For David Aebischer, his goal has always been one thing — to play in the NHL.

The 33-year-old enjoyed a six-year stint in the league before spending the next four years playing in his native Switzerland.
Now, Aebischer wants back in the NHL and is getting a second chance with the Winnipeg Jets’ American Hockey League affiliate the St. John’s IceCaps.

“I think the way I left North America wasn’t the way I wanted to,” he said following a 20-save performance in an IceCaps’ 4-2 victory over the Toronto Marlies at Ricoh Coliseum.

“When I thought about it, at [age] 33, what are my goals? My goals were to play back to the NHL so I wanted come back to play over here.”
Aebischer realized what he wanted to do when he was 12 or 13 years old. He attended his first NHL game at the Colisee, watching the Quebec Nordiques.

Five years later,  he was drafted by that very same franchise, now the Colorado Avalanche.

Aebischer twirled about the minors for the first couple of years, mostly in Hershey, where he compiled a 46-33-7 record and helped the Bears reach the third-round of the 1999-2000 Calder Cup playoffs.

The following year, Colorado traded backup netminder Marc Denis to the Columbus Blue Jackets, opening the door to the NHL for Aebischer.

Aebischer made the Avalanche as a backup to Hall of Famer Patrick Roy. He became the first Swiss-born player to win the Stanley Cup when Colorado beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in Game 7 of the 2001 final.
Aebischer served as Roy’s backup for three seasons, putting up good enough numbers to earn him the starting role when Roy retired in 2003.

During the 2003-2004 season, Aebischer posted a record of 32-19-9 with a 2.09 goals-against average as the Avalanche finished second in the Northwest Division and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before falling in six games to the San Jose Sharks.

Then came the lockout.

To remain sharp during the work stoppage, Aebischer, who had a 2.05 GAA in four seasons with the Avalanche, and teammate Alex Tanguay played for HC Lugano in Switzerland. Playing at an NHL level in the Nationalliga A, Aebischer was an impressive 13-2-3.

He returned to Denver following the lockout but failed to play consistently and, just prior to the NHL trade deadline, Colorado traded him to the Montreal Canadiens for former Hart Trophy winner Jose Theodore, taking a gamble on a more experienced yet struggling goaltender beaten out of a job by Cristobal Huet (who, by coincidence, presently plays in Aebischer’s hometown of Fribourg).

Aebischer was primarily Huet’s backup for the remainder of that season and the next and, when the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs, Aebischer wasn’t re-signed.

He resurfaced with the Phoenix Coyotes on a one-year deal.

Aebischer found himself in a three-way battle with Mikael Tellqvist and Alex Auld during Coyotes training camp. When Tellqvist won the starting job and Auld was named the backup, Aebischer found himself back in the minors. He had made five appearances for the San Antonio Rampage when the Coyotes picked up Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers.

Cue the domino effect.

To make room for Auld in San Antonio, Phoenix loaned Aebischer to Lugano, the Swiss team he played for during the lockout.

Aebischer was Lugano’s starter for the next four seasons and admitted there were some positives about being home, but he missed his home away from home.
“At first, you have way more family and friends around, which changes it a little bit,” he said. “They don’t just come over for two weeks then leave again.

“I came over when I was 19. I grew up in North American hockey, so hockey-wise, that’s ‘at home.’”

Aebischer signed a tryout contract with the Winnipeg Jets in August, even though they had two proven goaltenders in Ondrej Pavelec and Chris Mason.

“I came over [with the attitude] that everyday could be your last,” he said. “It was pretty nerve wrecking because I didn’t know if I was going to sign a contract or go back to Switzerland”.

Based on a strong pre-season, the Jets signed Aebsicher to an AHL contract and assigned him to St. John’s, where he has shared the goaltending duties with Edward Paquale and Peter Mannino.

“You always have to compete to play,” Aebischer said. “If you want to play, you have to play well.”

Aebischer is enjoying the experience in St. John’s and it’s reflected in his play with five wins, one by shutout, in nine games.

“I like the organization,” he said. “I like the IceCaps and it’s been fun to be back here [in North America].”

“My whole family likes it in St. John’s and so far its been a lot of fun.”

Aebischer also spoke about the excitement of playing in two resurrected hockey markets, with the Jets in Winnipeg and the IceCaps in St. John’s.

“It’s fun to see all the people to see how excited they were that we were in Winnipeg and in St. John’s,” he said. “For us players, it’s a great gift that you can play the game in front of fans that love the game so much and are happy to see you on the ice.”

Aebischer plans to play out this season in St. John’s, but is resisting the urge to think about what the future will hold once his contract expires.

“You can’t make plans,” he said. ”But I want to play well, compete and be a good goalie in this league and see what happens from that.”

With summer coming to an end, the dawn of a new hockey season is just around the corner. NHL training camps have begun; teams will look to finalize rosters and assess the depth of the players in their system. The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their annual rookie tournament with the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks making appearances for a round robin tournament that took place from September 10 – 13 at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, ON.

