This is Pickard’s second trip to the Cyclones in as many seasons.

The former first round pick was taken 18th overall by the Preds in 2008, just 11 spots behind his childhood best friend Colin Wilson. And while Wilson has certainly had his issues, Pickard’s have been worse. After finishing up a stellar junior career with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL, the Moncton, New Brunswick native has struggled at the professional level. In 43 career games with the AHL-affiliate Milwaukee Admirals, Pickard a respectable 2.90 goals-against average but his .893 save percentage is atrocious.

If Pickard wants to resurrect his professional career and have a shot at the National Hockey League someday, he’ll need to dominate the ECHL competition in Cincinnati and demand a call-up that way. Once in Milwaukee, he can do what just about every Predators goaltender has done before him: play the waiting game.

2007 second rounder Jeremy Smith had to go a similar route. After a rough start to his pro career with the Admirals he was sent down to the Cyclones. There, he posted a 23-15-2 record and led his team to a Kelly Cup Championship and was named co-tournament MVP in the process. Pickard, by contrast, is just 9-14-3 with Cincinnati.

If Pickard can use Smith as an example of how to take this hard lesson and rebound into a starter at the AHL level, he’ll be alright. If he doesn’t, however…

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PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Fuqua // special to section303.com (used with permission)

The Cincinnati Cyclones – the Predators’ ECHL affiliate – announced today that they have signed Garrett Suter, AKA Ryan’s kid brother, to his first professional hockey contract. Garrett played college hockey at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

It should be noted that Garrett is property of Cincinnati and not of the Predators. While the ECHL is a long way from the NHL, there have been players that have made it to the NHL from there. Mark Dekanich played two games in Cincinnati last year and was on the Predators’ roster as recently as last weekend. Last week, former Predator Andrew Brunette became the first ECHL alum to log 1,000 NHL games.

In addition to being affiliated with the Predators, the Cyclones are also affiliated with the Admirals (meaning Admirals players not under NHL contract can be moved back and forth to the Cyclones), the Florida Panthers, the Rochester Americans and the Knoxville Ice Bears. There is a decent chance that if Garrett has a successful run in Cincinnati, he could become the second Suter on the Preds’ payroll…which would certainly help come next summer, when Ryan is a free agent.

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The Official Cincinnati Cyclones Press Release:

The 2010 Kelly Cup Champion Cincinnati Cyclones, proud affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators, announced today that they have agreed to terms with defenseman Garrett Suter.
 
Suter (pronounced SOO-ter) will embark on his professional career after playing four seasons with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  In 100 college games, he posted 70 points (19 goals, 51 assists) and 243 penalty minutes.  This past year, the 23-year-old rear guard was a team captain at UWSP.  In 2009-10, he had a career-high 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) in 28 games, which led the Pointers in scoring.
 
The Madison, Wisconsin native comes from an extremely hockey-rich bloodline.  His father, Bob, was a member of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic team while his brother, Ryan, has logged nearly 500 NHL games as a defenseman with the Nashville Predators.  Even Suter’s uncle, Gary, enjoyed a lengthy pro career – posting 845 NHL points in 1145 games with the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks.  Gary also won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Flames in 1989.
 
Suter will be in uniform tomorrow night when the Cyclones visit the Wheeling Nailers at WesBanco Arena.  The puck drops in Wheeling at 7:35 with pregame coverage beginning on the Cyclones Radio Network at 7:20pm.

If you don’t recognize Fisher’s name, perhaps you will by his nickname. “Mr. Carrie Underwood.”

The 30-year old Peterbourgh, Ontario native has never scored more than 53 points in a season and has a cap hit of $4.2 million. He has two more years left on his current deal as well.

While a lot of fans are happy about this move based on the fact that the team didn’t have to give up any roster players or prospects to land the centerman, I am skeptical. Fisher is not exactly a scoring machine, he’s never scored more than 25 goals in a season and he’s a consistent 50-pt guy. All those traits remind you of who? David Legwand? Martin Erat? Former Pred Jason Arnott? To me, it’s just “more of the same” and it didn’t really address the “scoring need” this team has. Did it help solve the injury problem at center? Absolutely. Did it bring in a guy with playoff experience? Sure. But did it really address the main need? No. And now the Preds have just another 30-something, 50-pt producer who has a long-term deal.

Given the fact that Poile didn’t have to part with any players to get Fisher, however, I will reserve judgment on this deal because, who knows, maybe under non-Canadian media scrutiny the guy blows up? It’s happened before (see: Lee Stempniak).

The conditional pick, TSN’s Bob McKenzie is reporting, is a 2011 third round pick if the Preds advance to the second round of the playoffs. It turns into second round pick if they advance further than that.

In what appears to be a completely seperate deal, the Pittsburgh Penguins have also traded prospect Casey Pierro-Zabotel to Nashville. We’re still awaiting word on went the other way, if anything. The Preds have assigned “CPZ” to their ECHL-affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones.

Pierro-Zabotel was a teammate of Nashville prospect Jonathan Blum‘s for two seasons with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.

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PHOTO CREDIT: The Tennessean (used with permission)

Week in Review

Wednesday, January 5 at Florida Everblades

Rookie goaltender Marc Cheverie stood on his head several times to hold the ECHL’s best offensive team, the Florida Everblades (21-15-0-1), to just one goal as the Cincinnati Cyclones (12-13-5-2) took home a 3-1 victory at Germain Arena on Wednesday night.

