second. Had a massive reverse hit on Cajkovsky that kind of shocked me. Don't really expect that out of him especially against a much bigger stronger guy who's known for his physical play. Had a tremendous hustle play to beat out an icing call with the other teams goalie pulled. Then got blasted for it from behind and draw a penalty. He played wing tonight with Pinho taking most of the draws.


Ikonen-Gustafsson-Whitney

Gustafsson did a good job winning board battles to keep cycles going. Saw him get physical once with a nice finish. Seems like he's maybe starting to get his legs under him. Fisch called it out at one point as well. Good weekend for him overall. Picked up a secondary on the Whitney goal.

Ikonen covering for a pinching LuJo at the point received a pass and walked in to the circles. He fired a nice looking wrister trying to pick a corner but it was gloved down. Made a terrific effort play after losing his footing to maintain the puck and eventually pick up the primary assist on Whitney's goal. This was his first AHL point. He had another high end scoring chance with 3:40 to go in the second. I think he's going to be a really good AHL player if he wants to sick around NA. Still need to see more to see if there's anything outside of AHL potential. He's really really small but definitely fast and talented with the puck.

Whitney's first AHL goal since 2014. Fired the puck at the net from the corner and it bounced in off a defenders leg. Going to be interesting to see what happens with the forwards once Shumakov is healthy because Kammerer has been outstanding all season. If Whitney keeps playing well how can they pull him from the lineup? Is a partial season rotating in and out enough to keep Shumakov/Kammerer/Ikonen in North America?


Johansen-Lewington
LuJo made a nice little play on the wall as a Checker was bearing down on him. If he didn't win the battle it would have been a 3 on 1. Made it look easy and sent the Bears heading the other way on a 3 on 2 of their own that lead to an amazing scoring chance for Sgarbossa. Lucas defended a clean 2 on 1 very well with 11 to go in the 2nd. According to Fisch he changed his stick before this weekends set of back to backs...I don't know if it was a mental thing or what but he had a goal the day before and has looked back to his usual smooth self after a handful of not so smart plays the past few games before.

Lewington made a nice pokecheck on a player driving wide on him with about 3 to go in the first. He's just so steady and solid at this level. I question his ability at the next level but I wouldn't mind seeing him get some games if Orpik can't go and we're playing a physical team.


Hobbs-Ness
Hobbs Picked up a secondary assist on LOBs PP goal. Made a play on the PK swiping a puck out of the blue paint before a Checker could get to it. Great hustle play on the PP to keep the puck in the zone with about a minute to go in the 1st. Hobbs floored Cajkovsky with a nice open ice hit about 10:30 to go in the 3rd. Connor Hobbs has looked much better this weekend as well. He's appeared more steady and reliable and not having the brain fart plays he can tend to have sometimes. Not enough shots from him with all the PPs the Bears had. He's got a cannon and needs to get it going to get this PP going.


Pyett-Siegenthaler
Noticed Siegenthaler make a nice confident step up to keep the puck in the zone in the 1st. He was overall decent today. He only had one bad turnover I can recall and immediately out muscled the guy who took the puck and regained possession. He had a nice flip pass to Sgarbossa for the empty netter that was called offsides. Looked like one of those Orlov ones we see so often. Hope he starts to round out a little bit because it's been a terrible start for him. He deserved to be benched for some of the things he's done.


1st Period
1-0: Pilon drove down the right side made a nice no look pass to Liam O'Brien driving the net who chipped it into the net.

2nd Period
2-0: Ikonen carried the puck down on rush and lost his footing, somehow managed to stick handle from his stomach/knees and get the puck to Gustafsson who then gave it right back to Ikonen once to his feet. He the sent the puck around the net to Whitney. Whitney just ripped a slapped at the net from 0 angle and it ricocheted in off a defenders leg and into the net.

3rd Period



Hershey scored an empty netter with a couple minutes left that was called for offsides after a really sweet flip pass from Siegenthaler. If these refs weren't atrocious enough, they decided to top it off with this. Puck in one circle Sgarbossas skates in the other.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Thanks man!

