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Posts tagged 'Graham Mink'

Posts Tagged ‘Graham Mink’

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

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Grading the 2009-2010 Amerks Player by Player

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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

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Audio from 2010 Amerks Locker Cleanout, Vets, Nolan and Staats

April 30, 2010 - By

The Amerks season is over and a few of the players spoke after their exit meetings and they cleaned out their lockers.  Uploading audio is a new feature and this one took me a little while longer as I’m uploading them to YouTube.  This way the audio is easier for people to share outside of this site.

Jamie Johnson was the most outspoken player because he does not plan to come back here next season.  Some people have criticized him for his words but if others were leaving they probably would have shared the same thoughts.  Everything said are valid points about the way he felt he was treated.  Johnson was the team leader in points with 27 goals and 44 assists.  He was also one of only two players that played in all 80 games.  Sure he had a rough stretch but so did everyone else, in the end he was there every day working hard.

Lewis Staats and Ted Nolan talked about hearing the fans loud and clear and said that it’s something that will be brought up during meetings.  The decisions are all made by the Florida Panthers but in meetings everything is brought up and thoughts [...]Read More

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Contract Status for Amerks Players Heading into Next Season

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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

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Players Talk About A Wasted Season, Only One Change is Needed

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April 28, 2010 - By

There was one player not afraid to make his feelings known and that was Jamie Johnson.  He shared his displeasure with the lack of acknowlegdment that the Florida Panthers gave to him as well as what seemed like a lack of respect from the head coach (no problems with Jason Cipolla).  During the tough times in the season when other players were injured or called up he was one player on the ice every game playing through his own injuries and contributing night in and night out.  How was he repayed?  By technically playing a role on the third line in the playoffs.

Johnson said that it was a wasted season.  The franchise turned things around from worst to second place but this season they should still be playing for the Calder Cup.

Jeff Taffe, Graham Mink, Mike York and Jamie Johnson all talked about the decisions made in the playoffs and said they’re not really sure how they came to be, whether it was Groulx or someone higher but what happened happened.

One player not going to the arena today for exit meetings was Rory Fitzpatrick.  On Tuesday night he said he was not going to be there for [...]Read More

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Getting Through a Game 7 and Two Updates

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April 27, 2010 - By

Every hardcore hockey fan in Rochester right now probably has the game on their mind tonight.  There’s a great article linked below that describes the feelings leading up to a game 7, even if it’s only the first round.

Two updates from Kevin Oklobzija at Hockey O-Zone, Rory Fitzpatrick is playing and Kevin says he was told that Graham Mink is not playing.  No real known reason why.  Is he hurt?  Family issues?  Benoit Groulx playing tricks on the Heat?  We’ll have to wait until warmups or even later to find out.

Check out this great article from Paul Kukla on NHL.com about Getting Through a Game 7, here’s an excerpt:

You may be at work or in school right now, but no way are you really at work or at school. Physically your body is there; mentally, you may be thinking how the first 10 minutes of the game will play out. You may be wondering if your team ever will score a key goal or make that one stop that will decide the game. Whatever it is you are doing, chances are they are not work- or school-related, but I understand. How can you think of anything [...]Read More

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Gameday: Time for a Legendary Game 7 for the Amerks

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April 27, 2010 - By

In the words of Barney Stinson, it’s time to suit up and prepare for a legendary night.

It’s all on the line tonight for the Rochester Americans in game seven against the Abbotsford Heat.  The winner starts preparing for the Hamilton Bulldogs, the loser reserves a tee time.  We know the Amerks can defeat this team and they have to do it again tonight.

The game on Sunday was not something to be proud of but it’s in the past.  It’s time to get excited again.  The Amerks have home ice advantage and get to play the last game of the series in their barn, on their rink.  Tell your family, friends, neighbors and keep the kids out late on a school night and get to the game.  To steal the line from the NHL commercials, history will be made.  Time to send the Heat home packing and start preparing for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Of course for that to happen the Amerks need a hero.  It could be someone who’s done it before, a Chris Taylor, Jamie Johnson, Jeff Taffe, Graham Mink or Mike York.  Keaton Ellerby could step up and make everyone forget about his past mistakes.  Jordan Henry [...]Read More

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Hard Nosed Hockey Leads Amerks to Tie Series

April 18, 2010 - By

Saturday night in Rochester was the definition of playoff hockey.  The Rochester Americans defeated the Abbotsford Heat in game 2 on Saturday night, an excellent rebound of a game from the way they played on Thursday night.