Cincinnati found the net just 18 seconds into the contest as Dustin Sproat potted his eighth goal of the season after finding a loose puck in the slot.  However, Florida’s Francis Lemieux snuck into the Cyclones end during a line change and banged home a shot past Marc Cheverie (W, 27 saves 11,-7-2-2) to knot score at one after 20 minutes of play.

In the second period Cheverie wasn’t quite as busy, only facing four shots; however, all four were outstanding scoring chances that Cincinnati’s netminder turned aside with relative ease.  Meanwhile, at the 12:02 mark, Matt Pierce tucked home a rebound left by Florida goalie Jaroslav Janus (L, 24 saves, 8-7-0-0) for his sixth goal of the year and a 2-1 Cyclones lead.

The third period was nothing short of a shooting gallery in the Cyclones zone; Florida peppered Cheverie with 12 shots in the final frame of regulation, but once again he stood tall on all of them.  Then, at 17:24, Scott Reynolds back-handed home a big rebound to give the Cyclones a 3-1 cushion – one they would not relinquish.

Box Score

Friday, January 7 at Florida Everblades

Nashville Predators’ prospect Chet Pickard put a rare W in the win column on Friday night.

Rookie Christiaan Minella’s goal at 16:56 of the third period helped send the Cincinnati Cyclones (13-13-5-2) to a 2-1, come-from-behind victory over the Florida Everblades (21-16-0-1) at Germain Arena on Friday night.  It was the sixth time this season that the Cyclones have rallied back to win a game.

Despite Cincinnati controlling the play throughout the first period, it was the Everblades who found the net first.  Exactly three minutes into the opening frame, Matt Beca slid home his seventh goal of the season on a two-on-one with Francis Lemieux to make it 1-0 Florida.

Cincinnati continued to keep the pressure on in the middle stanza, sending 13 more shots on Everblades goalie Jaroslav Janus (L, 40 saves, 8-8-0-0).  However, the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick stopped them all, keeping his team ahead 1-0 after 40 minutes.

Just 15 seconds into the third, though, Barret Ehgoetz corralled a loose puck in front of the net and sent it past Janus for the game-tying goal – setting the tone for the rest of the way.  Thanks to Pickard (W, 18 saves, 2-6-0-2), the teams stayed tied for nearly 17 minutes as he made several point-blank saves.  Then, at the 16:56, Christiaan Minella grabbed a loose puck at center ice right off the bench and sent a wrist shot that eluded the pads of Florida’s netminder for a 2-1 Cyclones lead.  Minella’s eighth tally of the season turned out to be the game-winner.

Box Score

Saturday, January 8 at Florida Everblades

2011 ECHL All-Star Brian O’Hanley netted the game winner in round six of the shootout to give the Cincinnati Cyclones (14-13-5-2) a 6-5 win and a three-game sweep of the Florida Everblades (21-16-0-2) at Germain Arena on Saturday night.

Just like Friday night, Florida jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Alexandre Imbeault scored his team-leading 18^th goal of the season by beating Cyclones goalie Marc Cheverie (W, 25 saves, 12-7-2-2) on a two-on-one rush.  However, Cincinnati responded with a pair of goals of its own; the first one came at 5:12 when T.J. Fast stepped out of the corner and sniped a wrist shot over the glove-side shoulder of Everblades goalie Bobby Goepfert (L, 42 saves, 13-8-0-2) to knot the score.  Then, at the 16:58 mark, Matt Pierce finished a strong shift by scoring a similar goal just outside the right circle to give Cincinnati at 2-1 lead through the opening frame.

The second period was, in a word, physical.  As tempers flared in the series finale, 11 penalties were whistled in the stanza – many of which coming after the play had already ended.  Yet, the Cyclones padded their lead at 8:08 when Brian O’Hanley blasted home his sixth goal of the year on the power play, making it 3-1.  However, on a Florida power play, Bobby Raymond batted home a one-timer with just 21 seconds left to pull his team within a goal, 3-2 at the second intermission.

The third period brought on an offensive explosion, with a combined five goals scored in the final frame of regulation.  Cincinnati temporarily extended their lead when Pierce tallied his second of the night only 32 seconds in, making it 4-2.  However, the Everblades raced back with goals from Francis Lemiuex and Imbeault only one minute apart to tie the score at four.  At exactly the 15:00 mark, Sam D’Agostino poked home the go-ahead goal underneath a sea of bodies to push the Cyclones out front again, 5-4.  Unfortunately, though, with just 1:03 left in regulation Bobby Raymond followed with a similar tally to once again even the score and send the teams in to overtime.

Thanks to a couple of Florida penalties, the Cyclones enjoyed a power play in the early going of the extra session but couldn’t bury the game-winner.   So for the fourth time this season, the Cyclones decided their fate in the shootout.  In the shootout, Piece, and Mathieu Aubin lit the lamp for Cincinnati while Florida’s Imbeault and Ernie Hartlieb found the net as well.  With five shooters down, it came down to round number 6; the Everblades David Fischer was stopped easily by Cheverie and then Brian O’Hanley followed with the game-winner for Cincinnati to earn his team the extra point – 6-5 the final.

Box Score

League Leaders

Division Standings

The Week Ahead

Quick Notes

• The Cyclones are 10-1-3 when holding the advantage after 40 minutes.
• Cincinnati put 117 pucks on Florida’s net during last week’s three-game set.  Their 48 shots on goal on Saturday was the single game high this season.
• The Cyclones have a dual NHL-affiliation. They are also affiliated with the Florida Panthers. Chet Pickard is the only player on the roster currently in the Predators organization, while defenseman Scott Lehman is property of the Admirals. Goaltender Marc Cheverie, as well as Brady Calla, Adam Comrie, T.J. Fast and Carl Hudson are property of the Panthers. One player – Chris Clackson – is property of the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. All other players are both NHL and AHL free agents.

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GAME RECAPS COURTESY OF CINCINNATI CYCLONES

The @dexshow, if you will.

(Sorry, I had to.)

Rinne apparently suffered a knee injury in the 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets this past Wednesday night. As a result, the Preds have recalled Dekanich from the Milwaukee Admirals and the Admirals, in turn, have recalled former first round pick Chet Pickard from the East Coast Hockey League’s Cincinnati Cyclones.

Pickard and Jeremy Smith will tend to the Admirals nets while Lindback and Dekanich will hold down the fort in Music City.

Since the injury news was so sudden, it was assumed that Lindback would get the start in tomorrow night’s contest against the Carolina Hurricanes and then again in Atlanta on Monday night and Dekanich would just be an insurance policy. But with this recent turn of events, it appears Dekanich may just see his first NHL action after all.

Lindback has performed well beyond expectations when called upon this season. “Anders the Giant” is 3-1-1 when starting and has only allowed two goals total in the three games he entered on mop-up duty.

If Lindback continues to play at his high level, Dekanich will be relegated to the back-up role for his entire stay with Nashville. But that doesn’t mean he won’t start a few games. The most likely scenario is that “Dex” would start one game in a back-to-back set. There are only two back-to-back’s in the month of December, the 17th and 18th in New Jersey and then at home against Los Angeles, respectively and then just before Christmas on the road against the Blackhawks and then at home against Ottawa. Again, if Lindback continues to play well, look for Dekanich to see action during those two sets.

And it’s not out of the question he makes a statement while with the big club. Dekanich has been brilliant this season in the AHL. His record reads 10-3-3 with three shutouts, a ridiculous 1.71 goals-against average and an incredible .941 save percentage. Now, obviously, the American Hockey League is not the National Hockey League and he now has a clean slate, but, let’s be honest, there’s a ton of potential there. Especially in back-up duties.

All you can do, if  you’re a goaltender, is give your team the best chance to win. Both Lindback (on the NHL level) and Dekanich (on the AHL level) have shown they can do that. That’s all the Preds can ask for. It’s up to the defensemen to play solid in front of them and it’s up to the forwards to give their team enough offensive support to compete. If everyone does their job, Nashville can survive this. It won’t be as easy as having Rinne back there to bail them out if they screw up, but they can survive this.

Twitter users @goverjkg, @racheladdison, @predsaddict and @trebek14 debut the Anders the Giant shirts at the October 13th O'Charley's Chill Out Party.

Seeing as how Lindback is now the starting goaltender, don’t you want to support him? Well, now you can. You may have seen a handful of fans walking around with “Anders the Giant” t-shirts on. Just contact graphic designer Rachel Addison on Twitter and she’ll hook you up. All standard sizes are available still and t-shirts are only $12. All proceeds will be donated to the Predators Foundation.

And, finally, we just want to tell Mark “Dex” Dekanich: welcome to the (Dex)Show.

(I’m telling you, there are some pun-ny headlines in the making here….)

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MAIN PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy K. Gover // section303.com

When training camp began, many hoped he had put the slump past him. In fact, Chet performed admirably enough during training camp that head coach Barry Trotz rewarded him by allowing him to dress for a preseason game.

“It was nice,” Pickard told section303.com. “Obviously it was really an honor to put on that jersey. Not many people can say even though it was an exhibition game and I didn’t play, not many people can say that they’ve experienced that. I was honored to put on the Predators jersey and to sit on the bench and watch the game. It makes you want to be there even more.”

However, Anders Lindback surprised nearly everyone by winning the back up job which meant that Pickard and Dekanich headed back to Milwaukee. While Dekanich started the season on fire, Pickard’s slump continued. After four games, he was 0-3-1 with a 3.47 GAA and a .885 save percentage.

Something wasn’t right and Chet Pickard was demoted to the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones.

It took four more starts with the defending Kelly Cup Champions before the “curse” was finally broken. After 18 straight losses, Chet stopped 31 of 32 shots as the Cyclones beat the Toledo Walleye.

“It was nice to finally win a game,” Pickard said. “Obviously it’s been long coming and it’s nice to get the feeling of winning back again. It’s a step in the right direction and definitely the monkey is lifted off my back, but it’s just one game and I’ve got to keep improving every day. But that was a good step in the right direction.”

What did Chet work on to get his game back?

“I think over the last month for sure I’ve worked on some different things. I’ve worked with some different people on just keeping myself relaxed and more the mental side of the game moreso than the technical side. The biggest thing was relaxing and just controlling my game and controlling my emotions. It was a long time coming and it was just about trying not to get frustrated even though it was extremely hard because when everyone goes into a game is they expect to win and they want to win and when you haven’t won in a long time you forget the feeling and when I got that feeling of winning again it was awesome and I was really happy and it was almost – I think – 20 games ago, so it was definitely a good feeling and a great effort by the whole team to get the win.”