 

[Chockey Hockey]

From opening weekend to last nights game, I saw major improvement with the Bears. They no longer look tentative and seem to have found some cohesiveness. This team IMO is going to be fun to watch.

 

[Langway]

A three point night gives Alexeyev 20 points in 15 games, tied for most among WHL d-men. Ty Smith isn't far behind at 18 points in 12 games. Those two may battle it out for WHL defenseman of the year.

Also:

 

[hb12xchamps]

Bears release Jeremy Morin from his PTO agreement. Opens up a veteran spot. This was inevitable as Morin hasn’t gotten into a game for awhile

 

[third man in]

Alexeyev seems like a steal where he went. Seems like he has Orlov's offensive skills, maybe better and bigger and more physical. Great pick IMO

 

[Hivemind]

Curious what the long-term plan for Vanecek will be. Obviously nothing in the immediate future, with Copley and Samsonov still settling into their roles. But Vanecek is an RFA after this season, and is probably getting to the point where he's not particularly interested in staying with an organization that only has him slated for AHL duty.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Bears release Jeremy Morin from his PTO agreement. Opens up a veteran spot. This was inevitable as Morin hasn’t gotten into a game for awhile

Interestingly enough, former Bear Christian Thomas has terminated his contract with Rogle in Sweden. Would be a solid addition to fill the vet spot voided by Morin's release. His best season points wise came in Hershey a few years ago and he only played in 65 games. Would help Hershey's PP for sure

Edit: Also just checked the stats for SC and Grant Besse has 11 points (6+5) in 8 games. Wouldn't be surprised to see him earn a call up

 

[VaCaps Fan]

I would love to see a game in Hershey with our Pennsylvania Caps fans here!

 

[hb12xchamps]

Curious what the long-term plan for Vanecek will be. Obviously nothing in the immediate future, with Copley and Samsonov still settling into their roles. But Vanecek is an RFA after this season, and is probably getting to the point where he's not particularly interested in staying with an organization that only has him slated for AHL duty.

I think his comments that I posted about in one of the preseason threads also show that he believes he's ready to take the next step. If he keeps putting up the numbers he has he might earn himself a game or two with Washington, especially if Copley has a few bad outings. Copley had a better night in Calgary but he probably has a short leash given that he's unproven

 

[Hivemind]

I think his comments that I posted about in one of the preseason threads also show that he believes he's ready to take the next step. If he keeps putting up the numbers he has he might earn himself a game or two with Washington, especially if Copley has a few bad outings. Copley had a better night in Calgary but he probably has a short leash given that he's unproven

I think Copley will have a decent enough leash. He's been used pretty sparingly to this point, so it's hard to judge off of such infrequent starts. But the Caps had him ahead of Vanecek on the black aces list in the playoffs, and he clearly outplayed all the other goaltenders during the pre-season, so I feel he's probably safe for at least a couple months before they start considering changing the back-up position.

 

[Caser]

Alexeyev has been confirmed to play for Team Russia in the upcoming CAN/RUS Series.

 

[Carlzner]

Alexeyev's combination of size, skill, and skating has me drooling. Definitely my favorite Caps prospect since... 92 & 74 maybe?

How's his defensive game? IIRC really solid right?

 

[Raikkonen]

Alexeyev sounds like a guy playing with Niskanen in the near future. Intriguing stats for sure

 

[Hivemind]

AA's offensive explosion in the early parts of this season definitely has me encouraged. I've warmed to him significantly since draft day. I was skeptical about his offense translating at first (as I still am about LuJo), but this monster D+1 start is a making me put those doubts to rest. He already has as many goals in 15 games this year as he did in all 45 games he played last year.

 

[Sam Spade]

I would love to see a game in Hershey with our Pennsylvania Caps fans here!

I'm going with the Baltimore Stars Pee Wee team on Nov. 17th, come find me.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Nice Sam!

