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 his chances of playing in the NHL would be better with the Ottawa Senators organization.  He is currently playing for the Binhamton Senators and expected to be their #1 goalie.

Stefan Meyer – Traded to the Phoenix Coyotes by the Panthers on June 18th for center Steve Reinprecht.  The ‘Yotes were going to lose Reinprecht to free agency and were looking for something in return.  Reinprecht signed and is playing for the Panthers.

Karl Stewart – Prior to the end of the 08/09 season he signed a contract to go and play for the Straubing Tigers in Germany.  He said that he did not know what Rochesters plans were and was looking for job security.

Randall Gelech – Update: Thanks for the comment below.  Gelech is currently on the injured reserve for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Drew Larman – Signed a one year two way deal with the Boston Bruins and is starting the season with the Providence Bruins.

David Shantz – Signed with the Calgary Flames and will be playing for the Abbotsford Heat this season.

Franklin MacDonald – signed in Austria with the Liwest Blackwings of the Erste Bank Liga

Jacob Micflikier – Signed with the Albany River Rats and was just sent down to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Riley Emmerson – is playing for the Springfield Falcons this season.

If anyone knows where Gelech is please leave a comment!

What happened to some of last years Amerks? is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

Another familiar name and face for Amerks fans from the past few seasons has officially gone elsewhere, Tanner Glass agreed to an offer with the Vancouver Canucks.

Glass came to Rochester at the end of the 2006-2007 season to play in four games after he graduated from Dartmouth College.  The Florida Panthers drafted him in the 9th round (265 overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

The following 2007-2008 season it seemed as if he had a bright future ahead of him with the Panthers organization.  He split the season between Rochester (43 games) and Florida (41 games) and was always a player working hard on the ice.

This past season was a different story though.  Fans enjoyed Glass for not being afraid to play the body, hit another player, and drop the gloves to fight when needed.  Unfortunately there was also a lot more games where he just did not appear to show up to play.

The running joke last season was that whenever Glass was working hard on the ice or got into a fight we could look over and see that Jack Birch was in the arena watching the game.  It was as if Glass showed up to show off.

Glass’ season ended early with an injury to his shoulder that he eventually needed surgery on.  The injury did play a big part in why his play seemed to be on and off at many times.

Chances are Glass will get playing time with the Manitoba Moose, expect him to show up and play hard during those games.

As with everyone, we wish you the best of luck with your career Tanner Glass!

2006/2007 Amerks stats — 1 assist, 5 penalty minutes
2007/2008 Amerks stats — 43 games, 6 goals, 5 assists, and 84 penalty minutes
2007/2008 Panthers stats — 41 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 39 penalty minutes
2008/2009 Amerks stats — 44 games, 4 goals, 9 assists, 100 penalty minutes
2008/2009 Panthers stats — 3 games, 7 penalty minutes

We’ll leave you with some fight footage from last season:

Tanner Glass Signs with Vancouver is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

A few familiar faces for Rochester Americans fans will probably not be returning to the Florida Panthers organization next season as the free agency period is about to begin.  The only two restricted free agents that were offered qualifying offers were David Booth and David Brine.

David Brine finished last season with 31 points (8 goals, 23 assists) and was the Amerks best center at taking face offs.  Brine played nine games during the 2007-2008 season for the Panthers.  This will be his year to step up his game.

Former Amerks from previous seasons Anthony Stewart, Drew Larman, David Shantz, Franklin MacDonald, and Tanner Glass were not given offers and allowed to become unrestricted free agents.

Luke Beaverson will likely replace the role MacDonald had on defense.  We’re hoping that a veteran center will be signed to replace Larman.  Tyler Plante, Alexander Salak, and Chris Beckford-Tseu will be fulfilling goaltending duties in the Panthers system.

The only real surprise here was Tanner Glass, but Florida Panthers Assistant GM Randy Sexton said that they would like to sign him again.  The play of Glass last season was hampered by a shoulder injury that he eventually had surgery on which leads me to believe that the Panthers want to wait and see how his recovery is going.  When he’s healthy Glass plays with grit and works hard.  The shoulder injury had been hampering his play for some time which explains many of the games where he did not appear to “show up.”

No real surprises with Larman, Shantz, and MacDonald not being given offers.  David Shantz showed some promise at the end of last season but it was a case of too little too late.  Larman and MacDonald also played well at times but in terms of development it was not enough for the Panthers to keep them around.

It’s also no surprise to any Amerks fans that Anthony Stewart was not qualified.  The Panthers wanted to sign Stewart to another two way deal last summer but Stewart won by getting an NHL only deal, something he was not able to prove he deserved.  I could have told anyone that was going to happen.

