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Posts tagged 'Florida Everblades'

Posts Tagged ‘Florida Everblades’

Florida to Finland and Back, David Leggio is Closer to Home and His Dream

October 21, 2011 - By
Florida to Finland and Back, David Leggio is Closer to Home and His Dream

David Leggio might be a new name to some Rochester Americans fans but the 27 year old undrafted goalie has traveled the world with success and plans to continue that here in town.  The Williamsville, NY native is living the dream playing as a prospect for his favorite team growing up, the Buffalo Sabres.  He’s played in Florida, Finland, Portland and now back closer to him pursuing his dream of playing in the National Hockey League.

Growing up in the Buffalo area he was also a Sabres fan and has the same favorites growing up that most of us did during the 1990′s.  When he was young he remembers watching Alexander Mogilny and then Pat LaFontaine.  Grant Fuhr was a favorite goalie to watch and then Dominik Hasek during his era in Buffalo.  As he’s gotten older Miikka Kiprusoff is a goalie he’s aways liked to watch and has shared ice time with over a recent summer.

Some kids get on the ice for the first time wanting to be a goalie but that wasn’t the case for David Leggio.  He only moved into the goalie position after he was cut as a forward from the mite travel team when he was eight [...]Read More

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Goodbye Taffe, Everblades and Possible Coach This Weekend

July 23, 2010 - By

It’s the middle of the summer and hunting down stories isn’t really a priority this time of year for me, so here’s some updates to get you caught up.

** Mike Santos told the Sun-Sentinel that he “expects to name a coach at AHL Rochester this weekend.”  Today is Friday the weekend is upon is.  It’s going to be interesting with the affiliation up in the air after this season if someone agrees to a long term deal or just a one year deal to get through this season.

** Jeff Taffe was traded on Thursday from the Florida Panthers to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Marty Reasoner.  This was a salary dump by both teams.  Taffe was signed by Randy Sexton last season and I didn’t really see him making the Panthers roster this season.  It was also unlikely the Panthers wanted to pay him NHL money to play in the AHL.  The Blackhawks are still trying to dump salary so they got rid of Reasoner who is someone Tallon is familiar with and would probably rather have on the roster.

** Mark Cullen was signed to a one year two way deal at the same time.  [...]Read More

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Calla in Hockey Purgatory and a Q and A With Him

February 16, 2010 - By

Brady Calla was assigned from the Rochester Americans to the Florida Everblades last week due to no room on the roster for him here in Rochester.  Calla appeared in four games with the Everblades and now according to Woody Wommack he’s in some sort of hockey purgatory and on an Olympic break vacation.  Here’s what he wrote in the Naples Daily News:

I got a lot of emails over the last few days wondering exactly what was going on with Everblades forward Brady Calla. He was assigned to the Everblades last week by Rochester, appeared in four games and was then called all the way up to the Florida Panthers.

Of course, the Panthers are on the Olympic break, so Calla is essentially stuck in hockey purgatory. He can’t play or even practice for the Everblades, he can’t go back to Rochester and the Panthers aren’t doing a whole lot right now. Basically, it means that Calla will be in Estero working out on his own and when the Olympic break ends he’ll be reassigned to the Everblades and be eligible to play again.

Maybe there was potential that he was going to be involved in a trade of some [...]Read More

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Chris Beckford-Tseu Taking a Trip to FLA and Back

December 16, 2009 - By

Chris Beckford-Tseu 12-15-2009 PracticeYou can probably file this one under the category of not really important in any way… but Chris Beckford-Tseu packed his bags after tonights game to fly to Florida and play one game for the Everblades and then return on Thursday.

It’s entirely possible we’ll see Beckford-Tseu get a start this weekend for the Amerks so it’ll help him to get a game in.

The Amerks have a home and away series with the Hershey Bears on Friday and Saturday and then return home to play the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

He was stopping pucks during practice on Tuesday morning and played a decent game on Hershey last Saturday.  The confidence in him still is not very high, but I’m still hoping for miracles.

