AHL Articles: Hockey very much alive in AHL (Spezza mentioned)
March 19, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: ESPN.com

Hockey very much alive in AHL

By Scott Burnside, Special to ESPN.com

Scott Burnside Archive

Think hockey is dead? Despair for the state of the game?

We could have asked the 15,927 jammed into the Allstate Arena in suburban Chicago Saturday night what they thought. That's assuming any of the raucous fans who watched the hometown Wolves edge the Manitoba Moose 1-0 would have shut up long enough to pose the question.

Oh, the National Hockey League has suffered a grave, self-inflicted wound with the cancellation of the 2004-05 season. But look just a bit south on the hockey map and you will find the American Hockey League enjoying its most dynamic season since its inception in 1936.

"It's always been good, but we've got a little bit of a special year right now," said Rochester head coach Randy Cunneyworth, who played in three Calder Cup finals with the Americans as a player.

"There's a lot of skilled hockey players there who, next year, are going to be playing in the NHL," Ottawa general manager John Muckler added.

With less than a month until the start of the AHL playoffs, here are 10 reasons why the AHL is hot, cool and hockey that shouldn't be ignored.

1. Learning To Play The Game, Not Video Games

Because the stakes are so much higher in the NHL, team officials often face the dilemma of what to do with highly paid, high-profile draft picks. As a result, youngsters often spend long NHL days playing little while worrying about meeting unrealistic expectations.

In the absence of the NHL, AHL coaches and scouts say blue-chip prospects have developed both their physical and mental skills this season in a way that might not otherwise have been possible.

Craig Button, former Calgary Flames general manager and now a senior scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, said young players such as Dan Hamhuis of Nashville, Eric Staal of Carolina and Mike Cammalleri of Los Angeles, to name just a few, have learned how to be leaders and winners.

"We're in a rush to race these players to the NHL despite the fact they may not be ready," Button said. "It's been good for the league, it's been good for the players. There's more support here."

2. The Trade Deadline Twist

The NHL trade deadline is always marked by the shuffling of aging, often overpaid veterans. In the AHL this season, the inverse is true. San Antonio, the top farm club of the talent-rich Florida Panthers, has been loaning its top players to playoff-bound teams to give those young players a taste of playoff experience.

Jay Bouwmeester and Stephen Weiss, drafted third and fourth overall in their respective entry drafts, are now in Chicago while Joel Kwiatkowski is in St. John's. Bridgeport loaned its captain, Richard Seeley, to Norfolk while former college star Jeff Panzer was loaned to Grand Rapids from Syracuse. Players' rights remain with their original teams although they will receive a fee depending on how far the other teams advance in the playoffs. The acquiring teams will also pay the balance of the players' 2004-05 contracts.

3. No Finnish Flash In The Pan

You'd have to go back to Tom Barrasso's arrival out of Acton-Boxborough High School in Massachusetts to find a goaltender whose impact as an NHL starter has been more anticipated than that of the baby-faced kid from the outskirts of Helsinki, Kari Lehtonen.

Yes, Rick DiPietro and Marc-Andre Fleury were No. 1 draft picks. But Lehtonen is the king of the goaltending prospects and has shown the rare ability to marry expectation with performance.

Lehtonen, the goaltending future of the Atlanta Thrashers, was named The Hockey News' top prospect for an unprecedented two straight years and is listed third among all prospects this year. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound netminder sparkled in a late-season call-up by the Atlanta Thrashers last season and then returned to the AHL where he was sensational during the Wolves' playoff run. Not bad for a 21-year-old who management worried might starve while living away from home for the first time.

This season Lehtonen, the highest drafted European goalie ever taken (second overall in 2002) is second in the AHL with 32 wins and has been sensational since appearing in the AHL All-Star Game last month.

"He's a very quiet kid. It's not like he's looking for the limelight," said Chicago general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.

4. No More 'Who's In Net, What's At Center'

Last season, 400 players played in both the AHL and NHL. The call whisking away a top player can come at any moment. Manitoba, for instance, had a team-record 15 players recalled by the Vancouver Canucks last season. Not only does the absence of top players create lineup issues throughout the AHL; there is also the potentially unsettling issue of how disappointed players who weren't called up respond. With the NHL silenced this season, AHL teams have been allowed to develop an unusual level of chemistry, thus improving the quality of play around the league.

5. The Kid Becomes A Man

Many have been quick to cast Jason Spezza onto that tall scrap heap reserved for high draft picks who didn't meet expectations. From the time he was 14 years old, the happy-go-lucky Spezza has carried the burden of such expectation, often playing against players more than twice his age. Although his transition from junior phenom to NHL star has been marked by false steps, Spezza has blossomed this season in Binghamton, leading the AHL in scoring with 91 points through 65 games.

