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[triswykes]

From today's St. Petersburg Times in advance of tonight's Carolina-Tampa Bay game:

Mike McKenna is expected to start in net. ... Left wing Ryan Malone (flu) is expected to play which means forward Brandon Segal, called up on an emergency basis, might be sent down to AHL Norfolk. (At least his dad got to see him play in the NHL.) ... Forward Paul Szczechura also should play. How frustrating has this season been for him? He missed 12 games with a sprained left knee. Played eight games with Norfolk to get back into shape, returns to Tampa Bay and injures his right wrist on his first shift Tuesday against the Penguins blocking a shot and has to sit out Friday. "Definitely frustrating," he said. "In that situation, I have to block the shot. Unfortunately, it hit me in a bad spot. I've got to figure out a way to grip the stick and play through it."

[Update: Yikes, the Lightning got zapped, 9-3!]

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There's a guy out there documenting the two-season history of the NHL's Kansas City Scouts. He's been combing through microfilm and such and he came across this great paragraph from a KC paper about the role of the Scouts' first captain:

"The Scouts yesterday named Simon Nolet, the club's ranking member in N.H.L. experience with seven years, as the team's first captain. Nolet, the Scouts' first choice in the expansion draft, will have a myriad of duties, including everything from being a designated spokesman to make sure all are present on the team bus, to gathering contributions for soap and toothpaste for the lockerroom. Brent Hughes, Butch Deadmarsh and Randy Rota will be the alternates."

I've got to ask Zenon Konopka how his toothpaste collection duties are going.

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I recently got The Hockey News' special issue on goaltenders and their masks. Spurred by that, I went and found this site where a company makes replicas of NHL masks from the past. Some great stuff on here. If you don't want to pay hundreds of dollars, you can go the cheaper route.

Speaking of goaltenders with famous masks, Gerry Cheevers is in the legal news up in New England. Cheevers has his own website, by the way.

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Brandon Segal Returns to Admirals

NORFOLK, Va. – The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Norfolk Admirals, have reassigned right wing Brandon Segal to the Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today.

Segal, 6-foot-2, 214-pounds, has appeared in his first two career NHL games over the last week with Tampa Bay. He appeared in his first career NHL game Tuesday night against Pittsburgh, skating 14:45 and recording one hit, one takeaway and one blocked shot. He also skated for the Lightning last night versus St. Louis, recording two shots and three hits in 12:50 of ice time.

Segal has appeared in 52 games with the Admirals this season. His 21 goals rank second on the club while his 41 points are tied for fourth. Those marks are also AHL career highs for the sixth-year professional. This season, Segal also has a +1 rating, 70 penalty minutes, four power play goals, one shorthanded goal and two game-winning goals with the Admirals.

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Two late, and as yet, unexplained scratches from tonight are Admirals swingman Wade Brookbank and Storm the Sea Turtle from the mascots broomball tilt during the first intermission. Word on the street is Storm has a strained flipper but no one seems to want to confirm this.

[Update: Rumble said Brookbank was just feeling generally under the weather, while Brandon Bochenski had recovered from flu, so they were swapped in the lineup. The turtle's absence remains a mystery, although I did see it on the concourse during the second intermission.]

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The Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth, known as ``The Branch Campus'' to us Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities folks, has new, cool unis for its men's hockey team. This is the former club of ex-Admiral Junior Lessard and current member Jay Rosehill. Rosey, by the way, said he's going back to campus this summer to finish his philosophy degree.

Kidding, just kidding.

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Former Admiral Kris Versteeg, who continues to lead NHL rookies in scoring, has been moved back to wing by the Chicago Blackhawks.

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You knew we couldn't get through a whole day without a Steve Downie story and here's one that was apparently never previously published. It was supposed to run in Philadelphia Magazine, the author says.

Downie, by the way, was not out on the concourse signing autographs again tonight. Darren Rumble answered my questions about that last night off the record, but I'll publish them once the suspension appeal is heard. Not that they're anything earth-shattering.

[Update: Downie's not going on the road trip, at least to start. He headed out of the locker room with his Lightning gear bag and a clear plastic sack loaded with Red Bulls. Coach Darren Rumble said Downie will skate at Chilled Ponds during the next several days and may practice with the junior-level Whalers team there. One of Rumble's sons is a member of that team.]

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Saturday's game story is up. Justin Keller has scored all 14 of his goals this season at Scope and his 14th was tonight's winner.

