Unless you've been living in Bulgaria or just don't care, you've already seen that the San Antonio Rampage have switched affiliations this off-season. Losing the Phoenix Coyotes, who jet setted off to...Portland!?!? I speculated a couple weeks ago that SS&E maybe wasn't so happy with the relationship and wanted to shop around. After Phoenix signed on with Portland, Phoenix GM Don Maloney made mention of his long standing desire to have his prospects playing in New England where travel is minimal and practice time can be optimized. We may never know the real story behind the break up, but it was time. The relationship had run its course and had become stale. If there is one thing I'm certain of, however, it's that Portland will be a playoff team and we will go back to wondering "What if?" all over again.
Alas, Phoenix is no more. We must now focus our attention on a new marriage. One with a jilted ex who has gone to rehab and got a little plastic surgery. Gone are the days of Mike Keenan and his inexplicable ability to single handedly destroy a hockey franchise. Dale Tallon is now in charge of the Panthers and he brings with him the ability to build a successful hockey club. The Panthers have, by all accounts, a top 5 system of prospects and the future looks bright. That's the positive Nate. Conversely, the cynic must speak up. Most of the top tier talent in Florida's system is years away and either committed to their NCAA hockey squad or flourishing in Juniors. And with the AHL/CHL age requirement in place, guys like Erik Gudbranson and Nick Bjugstad will likely see little, if any time in San Antonio.
So, the question becomes, "who will we see this year?". With the help of Rampage play-by-play man Dan Weiss (@SARampage_Voice), we have pieced together a VERY preliminary projection of this years squad. The following is assuming all RFA's extended Qualifying Offers sign and no other moves are made.
Forwards
#10 AJ Jenks 6'2" 200
63GP 8-13-21 +3 (Rochester)
#14 Michael Duco 5'10" 195
67GP 20-11-31 -16 (RCH)
2GP 0-0-0 (FLA)
#17 Mark Cullen 5'11" 190
28GP 5-9-14 -10 (RCH)
#21 Garrett Wilson 6'3" 205
66GP 40-46-86 +33 (Owen Sound-OHL)
#22 Kenndal McCardle 5'11" 205
54GP 14-12-26 -5 (RCH)
11GP 0-0-0 (FLA)
#26 Michal Repik 5'10" 180
53GP 11-34-45 -9 (RCH)
31GP 2-6-8 (Florida-NHL)
#27 Greg Rallo 6'0" 195
78GP 26-28-54 +4 (Texas-AHL)
#32 Scott Timmins 5'11" 190
45GP 10-12-22 +10 (RCH)
19GP 1-0-1 (FLA)
#34 Eric Selleck 6'2" 195
67GP 5-11-16 -4 30 Fights (RCH)
#40 Tim Kennedy 5'10" 175
67GP 12-37-49 +6 (RCH/Hartford)
6 GP 0-1-1 (FLA)
#41 Anthony Luciani 5'8" 190
54GP 29-49-78 +26 (Erie-OHL)
#79 Jonathan Hazen 5'11" 170
62GP 41-42-83 -16 (Val-d'Or Foreurs-QMJHL)
Defense
#2 Michael Caruso 6'2" 190
75GP 5-4-9 -3 (RCH)
#4 Evan Oberg 6'0" 165
38GP 6-5-11 (RCH)
2GP 0-0 (VAN-NHL)
5GP 1-1-2 (RCH)
#24 Adam Comrie 6'4" 215
44GP 0-5-5 -15 (RCH)
13GP 4-4-8 (Cincinnati-ECHL)
#25 Colby Robak 6'3" 210
76GP 7-17-24 -12 (RCH)
#28 Mike Kostka 6'1" 210
80GP 16-38-54 -9 (RCH)
#43 Nolan Yonkman 6'6" 250
55GP 1-4-5 -7 7 Fighting Majors (SA-AHL)
16GP 0-1-1 (PHX-NHL)
#62 Roman Derlyuk 6'3" 200
44GP 5-9-14 +3 (KHL)
Goalies
#30 Jacob Markstrom 6'3" 180
16-20-1 2.98GAA .907% 1SO
#35 Tyler Plante 6'4" 190
13-17-2 3.12GAA .909% 1SO
Now obviously a lot can change between now and October. Some guys may surprise and make the Panthers out of camp and some guys may get sent down to start the season in San Antonio. But more or less, barring any trades or free agent signings, this is your team. One thing to consider (thanks to Coolburn over at hfboards) is that the Panthers are currently at 48 NHL contracts. The max allowed is 50. Teams typically like to leave 1 or 2 spots open for wiggle room and with 2010 3rd overall pick Erik Gundbranson unsigned, it would appear the Panthers may be done handing out NHL deals. Therefore, as of now, any additions would more than likely be AHL contracts. But if this offseason has taught us Rampage fans anything, it's that anything is possible and to expect the unexpected.
So until the next big news worthy item jumps onto my twitter feed, I will see you all at the rink.
LETS GO RAMPAGE!!
Good luck!!!
ReplyDelete- Love Rochester.
lol.. any questions on these guys let me know, watched them play pretty often the last few years.
As a Panther fan, I would like to mention one thing so the Rampage faithful feel a little better about the relationship. Tallon and Santos have repeated many times that the plan is for almost all the prospects to come up thru the minor league system. No longer will they be rushed to the NHL. So a guy like Gudbranson may not head to San Antonio but I would expect Bjugstad to, even if for a short period. And with all the long term contracts given out this offseason, there really isn't room for any prospects to make Florida's roster. So you should be getting to see a lot of good young players coming thru town.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll also see a difference between last yr's Rochester team and next yr's San Antonio team in that there are better centers now with Rallo and Cullen (who had a freak injury missing most of the yr). That was a real problem for Rochester all last yr.
I hope they can add a vet forward to that list there but as I mentioned on hfboards it may be tough initially. But Tallon made several moves at or near the start of last season to move guys in and out. so I have a feeling he'll do the same to clear up a spot or 2 for the Rampage to add someone.
So I guess I should make the "Selleck Fight Crew" shirts now.
ReplyDelete