Steve Gorten of the Sun-Sentinel talked to Stewart who said:

I spoke to Stewart on the phone a little after 5 p.m. He said he was “disappointed” and it “definitely didn’t go the way I wanted it to go.” He hoped to do more on the ice and the Panthers expected he would do more.

If there’s any opening for a gritty fourth line winger on the Panthers it’ll be a perfect opportunity for Mike Duco to try and get a chance playing in the show.  Panthers head coach Pete Deboer coached Duco when he played for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.  Duco is an agitator but can also provide offensive talent.  Given the past relationship between Duco and Deboer it’s only a matter of time before he’s playing in the NHL.

Janis Sprukts is an unrestricted free agent but as expected the Panthers are letting him leave without trying to sign him again.  Sprukts had signed last summer expecting to get a chance at playing for the Panthers but the plan was just for him to play in the AHL with the Amerks, something Sprukts was not happy with.  Sprukts is heading back to Europe.

The Panthers 2009 sixth round draft pick Scott Timmins is expected to replace the roster spot that Sprukts took last season.

Wednesday is when the free agency period starts, a time that the Amerks and Panthers have said they will be active in to improve the Rochester Americans.

Brine Returning; Larman, Glass and Others May Not is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

The Florida Panthers will open their annual development camp about an hour outside of Toronto next week at the Teen Ranch, it feels like it was just yesterday that we wrote about our visit to last years camp.

The camp is a great place for signed and unsigned prospects to get the chance to go through on and off ice workouts with NHL coaches and trainers.  At the camp they’ll cover everything related to the on ice game, strength and conditioning, and mainting a proper diet as well.

We last talked to the players in April when they cleaned out their lockers with the Rochester Americans and the last words were, “see you at camp.”

A list of players invited is expected prior to the start of camp on Friday, when I get it I’ll make sure to post it.

This will be the first chance this off season that players will get to make an impression hoping to get a spot on the Panthers lineup next season.

Shawn Matthias, Keaton Ellerby, Michael Caruso, and Tanner Glass are four players that expectations will be high on.  Matthias had a horrible rookie year in Rochester and is looking to prove he’s capable of playing.  Ellerby and Caruso are the top two defensive prospects, many experts are saying that Ellerby has a chance to break into the Panthers lineup.  Tanner Glass was injured for most of the 08/09 season but still played well, the season before he spent half of in Florida so he’s looking to get back into the game.

Mike Duco could be the surprise of the year.  He can skate.  He can score.  He knows how to get under opposing players skins.

Matt Duffy showed a lot of potential at the end of the season with the Amerks and then with the Florida Everblades.  He’s still unsigned but I would expect (hope) he’ll be offered an entry level contract any day now.

The only goaltender we know right now that will be there is Tyler Plante.  His season with the Amerks ended early with a shoulder injury, but he said he plans to be at the camp.  Plante had a rocky start to the 08/09 season but after he spent time in the ECHL he came back ready to play.

Jacob Markstrom and Sergei Gayduchenko are two other goaltenders that are property of the Panthers, both prospects are signed overseas through the end of 09/10 season but could possibly be at the camp.

Evgeni Dadonov had said recently he would be at a Panthers camp this summer, whether it’s this one or not we’re not sure, but he looked great last year and whenever he’s ready to play on this side of the pond many expect that he’ll skip Rochester and head straight for Florida.

We’ll be there for three days next week and will try and have a lot to follow up with.

Keep us bookmarked, subscribe to our RSS feed, or even follow Lets Go Amerks on twitter!

Panthers Get Back to Work is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

If Franklin MacDonald gets another crack at a shootout the next move he may pull off is spinning around, skating backwards with his back to the goalie, and then at the last minute spinning around again to get a shot off.  It’s become normal for the team to practice shootouts at the end and while most take it seriously, some of the other players like MacDonald have some fun.

Tyler Plante is finished for the season with his shoulder injury.  This is the second season in a row he’s finished off the year like this.  Not sure what’s going on, but I hope he’s able to get it fixed/recover.  He had shown a lot of improvement since returning from the ECHL and showed that he was capable of playing at this level.

Tanner Glass is still practicing in full gear, participating in all the drills, but he’s not quite ready to play.  Benoit said that he’s not playing this weekend.  We were recently told about 2 1/2 weeks which would have him returning in Toronto for the final three games of the season.