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Today's (somewhat) Silly Photo of former Admirals captain Ajay Baines:

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Tampa Bay's goaltending tandem was downright awful last night in a 9-3 loss to Carolina, as the St. Petersburg Times notes:

Lightning goalie Mike McKenna was pulled with 9:51 left in the first period after he allowed three goals on seven shots. But McKenna started the third after Karri Ramo allowed six goals on 21 shots in the second.

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Admirals radio man Pete Michaud announced during today's loss at WBS that Radek Smolenak has been suspended by the team for ``on-ice activities'' but did not elaborate. Smolenak didn't return after losing a first-period fight Saturday.

[Edit: Pete sent a clarification email on this, reading: ``I never said Smolenak was SUSPENDED. I said he was not with the team and did not play last night as part (of) disciplinary reasons in response to on-ice actions. The word 'suspended' was never used.'']

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This piece on former AHL sniper Jeff Hamilton and his visor reminds me that former Admiral Marty Wilford is the one who high-sticked him and caused his vision loss. Not that Marty intended it, of course.

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WBS beat man Jonathan Bombulie has this to report from last night's 4-1 Pens defeat of Norfolk:

Referee Ryan Fraser couldn't finish today's game due to a knee injury. Linesman Bob Fyrer put on the orange arm bands and finished the game.

The team looked at the tape of the Brandon Bochenski goal that broke up (goaltender John) Curry's shutout at the final buzzer and concluded it came after the clocks hit zero. Curry didn't seem too worked up about it. “I’m good at blowing shutouts,” he said. “You may as well laugh because you’re not going to do anything else about it. Guy’s not going to change his mind.”

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Now why doesn't the Admirals Center Ice Souvenir stand sell babies like these? Because that catalog is from 1974 and the www.uniwatchblog.com site.

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From an Admirals' release:

Reebok/AHL Player of the Week Nominee: BLAIR JONES

Date Opponent G A Pts PIM Notable
03/03 at BRI 0 0 0 0 Game-high 8 shots
03/04 at PHI 2 0 2 0 #2 star, +2 rating
03/06 vs. LOW 2 0 2 0 #1 star
03/07 vs. LOW 1 1 2 0 #1 star, PPG
03/08 at WBS 0 0 0 0
TOTALS (3 GP) 5 1 6 0 16 shots, +2 rating

No American Hockey League player scored more goals last week than Blair Jones. The third-year pro notched five goals and added an assist in five games to pace the Admirals with six points last week. On Wednesday in Philadelphia, Jones opened scoring and finished with a pair of goals in a 4-3 loss to the Phantoms. Jones returned home and once again opened scoring and had two tallies in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Lowell Devils. For the third straight game, a Blair Jones goal opened scoring on Saturday against Lowell and Jones added an assist for #1 star honors in back-to-back games in a 2-1 win over the Devils.

Last week, Jones surpassed his AHL career high marks for goals, assists and points. Jones now has 16 goals, 29 assists and 45 points in all 65 games with Norfolk this season. He surpassed his previous highs set last season of 14 goals, 28 assists and 24 points. Jones has points in seven of his last ten games (6G, 6A).

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Interesting set auction of ECHL Admirals replica jerseys here. And you can get 10 cards of ex-Admiral Anton Babchuk here at 0.09 per card. Sorry, he's not pictured with a water bottle in the ready-to-fire position.

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Zamboni up for auction. But Not just ANY Zamboni, mind you.

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Today's Silly Photo of Ajay Baines shows the former Admirals captain, left, in cycling attire.

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Funny blog post on the Washington Capitals fans dislike for Sidney Crosby.

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Really cool bunch of old Russian hockey card scans here, courtesy of www.uniwatchblog.com.

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My old boss at the University of Minnesota hockey equipment room is retiring this spring. Harry Broadfoot is the best, 'nuff said.

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Just got this email from Albany beat man Phil Janack:

``(radek) Smolenak was at the river rats practice this morning. i'm told he traveled here at his own expense after being kicked off the bench in the last game and then apparently being informed that he wasn't going on the road trip. the rats skated at 10 at the rink on the campus of rensselaer polytechnic institute in troy (houston field house), across the river from albany...

the ads were supposed to skate at noon, but i guess they had some kind of travel issue from wbs and it was pushed back to 430 today bec. the rpi men's team was skating at 2. smolenak obviously got here way before the team carrying his own luggage and equipment and watched albany from the stands. he left with rats forward jakub petruzalek, who was the first guy off the ice (1030 or so).

Well, what a soap opera turn. I wonder if Smolenak will try to dress in a hallway and take the ice tomorrow night?

