Home
»
Posts tagged 'Clay Wilson'

Posts Tagged ‘Clay Wilson’

Leggio Earns the Amerks 3 out of 4 Points Against the Heat

1
February 4, 2012 - By
Leggio Earns the Amerks 3 out of 4 Points Against the Heat

We’re now in the month of February and this is the time of the season that teams make a push for the playoffs and determine how they’ll be able to play once in the playoffs.  The NHL trade deadline is Monday February 27, 2012, just over three weeks away.  There’s one position that the Amerks have started to gain some consistency and that’s in goaltender David Leggio.  In two games he earned a shutout, overtime loss and combined 62 saves.  Leggio had an outstanding 33 save shutout on Thursday night and then two of the three goals scored against him on Friday night were the result of the puck being redirected, can’t really blame the goalie on those.  Now if only the Amerks could get healthy and possibly add a real scorer this team could start to make a better run.

The Amerks gained three out of four possible points in the standings so far this week which is acceptable looking at it that way.  The Amerks started the night three points behind the Marlies but the Marlies beat the Crunch and increased the lead to four.  Both teams have played 46 games.

In Thursdays game the Amerks looked like [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Much Delayed 2012 AHL All-Star Game Recap

February 2, 2012 - By
Much Delayed 2012 AHL All-Star Game Recap

The 2012 version of the American Hockey League All-Star festivities ended on Monday night and for the most part I’d say it was another successful event.  The skills competition was “so so” and the game itself didn’t get exciting until the last half of the third period when the West realized it needed to make a comeback.  One of the real highlights was the mascots game during the first intermission and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony featuring Joe Crozier.

(The delayed recap is due to forgetting to hit publish after a well rested night of enjoying Atlantic City and not realizing it until now)

One complaint I heard from people who weren’t there was that they didn’t like the fact that the game wasn’t in a league city.  If you weren’t planning on going anyways does it really matter?  Atlantic City was an excellent host city with a lot to do at all times.  The fact is that cities haven’t been banging down the door trying to host the game so when the opportunity was there for AC the league accepted.

Rob Sanderson (Drop the Puck Radio) and I arrived in Atlantic City a little later than expected [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Panthers Call Up Joe Callahan, Wilson Could Also Go Up

January 20, 2011 - By
Panthers Call Up Joe Callahan, Wilson Could Also Go Up

In an epic 1000th article posted on this site, Joe Callahan has been called up by the Florida Panthers.  It’s also possible that Clay Wilson could be called up as well.  Callahan is being called up to fill in for Dmirty Kulikov who has a rib injury.  George Richards is also reporting that Jason Garrison will be a game time decision with a groin issue so because of that Clay Wilson could be on his way just in case.

As Kevin O wrote, the Graham Mink trade has finally paid off as TJ Fast has been called up to join the Amerks.

It would’ve been great to see Carl Hudson called up to play a hard hitting role on a soft Amerks defense. In 29 games with the cyclones he has three assists and 77 penalty minutes. Not sure how he’s really played with the Cyclones but at the tail end of the Amerks season last year he made a big impact. It seems as though Hudsons disputed/unreported injury last season has created some spite and the Cats are punishing him.

In 41 games with the Amerks Callahan has tallied three goals, eight assists, 12 penalty minutes and an [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Wilson Assigned to Rochester, Arnason Released

September 24, 2010 - By

In two not so surprising moves, Clay Wilson was put on the waiver wire by the Florida Panthers to be assigned to the Rochester Americans.  It’s not likely that another team will pick him up.

Tyler Arnason was released from his tryout with the Florida Panthers. There had been some thought he would be assigned to the Amerks but the only way that’ll happen now is if they sign him to an AHL deal.

Amerks open training camp on Monday, we can probably expect some more moves by then.

Tags: ι ι Categories: Amerks

Free Agency Impact on the Amerks, This Year, Last Year, Current Players

July 1, 2010 - By

The 2010 edition of free agency is set to begin at Noon EST today and we may not see immediate moves by the Florida Panthers and Rochester Americans but there definitely will be.  A lot of people still consider the Panthers a “bad parent club” but they did a very good job partnered with the Amerks in building a successful AHL team last season.  A few minor upgrades (defense and coach) and the team is already better.

