adn_aces's blog

While puckheads here in North America still have roughly a month to go before satisfying their puck jones, the season kicked off in the German Elite League today, and Alaska connections flourished.

Former Alaska Aces sniper Josh Soares (60 goals and 140 points in 103 regular-season and playoff games over the previous two seasons) introduced himself internationally in a huge way. The 2007 ECHL first-teamer racked two goals -- one on the power play, one short-handed -- for the Kassel Huskies in an 8-3 win at Eisbaren Berlin. His teammate, former Aces standout Alex Leavitt (ECHL Rookie of the Year and league scoring leader in 2006) bagged a goal and went +3.

Add two more stalwarts to the Alaska Aces roster -- the ECHL club today announced that brothers Colin and Brett Hemingway, both wingers, will return for the upcoming season.

Colin finished tied for 12th in the league in regular-season scoring last season (25-42--67 and +8 in 64 games) and second in playoff scoring (9-16--25 and +12 in 21 games). Brett earned 10-32--42 and +4 totals in 58 regular-season games and 1-5--6 and -5 totals in nine playoff games. He missed a stretch of the regular season after getting his leg cut by an opponents' skate.

The Aces previously announced the signings of captain Scott Burt, Lance Galbraith, Bryan Miller and Justin Johnson.

The puck drops for real this coming weekend in Great Britain's Elite Ice Hockey League, where former Alaska Aces sniper Joe Talbot has thus far spent the preseason doing his thing, namely strafing goalies.

Talbot, who last season helped the Sheffield Steelers to the regular-season and playoff titles, in the last week bagged the late game winner in a 2-1 exhibition win over Aalborg (Denmark) and added one goal and one assist in a 5-2 defeat of EIHL Newcastle. This is Joe's third season with Sheffield, which begins its title defense Saturday.

Former Alaska Aces and UAA Seawolves goaltender John DeCaro, who basically owns the major goaltending records in the Central Hockey League and is headed back to that circuit this season, first will stop off in Nashville to attend training camp with the NHL Predators.

Two former Alaska Aces wingers have landed at new hockey homes.

Erik Felde of Anchorage, who began last season with the ECHL Aces before being traded to the Reading Royals, has signed with the ECHL Johnstown Chiefs, who acquired him in an offseason deal. Felde, 21 and the owner of blazing speed, earned 5-2--7 totals in 29 games with Alaska and 1-1--2 totals in eight games with Reading. He'll be a second-year pro and can also play defense.

And former Aces enforcer Hans Benson, whose pugilistic prowess with the Aces in 2006-07 earned him two-plus seasons in the American Hockey League, has signed with ECHL Cincinnati.

Chris Holt, who made a brief stop in Anchorage to play for the ECHL Alaska Aces last season, has copped a one-year American Hockey League deal with the Binghampton Senators.

Holt, 24, last season went 10-6-2 for AHL Peoria -- that's the affiliate of the NHL St. Louis Blues and the Aces -- with a 1.73 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. For Alaska, he went 3-2-0 with a 1.80 and .946. He also played in one game for St. Louis.

Probably a good move for Holt, especially since the St. Louis organization is stocked in goal. The Blues have Chris Mason and free-agent signee Ty Conklin of Anchorage, and they're clearly grooming second-year pro Ben Bishop.

With the offseason slowly coming to a close -- man, can the season get here fast enough, or what? -- various items worthy of mention are popping up.

First, former Alaska Aces winger Matt Robinson, re-signed with the ECHL Johnstown Chiefs. Best of luck to Robbie, whose first season there after two seasons with the Aces was cut short by a major knee injury early last season.

Also, former Aces enforcer Tim Spencer, who spent last season with ECHL Las Vegas, was traded to ECHL Elmira.

On the women's front, Zoe Hickel of Anchorage, competing with USA Hockey's Under-18 Select Team, rocked a game-tying assist and two penalties in a 4-3 win over Canada in the opener of a three-game series that continues Wednesday in Calgary. Our girl's rockin' the Saddledome before the Canada Olympic camp's intrasquad game. Nice.

