Milwaukeehockey.com

It's been a long time

August 1, 2007

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled,
It's been a long time since I did the Stroll.
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back,
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from.
It's been a long time, been a long time,
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has.
~ Led Zeppelin (Rock & Roll)

I feel like an athlete who has gotten out of 'game shape' in the offseason and struggles to gather it all together as training camp approaches. With many obligations and distractions, coupled with the natural lull in the offseason, pushed me out of the hockey loop for awhile. But now August is here, and I'm going to get caught up. At least I'll try.

The Admirals lost a member of the family a few weeks ago. Team founder Warren Fansher, known as "Auk" by those who knew him passed away a few weeks ago after a long battle with heart problems. After selling the team after it's first season, he remained connected with the team and sat in the press area at Admirals home games.

I had a few conversations with him over the last few years, at first not realizing who he was. But I wish I would've taken more time to get to know him. A genuinely nice guy who knew more about hockey than I ever will.

Bill Johnson wrote a great piece on Fansher for onmilwaukee.com. Read it before it goes offline.

The Admirals coaching staff is in place after Nashville hired Brad Lauer to be the assistant in Milwaukee under Lane Lambert. Lauer and Lambert were teammates in Cleveland for two seasons ('96-98). Lauer is a familiar name to Admiral fans from the '90s. After his time in the NHL decreased after the 80's, he became an IHL journeyman with Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Utah. He scored 53 goals in 67 games with Indy in 1992-93. He scored 51 goals in 357 NHL games (including playoffs) with the Islanders, Blackhawks, Senators, and Penguins.

Lauer brings with him five years of coaching experience as an assistant with Canadian junior hockey's Kootenay Ice.

In player news, Kim Staal has signed to play in Sweden. One of my preseason favorites a year ago, his season in Milwaukee didn't go too well, so it's no surprise he has returned to Europe.

Edmonton signed T.J. Reynolds. Assuming he is placed on their AHL squad, he will be playing close to his hometown (Kitchener) with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Good luck to both of those guys.

Nashville signed a pair of 2007 draft picks. Sweden's Andreas Thuresson, a forward who will turn 20 this fall and 21 year old defenseman Robert Dietrich from Germany.

Kevin Klein also re-signed with the Predators, but it is unlikely he will appear in Milwaukee. He is expected to crack the Nashville roster, but even if he stinks it up in camp, he would have to clear waivers to come back to the Admirals... and you can bet another NHL team would pick him up.

Here's how the Admirals roster is shaping up, mind you it's only August and this is only my guess.
Goaltenders
Dan Ellis and Dov Grumet-Morris
Defenseman
Alex Henry, Nolan Yonkman, Mark Matheson, Robert Dietrich, Cody Franson, Janne Niskala, Richard Stehlik, and Alexander Sulzer
Forwards
Rich Peverley, Cal O'Reilly, John Vigilante, Kelsey Wilson, Ryan Maki, Shane Willis, Matt Ellison, Antti Pihlstrom, Mike Santorelli, Oliver Setzinger, and Andreas Thuresson.

That's 21 players, but the team can only carry 19 healthy players into the season. We'll certainly have a better idea in about 8 weeks.

One last note... the AHL schedule should be released before next week. I'll throw together a new calendar for the site soon after it's announced.

posted by Todd # 11:58 AM

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