The only other update to come out of practice is that Mike Brodeur did not practice, Benoit said that he will be on the ice on Thursday morning.  Brodeur apparently suffered a lower abdominal strain during the game on Friday against Lake Erie.  Not sure if this is when it happened, but as he was leaving the ice for the extra attacker early in the third period on friday he took this spill:

Updates on Brodeur, Plante, and Glass is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

Tanner Glass and Jacob Micflikier have both been on the injured list and both players are still at least two and a half weeks away from being ready to play.  Tanner Glass is recovering from shoulder surgery, and Jacob Micflikier is still recovering from a sprained ankle.  After the Amerks 2-1 win against the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday night head coach Benoit Groulx commented about the time frame for their return.  They have been on the ice participating in practices, but not in game shape.

Assuming they’re ahead of schedule, if they are to see any action it would be in the last week of the season.

Tanner Glass has only played in 44 games this season but is still 4th on the team in penalty minutes with 100 for the season.  He has four goals and nine assists during that time as well.  We may have been harsh on Tanner earlier in the season, but take all that back now that we know he was playing injured for most of it.

In the 39 games that Jacob Micflikier has played in he has four goals and 12 assists.  He’s a small player, but he’s great with the puck and fast.  If given another opportunity here in Rochester next season, which he’s interested in, and he’s healthy all season, he could be a great assett to the team.

Apologies about the lack of a recap following Sundays 2-1 win against Syracuse, it was our sons 5th birthday party (you may have seen him on the video scoreboard) and it wiped me out.  Will try and come up with some quotes and thoughts tomorrow.

Tanner Glass and Jacob Micflikier Injury Updates is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

Typically game day skates are optional and a majority of the time everyone is on the ice, except for today.  Missing from the ice is Drew Larman, Dan Collins, Mike Caruso, Rory Fitzpatrick, Karl Stewart, and Michal Repik.  Fitzpatrick isn’t expected to play tonight which would explain his absence.

The Amerks will have a new defensemen on the ice soon when Matt Duffy from the University of Maine arrives.  U of Maine was eliminated on Sunday in the Hockey East playoffs in a 6-2 loss against Boston.  Duffy was selected by Florida Panthers in round 4 and #104 overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.    In 39 games this season he had 7 goals and 10 assists along with 64 penalty minutes.  He’s listed at 6′ and 201lbs.

A player that is finally back on the ice is Tanner Glass.  Glass is recovering from a shoulder injury and expects to be playing again by the end of the month.  In 44 games played this season Tanner has 4 goals, 9 assists, and 100 penalty minutes.  For as long as he’s been out of action he’s still third on the team in penalty minutes.

The Amerks are currently on a six game winless streak and hoping to end that skid tonight.  The longest winless streak of the season is seven, hopefully that doesn’t get tied tonight.  The last time these two teams played the Amerks lost in a shootout 3-2 back on January 23rd.  The only wins of the season against the Moose came back in early January when the Amerks won a two game road trip in Manitoba.

The key to victory is scoring goals, as usual.  Stopping goals will also be a deciding factor.  Stating the obvious is always a good time.

Tyler Plante is expected to start in goal tonight.  Tyler Plante is 5-5-1 since his return to the Amerks and is 5-10-1 on the season with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

If some goals are to be scored the team will be relying on Repik, Duco, and McArdle.

First-year forward Michal Repik, who has 23 points (11+12) in his last 23 games, currently paces Rochester’s offense with a team-high 18 goals and 42 points. His 42 points presently rank him 13th among AHL rookies in scoring. Rookie defenseman Jason Garrison has a team-best 26 assists and remains Rochester’s top scoring defenseman with 30 points overall, good enough for fourth on the team.

First-year forward Michael Duco is first on the team with 137 penalty minutes (PIM). Goaltender Mike Brodeur boasts a 16-11-3 record in 33 games for the Amerks. His 2.39 goals-against average and .922 save percentage currently rank him sixth and third among AHL netminders, respectively. Further, his two shutouts tie him for fifth in the league. Tyler Plante is 5-5-1 since his return to the Amerks and is 5-10-1 on the season with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

Further, McArdle has two goals in two of his last three games since returning to the Amerks lineup after missing 21 games with an injury. Brine enters the week currently riding a three-game point streak (1+2).  (Amerks press release)

The only thing the players can do at this point in the season is continue to work hard to earn themselves contracts here or somewhere else next season and play spoiler by beating other teams.  A win against the Moose would end the winless streak, but would not do much to damper the playoff race for the Moose.

With twelve games left the race is on for someome to win the points race as well as scoring.  Players in the hunt to hit the 20 goal mark are Janis Sprukts (15), Stefan Meyer (15), Michael Duco (15), Karl Stewart (16), and Michal Repik leading the team with 18 goals.

Face off is at 7:35pm, see ya at the War Memorial!