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Unbeknownst to me, the Admirals have their second player that I'm aware of who plays with diabetes. This story on Brent Henley from his days in Edmonton cites the disease, plus another one he's apparently battled. Guess I'll have to bring it up when the team gets back to town. As most of you probably remember, former Norfolk captain Ajay Baines is also diabetic.

Fort Wayne (Ind.) hockey writer Justin Cohn, who tipped me off to Henley's situation, sent along a Dec. 2007 story he wrote on the topic. Here are some snippets:

Brent Henley is a 6-foot-7 tough guy who strikes fear into opponents, but the Fort Wayne Komets defenseman isn't invulnerable.

Every day, he draws blood, injects himself with insulin, takes corticosteroids and tries to make sure his immune system isn't overwhelmed.

Henley, 27, is playing professional hockey and living his dream, albeit carefully, and he wants youngsters or parents sitting in the stands who might be dealing with similar afflictions to realize their aspirations, too...

Henley found out he had Addison's disease when he was 19 and playing junior hockey. His adrenal glands create hormones at an insufficient level, and that results in symptoms that include weight loss, weakness and fatigue.

One year after receiving that diagnosis, Henley found out he also had diabetes. His body doesn't produce enough insulin, the hormone that converts sugar and other food into energy, and that can lead to health problems including fatigue, heart disease and blindness...

Henley eventually signed three NHL contracts, two with Edmonton and one with Pittsburgh, and he has carved out a niche in the minors as a stay-at-home defenseman and enforcer...

To keep Addison's disease under control, Henley must take medications. Because of the diabetes, he must check his glucose levels by pricking his arm and testing his blood at least five times a day. If his glucose level is too high, he has to inject himself with insulin. If it's too low, he has to eat or drink the proper foods.

Because he's an athlete, keeping his blood-sugar levels where he wants can be challenging. If he plays more than expected, such as when a game goes into overtime, it could throw his body out of whack, and that could mean an urgent need for food or insulin.

"I've gotten good enough that if I know what level I'm at going into (a game), I know what I have to do to adjust. It's very rare that I have to adjust during games because after playing over 500 of them, I've learned," Henley said.

But the 250-pound Henley has received some funny looks, not just because he's gone over 200 penalty minutes five times and beaten the pulp out of many opponents.

"Some guys figure it out pretty quick when I pull a needle out at meals or draw blood before the game," Henley said. "Most guys have seen (a diabetic) before or know somebody, had a childhood friend maybe, but every once in a while you get a reaction - the eyes go wide and they think you're doing something really bad."

Hockey players are expected to gut it out through pain and fatigue on the ice, and they often party hard off of it, but Henley has to be more cautious than most. He's been hospitalized a couple of times when he didn't take it easy.

"When I get run-down, I can't just push through it. I have to make sure I sleep a little bit more. I have to really monitor my blood sugar or I'll start getting sick," Henley said. "I take more vitamins than the normal person would. And it's really just being cognizant of how I feel and realizing, if I stay up that extra hour that night, then that's going to make me feel worse the next day and I'll have that cumulative effect."

Thanks to Justin for all the information and a tip of the cap to Henley for persevering.

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The Lightning sent all sorts of people, players included, out to talk to fans in town. I like the part where it's said the players were happy to join in. Now, I can tell you that the typical hockey player, although a great guy, would have bitched and moaned like crazy about being made to go to someone's office and hand them a season-ticket renewal form.

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Weird and funny broadcasting situation out in Peoria. Beat man Dave Eminian tells us all about it. Another media note comes in this Tampa Tribune story on how bad things have gotten with the Lightning. In it, it's revealed the St. Louis paper is preparing a story about Mike McKenna.

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Admirals Trade Forward Jay Rosehill to Toronto

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Admirals General Manager Mike Butters announced today that the team has traded forward Jay Rosehill to the Toronto Marlies for future considerations.

“We would like to thank Jay for his contributions to the Admirals over the past two seasons,” said Butters. “We wish him well in the future.”

Rosehill, 23, is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound forward from Olds, Alberta. In 57 games with the Admirals this season, Rosehill had five goals, 12 points and 221 penalty minutes. All marks are career highs. Rosehill led Norfolk in penalty minutes and currently ranks third in the American Hockey League. He had signed an AHL Standard Player’s Contract with Norfolk on July 29, 2008.

Last season, Rosehill skated in 66 games with Norfolk, scoring three goals, seven points and a team-high 194 penalty minutes. In 232 career American Hockey League games between Norfolk and the Springfield Falcons, the fourth-year pro has nine goals and 27 points with 568 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in eight career ECHL games between the Johnstown Chiefs and Mississippi Sea Wolves, going scoreless with 21 penalty minutes.