One move that seems to have been overlooked is that the Panthers acquired Michael Grabner in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks.  The Panthers sent Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich to the Canucks in exchange.  Grabner has spent the majority of the past four seasons (180 games) with the Manitoba Moose and is good for 20 goals and 20 assists.  He’s not a veteran player based on games, but he’s a fast skater and team him up with a speedy center and we’ll have a reliable scoring line.

Jamie Johnson has already said that he’s been in contact with the Panthers and would be willing to come back.  Johnson was a leader on the ice and led the team in scoring.  He [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Grading the 2009-2010 Amerks Player by Player

5
May 4, 2010 - By

One week ago today we were mentally preparing for game 7 against the Abbotsford Heat and hoping for a legendary game.  It certainly turned out to be a legendary game, unfortunately not in favor of the Amerks.  As sports fans, it’s the type of loss that will live with us forever until another Calder Cup is won.  Until that happens next season, there’s still a number of things to discuss about the one that just ended and I’ll start by grading each of the players.

Thanks to Eric Bourgeois (frequent reader, supporter and die hard Amerks fan) who contributed to this.  There’s a couple things I disagreed with him on and noted.  You may agree or disagree yourself on a lot of things said and I’d love to hear your thoughts.  These grades are based on a lot more than just a stat sheet.

Starting with highest grade to lowest:

Jason Garrison: A-
– He’ll have a full time job in the NHL soon enough.  Eric had him listed as a B+ but I gave him an upgrade.  The Amerks defense had issues all season and without Garrison in the lineup for the post season (2g+7a) things may have [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Contract Status for Amerks Players Heading into Next Season

4
April 29, 2010 - By

Now that the season is over for the Rochester Americans it’s time to take a look and see who is still under contract with the Panthers or Amerks, who is and who is not still likely to sign.  I grouped players by signed, likely to sign and RFA and UFA.  Under each category I put some guesses about the status of the players.

Currently Under Contract for 10/11:

Coaches: Benoit Groulx and Jason Cipolla

Goalies: Alexander Salak, Marc Cheverie

Defense: Michael Caruso, Keaton Ellerby, Adam Comrie, James DeLory

Forwards: Evgeny Dadonov, Michal Repik, Brady Calla, Graham Mink, Chris Taylor, Shawn Matthias, Victor Oreskovich, Eric Selleck, AJ Jenks

One Way: Clay Wilson and Jeff Taffe are signed but to one way contracts with the Florida Panthers.  If they don’t fit into their plans it’s still possible the Panthers will try and have them clear waivers to be sent to the Amerks.

***** Shawn Matthias has probably played his last game in the AHL and should be able to earn a job with the Panthers going forward.  Keaton Ellerby will be trying to earn a job as well but he has some work ahead.  It’s amazing that James DeLory is still under [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Huge 8 to 4 Win for the Amerks in Game 3

April 20, 2010 - By

The Amerks got out to a slow start on Monday night on the road against the Abbotsford Heat but came back in a big way ending the game with an 8-4 win.  Abbotsford had a 2-1 lead up until 8:03 of the second period when Shawn Matthias tied the game and that opened up the scoring.  By the end of the game  Shawn Matthias, Graham Mink and Clay Wilson each had two goals and Mike York and Jason Garrison each had three assists.

The win gives the Amerks a 2-1 lead in the series heading into the next game on Wednesday night.  The win also guarantee’s at least one more Amerks home game whether it’s the end of this series or the next round.  Keep the ice cold and the locker room doors unlocked, the Amerks will be coming back home!

I wrote prior to game one that Shawn Matthias has the big game experiences this time of year and it doesn’t come down to just the veterans and he’s proving that.  Mike York and Graham Mink are also playing huge but Matthias has been the one to step up in these past two games.