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Ernie Hartlieb Returns to Everblades

November 9, 2009 - By

Ernie HartliebHe came, he saw, and he scored a goal.  Ernie Hartlieb did exactly what was needed for his one game with the Rochester Americans on Saturday night against the Toronto Marlies.

Hartlieb was returned to the Florida Everblades today.  He was called up to fill a void in the roster with Luke Beaverson out injured.  On his first shift and first shot as an Amerk he scored a great goal with the assists going to Clay Wilson and Shawn Matthias.

The veteran forward played a solid game and should the need come again I can see him being one of the first to get a phone call.  He was no longer needed with Taffe and Repik back in Rochester.

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Amerks Sign Ernie Hartlieb to a PTO

November 7, 2009 - By

The Amerks are bringing in another body for tonights game against the Toronto Marlies.  The team has brought in Ernie Hartlieb to fill in for a now injured Luke Beaverson.  With Taffe, Repik, Oreskovich and McArdle still with the Panthers they had no one else in Rochester.

Beaverson was injured Friday night when Kevin Harvey “finished his check” with an elbow that took Beaverson out of the game.  There’s no timeframe at this time for his return.

Ernie Hartlieb has scored three goals and two assists in 11 games for the Florida Everblades this season.  Last season he had 21 goals and 33 assists in 70 games with the Everblades.  The 6’2″ veteran player has played in a total of 131 AHL games split between Grand Rapids and Worcester.  He has played nine seasons of professional hockey, most of which has been spent with in the ECHL.

He’s a bigger player and is a veteran, someone that fits the profile of players that Amerks like this year.

It’s interesting to note, but not unexpected that Dan Collins was passed over.  Anyone who has read this site often will know that I’ve rarely had anything good to [...]Read More

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Duffy to the Blades; Salak to the Panthers

October 7, 2009 - By

The regular season is less than a week old and players are starting to collect some frequent flyer miles.

Alexander Salak was called back up to the Florida Panthers after he had already landed in Rochester.  I should have known Tuesday morning that something was up when he was not in the locker room but Duco, Repik, and Garrison were.

Current Panthers backup goalie Scott Clemmensen had to attend to some family business this week.  The Panthers next game is on Friday against Carolina and with the uncertainty of when Clemmensen will return they needed a second goalie.

The Amerks next game is Friday night as well against the Lake Erie Monsters and even if Salak stayed here or does return I think Tyler Plante will be getting the start in net.

Defenseman Matt Duffy was handed a plane ticket as well for his assignment to the Florida Everblades.  Duffy had a strong few games at the end of last season when he joined the Amerks.  Duffy has a promising career ahead of him, he was just an odd man out with the current roster.

The Amerks top six defenseman will be Rory Fitzpatrick, Clay Wilson, [...]Read More

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Florida Panthers Send Four down to Amerks

October 5, 2009 - By

Mike DucoThe Florida Panthers finally returned from Finland and upon doing so they sent Michal Repik, Mike Duco, Jason Garrison, and Alexander Salak to the Amerks.  Jeff Taffe was placed on and cleared waivers last Tuesday and was in Finland with the Panthers as well.  Those six players are expected to be back on the ice with the Amerks on Tuesday.

The players were all brought to Finland with the Panthers as security in case of injuries but none saw any playing time in the two regular season games.  All four players received positive news while with the Panthers throughout their training camp.  It was obvious on Friday night that they were missed.

With these additions I’m sure we’ll hearing about some others being sent down to the Everblades this week.

Those five players will be a big help for the Amerks as they take on the Lake Erie Monsters again on Friday night at 7:05pm.

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What happened to some of last years Amerks?

October 2, 2009 - By

Drew Larman is currently playing with the Providence Bruins

The summer of 2009 has been an exciting one with the roster that has been built for the 2009/2010 Rochester Americans.  There’ll be a lot of questions from fans getting to know some of the new players but also a lot of questions wondering about some favorites from last season.