Most hockey players are returning to their previous team and reuniting with players who have become more like family. For Rob Flick, a former Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors forward, there is a new team on the horizon after signing a one-year American Hockey League contract this summer.

The 20-year old native of London, Ontario was drafted in the fourth round (120th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and will play for their minor league affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs. After attending camp in his draft year, Flick headed back to Mississauga for his final season of junior hockey looking to make an impression.

And, that’s just what he did.

In his final season in the Ontario Hockey League, Flick posted career numbers in all categories tallying 27 goals and 30 assists with a plus/minus rating of +28 in 68 games. A night and day difference from the two years prior where he posted 19 goals and 23 assists with a +1 rating over 113 games.

His poise and maturity as a player carried over into the 2010-11 playoffs where his eight goals and eight assists in 20 games helped the Majors reach the OHL final against the Owen Sound Attack. Despite losing to the Attack in seven games, the Majors were already hosts to the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup, giving Flick and the Majors an automatic invitation to the national championship. In five games over the course of the Memorial Cup, Flick posted two goals, both of which were game winners, and one assist with a +3 rating.

The 6′2, 208 lbs. centre also grew into a dominant role as a power forward, finishing his junior career with 393 PIM over three years, good enough for sixth all-time in Majors history.

The Blackhawks finished the rookie tournament with a record of one win and two losses, falling 4-2 to the Maple Leafs and 6-5 to the Senators. They did, however, beat up on the Penguins 4-1 on the final day. Although he was held off the score sheet, Flick’s presence was pronounced with big hits. He was featured on a line that included Peter LeBlanc and the Attacks’ Andrew Shaw.

“When you’re a bigger guy you have to use your size out there,” said Flick, who stayed true to character, getting involved in a fight with Garrett Clarke of the Toronto Maple Leafs during their game September 10 and another against Penguins forward Keven Veilleux September 13.

The Leafs rookie tournament was one of many being played over the weekend in preparation for main training camps, which are in full swing.

“It’s real high paced hockey,” Flick said about the tournament. “It’s a great step from junior to main camp where you have those elite players, and it’s even quicker than this.”

If his numbers continue to rise with the Ice Hogs as they did in the OHL, you can expect to see this gritty, two-way forward as a full-time Blackhawk in the near future.

The Blackhawks opened training camp on Saturday, September 17 at the United Centre.

You can reach Sean on Twitter @Kelly_OIH or via email at skelly@openicehockey.com

From the Londoner ]]> http://www.openicehockey.com/index.php/archives/5434/feed 0 http://www.openicehockey.com/index.php/archives/5157 http://www.openicehockey.com/index.php/archives/5157#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 21:03:07 +0000 admin http://www.openicehockey.com/?p=5157 Courtesy: The American Hockey League

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … With two rounds down and two to go, one of the most memorable Calder Cup postseasons in recent memory is only halfway over, and four teams are left in their pursuit of a Calder Cup championship.

The Western Conference Finals were set after a pair of historic Game 7’s earlier this week. In the North Division, the Hamilton Bulldogs outlasted the Manitoba Moose at Copps Coliseum on Monday evening, finally advancing on Dustin Boyd’s goal six seconds into triple overtime; no seventh game in AHL history had ever extended to a second OT period, let alone a third. Hamilton reached the conference finals for the fifth time in the last 10 seasons, and will be looking for the franchise’s fourth trip to the Calder Cup Finals (1997, 2003, 2007).

The Houston Aeros captured the West Division playoff title on Tuesday with a 4-2 win in Milwaukee, as rookie Casey Wellman scored the series-winning goal with 1:21 left in the third period of Game 7. The Aeros have won all five of their Game 7’s since joining the AHL in 2001-02, and even more impressively all five of those victories have come on the road. This is Houston’s fourth conference finals appearance in their 10 AHL campaigns.

The Eastern Conference Finals will start in Charlotte after the first-year Checkers finished off Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in six games. Charlotte, which eliminated the two-time defending Calder Cup champions from Hershey in the first round, ousted the 2010-11 regular-season champion Penguins on the strength of a Game 6 comeback that saw the Checkers score four times in 9:18 during the third period to erase a 3-0 deficit.

Charlotte will face Binghamton for the right to represent the East in the Calder Cup Finals. The Senators finished fifth in the East Division during the regular season and earned the cross-over berth from the Atlantic Division, where they eliminated Manchester and Portland. Binghamton’s triumph over the Pirates in the division finals was punctuated by Robin Lehner’s 36-save shutout in the Game 6 clincher, and sends the Senators to the conference finals for the first time since 2003.

