SB Nation - Matt Keetley

Houston Hotdish: On the Bubble

ms.conduct — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:00:29 -0000

I'm technically on vacation this week, but I spent the morning working on my real job. So now I'm annoyed and want to go play in the sunshine. Which means your Hotdish this week is gonna be quick and dirty.

And quick and dirty means a hailstorm of bullet points coming your way after the jump, but it's still all good stuff, if you're hankerin' for some good news out of this organization.

Jarod Palmer is back and already has a goal. He's still syncing up with the rest of the guys who haven't been out for weeks on end, but boy is it nice to have his skill back.
Jeff Taffe is getting a jersey made of asbestos because he's EN FUEGO, y'all! Apparently, as a very animated Coach John Torchetti told us last night, he and Taffe had a little heart to heart a while back, which "are not always pretty" he said. But basically they told him to get his damn feet moving, be a damn leader, and WHOA, did he ever do both. The guy leads the team in multi-point games with 13, and has two 4-point games in the last 3 outings. What's amazing about it is that you don't even notice him doing it. When he's on, he's just wiley and smart and in the right place to be opportunistic.
Joe Fallon has emerged as the #1 goalie in Houston between he and Matt Keetley, who were both recalled from their ECHL teams to stick their fingers in the dam while Harding and Backstrom recover and Kuemper is out, per scuttlebutt, for a good long while. Fallon is getting more confident by the game and has himself some sexy puck-moving skills, so mama like.
Justin Fontaine had his first career 2 goal game last night and is also on a hot streak with 15 points in the last 12 games. The guy has speed and silky mitts and good vision and, while I wouldn't call him gritty, doesn't mind going to the greasy areas. He's a baller, no doubt about it.
One of the things you really look for down here is improvement in a guy's game and I think the most improved player this season in my mind is Chay Genoway. When the season started, he always pinched, always held the puck too long, always bobbed and weaved through traffic (which may have worked in college but doesn't generally in the AHL). Well, he's adapted finally and it's showing not only on the score sheet but in the level of trust you have watching him play. I've had his ceiling pegged at "good AHLer" but when I see this kind of transformation over a season, I have to rethink that.
After playing 3 games since Saturday's return from their ridiculous 34 day road stint, the boys have a 3 in 3 this weekend at home, so lots more opportunity to move up in the standings from the 7th place they're in right now (or 4-way tie for 6th if you want to just look at points). Much like the NHL West, your standings change literally day to day, by large sweeps up and down the conference. They were in 10th yesterday before beating Abbotsford last night. And everybody is within a point or two of each other. It's insane.

That's all you get! I need to go play now!

Houston Hotdish: Glass Half Full

ms.conduct — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:05:32 -0000

Here's the beauty part of paying attention to the Aeros in addition to the Wild: Sometimes the Aeros give you something to smile about when the Wild seem hell bent on giving you permanent frown lines.

It's not that the Aeros are doing a whole lot better. They've lost 5 of their last 7 games, absolutely decimated, shaken up, and thrown off by the revolving door between here and Minnesota, plus injuries of their own, short benches all too frequently, and ECHLers in and out of the line-up.

Never mind not having played a home game for over a month.

But they keep winning often enough and decisively enough that it keeps us hanging on, believing that the playoffs are not out of reach if we could just get the roster to stabilize.

Let's take a look at the chances for the farm boys to press their way into the post-season:

The basics are this:

19 games left, 13 are at home. It seems nice on the surface, but the Aeros are 9-16 (including OT/SO losses) at home and 18-14 on the road. They didn't adopt that #roadwarriors hash tag for nothing. So it will be interesting to see if the longest road stand ever will get the boys appreciating home ice advantage a little more.

They ARE in playoff position. Sitting 7th in the conference with 66 points and 2-3 games in hand on most teams around them (though those will be quickly eaten up in the next two very busy weeks), the Aeros are sitting pretty. Not gorgeous, but pretty, especially for how tough a road it's been.