While he’s happy to finally win again, he knows that it was just one game.

“I just have to keep following what I’ve been on in the last two weeks here and keep getting better everyday when I go to the rink, keep working on the mental side of the game…it was only one win there and then the other day we lost in overtime again and so things are getting better and headed in the right direction. I just have to keep focused on everyday getting better when I go to the rink and get myself back where I need to be.”

And where does Chet think he needs to be?

“When I get out on the ice for a game, I just want to be able to give my team a chance to win and be sharp for 60 minutes of hockey and be that confident and mentally strong goalie that I used to be. Be that goalie that wins games, doesn’t let anybody bother him, doesn’t let anything bother him. You know it’s going to take some time and it’s going to be a process and I’m aware of that. I was picked high in 2008 and I want to show people why I was picked that high. I don’t want to disappoint Nashville, I don’t want to disappoint my family or myself,  but in the meantime it’s not about playing for the Nashville Predators. Right now, it’s about getting better every day and taking it one step at a time. Like I said, it’s going to be a process and I’m heading in the right direction right now. I feel better about myself, I feel better about my game, I feel better about how I’ve been as a person over the past two weeks compared to before that and I think things are going to keep getting better. I’m working harder on and off the ice and I’m listening to people. I think it’s going to be very beneficial this experience I’ve been put through the last little while.”

How is he getting back on track?

“I have a lot of little goals I set on a daily basis. I don’t know what my long term goal is. Right now, it’s getting back to the way I play. It’s getting back to the goalie that I know I can be and that I will be. It might take some time to get to that. Every day I set goals before practice. I set goals every day when I wake up. I want to achieve those goals so that I can get to the next level so that I can get to be the goalie that I want to be, that Nashville wants me to be and that everyone wants me to be. That’s the ultimate goal. If I’m playing the best hockey I can play, if I’m playing at the top of my level, then the sky’s the limit. Whether that’s back in Milwaukee, whether that’s in Nashville, whether that’s excelling in this league, that’s stuff that’s out of my control. Right now I’m just worrying about things I can do to get myself better and using the resources that I have available to me to achieve those goals.”

Of course, not too many kids dream about becoming the hottest goaltender in the East Coast Hockey League. In the end, Chet’s goal is to become a dominant NHL goalie.

“That’s obviously what my goal is: to one day be in the National Hockey League and be great. I don’t want to the National Hockey League and not be ready or be an immature kid when it comes to my game – I want to be there and be confident and know that when I’m there, I’m there for good.”

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PHOTO CREDIT: Tony Bailey

Not so fast.

It was announced this morning that the Los Angeles Kings have exposed goaltender Erik Ersberg to waivers, fueling speculation by Kevin Allen of USA Today, one of the nation’s best hockey writers, that he may be claimed by the Nashville Predators.

Would Ersberg be a serviceable back-up to Rinne? Absolutely. But that’s not the question. The question is what happens to the other goaltenders in the system, mainly former first round pick Chet Pickard?

If the Preds brought in the 6’0″ Swede, Lindback would join Dekanich in Milwaukee. No harm, no foul there as both could split starting duties and further their development on the AHL level.

Pickard, then, would be in a quandary. Sure, the Admirals could carry three goaltenders but Pickard would see the least action of the three.

Not exactly an ideal way to develop a top prospect.

The other option would be to send Pickard to the ECHL-affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones, but then what is he really learning? Fellow Predators goaltending prospect Jeremy Smith is already there and, for the second year in a row, will try and help the Cyclones win the Kelly Cup. Putting Pickard in Cincinnati would stunt his growth and development due to the talent level in the East Coast League and, as a result of Pickard’s arrival, would further hurt Smith’s development. Not to mention the Cyclones are also the ECHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers so they, if necessary, would probably like to utilize that partnership to develop a goalie of their own.

The only time you want to voluntarily hurt the development of your prospects is when you can bring in what-is-thought-to-be the final piece to a Stanley Cup puzzle. And, let’s be honest, Ersberg is not the final piece to a Stanley Cup puzzle.

All that being said, it wouldn’t be out of the question for General Manager David Poile to trade one of the goalies out of the system if they were to pick up Ersberg. Lindback and Pickard are pieces of the future in Nashville so they’re probably safe. It’s Dekanich and Smith who’d be shopped around.

Dekanich was given a one-year, two-way contract this past summer to see if he could do what was necessary to compete for the back-up job in Nashville. After Lindback won the battle, I’m sure Dekanich would appreciate an opportunity to get his NHL career started this season, even if it is elsewhere. The one-year contract indicates the Predators are not committed to him long term, as they shouldn’t be. With Lindback, Pickard, Smith and Atte Engren in the system, Dekanich is more than expendable and trading him might be the best option (both short-term and long-term) to unclog the logjam on the depth chart.

As far as Smith goes, he’s a former second round pick, a Kelly Cup Champion and a co-Kelly Cup MVP. He needs another season or two in the minors before he can be considered NHL-ready, but teams with older starters like the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils could use a goaltender developing in the system who’s waiting in the wings. Given his resume – and limited legit opportunities against top talent – he may be attractive to a team who can afford to take a flier on a promising, young goalie.