Amerks vs Moose Gameday Skate; Matt Duffy from University of Maine is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

The Rochester Americans are back in action this weekend with home games on Friday against the Toronto Marlies and Sunday against the Hamilton Bulldogs.  On Saturday they travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch.  Following this weekend the Amerks will only have 12 games remaining.

One bright spot looking towards this weekend is the expected return of Drew Larman and Kenndal McArdle.  It’s been six weeks since we last saw McArdle in the lineup when he went out with a shoulder injury.  Larman has been out a month with a rib injury.

Michal Repik played with the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in Buffalo scoring the only goal of the game for the Panthers.  Not bad considering he only had 3:50 of ice time.  The Panthers next game is on Saturday home against Tampa, it’ll be interesting to see if he’s sent back or if the Cats keep him around.

Tanner Glass is recovering from shoulder surgery but does expect to return to action before the season is over.  Shawn Matthias has been out with a wrist injury and is not expected to play.  He was slashed on the stick last weekend which apparently sent some sort of vibration up his wrist that messed with his tendons.  An odd injury, but it’s kept him from being able to grip his stick.  Jacob Mcflickier (ankle) and Kyle Hagel (shoulder) are the other two players out with injuries but not expected back in the lineup.

Friday Night vs Marlies

The Amerks have not faired very well against the Marlies this season.  This will be the seventh of eight games against Toronto this season.  The marlies have won five of six games played so far and outscored the Amerks with a 24-13 advantage.

Saturday at Crunch

After what seemed like an Amerks vs Crunch game every other day at the start of the season, these two teams have not played each other since January 22nd when the Crunch won 4-0 at Blue Cross Arena.  In another great stat, the Amerks have been outscored 21-9 in six games against Syracuse this season.  The Crunch have four of six games played.

Sunday vs Bulldogs

The Amerks and Bulldogs are a little more even compared to contests with the above two teams.  This will be the eighth and final game of the season between these two teams, the season record for the Amerks is 3-3-0-1.  In terms of scoring the Bulldogs only have a two goal advantage as they’ve outscored the Amerks 25-23.

The key to the Amerks winning any of these games is playing smart and intense hockey that we know they are capable of.  If that happens it’s not too far fetched for this team to be capable of winning all three games.  After last Sundays game head coach Benoit Groulx said at this point in the season everyone is playing for something.  They’re not playing for the playoffs, but they can still put a damper on playoff bound teams looking for two easy points.

Did you know that the Amerks have not lost a game in over time this season?  At least we can say the Amerks are undefeated at something!

Amerks Face Division Rivals This Weekend is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

On Thursday afternoon the Rochester Americans announce their 22 man clear day roster for the remainder of the 08/09 regular season.  It’s yet another sign that the season is quickly coming to a close.  It’s sad that hockey season is winding down, but exciting to REALLY start looking forward to next season.  That’s a whole other topic.

No surprises with the Amerks lineup.  If the team had any plans of making the playoffs this would be a lot more interesting.

Here’s the roster:

Mike Brodeur and Tyler Plante; defensemen Michael Caruso, Jason Garrison, Rory Fitzpatrick, Keaton Ellerby, Jordan Henry, Peter Aston, Franklin MacDonald, and forwards Janis Sprukts, Drew Larman, Stefan Meyer, Michael Duco, Tanner Glass, Dan Collins, Karl Stewart, Shawn Matthias, Kenndal McArdle, Michal Repik, David Brine, Randall Gelech and Riley Emmerson. Forwards Jarret Lukin, Kyle Hagel, Andrew Sweetland, Judd Blackwater and Jacob Micflikier currently remain in residence.

The rest of the AHL also announced their rosters as well.

Amerks Announce Clear Day Roster is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!

The Rochester Americans beat the Hershey Bears on Friday night but they also lost two more players to injury.  Jacob Micflikier hurt his ankle in the second period and had to be helped off the ice.  He returned to the bench a short time later to play a few more shifts, but did not return in the third period.  Rory Fitzpatrick hurt his knee as well during the game and will not be playing in Toronto on Saturday afternoon.  Benoit Groulx was unsure if it was the same knee he had surgery on in December.

Here’s the rest of the injured players:

• Drew Larman – rib injury
• Tanner Glass – shoulder
• Kenndal McArdle – shoulder
• Kyle Hagel – shoulder
• Luke Beaverson – concussion

We’ll know more after the weekend about the extent of the injuries to Micflikier and Fitzpatrick.  Drew Larman is expecting to be back within the next week.  The remaining injured players (Glass, McArdle, Hagel, Beaverson) are out with no timeline that I know of for returning.

Amerks Post Game Injury Report is a post from: Let's Go Amerks!