David Shantz was pulled [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Gameday: Last Regular Season Home Game and Pink Jerseys

April 9, 2010 - By

Preview of Amerks Pink Jerseys

It’s really hard to believe that tonight is the last regular season home game of the 2009-2010 season for the Rochester Americans.  It really does feel like just a few weeks ago that everyone was excited about the start of the season.  It’s been a long roller coaster of a season but the bottom line is that the Amerks have spent the majority of it in second place and considered a top team in the league.

The Amerks are undefeated in regulation this season against tonight’s opponent the Toronto Marlies.  The Marlies did win the last game between the two teams in a shootout on March 28th.  The magic number for first round home advantage is one point in one of these final two games.  The other possible scenario is that the Abbotsford Heat need to lose one of their final two games.

Clay Wilson will be back in the lineup for the Amerks after playing in two games for the Florida Panthers.  Wilson has been the teams leading scorer against the Marlies this season with 4 goals and 6 assists in 7 games played.  The return of Wilson also meant that Matt [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Panthers Recall Mike Duco and Clay Wilson

April 3, 2010 - By

It only took 74 games played by Clay Wilson to get the call but it finally happened after the Amerks win over the Hershey Bears.  The dust was wiped off the Panthers duffel bag and off he goes to play with the Florida Panthers against the New York Rangers on Saturday night.  Wilson is second in scoring on the Amerks with 16 goals and 46 assists.  He was also recently named to the 2009-2010 AHL Second All-Star team.  He was pretty happy after the game to finally got noticed and his teammates in the locker room congratulated him as well.

Mike Duco is joining him as well for his first call up since December.  Duco has played in nine games this season for the Panthers and will likely be filling in for Victor Oreskovich who left the game on Thursday with a leg injury.

The Amerks will need to call up another defenseman for Saturdays game with Wilson called up and John de Gray questionable with an upper body injury.  Scott Hotham probably barely unpacked his bags and may be on his way back up.

Tags: ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Marlies Capitalize on Amerks Bad Defensive Game to Win

March 29, 2010 - By

The Rochester Americans had a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs on Sunday afternoon if they defeated the Toronto Marlies and the Lake Erie Monsters lost in regulation to the San Antonio Rampage.  Former Rochester American forward Stefan Meyer and the Rampage did their part defeating the Monsters in the final 90 seconds but unfortunately the Amerks lost in a shootout, their first shootout loss of the season.

“Last night (7-3 win over the Marlies) I thought we played a pretty solid game and today i thought we played one period,” Benoit Groulx said about the game which also summarizes this team.  Inconsistent.

Tyler Plante played another great game for the Amerks making 40 saves and is certainly making the case for himself to be the goalie in the final six games and possibly into the post season.  Two of the Marlies three goals were tipped in and the third he had no help from the defense as Andre Deveraux walked right in front of the net.  Almost 15 minutes after the game ended he was still sitting in his stall with his pads on, a sure sign he was not happy with the outcome of the [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

Amerks Defeat Marlies with Seven Goals and Inch Closer to Playoffs

March 28, 2010 - By

The Amerks came closer to clinching a playoff spot with a seven goal performance on Saturday evening on the road against the Toronto Marlies.  The Amerks have only scored seven goals one other time this season, a 7-4 win back on November 29th against the Syracuse Crunch.  This Rochester team seems to have a switch that allows them to show up one game but not another.  After a lousy performance during a 4-3 loss on Friday night the team rebounded with great play on Saturday.

Well, I should be careful how I use the term great play.  It’s not really great that the penalty kill unit allowed three goals against.  It could be time to take Chris Taylor and Jordan Henry off of the penalty killing unit.  I don’t have an answer as to who should replace them, but when something is not working it can’t hurt to make a change.

“Our power play was pretty good and we matched specialty teams,” Benoit Groulx said after Saturdays game.  “At this time of year you can’t lose on specialty teams.”

The specialty teams is something that the coaches and players are aware have been an issue and are an issue [...]Read More

Tags: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι Categories: Amerks

1 2 3 4