 

[Silky mitts]

 

[Holtbyisms]

10/26 Bears vs. Baby Flightless Birds


Vanacek starting again. He was again really good. Kept the Bears in the game despite their lack of offense. First goal was a well placed shot on the PK after Barber(paying the PP point) was stuck deep and sent WBS off to the races 2 on 1. Stoppable shot but very well placed and on an odd man rush. The second was Siegenthaler getting beat 1 on 1 by Thomas Dipauli who then had a breakaway. Vanacek made the save but the late guy knocked the puck i with Vanacek pretty much taken out by Diapauli. Not going to fault him for the second goal at all. Third goal was another odd man rush on a 3 on 2. LuJo played the pass and the Pens played ripped the shot off the cross bar and in coming down the blocker side. This is another similar to the first. Could have stopped it but what a heck of a shot and also against an odd man rush. 4th goal was a deflection there was nothing he could do about.

Williams has returned from injury and took Pyett's spot next to Siegenthaler.

Ikonen back in the lineup and looked solid again. Looking forward to seeing what he can do at the AHL level with more ice time. Fisch made note the Bears see him as a top 6 player in the near future. He got moved up the lineup a little later in the game. Saw him with Fjallby a couple times in the 3rd.

Game was really quick. Hershey and WBS are both fast teams. Bears had some really good chances on a PP in the first period. The first unit had Barber playing the point, not in the Ovi spot though, on the other side. Looks like they're trying to setup a similar system to the Caps but from the reverse side. Not sure I like it much, first PP resulted in a 2 on 1 cause Barber wasn't back and the second resulted in a goal because Barber wasn't back. Fjallby and Pilon were on the second PP unit and had the best chances.

Siegenthaler looking better but still got abused on the second goal by former Caps pick DiPauli who went one on one with him in open ice. Saw him make some confident plays in his own zone. He also drew the first PP by keeping his feet moving when he felt the stick from behind. Even saw him get a little nasty after the whistle.

Gersich drew the second PP but was overall not a factor in this game.

Lewington took the Bears first penalty because he got beat wide due to his lack of speed. He hooked the player to try and impede him but he still got off a great chance.

Pinho made a terrific play on the PK to poke the puck past the defender on the blueline and take off on a break away. He tried ripping a little slapper glove side but was stopped. Later in the second he made a good pass to O'Brien in the slot who just tapped it wide.

Pilon beat out another icing call. Man is he fast. Seems like once a game he's beating out an icing. He did however make a bad read on the Bears second goal against. Picked up a secondary assist on Liam O'Brien's goal.

O'Brien scored crashing the net on a really nice passing play between Whitney-Pilon and him. Lines were shaken up to get some offense. That's now 5 goals on the season for Liam. Good for him and could see him getting a call up soon if Wilson's suspension gets upheld again and the Caps continue to flounder.

Hobbs destroyed someone on the boards near the end of the game (2:30 to go). This lead to an immediate fight where both he and the Pen landed a couple big shots. Pen got the take down but pretty even.


1st Period
0-1: Barber playing the point on the PP got caught deep. Results in an odd man rush where the Pens just beat Vanacek with a nicely placed wrist shot on the rush.
2nd Period
0-2: Dipauli went one on one with Siegenthaler in open ice. He stepped around him and Siegenthaler fell down reaching for the puck and went spinning like a top. DiPauli walked in alone and got stopped by Vanacek then crashed into him. The trailer then came skating in and buried the rebound.
0-3: Another odd man rush goal here much like the 1st. LuJo took the pass away and the Pens player ripped the shot top shelf blocker side on the rush and it went bar and down for the goal.
3rd Period
1-3: Lines were mixed up with O'Brien-Pilon-Whitney. Pilon carried the puck into the zone, made a nice little pass to Whitney who made an even better cross crease pass to Liam who was crashing the net and able to get his stick on the puck and direct it into the net.


1-4: Wrist shot from the blocker side point gets deflected down and in by Jimmy Hayes. Not much Vanacek could do here.