They WILL get guys back. Goalie Darcy Kuemper is injured day-to-day and, as you all know, Hackett is up with the Wild getting his "Welcome to the NHL" fire hose to the face until Backstrom gets his groin back (or the season ends, whichever is first). So the team is fielding two ECHL call-up goalies at the moment. And they let in 6 goals on 18 shots in yesterday's game against Abbotsford (thankfully, Abby's goalies let in 6 on 29 shots and Matt Keetley stopped all but one shootout attempt for the 7-6 win).

Also, Palmer may be on the mend soon, and the Aeros will get a whole passel of guys from the Wild when their season ends a good 8 days before the Aero's season ends: Palmieri, Kampfer, Scandella, Prosser. And those are some really solid assets to get back.

Chemistry takes time. The good thing is, all these guys have played together at one time or another, so there's a mix that works in there somewhere, but how long it takes to find it is a matter of critical importance. If the Aeros only have a full playoff roster for 4 games, and those games will almost surely matter, either with regard to making the playoffs at all or getting home ice, that could be a sticky situation.

But really, this time of year is what it's all about, and regardless of what happens, I feel like this Aeros team has the mental wherewithal to at least do the best they can with what they've got.

What I don't see is another deep playoff push. I just don't think the top-end firepower is there. We might have had it -- that Patrick O'Sullivan replacement -- if Wellman hadn't been traded, but I don't see who would can consistently bring that threat.

The team has threats up and down the roster, but last year had 3 20+ goal scorers at their disposal. Only Jon DiSalvatore comes even close this year with exactly 21 goals thus far.

Still, in a Wild season bereft of hope and sunshine, there is a glimmer down here in Houston. With a huge home stand coming up throughout March, rest assured the Aeros hold their own fate in their hands. I'll keep you posted as to what they do with it.

Chirping the Bench: First Entry of the Yawney Era

Allokago — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:51:08 -0000

Halleluiah!

As many of you know, the coaching situation down in Syracuse became a a problem mid-season last year. The Crunch wasn't doing very well, and the fans were responding in the way the fans always - and I mean always have - by raining loud boos down to the players, both during and after the games. We didn't do crazy things like fling garbage onto the ice. There were no reports of fans approaching players and being jerks after the games. Yet, there was one or two reports of fans having rough words with Coach Holick after a game, but beyond that the fans were just making themselves heard in a way team after team has had to deal with.

Holick, for some reason, took issue with the booing and apparently the potential it had to...hurt the players' feelings. I kid you not. He then vented his spleen to the local media about it, causing an uproar amongst fans who felt he should be worrying about the cause of the jeers, as opposed to the jeers themselves.

All this doesn't even take into account his growing ineffectual coaching style. Anyone watching this year's team could tell there was something off. The same plays were being run, to the same failed results. The players were running into each other so much they were starting to look like a circus act. The team didn't seem to know what to do when a play went wrong.

Holick's unemotional bench stance during games wasn't helping any. It was painful to watch the guys mill around during time outs and watch Holick just stand there, chomping on a stick of gum like it was the last piece of Juicy Fruit he'd ever see. The fans wanted some kind of reaction to reassure us that leadership was present, and we certainly weren't getting it.

Needless to say, it was a relief this past week when news came down that Holick was, in effect, being shoved laterally to the side and, what's more, slightly behind a new, hopefully more effectual coach. The results, we think, have been very positive and a great indicator of things to come!

Record (W-L-OTL-SOL): 17-15-3-2

Divisional standing: 4th (only thing that's been consistent all season...)

