A Team of Experience versus Two Snipers and a Monarch

Most of the Binghamton Senators’ Calder Cup championship team from 2011 is gone from Binghamton, NY. Only a few names remain and in no way are any of those players the players that made major contributions to the cities first championship in what was then the 38^th year of professional hockey being played at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

Binghamton’s first round opponent, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins has made the Calder Cup finals 3 times out of the 14 years it has been a member of the American Hockey League. Even more impressive for the Pittsburgh Penguins top farm club is that the team is now making the playoffs for the 11^th straight season & it’s 12^th season since joining the AHL in the 1999-2000 campaign. But with losses in the finals to the Saint John Flames in 2001, being swept by the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004 & another loss in 6 games to the Chicago Wolves; you can understand that the fan base and Penguins organization is craving for a run of a lifetime just  81 miles south on Interstate 81.

Most National Hockey League scouts and so called experts have made a statement or two on the recent success of the Ottawa Senators, who despite losing Jason Spezza & Erik Karlsson for the season are battling to make the playoffs large in part on the character of the graduated players from Binghamton but the Calder Cup championship run they made in 2011 as well. 13 players currently with the big club in Canada’s capital city have played with the B-Sens & 10 of those players won the Calder Cup two years ago.

And now you can see why the Pittsburgh Penguins made the decisions they did before and during the 2012-13 season in acquiring a former Kings prospect, goaltender Jeff Zatkoff and making trades for two snipers in Chad Kolarik & Derek Nesbitt.  A 3^rd round draft pick by the L.A. Kings in 2006, the Detroit, Michigan native played 3 seasons with the Miami RedHawks in the NCAA before signing a 3 year entry level contract with the Kings and starting his pro career in the ECHL due to the serious traffic jam of high end goaltender prospects within the organization. Once the traffic cleared before him, Zatkoff has emerged as another high quality goaltender in the American Hockey League having won 78 games for the Manchester Monarchs & Penguins through 162 games played and this last season winning 26 games for the Penguins with a league best 1.96 GAA.

On January 24^th, 2013 the Pittsburgh Penguins made a trade for Chad Kolarik from the New York Rangers for center, Benn Ferriero. Kolarik drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes 199^th overall in the 2004 NHL level Draft played four seasons for the Michigan Wolverines and ended his senior year with 30 goals & 26 assists in 39 games played before signing a three year entry level contract with the team who drafted him. After playing two plus seasons with the San Antonio Rampage the sniper was traded not once but three times before finding himself with the Penguins earlier this season. In 76 games played this year, Kolarik has had his best season yet as a pro, scoring 31 goals & 37 assists through 76 games between Connecticut & Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Kolarik has improved the Penguins power play and could become the Penguins ‘Ryan Potulny’ for this Calder Cup playoff run, something that all Binghamton Senators fans understand after the B-Sens acquired Potulny from the Rockford IceHogs in 2011 which propelled the team to the title in June of that year.

But the Penguins were not finished there. To even more solidify a possible deep run through this year’s Calder Cup playoffs, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were able to acquire un-drafted left-wing from the Peoria Rivermen, Derek Nesbitt right on the final day of the American Hockey League’s trade deadline day, April 10^th. Though not drafted, Nesbitt has battled through 1 year contract after 1 year contract before finding a home with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen. Over the last 3 seasons Nesbitt has been one of the AHL’s top goal scorers with 65 goals & 59 assists but has been pretty much un-noticed while playing out in the Mid-West division. But the Nesbitt’s skill in sending shots past opposing goaltenders will make him a dangerous addition to a very talented offensive & defensive team and most possibly adding another dangerous line with his sniper like skills.

The Binghamton Senators will have to rely on experience through this year’s Calder Cup playoffs to combat most teams higher end skill. Led by a veteran defenseman of 21 NHL season, first year Head Coach Luke Richardson and long term assistant & head coach in both the AHL & NHL, Steve Sterling; the two coaches have guided this team to 96 points, a 4^th ranked penalty kill unit and one of the better home records in the American Hockey League this season with 25 wins & 54 points only trailing the Providence Bruins with 55 points & the Toronto Marlies with 56 points at home. Richardson & Sterling have seen players graduate to the Ottawa Senators all ready with Jakob Silfverberg, Mika Zibanejad, Eric Gryba, Andre Benoit & Jean Gabriel Pageau all with the Ottawa Senators with only Pageau and Gryba eligible to return to the B-Sens for this run into the Calder Cup playoffs. The two coaches have worked extensively to teach their players about team defense, accountability and discipline throughout the season which has shown in its league high 19 shorthanded goals and balanced scoring from team members up and down the line up.

But with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s snipers, #1 defense and goal-tending comes Binghamton’s experience on the ice from different aspects. Brett Lebda’s experience with the Detroit Red Wings on the blue line is nothing that can be taught to players, but can rub off in conversation and playing in pair with the former Stanley Cup champion. While playing for the Red Wings in the early part of his career, Lebda paired up with arguably the greatest American born defenseman, Chris Chelious on many occasions and learned how a defensive defenseman plays at the top level in the hockey world. Now with the Binghamton Senators, Lebda has been paired up with Swedish rookie defenseman Fredrick Claesson there is no doubt that the knowledge from one of greatest to play the position has started to transfer through Lebda to the young first year pro.

Binghamton also sends to this Saturday’s game one of the playoff a group of young players who has experience from the 2011 Calder Cup playoff run. Though some never saw a game in the run like forwards Corey Cowick and Pat Cannone, the two players watched & practiced with the team as Black Aces. This has driven both players to be a part of their own magical run with the B-Sens this season adding to a team concept that losing is not acceptable and do whatever it takes to win.

Derek Grant, David Dziurzynski, Mike Hoffman, Eric Gryba & Mark Borowiecki all add their actual playing experience from the 2011 Calder Cup championship win to the mix and you cannot take away what those players learned when winning a championship on the ice. All five players have tasted the NHL with the Ottawa Senators this season and is why winning can sometimes breed individual success.

The only question is, will experience trump skill this weekend as the two teams square off in game 1 at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena?