Senators Artcles: Spezza, Cammalleri eyeing scoring title
March 28, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: The AHL.com

Spezza, Cammalleri eyeing scoring title

AHL Weekly Release #24

Jason Spezza (l.) and Mike Cammalleri are poised to take the AHL's scoring race down to the wire.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … With three weeks left in the regular season, the race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy, given to the league's top point-getter, is a two-man pursuit between a pair of outstanding young stars.

Jason Spezza of the Binghamton Senators and Mike Cammalleri of the Manchester Monarchs have been running neck-and-neck atop the AHL’s scoring leaderboard for more than two months. Both are Toronto-area natives (Spezza hails from Mississauga, Cammalleri from Richmond Hill), both were selected early in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (Spezza was second overall, Cammalleri went 49th), and both have used an unexpected additional season in the AHL to further develop into two of the best up-and-coming players in hockey.

Spezza, the 21-year-old star who has been in the media spotlight since before Ottawa drafted him nearly four years ago, leads the AHL with 72 assists and 99 points while skating in all 70 of Binghamton’s games to date. Spezza made his pro debut with Grand Rapids during the 2002 Calder Cup Playoffs, then turned in an AHL All-Rookie effort with Binghamton in 2002-03, registering 54 points in 43 games before earning a spot in Ottawa’s lineup.

On the verge of becoming the AHL’s first 100-point scorer in four years, the two-time AHL All-Star has also helped improve the players around him with the Senators. Brandon Bochenski has emerged as one of the top first-year players in the AHL this year, leading all rookies with 57 points. Antoine Vermette has regained his scoring touch to record 62 points, matching the output from his outstanding rookie year in 2002-03. Eighth-year pro Denis Hamel has set a career high with 69 points and is tied for fourth in the league with 33 goals, and Josh Langfeld (24) and Chris Kelly (21) have also set personal bests in goals.

Cammalleri has also been a model of consistency all season, recording at least one point in 57 of the 68 games he has played, including three separate scoring streaks of at least 10 games each. The 22-year-old Cammalleri, who had played 59 NHL games with Los Angeles over the previous two seasons, currently leads the AHL with 41 goals and trails only Spezza with 94 points.

The Monarchs are on the verge of their first division title, with Cammalleri pacing an offense that includes 20-year-old standout Dustin Brown, former league MVP and Calder Cup champion Brad Smyth, two-time Calder Cup finalist Tom Kostopoulos and 2004 All-Rookie forward Noah Clarke. Cammalleri has 11 games to make up ground and become the second consecutive Monarch (Pavel Rosa) to win the AHL’s scoring title.