Conference standing: 12th (one down from last update, top 8 make playoffs)

Top producer: Patrick Maroon, 39 pts. (16-23), 8th in the league

Top goal scorer: Kyle Palmieri (21 goals), 23rd in the league

Roster moves during the past two weeks:

(hold onto your hats, this is gonna be a long one)

Nicolas Deschamps (LW) was traded to the Toronto organization in exchange for Luca Caputi (LW)
Matt Smaby (D) was added to SYR by ANA
Jean-Francois Jacques (LW) was returned to SYR by ANA, then recalled by ANA, then suspended by the NHL and sent back to the AHL on the next plane
Kyle Palmieri (RW) was recalled by ANA and remains there
Iiro Tarkki (G) was recalled by ANA, but thankfully was returned to SYR before the Crunch had to play again
Andrew Gordon (RW) was assigned to SYR from ANA
Marco Cousineau (G) was signed to a PTO and remains with the Crunch
Kyle Cumiskey (D) was recalled to ANA from SYR and remains there
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (G) was recalled to ANA and remains there
Mark Fraser (D) was assigned to SYR full time after passing through waivers at the end of his conditioning assignment
Matt Keetley (G) was signed to a PTO, but was released when Tarkki was returned
Ryan McGinnis (D) was loaned to Florida of the ECHL, to make room for Smaby/Fraser
Nick Schaus (D) was loaned to Elmira of the ECHL to make room for Smaby/Fraser
Josh Brittain (LW) was assigned to Elmira of the ECHL

In all of that movement, we also welcomed our new head associate coach, Trent Yawney. Yawney comes from a long line of playing, AHL coaching, NHL assistant coaching, and scouting with the Ducks organization. Upon arriving in town, the Ducks tried to make it clear that he was not replacing coach Holick, that Holick would still have a voice on the staff. Indeed, he would have a voice as an associate coach, but Yawney was given final say on all decisions.

No matter how the brass want to put it, a message has been sent here.

Yawney has stressed two major things in his ascent to power in Syracuse:

He was signed with the strict instruction to get this struggling squad in the playoffs, that this team has the talent to be there and shouldn't be on the outside looking in at this point. (Are you listening, Holick?)
His first order of business is to look at the Crunch's defense, a squad that was 29th in the league in goals against upon his arrival. He knew the team could score, but it doesn't really matter how many goals you score if the other team manages to score one more than you do.

If you'd like, you can listen to Yawney talk about his new situation on the Score 1260, Syracuse's local AM station that covers the team. His interview is podcasted here. Our owner, Howard Dolgon, also had an interview with them last week about this situation. The link to that audio is here. The Syracuse Post Standard did an interview/story with Yawney, and although I hate to direct traffic to those people, I suppose it's a necessary evil right now. You can read that coverage here. All of the links should open in a new window. If the podcasts don't work right, you can go to the Score's podcast page and scroll to the right ones. They should be around for the next few days.

Although I haven't seen Yawney in action yet, the Crunch's three away games under him have had extremely positive results. The Crunch won the first two convincingly, pulling out a strong 5-2 game against the Baby Sens Friday night and a shootout win (with ECHL'er Cousineau in goal for both games) against the Albany Devils Saturday. Sunday, the Crunch managed to extend their game against the Worcester Sharks to another shootout, where they went six rounds but couldn't pull off a perfect weekend. However, the Sharks were held to 24 SOG, the Devils got only 2 shots off during the first period, and the Sens only had two double-digit periods for SOG. The defense was visibly improved, at least according to the score sheet.

The scoring was also impressive this past weekend. On Friday, five different players combined for the win (Brandon McMillan, Luca Caputi, Mathieu Carle, Patrick Maroon, and Jean-Francois Jacques). Saturday, recent ECHL call up John Kurtz netted his first of the season, while McMillan grabbed his second of the weekend. In the SO, Maroon, Caputi, Jacques and Dan Sexton all scored to nab the win for the Crunch. Sunday, Caputi grabbed another goal, as did Peter Holland. Sexton and Holland scored in the SO in the losing effort.

That's quite a nice variety of names who were motivated to shoot and score this past weekend. For a team without the services of Bonino and Palmieri, this is a really, really good thing. Clearly, Yawney won't, and can't, come in and fix everything over night, but he's off to a pretty good start. The players seem to be excited about this chance to start fresh, and the fans are more than happy to see where this is going to go.

GO CRUNCH!

Your Friendly Friday Links Roundup: The Nuge-less Oilers Edition

light_the_lamp — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:41:32 -0000

We're in Edmonton tonight, playing the team formerly known as Wayne Gretzky's. It's Friday, and Ryan Getzlaf isn't a Buffalo Sabre. Exhale.

How the Ducks and Oilers match up. [OC Register]
Both teams are bringing their big guns out tonight. Jonas Hiller will start in goal for us, Nikolai Khabibulin will start for the Oilers. [Mark Spector's Twitter]
The Leafs don't think they'll be able to acquire Ryan Getzlaf, so they've set their sights on the Philadelphia Flyers' James van Riemsdyk (do they think he's a baby Getzlaf, or something?). Apparently, Brian Burke has offered Luke Schenn in exchange for JvR. I know there has been some resistance to this idea in the past, but I wouldn't mind seeing Luke Schenn in a Ducks sweater. He's struggled at various points this season, but he's a big-bodied, shutdown defenseman with elite potential. But don't give up Getzlaf for him! [TSN]
I know we're supposed to hate the Sharks, but I really love the interviews that Fear the Fin does (they had a really good multi-part interview series with Sharks GM Doug Wilson a while ago). Today's guest is Worcester Sharks (their AHL affiliate) defenseman Sena Acolaste. [Fear The Fin]
Could we potentially acquire Dallas Stars shutdown defenseman Nicklas Grossman during the offseason? After displaying early promise in Dallas, he has struggled as of late, will be a UFA, and might need a change of scenery. [Defending Big D]
The effects of our recent goaltending drama have tricked down to our ECHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors: Bakersfield goaltender Matt Keetley has been loaned to the Crunch. [Bakersfield.com]
Do three wins signal a season of change? SK doesn't think so. [Ducks and Pucks]
After being sidelined by a groin injury for eight games, Saku Koivu has returned to play some of his most inspired hockey in recent memory. [CBS Sports]
The "Anaheim Ducks Press Box Challenge" - a journalism competition for local high school students - returns for another year. High schoolers must submit a 500-1,000 word sample article by January 23, 2012. Three semifinalists will be chosen for the competition, and the winner will be the Ducks official High School Correspondent during their February 8th game against the Carolina Hurricanes. [Anaheim Ducks]
The Ducks' Orange and White Casino Night will be held on January 19th at Honda Center. {Ed. Note: I'll be there} [Anaheim Ducks]

Farm Review: Leland Irving

Hayley — Fri, 06 May 2011 22:45:38 -0000

Before we get into the Draft stuff (the Flames actually have a first round pick this year--yay!), I think now would be a good time to begin looking at some players already in the Flames' system, particularly some of the rookies that saw their first full-time AHL action this past season. Today, however, we'll start with the goaltenders--in particular, the seemingly anointed goalie of the future in Leland Irving, who appears to have taken over the role of starter for the Heat.

By the numbers, Irving, a first round pick of the Flames in 2006, had what was by far his best season in the American Hockey League; in 61 games, the third year pro had 30 wins and eight shutouts with an overall SV% of .913, beating out Matt Keetley and Jean-Philippe Lamoureux for the starting job as the Heat missed out on a post-season berth in their second season. As an RFA this summer, Irving's play this past season has likely made the decision between himself and ECHL-fodder Keetley (UFA) an easy one for Flames brass, especially with Joni Ortio coming over from Europe and signing an entry-level contract.

In the context of the entire league, Irving's numbers aren't all that impressive. His save percentage puts him 18th amongst goalies who played 1560 minutes or more and he ranks tenth in terms of GAA, although he did lead the league in shutouts. Just how terrible this year's Abbotsford team was is reflected by the fact that Irving ranked sixth amongst AHL goaltenders in terms of saves made, stopping 1386 pucks, allowing an average of 2.30 goals per game while playing the most minutes of any AHL goalie (3437).