The ECHL's Alaska Aces added considerable sandpaper to their toolbox today, when they announced veteran winger Lance Galbraith will return for a second season with the club.

Galbraith, 29, is equal parts goal scorer and pest. His 18 goals in 46 regular-season games last season worked out to a 28-goal campaign had he been with the club all season -- he came over from the Central Hockey League. He also enhanced his already stout reputation as a playoff performer with 10 postseason goals, which tied for the team lead. Oh, and racked 143 regular-season penalty minutes and nine fighting majors -- yeah, he sorta gets under people's skin.

Defenseman Jason Krischuk of Anchorage, who all but took last season off -- think he might have been finishing his college degree -- has signed to return to the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL.

Krischuk, 29, the former Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College blueliner, played the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons with the Wranglers, and also earned two games in the American Hockey League in the latter campaign.

He played four games last season in the Central Hockey League.

Defenseman Kerry Weiland of Palmer today was named to USA Hockey’s women’s national team, moving her one step closer to the 2010 Olympics.

Weiland, 28, was one of 23 players selected to the national team after 41 players took part in last week’s National Women’s Festival in Blaine, Minn. The national team roster will be trimmed to 21 prior to next year’s Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Weiland could become the third Alaskan to play hockey in the Olympics. Center Scott Gomez of Anchorage and goaltender Pam Dreyer of Eagle River both played in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. Gomez, 29, is Alaska’s most accomplished hockey player – he has twice won the Stanley Cup and has played nine seasons in the NHL. Dreyer, 28, is retired from hockey.

Think of UAA's latest recruit this way: The last time the Seawolves plucked a guy from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, he turned out to be a stud -- winger Curtis Glencross bagged 21 goals as a sophomore, signed an NHL deal for a $750,000 bonus and is now a regular in the world's best league. (See, I'm a glass half-full kinda guy).

In any event, Chris Heisenberg's excellent recruiting web site reports UAA has snagged a commitment from Bandits goaltender Rob Gunderson to strap on the green-and-gold gear come 2010-11.

Gunderson, 19, last season set a Brooks record for single-season goals-against average (2.58), went 26-8-3 to finish tied for second on the circuit in wins, and added two shutouts and a .912 save percentage.

Defenseman Brian Cooper of Anchorage, the second-youngest dude on his team, bagged a goal today when USA Hockey's Under-17 Select team wrapped up the Five Nation's Tournament in Fussen, Germany with a 9-6 win over the host club.

Cooper, 15, and forward Austin Wuthrich, 16, of Anchorage, both represented their country.

Both guys scored in a 4-3 win over Switzerland earlier this week. Wuthrich copped a short-handed strike and Cooper added one goal and one assist. Today, the each did their Anchorage roots proud -- slashing penalties for both! Sweet! That's the international hockey version of puttin' on the foil.

Former UAA goaltender Nathan Lawson, fresh off an All-Rookie Team campaign last season in the American Hockey League, this week signed a one-year, two-way deal with the NHL's New York Islanders.

Lawson last season went 19-9-2 with Bridgeport of the AHL, racking a 2.16 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and two shutouts. That was his second pro season, in which a sizzling start with ECHL Utah (6-0-0, 2.28, .918) quickly ticketed him for Bridgeport.

The upcoming season will allow Lawson a chance to show he's got the mettle for the NHL. And he's only locked into one year with the I

Expect signings of Alaska Aces players for the upcoming season to start trickling out, as one did today when the ECHL club announced the return of defenseman Bryan Miller, one of the league’s elite offensive blueliners.

Miller, 26, who will be in his fifth pro season and third season with the Aces, said he agreed to return to the club at his end-of-season meeting with former coach Keith McCambridge shortly after the Aces fell in the Kelly Cup Finals to South Carolina.