Rosehill was drafted in the seventh round (227th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Steve Downie's suspension upheld. I'll be working on getting reaction. Meantime, here's a quote below from Lightning GM Brian Lawton. If I were his coy editor, I think I'd have suggested the ``quality person'' phrase be left out. You're just asking for mockery.

“Although we disagree with Steve Downie’s original suspension and the denial of his appeal, we accept and respect the decisions of the American Hockey League. Additionally, we thank the Board of Governors for hearing the appeal and giving the player a voice in the proceedings. Where Steve is concerned, we think he is a player with a bright future and a quality person. We look forward to his remaining a part of the Lightning organization and developing into a consistent NHL player.”

[Update: Butters just called to say he still cannot discuss the Downie situation. He said he's had more than 30 calls to his cell phone in the last hour from organizations up to Sports Illustrated. So at least I'm in good company. ]

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We continue our Silly Photos of Ajay Baines feature with the image below. Baines is the one on the right.

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Today's Silly Photo of Ajay Baines shows the former Admirals captain, right, eating his way across England.

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The text below is an apology to fans of the AHL's Springfield Falcons for the team's poor season. Think the Lightning will be issuing something similar? Frankly, I don't think it matters. After two seasons out of the playoffs despite all sorts of assurances, Admirals fans are going to take a wait-and-see approach.

Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Falcons and Edmonton Oilers released today the following statement regarding the 2009-10 season:
"We are in the business of winning hockey games and we failed miserably in Springfield this season," stated Kevin Prendergast, Edmonton Oilers Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Hockey Operations. "On behalf of the Oilers we apologize to the fans in Springfield who have supported this team through a very difficult year. We will begin plans immediately in addressing the problems on the ice this season and promise that we will do everything we can to put a more competitive and winning team on the ice next year."

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I didn't know Mike Butters graduated from the Univ. of Phoenix in 1994 with a psychology degree. Just found that out. Interesting.

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The Winnipeg Free Press' Randy Turner points out that: ``Fighting in the AHL has mirrored the steady rise in NHL numbers; from .68 fights-per-game in 2006-07 to .85 fpg last year to 1.05 fpg so far this season.''

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Manitoba Moose goaltender Karl Goehring, briefly an Admiral, has his future up in the air because of today's Clear Day status.

[Edit: Poor old Karl went from a dynamite Moose team to the pathetic San Antonio Rampage. Ouch.]

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Ex-Norfolk forward Junior Lessard has two winning goals in four games for Bridgeport.

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Tara Wheeler, Ms. Virginia and erstwhile Admirals intermission act, is promising to shave her head!

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There's an ECHL championship ring up for eBay auction. From the Carolina Thunderbirds and the league's first season in 1988-89.

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St. Petersburg Times game day notes preceding tonight's Lightning tilt in Ottawa:

Karri Ramo is scheduled to start in net. ... Defenseman Richard Petiot, acquired at the deadline from the Maple Leafs, was called up from AHL Norfolk and will get in the game. "I don't know much about him," Tocchet said. "Let's give him a chance. This is the time to do it." At the very least it gets David Koci, if he plays tonight (and that is not guaranteed) off the blue line and back to his normal forward spot. ... Petiot will be the 47th player used by the team this season, and the 19th defenseman. Not good for building continuity. ... Tocchet said defenseman Matt Lashoff (calf laceration), the key piece of the Recchi deal, is close to being healed and could be ready to play by next week.

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Odds 'n ends from listening to the Admirals broadcast just now:

* Radek Smolenak is back in action tonight after paying his own way to Albany and apologizing to his teammates, the coaching staff and GM Mike Butters. Still no details on what crime he committed.

* Grant Potulny left with a leg injury in the first period at Albany and will need an x-ray, Butters said.

* Jay Rosehill asked to be traded a couple weeks back and although the Toronto Marlies offered a pick of half a dozen players in return, Butters didn't like the selection and opted for future considerations, when he figures he'll have a better group of potential picks.

* Matt Lashoff, the new defenseman acquired from the Boston Bruins, skated with assistant coach Alan May this morning and is expected back in action at some point this weekend.

Also from Mr. Butters, but coming from a phone call he was nice enough to make to me this afternoon, is this: he believes Andrew Joudrey, the Hershey Bears player lined up against Steve Downie in the closing seconds of ``The Slashing Incident'' is the one who hit the linesman and not Downie. I'm going to have to go look at the tape again, but that hadn't even occurred to me. I have no idea, of course, what really happened. Obviously, the AHL's Board of Governors didn't buy that idea.