In a recent interview, Irving stated that his goal for next season was to "get stronger and faster" and come into Flames training camp lean but with "a little more body fat" to avoid injuries. While Irving remained fairly healthy and certainly took a step forward this year, he's not exactly dominating the AHL--although it would be interesting to see what he could do with a capable team in front of him, as Abbotsford was far from that this past season for a multitude of reasons, chiefly a negative goal differential and a lack of offence that saw them finish dead last in the league in goals with 186--130 of which came at even strength.

With Henrik Karlsson potentially hitting the UFA market on July 1, we briefly discussed Irving's chances at the backup role on this week's podcast, and the general consensus seems to be that another year as a starter in the AHL would benefit his development more than would sitting on the bench and making an occasional appearance in relief of Miikka Kiprusoff in Calgary next season. What say you?

Poll

Has Leland Irving earned a promotion to the role of Flames backup goalie next season?

Yes, get him in there and see what he can do

7 votes

No, he needs another season in the minors--remember Curtis McElhinney?

27 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed

Abbotsford Heat's AHL Clear Day Roster Announced

Hayley — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:54:17 -0000

Yesterday was Clear Day in the American Hockey League, the day by which AHL teams must minimize their rosters to twenty-two players who will be eligible to play for the team for the remainder of the season and the Calder Cup Playoffs, and the complete lists were released earlier today.

After assigning three players to the ECHL late last month in Ryley Grantham, Bryan Cameron, and Josh Meyers, all older players, the Heat made something of an interesting move last week when they loaned defenceman Keith Seabrook to the Manitoba Moose, Vancouver's main AHL affiliate, in return for forward MacGregor Sharp. Sharp was included on Abbotsford's final Clear Day roster while Seabrook was left off of Manitoba's list.

None of the three aforementioned players made Abbotsford's final list, and neither did goaltender Matt Keetley, who, with an SV% under .900, has been out-dulled by third-string back-up Jean-Philippe Lamoureux this season.

These players can only be re-called in the event of an injury and/or emergency re-call. Signed junior players can also be added to Abbotsford's roster once their season has ended, which means someone like Ryan Howse could see some time for the Heat later in the season. At this point it seems unlikely that the Heat will make the post-season as they sit in fifth place in the North Division with a record of 31-25-9, although they are only three points behind the leading Hamilton Bulldogs, but the Bulldogs have three games in hand.

The Heat's full Clear Day list is as follows:

Forwards:

Carter Bancks

MacGregor Sharp (VAN)

Quintin Laing (WASH)

Defencemen:

Joe Piskula (PHI)

Goalies:

J.P. Lamoureux

Leland Irving

Current roster players left off the list:

Logan MacMillan

Ryan MacMurchy

John Armstrong

Jon Rheault

I'm no expert, but I'm assuming the players that didn't make the final cut will have to be assigned to the ECHL if they weren't loaned out to other clubs, which is a shame for guys like John Armstrong and Jon Rheault; after struggling with injuries for the majority of his junior and AHL career, Armstrong has appeared in all but one game for the Heat this season but has just six goals and 13 points, while Rheault is Abbotsford's third leading scorer, with 10 goals and 28 points--tied with Brodie and just behind Nemisz and Keith. MacMillan has five goals and 10 points in 50 games this season after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the summer.

After a 5-4 win over the Houston Aeros on Sunday in which Kotalik was the hero, the Heat have fifteen games remaining in the regular season, including six against the division-leading Bulldogs, Montreal's top AHL affiliate.

Filling Holes: What to Make of the Flames Lineup Thus Far

Hayley — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:36:44 -0000

As the summer presses on and rosters begin to take shape, I decided to take a look at what the Flames have achieved thus far this summer and what remains on their proverbial to-do list.

Fowards:

Alex Tanguay- Daymond Langkow- Jarome Iginla

Rene Bourque-OlliJokinen-Niklas Hagman

Curtis Glencross-Matt Stajan-David Moss

Ales Kotalik-Mikael Backlund-???