“I told Keith, ‘Look, I don’t want to go anywhere,’ ‘’ Miller said. “I wasn’t interested in going to Europe – maybe a few years down the line. I said, ‘If you guys want me back, I’m here.’ He said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ‘’

A couple of Alaska women could be among collegians playing outdoor hockey games in Boston's Fenway Park in January.

According to various media reports, the Northeastern University women, who includes senior defensemen Katy Applin of Palmer and Ginny Berg of Sterling, will play against New Hampshire women on Jan. 8. The Boston College and Boston University men will also play in Fenway that day.

That makes three outdoor games in Boston in a week. The Philadelphia Flyers will play the Boston Bruins in the NHL's Winter Classic on New Year's Day in Fenway.

Applin will be a captain at Northeastern for the second straight season.

Our man John DeCaro, the former Alaska Aces and UAA goaltender who spent last season with ECHL Las Vegas, is headed back to the Central Hockey League, which he dominated in 2007-08 and 2006-07.

DeCaro has signed with the Bossier-Shreveport Mugbugs -- man, love that name. You might recall he was the CHL's Goaltender of the Year in each of his two seasons with the 'Bugs. Check out his ridonkulous numbers in 2008 -- 1.63 goals-against average, .941 save percentage, 27-6-3 record and 11 bagels.

Among other Alaska-connected players signing in the CHL so far: Former Aces goalie Kris Tebbs and

Getting back in the groove here, so let’s go over some summer signings that went down while I was away.

Winger Tim Wallace of Anchorage, who made his NHL debut last season with Pittsburgh, signed a two-year deal with the Penguins.

Center Nate Thompson of Anchorage re-upped for another season with the New York Islanders.

Former Alaska Aces goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who backstopped the club to the Kelly Cup Finals and was the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Year, signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. He’ll likely start the season with Portland of the American Hockey League – good for him, he has nothing left to prove at the ECHL level.

Finally back from a long, long time off – oh, yeah, you know I’m absolutely psyched; no, make that super-psyched to be back in the office, especially because the newspaper biz is so awesome these days – so I’ll try to play catch-up on the pucks front in the next few weeks.

We’ll start with the college crew – UAA released its roster and a pack o’ info today, and it looks like coach Dave Shyiak has bagged a couple more recruits, and also lost a couple of guys who are not returning.

First, the dudes who hit the road – not on the roster are forwards Tyler Moir, who would have been a sophomore, and Brian Bales of Anchorage, who would have been a senior. Each scored just one goal last season, though Bales’ 15 assists in 34 games made him the team’s fifth-leading point producer. (Already through the exits among regulars in the lineup were center Paul Crowder, who turned pro; defensemen Mat Robinson and Shane Lovdahl; and winger Jeremy Smith – all exhausted their eligibility). It’s worth noting the Seawolves head into 2009-10 having lost a mere 21.1-percent of their goal scoring from last season – that’s a pretty soft blow to absorb.

Finally, at long last, I'm getting around to recognizing the boys who have been selected to participate in USA Hockey Select Development Camps this summer, the first of which (Select 16s) closed today in Rochester, N.Y., with some nice performances by the Alaskans.

Forwards Tanner Sorenson (3-2--5 totals in 5 games) and Austin Wuthrich (1-4--5 in 5) of Anchorage rocked some nice stats, and ditto for forward Jared Linnell of Fairbanks (2-2--4 in 5). Goaltender Stephon Williams (3.60, .888) of Fairbanks, forward Tayler Munson of Fairbanks, defenseman Brian Cooper of Anchorage and blueliner Branden Fisher of Soldotna were also at Selects.

Free agent oaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage secured a big raise today when he signed a two-year, $2.6 million deal with the NHL's St. Louis Blues.

Conklin, 33, moved from the Detroit Red Wings to the Blues, who are his sixth NHL team. Conklin last season made $750,000 with the Winged Wheel.

Presumably, Conklin will serve as backup to Chris Mason, but he split games in Detroit last season with Chris Osgood for much of the campaign before Osgood, who suffered a tough regular season, regained his groove.

Conklin went 25-11-6 with six shutouts, a 2.51 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.