So here’s a quick rundown of players that are no longer in the Florida Panthers or Rochester Americans organizations:

Tanner Glass – He signed a one year two way deal with the Vancouver Canucks.  After a strong training camp he’s on the Canucks opening night roster.  The Panthers had said they would have liked him back but were not ready to offer him a deal prior to the start of free agency.

Janis Sprukts – is currently playing for Dinamo Riga in the KHL.  Sprukts was unhappy last season when he realized he had no real chance of cracking the Florida Panthers lineup.  So he packed up his things and went across the pond.

Mike Brodeur – The Florida Panthers were ready to offer him a $105,000 contract to stay in the organization but Brodeur thought [...]Read More

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Chris Beckford-Tseu has a Clean Slate

September 26, 2009 - By

Mention the name Chris Beckford-Tseu around the fans that closely followed the Amerks last season and they’ll quickly ask, “he’s not coming back is he?”

Chris Beckford-Tseu was signed by the Florida Panthers during the summer of 2008 to be the #1 goaltender for the Rochester Americans.  Jack Birch had talked about Beckford-Tseu being the #1 depth goalie available at the AHL level and that he was pursued by seven other teams.  Things did not turn out that way.  Beckford-Tseu struggled early and struggled often.

The Panthers signed him to a two year contract hoping he would be a “diamond in the rough.”

Chris Beckford-Tseu during practice October 27, 2008

He played in 22 games for the Amerks and finished with a 3-14-1 record, 3.94 GAA, and .868 save percentage.  He was sent to the ECHL and played with the Florida Everblades and Phoenix Roadrunners.

“Last year things did not start well, nothing really went right for us, it was one you have to forget about, put behind you, move on and use as a learning experience,” is what Chris had to say about last season.

During a live chat with the D&C Amerks [...]Read More

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Amerks Training Camp Roster and Other Notes

September 23, 2009 - By

The 2009/2010 season for the Rochester Americans is finally upon us.  It seems as if everyone from youth hockey all the way up to the NHL has started except for the Amerks.  The Amerks will open training camp on Thursday morning from 10am – Noon at the ESL Centre.

The camp roster is supposed to be released at some point during the day on Wednesday September 23rd.  I’ll have it posted here later in the evening.  If you don’t want to wait you can obviously keep an eye on Amerks.com all day for the roster.  If you’re on Twitter you can follow @letsgoamerks and you’ll be notified when it’s available.

Some players that are expected to be at camp outside of the already signed players include: Ross Carlson, Mike Sgroi, Trevor Gillies, Cleve Kinley, and Lee Jubinville (more info below).

In case you missed the exciting summer of news you can get a recap here, “Amerks Summer News Stories, Getting Caught Up.”

The Florida Panthers are expected to make their roster cuts on Wednesday or Thursday as they return to Florida after a lengthy travel schedule for the preseason.  The Panthers are heading [...]Read More

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Sweetland showing signs of improvement

September 17, 2009 - By

Some people have to look back and wonder how Sweetland was able to land a three-year, $2.625-million entry-level contract.  He had one outstanding season in 2006-07 when he played for the Amherst Ramblers of the MJAHL when he scored 56 goals.  He was not drafted and as noted below has no real chance of making the Panthers lineup this season.

He had a tough time being productive in the AHL last season against stronger players.  It will be interesting to see how much stronger he really is to be able to compete.  Anything is possible for a player to bulk up and train hard over the summer months, we’ll have to wait and see.

Sweetland showing signs of improvement

“He needed to figure out how much stronger he had to be, and he’s done that,” said Sexton. “The difference between his practices this year and last year are like night and day.

“He’s stronger, he’s more confident, he’s faster and he’s got good skill. He just needs to spend some time to mature as a young man and as a professional.

“He clearly won’t be with the Panthers this year, but we like what we see so far.”

The [...]Read More

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