Raitis Ivanans-Ryan Stone/Brett Sutter-Tim Jackman

The addition of Tanguay and the (re)addition of Jokinen certainly makes the Flames' top six a lot more sturdy looking on paper, especially compared to this time last summer. It's a solid group, but management is banking on a return to form, or at least some degree of it, from Tanguay, Langkow, Jokinen, and Iginla and that Bourque and Hagman can, at the least, maintain their production from last season. That's investing a fair chunk of change into hope and to some extent, luck, IMO. Any way you slice it, Jokinen at $3M and Stajan at $3.5M is too much to pay for a third-line centre, but neither has proven an ability to successfully take on the opposition's best. With Bourque and Langkow being the only forwards in that group that really made a difference in terms of possession last season, they can't be the only ones shouldering the responsibility of moving the puck in the right direction against tough competition, especially if they play on different lines. If Tanguay and Iginla struggle to hold their own against the opposition's first and second lines next season and the team doesn't have another top six forward capable of doing just that, there is certainly cause for concern.

I think a third line of Glencross-Stajan-Moss would be more than capable of inflicting damage against a similar calibre of opposition, but after that it gets rather murky. Kotalik's contract situation is unclear after he went unclaimed on waivers last month and was not bought out by the club, and Backlund's position on the team remains up in the air. I'm of the opinion that he could use another season on the farm, as sticking him on a line with two scrappers isn't going to work to his benefit, and nor will a seat in the press box. At the same time, slotting him in at 3C if Langkow can't go to start the season and no other additions (i.e. Conroy) are made may be beyond his capabilities at this point in his young NHL career. At this point, it looks as if Stone and Sutter could be competing for the 4C spot, but if Stone is healthy and plays wing, they could both potentially have jobs with the big club next season, assuming one or both of Ivanans and Jackman spends the majority of their time either on the bench or in the press box. The addition of another fourth line winger certainly wouldn't be a bad idea.

Defencemen:

Jay Bouwmeester- Robyn Regehr

Mark Giordano- Cory Sarich

Steve Staios- Adam Pardy

*Ian White (RFA)

With White's impending arbitration date only nine days away and only $650K in cap space remaining, Sutter has yet to move a body from the blueline. Steve Staios and Adam Pardy seem like the most likely targets for a demotion while Sarich and Regehr could potentially bring something back in return, notwithstanding health concerns. Bouwmeester and Giordano look to to be the only "untouchables" on the back-end right now, although Regehr also has an NMC in his contract. However, subtract Regehr and this group suddenly looks awfully thin. Ideally, the organization would probably like to make space for a cheap bottom pairing defenceman like Matt Pelech; the former first rounder recently signed a one-year deal worth $600K at the NHL level, and with the Flames strapped for cash and in need of affordable, replacement-level depth, now is as good a time as any for the 22-year-old to make his NHL debut--if he can stay healthy. Staffan Kronwall, who had a decent season in the AHL last year, finishing tied for second on the Heat in scoring amongst defencemen with 28 points in 44 games played, is on a one-way deal at $500K, and is also an option, but at 27-years-old, has much less room for improvement than Pelech does.

Goalies:

Miikka Kiprusoff

Henrik Karlsson

With David Shantz no longer in the fold and both Matt Keetley and Leland Irving quite some time away from challenging for the role of Kiprusoff's back-up, Karlsson seems like the clear-cut #2 in Calgary. The only question is how many starts the unproven Swede will get, and the answer is largely dependent on the play of his superior. In the unlikely event that Kipper turns in a repeat performance of his heroics last season, Karlsson could see limited action in back-to-back games or when Miikka gets the hook. Kipper will be 34 this coming season and if Karlsson manages to find the consistency that the Flames' many recent back-ups have lacked and Miikka struggles, the starts could be more split. I don't know how much, if any, of a learning curve exists in the transition between the KHL and the NHL for goalies, but I suppose it's Jamie McLennan's job is to manage that. The situation at back-up is not unlike any of the past few summers in that we as fans likely either have low expectations for the incoming 'tender or no idea what to expect whatsoever. In this case I suspect it's the latter.