We won’t know if Ersberg was claimed by Nashville – or another team ahead of them in the waiver order – until Tuesday at 11:00am Central. If the Preds have claimed him, expect another domino to fall shortly thereafter.

UPDATE (10/5): Ersberg was not only passed on by Nashville, but was passed on by every team. He cleared waivers this morning and is being sent to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League.

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To help bridge the gap between now and the regular season, we will be doing a series called Three Minutes With. Every installment will be with a different member of the Nashville Predators family. Could be players. Could be coaches. Could even be fans.

In the second installment we have Preds Goaltending Coach Mitch Korn. With the goaltending factory that has become the Nashville Predators, Korn is mainly responsible for many starters around the NHL such as Pekka Rinne, Chris Mason, Tomas Vokoun and Dan Ellis, among others.

Jeremy K. Gover: During the season, you have guys in Nashville and guys in Milwaukee and, last year, you even had Jeremy Smith in Cincinnati. How do you coach all of those guys in all of those different places?
Mitch Korn: Well, the good news is, I have a clone. His name is Ben Vanderklok. Ben is our assistant goalie coach and we work together in ensuring that these guys get as much attention as the two of us can provide. Obviously while I spend a lot of time in Nashville, last season I traveled to Milwaukee once a month for anywhere between five and seven days. I also traveled to Cincinnati once a month for anywhere between three and five days. So when you add all of that up, we had some pretty good coverage in both places. Obviously we’re talking to the goaltenders all the time in modern technology, whether it be via texts, BBM’s or even phone every now and again. Yes, we actually hear their voice. And (we) talk to the coaches as well. In today’s day in age, we can get on the American League website and we can watch video that way so I think we’re able to cover it pretty well.

JG: Now you mentioned the AHL’s website having video. I assume there’s a lack of video in the ECHL so what do you in those cases?
MK: There is a lack of video. Again, Ben goes in there and when he does he watches video, when I go in there, I watch video with him. Unfortunately, there is a priority order. It goes the most is in the NHL, the next most is in the American League and the next most is in the East Coast League. That’s just how it is.

JG: Obviously this is an informal skate but what are you looking for when you work with the two goalies here and in other places that aren’t as structured as training camp?
MK: I’m not really looking for anything right now. I’m just watching for the sake of watching. I guess I’ll know what I’m looking for when I find it. 

JG: Finally, after I tweeted how you brought out the white pucks, we had a lot of people ask what the purpose of those are. Would you mind giving us a little Hockey 101 here and explaining about the white pucks?
MK: So that already made Twitter, huh?
JG: Yeah.
MK: Oh so that means Dan Ellis read it? *laughs* You know, what I’ve always tried to do is to make practice more difficult than a game and to try to create situations that you can’t replicate other than in a game. One of the things about the white pucks is a function of tracking. Following the puck. It makes it harder because we’re not used to it so it really forces you to focus and track. And you notice too we had a screen board. We use that to take away vision and require, again, fast puck recognition. That’s what all these things are designed to do.

JG: Thank you very much.
MK: You’re welcome.

Poile’s latest move is sending right wing Ian McKenzie to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenseman Grant Lewis.

Lewis’ impeccable NHL resume has a grand total of one game on it.

In that one game, he logged a respectable 15:29 of ice time (not bad for a guy making his NHL debut) and registered one shot on goal. But don’t hold his lack of experience against him. Lewis is a 6’3″, 200 pound blueliner who has tallied 44 points in 133 games at the AHL level. Also, he was steady producer in college, bagging 77 points in his 120 games with Dartmouth.

While at Dartmouth, he was named to the 2004 ECAC All-Rookie Team, he was the only freshman to be a member of the 2004 ECAC First-Team, he was a member of the All-Ivy League First Team and he was a New England Hockey Writers All-Star selection as well. All those accolades prompted Atlanta to make him their second round draft choice the following summer. He then returned to school and posted 52 points in his final three seasons.

So, what we’re saying is, there’s potential there.

The problem is, he’ll be fighting for a spot behind Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Francis Bouillon, Kevin Klein and Cody Franson (hopefully). He’ll also be directly competing with Teemu Laakso, Alexander Sulzer, Jonathan Blum, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis in training camp. Then there’s also the newly signed Brett Palin and Aaron Johnson, as well as prospects Mattias Ekholm and Charles-Olivier Roussel.

Nashville really doesn’t lose anything with this deal as McKenzie was one of the worst players in Development Camp this summer and has never really done a whole lot at the professional level. In 50 career AHL games, he’s tallied just five points, which explains why in each of the past two seasons he’s split time between the AHL Milwaukee Admirals and the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones. With the Cyclones, he’s produced a little more, posting 20 points in 64 career games.

So, based on those stats, Atlanta’s ECHL affiliate, the Gwinnett Gladiators, better get ready because there’s about to be a new kid in town.

Then again, who didn’t he play for?

Jarrod Skalde was introduced today as the new head coach of the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones.

Skalde, a second round pick of the New Jersey Devils back in 1989, wound up as a journeyman hockey player, having played for – wait for it – 27 different hockey clubs between turning pro in 1990 and retiring in 2008. In case you’re keeping track, that’s an average of nearly 1.5 different teams per season.