The second overall pick in the 2001 draft is poised to become the first AHLer to break the 100-point barrier since Derek Armstrong had 101 in 2000-01, and his penchant for sensational passes in the offensive zone has drawn comparisons to Mario Lemieux.

"He's become a more complete hockey player," Ottawa GM John Muckler said. "He's taking a leadership role; he's playing in all the crucial situations. He's even killing penalties.

"His outlook on the game I think has improved considerably."

6. Rochester Rocks

They may not be Page and Plant, but Rochester netminders Ryan Miller and Tom Askey have hit on a unique way to foster togetherness even though they're competing for playing time. The two, along with other Rochester Americans teammates, formed a rock band called Power Struggle.

"It's been a lot of fun for the guys. I think they've developed a special bond," said Cunneyworth, who concedes Askey seems to possess the most musical talent in the group, which is fair given that he takes a backseat to Miller on the ice.

The band is just one element of what has become a special season for the 59-year-old Americans. Rochester cemented its 16th straight playoff appearance Sunday and is 18-0-1-2 at home since Dec. 10. Led by longtime AHLer Chris Taylor and top prospects Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek, Rochester has a chance at reaching the AHL record for wins (57) and points (124).

"I think we've relied on pretty well everybody at our disposal," Cunneyworth said. "I think they've understood that while they're here they better make the best of their time."

7. If You Close It, They Will Come

With NHL rinks darkened, the AHL is poised to set all-time attendance records as well as enjoying unprecedented television coverage of games in Canada.

Through Sunday's games, the average per-game attendance was up almost nine percent over last year to 5,902 per game. The previous record was 5,895 set in 2001-02.

"Our attendance increase is really a reflection of mainly an increase in cities where we're close to NHL markets," AHL commissioner Dave Andrews said.

Philadelphia, Hamilton, Rochester, Edmonton and Chicago – where the Wolves lead the league in attendance and boast a 15-percent jump over last season – are the main beneficiaries of the NHL lockout, Andrews said.

8. Stretch-Run Races

At one point last week four different teams had at least a share of first place in the East Division – Philadelphia, Binghamton, Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In the Western Conference no one will catch Rochester but all seven teams in the North Division boast winning percentages over .500. St. John's, Syracuse, Cleveland and Hamilton all have closed in on playoff spots in the division thanks in part to Edmonton's major collapse and Manitoba's inconsistent play.

Milwaukee and Chicago are in a dogfight for first in the West Division, while Manchester and Hartford are likewise entangled at the top of the Atlantic Division with Lowell nipping at their heels.

"The parity in the league is excellent right now. It's just a lot of fun," said Cunneyworth.

9. Coaching Class

Not only does the AHL provide a living hockey tutorial for those who aspire to the NHL, it is also a proving ground for coaches. Half of the 30 NHL head coaches last season were former AHL coaches, and this season a number of coaches are turning NHL heads. Cunneyworth has his Rochester team on a record-setting pace, and many have wondered why another former NHLer, John Anderson, has not been promoted to the NHL given his successes in Chicago.

Former NHL defenseman Randy Carlyle has helped turn around a Manitoba Moose team that missed the playoffs last season, and Don Granato, brother to Colorado assistant Tony, had Worcester in a playoff spot before he left the team last week after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Likewise, longtime Montreal Canadien and Washington Capital Doug Jarvis has helped resurrect Hamilton's playoff chances even though it suffered the loss of three top players early in the season.

10. Between The Pipes

Legendary goaltending coach Francois Allaire recently remarked that just five years ago it would have been rare to see a goaltender with a save percentage above .900. Now, the 25th ranked goalie in the AHL, Utah's Jamie Storr, boasts a .913 save percentage.

"One area that has really impressed me has been the quality of goaltending," Button said.

Beyond the obvious, Lehtonen in Chicago and former Hobey Baker winner Miller in Rochester, the list of goaltending stars includes last year's regular-season MVP, Jason LaBarbera, who along with Hartford Wolf Pack teammate Steve Valiquette indicates sunny goaltending days are ahead for parent club, the New York Rangers.

Carolina prospect Cam Ward has been terrific with a 1.93 GAA and .938 save percentage for Lowell, while Brian Finley seems to have resurrected his career with Milwaukee. There has even been the odd dark horse like Portland's Kirk Daubenspeck, a 30-year-old journeyman netminder who has lit it up for the Pirates with a 11-4-1 record and four shutouts since his arrival in the new year.

Scott Burnside is a freelance writer based in Atlanta and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.