Rochester Americans / Cincinnati Cyclones Season Thread

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Howie Hodge

Zombie Woof
Sep 16, 2017
4,418
4,023
Buffalo, NY
Can't help ya there, it's the dreadful time of year known as the offseason for most leagues.

It's all good, I need to get started on my yard work, and my guitar isn't going to teach itself to play.......

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GellMann

Registered User
Dec 16, 2014
4,281
3,779
Lancaster NY
We were all hoping that would have been resolved by now.....
Yeah....there's not much! haha

We can be excited that Mitts already has pounded down a lot of restaurant food and logged a lot of video game hours based on his instagram stories?

I'm only teasing Casey, as long as you're dutifully training.
 

Tsyolin

Amerks Enthusiast
May 26, 2018
1,266
2,380
DC
Alright so with the season over I suppose now is as good a time as ever to go over the likely graduates as well as new blood going into next season.

Likely Graduates
  • Lawrence Pilut: Hopefully the next Sabres coach can unf*** him because he wasn't good ever since he came back down from the Sabres, still he's a better defenseman then many on the Sabres.
  • Victor Olofsson: Really bad playoff series but the Sabres need scoring, and he was the first 30 goal scorer for Rochester since Vanek and Pominville. He should be there.
  • CJ Smith: Underrated all season, 62 points with an unfortunate scoring slump at the end of the year. Still, I expect him in Buffalo because he's a pending RFA at 24 and if the Sabres want to retain his rights he will need to play.

Possible Grads/Later Callups
  • Will Borgen: Depending if Risto, is traded or not he could see himself in the lineup on Day 1 due to Bogo being out of commission, I don't know if he stays the whole season though.
  • Rasmus Asplund: I expect Asplund to start in Rochester, and he could potentially lose both his line mates. So next season will be a big test for him, if he continues his upward trend he could be a midseason callup.
  • Alex Nylander: I'm really not sure about Alex, he looked mostly good in Buffalo but the injury really didn't help with forecasting his future. If he isn't traded, he'll need a very strong training camp to make the team.
  • Tage Thompson: Same thing, he looked great in Rochester but it's training camp dependent.
New Blood
  • Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: The big one, I don't think he's the starter out of the gate but will probably win the job by midseason. Carried Sudbury to the 2nd round of the OHL playoffs single-handily.
  • Matěj Pekař: Pekař had a very strong season in Barrie. 36 points (14+22) in 33 games before being sidelined with a broken collarbone. He could very well turn out to be a steal with where we got him.
  • Jacob Bryson: Having signed his ELC I have to think his Junior year at Providence will be his last. He had 28 pts in 42 games with Providence this season, and an appearance in the Frozen Four.
  • Casey Fitzgerald: Signed his ELC after a decent year as captain of Boston College, putting up 14 in 39. I liked what I saw in his short stint in Rochester where he was 1+2 in 4 games.
Potential Newcomers
  • Marcus Davidsson: Davidsson is an interesting prospect, and largely under the radar. With Djurgårdens he's put up nearly identical numbers as Rasmus Asplund did last year, and is currently in the SHL Finals. I have to think he'll sign his ELC after the season and report to Rochester next year as he's in the last year of his current contract, but I suppose anything is possible.
  • Oskari Laaksonen: Oskari is less certain, he's only 19 and under contract with Ilves through 20-21. He was a major part of this team which is rare for a defensemen his age, putting up 24 (3+21) in 46 games. Also had a solid showing for Finland in the World Juniors. Wouldn't surprise me to see him sign his ELC this spring but I'm not really sure.
  • Jonas Johansson: Purely speculation, it's possible the team moves on from both Wedgewood and Wilcox and promotes Johansson to duo with 6K. I don't really expect this and man could we use another goalie in the pipeline.
  • Myles Powell: A very strong performace by the RIT grad in Cincinnati this season. He had 66 points (31+35) in 57 games in the ECHL. Only thing is he's a UFA. I have to imagine he gets an AHL deal somewhere if it isn't here.
So with all of this in mind as well as all the pending UFAs this year, it's easy to imagine a totally different Rochester team next season. They'll likely be losing their top scorers while getting in an influx of defensemen and a blue-chip goalie prospect. I have to imagine the squad will be good next year, but in a different way. Whether it will be as good is up in the air.
 
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keithLGA

Registered User
Jun 2, 2009
462
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Rochester, NY
www.letsgoamerks.com
All I'll say about Nylander is that you learn a lot by being around a team. I have to be careful otherwise. He's either in the Sabres plans or he isn't. If he isn't they need to trade him.

  • UPL should be like Ullmark where he gets majority of the games. The team will need a veteran backup willing to play that backup role but also capable of being #3 in the Sabres organization. I don't think Johannson is that player. I also don't think Wedgewood is. His overall season was pretty good but trended down. Not all his fault but he didn't step up.
  • Will Borgen should be a Sabres defenseman before Lawrence Pilut. I should probably take more time on that statement because it's mostly based off the second half of the season. Pilut is what Guhle was last season. Started hot, trended down.
  • CJ Smith can do the same things that Victor Olofsson can. Almost identical stats. Not bad considering CJ was playing with Porter and Simpson most of the season, a step down from Asplund and O'Regan. Will be interesting to see what chances they give CJ. It's possible he's just a really good AHL player.
  • Rasmus Asplund will be interesting next season. He was padded by Olofsson and O'Regan. Both are probably gone. O'Regan will get out to where he may still have a NHL chance or go overseas. Olofsson is a Sabres forward.
  • Tage Thompson should start in Rochester. Dominate. Move up, just like ERod did.
  • ECHL scoring doesn't always equal AHL scoring but it feels like the org lost a piece when Justin Danforth dominated in Cincy and left. The same can be said about Myles Powell. When both had sniffs of Rochester they played bottom roles. Just like trying to put CJ in a bottom role in Buffalo after being top here. I'm not really sure any newcomers will move up from Cincy.
Out of the 23 UFA's in the organization who are in Rochester or Cincy the only one that really made an impression is Taylor Leier. I don't think he's an NHL player so waivers shouldn't be a concern so I hope they keep him around. I don't hide my bias appreciation for Dalton Smith either so I hope he's back. I also don't think I'm alone, he's the type of player fans love and he puts it all on the line. The game still needs guys like him at this level.

Here's the contract status of everyone:

Contract Statuses of the Season Ending Amerks Roster · Let's Go Amerks!
 

debaser66

HFBoards Sponsor
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Mar 10, 2012
4,824
2,589
This was not a good year for the Sabres org.
Disapointment on every level.
The Sabres season, the AHL playoff failure.
At least last year we had luck in the lottery.
Nevertheless its over.
Unless Botterill pulls another RoR I am reset for next season
 
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