I’ll talk a little bit more about the shoes he has to fill in one second. But, before I do, let me list the different teams he’s skated with. (Quite honestly, I didn’t even know some of these teams even existed.)

* Utica Devils (AHL) from 1990-93
* New Jersey Devils (NHL) from 1990-93
* Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) in 1992-93
* San Diego Gulls (IHL) in 1993-94
* Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (NHL) in 1993-94
* Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) in 1994-95
* Baltimore Bandits (AHL) in 1995-96
* Saint John Flames (AHL) from 1995-97
* Calgary Flames (NHL) in 1995-96
* Indianapolis Ice (IHL) in 1997-98
* Kentucky Thoroughblades (AHL) from 1997-99
* San Jose Sharks (NHL) in 1997 and then again in 1999
* Dallas Stars (NHL) in 1997-98
* Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) in 1998-99
* Utah Grizzlies (IHL/AHL) in 1999-00 and then again from 2003-05
* Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) in 1999-00
* Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) in 2000-01
* Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) in 2001-02
* Chicago Wolves (AHL) in 2001-02
* Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) in 2001-02
* Lausanne HC (Swiss Elite League) in 2002-03
* Springfield Falcons (AHL) in 2004-05
* San Antonio Rampage (AHL) in 2005-06
* Leksands IF (Swedish Elite League) in 2005-06
* Oji Eagles (Asia League) in 2006-07
* Jesenice (Austrian League) in 2007-08
* Bloomington PrairieThunder (IHL) in 2007-08

Whew.

Now Skalde’s got some big shoes to fill as recently departed Head Coach Chuck Weber won two Kelly Cup titles during his four year stint as the Cyclones bench boss, his first four as a head coach anywhere. Skalde, 39, has spent the last two years on the International Hockey League level with the same Bloomington team he played for in 2007-08. In his two seasons behind the bench, he led the PrairieThunder to a 60-74-7-11 record, neither time making the post season.

By contrast, Weber not only led the Cyclones to two Kelly Cups, but he also posted a 177-92-19 record, won two North Division titles (2008, 2009), brought home a Brabham Cup (for the ECHL’s best record) and earned three consecutive trips to the American Conference Finals (2008, 2009 and 2010).

Your move, Skalde.

Predators goaltender Jeremy Smith was the only Nashville prospect to spend considerable time in southern Ohio last season. He made the most of it, however, posting a 23-15-2 regular season record and then going on to be named co-Kelly Cup MVP.

The only other players in the Preds’ system to spend any time in Cincinnati last season were Ian McKenzie (24 games) and Mark Dekanich (2 games).

Regardless of how many prospects wore a Cyclones sweater last year, Cincinnati is affiliated with the Predators and thus, a new head coach in the system is news worthy.

Especially when the new head coach played on 27 different clubs in his 19 year professional career.

But, if you really need a Preds connection to tie this all together for you, when he played for the Solar Bears in 2000-01, he played wither former Preds tough guy Darcy Hordichuk under current Nashville Assistant Coach Peter Horachek.

Oh, and they won the IHL’s championship that season, the Turner Cup.

EDIT: He was also a teammate with former Predators goalie Dan Ellis on the 2003-04 Utah Grizzlies team.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Joel Fellers // Pantagraph

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SPECIAL THANKS: Props to @SLakePreds for the Horachek connection.

Just last week the 2010 Kelly Cup Champions announced a new affiliation deal with the Florida Panthers and not the Montreal Canadiens of whom they were involved with last season. The Cincinnati press release goes as far as stating “The Cyclones and Montreal Canadiens have mutually agreed that it was best not to continue their affiliation.”

Interesting.

With the Panthers and Preds on board, the Cyclones will now feed players to the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville) and the Rochester Americans (Florida) of the American Hockey League. In turn, of course, those teams will feed their parent clubs.

So, I guess if Mike Santorelli really falls from grace, Predators fans can travel five hours up the road and still get to see him play.

You can read all about the new agreement by visiting the Cyclones’ official website.

David Poile announced today that the Preds have signed their ninth round pick in the 2007 draft Atte Engren.

The 22-year old is the second goaltender signed in the three days and the third draft pick signed as well. 2008 selections Anders Lindbäck (the other netminder) inked his deal officially on Wednesday and defenseman Roman Josi‘s contract was officially announced earlier today.

According to the official press release, Engren is “is fresh off backstopping TPS Turku to the 2010 Finnish Elite League (SM-Liiga) title,” meaning both players signed today are coming off championship seasons in their respective leagues. Josi led his SC Bern club to regular season titles and a league championship before competing last month in the World Championships for his native Switzerland.

Unlike Lindbäck’s and Josi’s press releases, Engren’s mentions nothing about the expectation of him to play in North American next season. A key sign for depth chart purposes as Nashville was running out of room as far as goaltenders are concerned.

With Pekka Rinne starting for the parent club, barring an off-season signing, Mark Dekanich and Chet Pickard will vie for the starting job with the AHL-affiliate Milwaukee Admirals and the back-up job in Music City. Jeremy Smith, who recently won a Kelly Cup with the ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones, will probably back-up the starter in Milwaukee. Which leaves Lindbäck and Engren.