“It’s playoff hockey and both teams were trying to set the tone and trying to get the teams going,” Shawn Matthias said.  “It’s going to be a long series so we wanted to show them we’re not scared of them.  If you watch they’re always starting things after every whistle so we’re responding well and trying to play a hard nosed style.”

That’s not a style of hockey the Amerks have had to play every other night but it’s what they’re going to have to do in this seven game series against the Abbotsford Heat.

“We knew we needed to win this game,” Tyler Plante said talking about the game.  “Tonight it really felt like playoff hockey, we worked hard for 60 minutes and I really give the team credit for that.”

Plante was excellent in net and proved he should have been the starter to begin with in this playoff series.  The only goal scored on him in this series was not [...]Read More

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Regular Season Mistakes Sink the Amerks in Game 1

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April 16, 2010 - By

Benoit Groulx made the decision to start rookie goaltender Alexander Salak in the first game of the 2010 playoffs for the Rochester Americans and the decision back fired on him.  The Heat scored three first period goals against Salak and that was enough for him, he was pulled after the first period and replaced by Tyler Plante who had a two period shutout.

Tyler Plante was the hot goalie down the stretch and will get the start on Saturday night for game 2.  Just about everyone in attendance was wondering why that did not happen in the first place.

The Heat had 11 power play opportunities, the Amerks had eight.  Both teams scored two power play goals.  The penalties were an issue but both teams had plenty of chances, the difference was playing at even strength and the Heat had that advantage scoring a goal only 35 seconds into the game.  Rochester was not able to recover from that at all.

Chris Taylor could have wrote this article in one sentence with his comment saying, “One bad period really cost us the game.”

The Abbotsford Heat also deserve credit for a well played and well coached game.  They got [...]Read More

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Round 1 Preview of the Amerks vs Heat

April 14, 2010 - By

The Amerks begin their run for the Calder Cup on Thursday night against the Abbotsford Heat in I’m guaranteeing will be a great round of hockey.  The two teams met four times during the regular season with the Heat winning three of those games but the teams that played each other during the regular season are not the same teams playing now in the playoffs.

Only one of the four games was a “blowout” where the Heat were the clear winners and that was on December 5th when the Amerks had Chris Beckford-Tseu in net.  Chris Taylor had also been kicked out of that game half way through the first period.  The defense was also without Rory Fitzpatrick at the time.

In other words, the four previous games do not really mean anything heading into the first round.

“They play hard, a lot of fast little forwards that finish their checks,” Jeff Taffe said talking about the Heat this past Friday.  “It’s something we have to battle through and expect.”

Speed has not been a redeeming quality of the Amerks this season so slowing down the Heat will be one of many keys to the Amerks winning some games.

Every [...]Read More

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Crunch Finally Defeat the Amerks, In Game Number 80

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April 11, 2010 - By

The game on Saturday night meant absolutely nothing to the Rochester Americans.  A win against the Crunch would have been a great way to end the season with a complete sweep of the ten games between the two teams but it wasn’t meant to be, the Crunch won the game 5-2.

The supposed plan was to start Alexander Salak in the game but I don’t think that was ever going to happen.  Even if Tyler Plante did not get called up I think someone else would have been brought in to start in net for the Amerks.  With nothing on the line and the Crunch with a strong dislike for both goalies it was obvious that something would have happened.

Jon Mirasty spent time during the warmups chirping at Salak but Salak didn’t give him the time of day.  Maybe if those players spent less time worried about trying to intimidate their opponents during warmups they’d be in the playoffs instead of scheduling locker cleanout day.

Alex Petizian Save on Chad Kolarik

Alex Petizian was the unfortunate goaltender to get the call and make this is his first professional game.  The game will either scar him for life [...]Read More

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Amerks Extend Win Streak in Shootout Win Over Bulldogs

April 4, 2010 - By

The Rochester Americans are doing everything right at the right times and it’s paying off, the Amerks extended their win streak to three games with a huge shootout win against the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday night on the road.  Tyler Plante was perfect in the shootout stopping four Bulldogs and Evgeny Dadonov and Maxime Gratchev to lead the Amerks to their third straight win.

This resurgence of the Amerks started last Wednesday and they have not shown any signs of letting up since then.  Tyler Plante has been superb in net and Graham Mink is finally getting the puck to hit his stick.

Matt Duffy was called up from the Florida Everblades on Saturday and he wasted no time back in his role on the power play with an assist on the first goal.  Duffy shot the puck from the blue line at Graham Mink tipped the puck past Cedrick Desjardins only 57 seconds into the second period.

The Amerks took a 2-0 lead at 3:42 of the second period when Andrew Sweetland took the puck down the right side boards and the shot he took was kicked out to the front of the net, off one of the Bulldogs [...]Read More

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