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Posts tagged 'Ted Nolan'

Posts Tagged ‘Ted Nolan’

Ted Nolan to coach Team Latvia

August 3, 2011 - By
Ted Nolan to coach Team Latvia

The news of the morning is that Ted Nolan, former VP of Hockey Operations for the Rochester Americans, has been named head coach of Team Latvia. Once the Amerks were sold to the Buffalo Sabres there were zero plans for him to remain with the Amerks or even within the Sabres organization, some had thought he would have stuck around in some way. That was never going to happen.

Nolan was hired by Curt Styres in July 2009 and he helped work with Jody Gage to bring in players that summer, including Mike York who he had coached with the New York Islanders.  Nolan arrived in Rochester with a hand shake agreement to work with the team.

From the IIHF web site:

Nolan, a First Nation Canadian who grew up in a reserve near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, was coaching the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League. He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year in 1997. In the last two years he has been working for the AHL’s Rochester Americans as Vice-President of Hockey Operations.

“We were looking for a neutral, authoritative coach with lots of experience and [...]Read More

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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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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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Confidence is Key for the Amerks, They May Have it Back

April 13, 2010 - By

The Rochester Americans team that played in October and November was a much different team than the one that played down the stretch.  The team that played early in the season had a sort of swagger to them, some excitement and even appeared to be having fun.  The team did not lose their fourth game of the season until November 28th, the 20th game of the season.  At some point after that game the swagger slowly faded away.

After talking to a number of different players over the past week and watching practice on Tuesday morning I get the feeling that the swagger and confidence that has been talked about and also disappeared is back.  It’s pretty simple, you’re happy when you’re winning and you’re miserable when you’re losing.

I’ve watched a lot of practices in the mornings and the team that practiced on Tuesday morning looked to be a different team than the one I watched a few weeks ago.  The execution of drills, the passes, the shots and even the saves by Alexander Salak and Tyler Plante looked better.

It may have also helped that the coaches were more interactive and also giving a lot more specific directions.

Speaking [...]Read More

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Nolan Says Panthers are Aware of Amerks Slump

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February 22, 2010 - By

There is no denying the Rochester Americans have been in a long slump and have barely been holding on to second place in the North Division for some time now.  Fans have read about and witnessed the poor play for themselves, heard excuses comments from the coaches and players, but have questioned whether or not anyone is going to do anything about it.

We know that Curt Styres, Lewis Staats, Ted Nolan, Jody Gage and everyone else in the office cares about the success of this franchise but what can they really do on their own?  Not all that much, which brings up the question was recently raised by Kevin Oklobzija, If the parent team doesn’t care, why should the players?

I asked Ted Nolan on Sunday afternoon if they have talked to the Florida Panthers about what has been going on (the slump and possible reasons for it) in Rochester and he gave a quick answer of yes.  He said they’ve been on the phone and talked a lot of what’s been going on.  He didn’t provide any other details about whether or not any changes or help will be provided, but [...]Read More

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Gameday: Amerks Host Monsters; Playoff Panic Button?

February 13, 2010 - By

After another disappointing loss on a Friday night the Amerks are back in action tonight at home versus the Lake Erie Monsters.  I’m not sure there’s any way to hype the Amerks in this game.  The Monsters have won five of six games between the two teams.  The only Amerks win was the second game of the season.  The Monsters have also outscored the Amerks 22-13.

Based on the comments after Fridays game the only thing I can think to say is that the team needs to work hard like they say and they’ll start winning again.  Hopefully they are on to something.

The stats do not paint a pretty picture for the game but I’ll be walking through the doors of Blue Cross Arena excited and hoping for the best like I always do.  The puck drops at 7:35pm, not the usual 7:05 start time.

With only 27 games remaining in the season and letters going out to season ticket holders about renewing and playoff tickets, is it time to hover our hands over the panic button?

Take a look at these stats that Kevin posted on Hockey O-Zone:

The Amerks have a 17-1 [...]Read More

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Gameday: Big Crowd and Big Game Expected for Amerks vs Penguins Tonight

November 27, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans game tonight could be something special if everything goes as planned.  The team has had a major focus on ticket sales for the game tonight against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and it could be the biggest in recent memory.

About a year ago at this time I had wrote that it was, “up to ownership and management to improve the product on the ice,” and I think it’s safe to say they answered the call and have done everything needed.  Curt Styres opened his wallet, put an awesome team on the ice, now it’s time to the fans to continue proving the theory that winning improves attendance.  If everything goes as planned it’s going to be a packed house.

If you don’t have tickets or know anyone who does not make sure they call the Amerks office at (585) 454-5335.  Some fans who stood in line last Friday for tickets did not get to their seats until the first period was almost over.