One  must assume that, barring an upset in training camp, Lindbäck is slated for the Cyclones and Engren – just based on the fact that the line of ”he is expected to… play his first North American season in 2010-11″ is omitted from his press release - is assumed to stay in Europe for another season.

After battling back from a 3-0 series deficit in the semi-finals, Nashville’s ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones won four straight to advance to the Finals. Tonight, they disposed of the Idaho Steelheads in Game 5 of their Championship series to win the Kelly Cup, the East Coast Hockey League’s equivalent to the Stanley Cup. Cincinnati won 2-1 in front of their home crowd at US Bank Arena.

Predators 2007 2nd round pick Jeremy Smith started between the pipes through the first three rounds of the playoffs for Cincinnati but, after falling behind 3-0 in the semi-finals against the Reading Royals, Cyclones head coach Chuck Weber looked to Montreal Canadiens prospect Robert Mayer. All Mayer did was win all four games against Reading and then four of the five Finals games against Idaho to give Cincinnati their second Kelly Cup in three years.

Weber has been the coach in Cincinnati for four seasons, guiding them to at least the semi-finals each season.

Smith, in his first pro season, was handed the reigns about a month into the season after a shaky start by Mayer. Smith finished the regular season with a 23-15-2 record and 2.63 goals against average. He then led his team into the post season, going 9-7-1 with an impressive (for the ECHL) .907 save percentage before being pulled after Game 3 of the semi’s.

With Nashville goaltender Dan Ellis‘s assumed departure in the off-season, it appears either Chet Pickard or Mark Dekanich will be promoted, leaving a spot available for Smith in Milwaukee come next season.

Back in August and September, experts had the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference basement come April. Some even had them as the only Central Division team not making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Dear experts… you can kiss it.

Through the halfway point of the season, the Preds have defied everyone’s logic (except for a chosen few) and fought their way to a 24-14-3 record, good for fifth overall in the West.

No, not “fifth” as in they’re picking fifth overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft… “fifth” as in “fifth in the West.” As in, the fifth best team in the best conference in hockey.

Also as in, “we’re forcing the Canadian media to respect us.”

Okay sure Nashville didn’t sign any big names during free agency. And sure they lost the Phil Kessel sweepstakes to Toronto. And sure they had a six game stretch in October where they were outscored 22-6. But those are all merely bumps in the road now that the ship has been righted and this Predators team has persevered against, seemingly, all odds.

So here we are. 41 games behind us and 41 games in front of us. Obviously plenty can happen over the next three and a half months but, unlike most years where they excel late in the season, Nashville has excelled early.

The Preds have a long history of a late-season surge. Last season, Nashville got Steve Sullivan back and went on a 2nd half tear. They posted a 20-11-5 record down the stretch but dropped two of their final three games to ultimately finish just three points shy of a playoff spot.

In 2007-08, they went 16-12-4 after the All-Star Break to capture the eighth and final playoff slot in the Western Conference.

The season before, they got points in 22 of their last 33 games to finish fourth in the West and with a franchise-record 110 points.

Matter of fact, you have to go all the way back to 2002-03 to find a post-All-Star run where Nashville had more regulation losses than wins.

If that trend continues, Barry Trotz’s club will find itself with a legitimate shot at the division – and conference – crown. All because they found success in the first three months of the season, as opposed to just playing average hockey.

The win over the Blue Jackets tonight was no different. They allowed the first goal early in the first period and had to battle back for the win. Rookie forward Andreas Thuresson bagged his first career NHL goal in the third frame and then David Legwand tallied the game-winner in the extra session to give Nashville their 24th win of the season.

Their wins have come in all styles: coming from behind, jumping out to early lead and see-saw scoring changes. But it seems like all 24 of them have come from a blue-collar work ethic that is, as Barry Trotz would call it, ”the Predator way.”

Nashville needs 41 more “Predator way”-type games and they’ll be sitting pretty in the standings and among the Western Conference elite. The good thing though? If they don’t quite have the same record in the second half of the season as they had in the first half, they still have a decent shot at making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Something this team – in this city – desperately needs.

So look out Canada.

To finish things off, the guys chatted with Minnesota Wild Beat Writer Bruce Brothers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press about the State of Hockey (a/k/a the state of Minnesota), the loss of Marian Gaborik to free agency and the impact former Nashville Predator defenseman Greg Zanon has had on their hockey club.

section303.com encourage you to visit the Movember page on nashvillepredators.com and donate whatever you can to prostate cancer. Just pick whatever player you believe has the best ‘stache and donate.

As always, the podcast is available via iTunes for subscription. We would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate and review.

CREDITS:
Music: Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes), Salute Your Solution (The Raconteurs), Funky Child (The Lords of the Underground), Deliver Me (Robert Randolph & the Family Band), Run This Town (Jay-Z)

Staff: Kent Harris (voice over)

Cameo appearance by: Rachel from whatthepuckpreds.com

* It’s very nice to see the players not only in one place (as opposed to two different sessions) but also wearing different color jerseys. Reminds you that opening night isn’t far off.

