Free agency is in full swing and while the Florida Panthers, while not making any big news, have been busy shaping the roster for the upcoming 2013-14 season, the Rampage have made some fairly significant moves of their own.
ESPN Radio personality and good friend JP Williams broke down the early off-season roster moves here
The Rampage are still in dire need of an AHL quality goaltender to challenge DGM for playing time. Some options include, Michael Leighton, Brad Thiessen, or Peter Mannino. Another possibility is the addition of an NHL backup in Florida and waiving Scott Clemmensen and sending him to the Rampage if he clears. The Panthers have virtually no depth whatsoever at the position, so something will need to be done before training camp.
In case you've taken your summer hockey news hiatus or are living in Madagascar, the biggest news of the summer so far has been the shuffling of the Rampage coaching staff. Chuck Weber was promoted to Director of Hockey Operations and Peter Horachek was brought in to run the show this season. Weber and Horachek have an extensive history working together and Chuck will stay behind the bench as well serving as an Associate Head Coach. This may be the biggest signing of the summer. Weber is an outstanding talent evaluator and Horachek has a winning pedigree at just about every level of professional hockey.Blog News
I will be doing things a bit differently this season. The "gameday" posts are gone. Instead I will be doing a quick recap of each game (with full postgame audio of any game I'm covering) and then doing a weekly recap on Sunday nights.
I will also be calling on guest bloggers to fill space with interesting stories. I've already been in contact with Andrew Ferraro, former beat writer for the Houston Aeros and contributor to The Third Intermission. Look for a story about life after hockey in Houston, tomorrow. I hope to be in contact with some others as well.
Finally, there are some things I am exploring outside of this site to bring more expansive Rampage coverage to the masses. Once everything is finalized, you will be the first to know.
RampageNate,
ReplyDeleteWhen reading your goaltending remarks above I read this "The Rampage are still in dire need of an AHL quality goaltender to challenge DGM for playing time." I am assuming you already conceed that Florida's prospect Michael Houser is getting playing time and that you want an AHL lifer to challenge DGM for the remaining time. Because if you believe that Houser isn't coming to play....well I'll just bite my tongue because I appreciate any Rampage blog. He's a 20 y/o work horse who was MVP here in Cincy and OHL player of the year prior and CHL goalie of the year also (a second round NHL draft pick if it wasn't for childhood foot surgeries). The parent organization loves him....he's playing. When Foster was sent back to Cincy after San Antonio's season ended Houser took his job, goaltended them to the conference championship series, team MVP. Go Panthers Go Rampage Go Cyclones!
I'm going to need to see more from him before annointing him the starter in San Antonio (which with DGM signed, he won't be). He's a good prospect and could absolutely earn the backup job, but the Panthers have zero depth at the position and are one injury away from Houser playing in the NHL. And lets be honest, beating out Foster isn't exactly a tall order.
ReplyDelete