It has to be easier to sell tickets when the team is one of the best in the American Hockey League and has been since the start of the season.  [...]Read More

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Amerks Release Bonneau; Limited Roster Spots

October 8, 2009 - By

The Amerks announced on Wednesday that they released forward Jimmy Bonneau from his PTO contract after only one regular season game.  It’s probably safe to assume that management was unhappy with his performance during the home opener against the Lake Erie Monsters.

There were a number of players who did not perform well during that game but Bonneau must not have been the “enforcer” the team was looking for.

The surprising part about Bonneau being released is that the team had started training camp with three experienced enforcers and now they’re down to none.

I could be the jinx in this situation.  I wrote an article about Mike Sgroi, he was released.  Last week I was about to post one about Trevor Gillies and then he signed with Bridgeport.  This week I was going to post something about Bonneau and now he’s gone.

Ted Nolan had talked over the summer about creating a “safe working environment,” but as of right now it seems far from it.  I put in a call to Ted Nolan to get more information about why and what they’re looking for but as of writing this have not received a call back.  [...]Read More

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Amerks Season has High Expectations

October 3, 2009 - By

The Rochester Americans open their 54th season in the American Hockey League tonight against the Lake Erie Monsters at Blue Cross Arena.  The past is the past.  It’s a clean slate.  It’s a new season.  It’s time for the actions of the dream team to finally pay off.

What is the dream team you ask?  It’s Curt Styres, Ted Nolan, Jody Gage, and Kerry Atkinson.  Four individuals that have proven with actions over the summer that they want to win and bring back some pride to the City of Rochester.

Ted Nolan has talked all summer about how he loves to win.  Kerry Atkinson has talked about the Amerks being the best organization in any league that provides the best entertainment for fans.  Jody Gage has been busy making sure the roster is one that believes in Amerks pride and tradition.  Curt Styres opened his wallet and invested a lot of cash to make everything happen.

“We’ve lost our identity as a city, it’s not just the Rochester Americans that lost their identity,” Jody Gage said at a media luncheon this summer.  “How do we get the Amerks back to the headlines?”  That’s a question that [...]Read More

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Amerks Coach Benoit Groulx Answers a Few Questions

September 25, 2009 - By

Benoit Groulx was off the ice at the first day of training camp to observe the players taking part in the first scrimmage.  He was there to observe and see what players had to offer.  He was observing with Jack Birch, Jody Gage, and Ted Nolan.  How’s that for a jury deciding your future?  Players have a very short period of time to show what they can offer to a team with a limited number of available roster spots.

Here’s a few questions I asked Benoit after practice on Thursday morning.

Scrimmage instead of a typical practice?

– We already have a good idea of what our lines are going to be.  This weekend it’s important for many of them to show us what they can bring to this team.  Training camp is about knowing them (the players) better, many guys here we didn’t know before this morning.  The first two games, especially Saturday, it’s going to be an important game for guys to prove themselves.  It’ll be the team we don’t know too much of.

What’s different about this year?  What was learned from last year?

– It’s not about what we have learned from last year, it’s about [...]Read More

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One Fan at a Time – News 10 Story

September 25, 2009 - By

The summer of 2009 will be known as the summer that Ted Nolan saved the Rochester Americans from becoming the next Phoenix Coyotes.  Ok, maybe that’s going a little too far but I think that Ted Nolan has created an excellent buzz about this years team.  I’ll go out on a limb and say that a lot of people that loosely follow the Amerks could name Ted Nolan as working for the Amerks easier than any of the players signed during the off season.

The team has addressed the on ice product by building a team that should win some games.  Now the work has to start on winning back the fans that walked away from the team for a number of reasons, including what Ed Auer talks about below.

Ted Nolan is doing his part to win fans back one at a time.

Here’s part of a story that News 10 aired:

Some long time season ticket holders have not renewed their tickets so the Amerks are calling one fan at a time.

“I was just disgusted with the way things were going.” Ed Auer has been a faithful Amerks fan for 25 years but this year he [...]Read More

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Another Tough Guy, Trevor Gillies Invited to Camp

September 15, 2009 - By

Last summer at this time we were excited that Steve MacIntyre had been signed over the summer and was going to provide some toughness on the ice.  MacIntyre didn’t even make it through half the practice before we learned that the Edmonton Oilers had claimed him off waivers.  Once he left the two other tough guys on the roster were Ryan James Hand and James DeLory, both were cut.

Everything is different this season.  The latest tough guy to be invited to camp is Trevor Gillies.

If you’re a fan of the rough side of hockey you will not want to miss the Amerks only home preseason game on Sunday September 27th against the Syracuse Crunch at ESL Centre.  The Amerks and Crunch will play again two days later in Syracuse.

Players that can fight who’re expected to be at camp: Trevor Gillies, Mike Sgroi, Thomas Harrison, James DeLory, Mike Duco could possibly be back from the Panthers as well.. oh and Adam Keefe could be sent down as well.

This team has the potential to score a ton of goals, have a strong defense, and a fourth line that could beat up the opposing team.  Oh and Alexander Salak [...]Read More

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