* For those who don’t know, the colored jersey you have on indicates what line you’re skating with during the session. All defensemen and goalies wore the Predator navy blue while each forward line had their own color. Line combinations were as follows:

White: JP Dumont, Cal O’Reilly and Nick Spaling
Grey: Martin Erat, David Legwand and Mike Santorelli
Red: Ryan Jones, Andreas Thuresson and Peter Olvecky
Yellow: Marcel Goc, Jerred Smithson and Jordin Tootoo
Powder Blue: Ben Guite, Triston Grant and Patric Hornqvist

* Players of note that weren’t on the ice today were Colin Wilson (groin), Jason Arnott (upper body soreness), Joel Ward (unknown), Jonathon Blum (unknown), Cody Franson (nose), Alexander Sulzer (personal) and Steve Sullivan (groin). Franson confirmed that he wanted to give it a go but was held out.

* Guite looked like he was all-in with a pocket pair in today’s session. He was giving it everything he had. Diving after errant passes, racing through each of the drills at top speed and even scoring a pretty goal right over Dan Ellis‘s right shoulder where there wasn’t much space to work with.

* Speaking of pretty goals, rookie defenseman Ryan Ellis dazzled the crowd at Centennial SportsPlex with a beautiful shot on goaltender Pekka Rinne. There was about 2″ of daylight between Rinne’s left shoulder and the crossbar. Not only did Ellis tuck it in under the bar, he hit nothing but mesh. No ping sound at all. It was a thing of beauty.

* A rumor trickled in during camp that the Predators were going to sign defenseman Francis Bouillon to a one year deal. This article has Bouillon signing with Nashville for $750,000 for one year. Bouillon played in four games for Nashville back in 2002-03, finishing his brief Preds career with a minus-1 rating and two penalty minutes. Only two players remain from when Bouillon spent a few weeks in Music City: Legwand and Erat.

* Head Coach Barry Trotz on where Bouillon would fit in the depth chart: “I think it puts him in that four and a half spot. Sometimes he’ll be probably (number) four and sometimes five.”

DAY 9 STANDOUTS:

Ben Guite, Ben Guite and Ben Guite.

DAY 9 DUDS:

none.

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PHOTO CREDITS: Jeremy K. Gover/section303.com

* Dan Ellis looked sharp once again today, backing up his performance last night. The only knock on Ellis is that players kept picking their spots just above his shoulders, tucking pucks just under the crossbar.

* Ellis only allowed one goal during the break-in drill and it was to the first star of last night’s game, Colin Wilson.

* Jeremy Smith didn’t fare well today. He gave up some goals he’d love to have back and was out of position a few times as well.

* We’ve alluded to this several times but today was more pronounced than others. Jordin Tootoo, coming into his contract year, is trying all sorts of new things in camp. He’s trying to stick handle more, be more creative with the puck and just overall show off the flashier parts of his game. Well, things didn’t go so well today. He had an easy goal if he one-timed it but instead he played it cute and ended up corralling the pass by putting it between his legs and up to his stick, only to give goaltender Chet Pickard enough time to come across and make the save. Later, in a 5-on-5 offensive zone drill, he was set to stick handle around the boards and behind the net until the whistle blew, at which time the drill would start and players could begin moving to get open. The whistle blew but instead of finding an open player, he decided to make a quick move and then fire a shot himself. Dan Ellis made the easy save and the drill lasted about six seconds.

* Even when Tootoo was successful in his new creative endevours he was snake bitten today. During a 2-on-0 drill, he made a nice spin move to collect a pass from JP Dumont then waited it out until goaltender Dan Ellis committed. Ellis went down and Tootoo went up, only to ring it off the crossbar.

* Shea Weber made a nice move during the shootout drill but got absolutely stoned by the diving glove save of Ellis. It was the highlight of the day.

* The shootout drill is, by far, the most fun drill to watch. Six pucks were put on each blue line and the blue and silver teams each took the opposite blueline’s bench. They’d then go down the line, each player getting a chance to skate in and take their penalty shot on the goalie. The catch, however, is the skater must collect the puck after every save and put it back on the blue line before the next player in line could leave the bench. Whichever team scored all six pucks first wins. Good times, folks. Good times. (By the way, Joel Ward netted the winner for the blue team, which forced the losing team to do a couple laps).

It should also be noted that, in his post-practice interview, Head Coach Barry Trotz made some interesting comments. Seperate blog coming later today.

DAY 7 STANDOUTS:

Returning Preds – Dan Ellis

“New” Preds – Robert Dietrich (for a kid we haven’t mentioned much, he had a solid practice positionally)

DAY 7 DUDS:

Jordin Tootoo (but not for a lack of trying)

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PHOTO CREDITS: Jeremy K. Gover/section303.com

Taylor Beck, who amassed three points in the 2-game series against the Atlanta Thrashers rookies, Gabriel Bourque,  Michael Latta and Charles-Olivier Roussel were sent packing back to their junior teams while tryout players Scott Brannon, John Decaro, Mike McLean, Jacob Muzzin, Brock Sheahan, Arvid Stromberg, Pierre-Alexandre Vandall and Mark Van Guilder were just sent packing.

Seven players who participated in the rookie portion of camp have been retained. Jonathon Blum, Ryan Ellis, Nick Spaling and Colin Wilson are the front runners to stick around the longest, along with goaltenders Chet Pickard and Jeremy Smith, both destined for Milwaukee or Cincinnati this season. Darkhorses Ian McKenzie, Mark Santorelli and Russ Sinkewich were also held onto.

With 44 players left in camp, the Preds will need to cut 21 more to get down to the NHL-mandated 23-man active roster come opening night on October 3.