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Admirals radio man Pete Michaud recently posted this snippet in his blog on the team's website about practicing at a college rink in the Albany area:

``RPI was a very unique place to go. It’s an old structure made of lots of concrete blocks with a low ceiling and old, wooden seats. It has a lot of character, though. It reminds me a lot of the old barns we saw in Johnstown and Toledo during our ECHL days. Players dress in a cramped, upstairs dressing room and have to walk down a flight of stairs to get to the ice. The rink is also unique in that the team benches are on opposite side of the ice from one another, which makes so much sense, if you ask me (although it is a bit unfair for the guy coming out of the penalty box on the side of the ice opposite his team’s bench). While it’s anything but state-of-the-art, RPI has a great hockey tradition. Players like Joe Juneau and Adam Oates came from RPI, which has won a pair of NCAA men’s titles. A half-dozen of the Engineers current players sat in the stands to watch the Admirals practice.

As a youngster working at Dartmouth College games in Hanover, N.H., I got to watch those great RPI teams. They usually beat the Big Green by about seven or eight goals, but just seeing some of the players they had showed you how great the college game could be.

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Former Admirals equipment manager Scott Boggs worked his 1,000th pro game recently. Hearty congratulations to Boggsy, one of the all-time great guys in hockey. That's him on the left down below, with Michaud, who wants to again remind us that RADEK SMOLENAK IS NOT SUSPENDED!

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Former Admirals tough guy Shawn Thornton is featured in Newsday's Top 10 Fights of the current season.

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From this Albany paper blog post, it doesn't sound like Matt Lashoff plans on playing for the Admirals.

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Alex Ovechkin stars in what might be the worst car commercial ever. And that's saying something in this country.

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Admirals Release Clear Day Roster

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Admirals General Manager Mike Butters today announced the players on the team’s Clear Day Roster.

Each American Hockey League team submits a Clear Day roster to the league consisting of a maximum of 22 players. According to AHL by-laws, only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the 2008-09 AHL regular season and in the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.

F Brandon Bochenski
F/D Wade Brookbank
F Steve Downie
D Scott Jackson
F Blair Jones
F Bracken Kearns
F Justin Keller
F Zenon Konopka
D Matt Lashoff
D Mike Lundin
G Mike McKenna
D Josef Melichar
D Vladimir Mihalik
D Cory Murphy
D Richard Petiot
F Grant Potulny
D Kevin Quick
G Karri Ramo
F Brandon Segal
D Matt Smaby
F Radek Smolenak
D Ty Wishart


The Admirals also have ten players who are considered “in residence” for the remainder of the regular season and Calder Cup Playoffs. These players may be added to the active roster in the event of emergency conditions. The players “in residence” are:

D Daryl Boyle
F Mathieu Curadeau
G Riku Helenius
F Brent Henley
F Brock Hooton
G Craig Kowalski
F Brady Leavold
F Chris Lawrence
F Juraj Simek
F Pete Zingoni

Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts, only after their respective junior or college seasons are complete.

A complete list of all 29 AHL team Clear Day rosters may be found at theahl.com.

My take: I count 11 players who are either hurt or recalled or are likely to be recalled soon (Lashoff) and 10 in residence, so this division doesn't mean much.

Speaking of clear day rosters, former Admiral Adam Henrich isn't on WBS' version. Ouch.

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A Mike Lundin feature is now up on the Tampa Bay website. It's basically a rehash of a game story I built around him last weekend, with an added Mike Butters quote.

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Today's Silly Photo of Ajay Baines causes us to ask ``How do you know which one is the legendary sex symbol?''

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There may not be much on today's entry. I'm headed up to Richmond to help cover the King's Fork boys basketball team's tilt in the state title game.

[Edit: Now that I'm up here at VCU's hoops arena, all I can think of is how much nicer it would look with a hockey rink in it.]

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Rochester beat man Kevin Oklobzija wonders something about the Amerks' marketing that I don't understand about the Admirals either. And he mentions some bad behavior about former Norfolk training camp participant Jon Mirasty of Syracuse.

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Bridgeport beat man Mike Fornabaio has a bunch of interesting info in his blog post today, including shootout excellence by former Admiral Junior Lessard.

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I believe today's Silly Photo of Ajay Baines came from the Iowa Chops' Bad Xmas Sweater Party. Ajay's not fully participating, but his teammate sure is. Reader VaB Hockey wants to know if the coordinated pants earned the boys points on the ugly scale.