DIVISION FINALS NOTES … Manitoba finished its postseason run with a 4-1 record when facing elimination, and rookie goaltender Eddie Lack allowed four goals on 170 shots (0.71, .976) in those five games… Milwaukee’s Ryan Thang led all AHL scorers in the second round with nine points (3-6-9)… Charlotte’s Mike Murphy (1.49, .955) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Brad Thiessen(1.66, .939) combined to make the Checkers-Penguins series the lowest-scoring six-game matchup in AHL history with 20 total goals scored… Houston joined the Maine Mariners (5-0) as the only franchises in AHL history to win five Game 7’s in their history without a loss, and the Aeros became the first team ever with five Game 7 road victories to its credit… Houston also extended its streak of consecutive playoff overtime wins to 11 before falling in Game 6 to Milwaukee… Eleven of the first 12 series in this year’s Calder Cup Playoffs have gone at least six games… Thirty-nine of 74 games (52.7 percent) through the first two rounds have been decided by a single goal, including 18 overtime contests.

Eastern Conference Finals – Series “M” (best-of-7)
E3-Charlotte Checkers vs. E5-Binghamton Senators || Series Preview
Game 1 – Thu., May 12 – Binghamton at Charlotte, 7:05
Game 2 – Fri., May 13 – Binghamton at Charlotte, 7:05
Game 3 – Tue., May 17 – Charlotte at Binghamton, 7:05
Game 4 – Wed., May 18 – Charlotte at Binghamton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 21 – Charlotte at Binghamton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., May 23 – Binghamton at Charlotte, 7:05
*Game 7 – Tue., May 24 – Binghamton at Charlotte, 7:05

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
W2-Houston Aeros vs. N1-Hamilton Bulldogs || Series Preview
Game 1 – Fri., May 13 – Hamilton at Houston, 8:35
Game 2 – Sun., May 15 – Hamilton at Houston, 5:05
Game 3 – Tue., May 17 – Houston at Hamilton, 7:30
Game 4 – Wed., May 18 – Houston at Hamilton, 7:30
*Game 5 – Fri., May 20 – Houston at Hamilton, 7:30
*Game 6 – Sun., May 22 – Hamilton at Houston, 5:05
*Game 7 – Tue., May 24 – Hamilton at Houston, 8:05

*if necessary… All times Eastern

Alexandre Bolduc scored while killing a penalty and Eddie Lack stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Moose blanked the Hamilton Bulldogs 1-0 to force Game 7 in their American Hockey League Western Conference semifinal.

Manitoba got the short-handed goal after Nigel Dawes tried to force a pass past Bolduc. The Moose forward blocked the puck with his stick and beat Bulldogs goalie Drew MacIntyre blocker side on a breakaway.

MacIntyre kept the Bulldogs in the game, making 34 saves in the loss.

Manitoba was without forward Guillaume Desbiens and centre Garth Murray. The league gave the pair a one game suspension each after emotions spilled over late in Game 6.

The loss forces the Bulldogs into their first Game 7 of this year’s playoffs. It also erases Hamilton’s perfect record at home, dropping the club to 5-1 through this year’s playoffs.

The final and deciding game of the series will in Hamilton, Ont., Monday night at 7 pm.

Milwaukee Admirals vs. Houston Aeros

The Houston Aeros rallied back from a 3-0 deficit, but Kelsey Wilson’s goal just 61 seconds into overtime gave the Milwaukee Admirals a 5-4 win over the Aeros on Sunday at Bradley Center in Game 6 of the American Hockey League’s West Division Finals.

The turbulent game saw the Aeros battle back from a 3-0 deficit, take a 4-3 lead in the third period and then allow the tying goal with 4:44 left in regulation.

Houston outshot the Admirals for the sixth straight game and finished with a 33-21 advantage in regulation. Matt Hackett made 18 saves in goal for the Aeros, while Jeremy Smith made 29 stops in the winning effort.

Patrick O’Sullivan (1-2-3) and Jon DiSalvatore ( 1-2-3) notched three points each for Houston while Maxim Noreau chipped in with two points (1-1-2). Wilson (1-2-3) and Ryan Thang (0-4-4) led the Admirals in scoring.

The best-of-seven series is now tied at 3-3 and the teams will square off in a decisive Game 7 on Tuesday at Milwaukee at 7 p.m.

The roster includes eight returning players from last year’s team, including Jack Campbell (G), John Ramage (D), Ryan Bourque (F), Jerry D’Amigo (F), Chris Kreider (F), Jeremy Morin (F), Kyle Palmieri (F), and Jason Zucker (F).  Three of the players – Nick Leddy, Morin, and Palmieri – all have NHL experience.

Morin was a bit of a mystery, as injuries to the the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane almost prevented USA hockey from having their 19-year old sniper, however he was released in time to join the team for camp.

There were seven players cut Wednesday, and like Canada, most of them were the youngsters, including Adam Clendening (D), Jamieson Oleksiak (D), Philip Samuelsson (D), Connor Brickley (F), Rocco Grimaldi (F), Matthew Nieto (F) and Brandon Saad (F).

In total, there are four players out of the CHL, one out of the ECAC, seven out of the WCHA, two out of the CCHA, four out of HE, and four of the AHL.

The complete breakdown of the roster is as follows;

GOALIES – Jack Campbell, Windsor Spitfires (OHL), Andy Iles, Cornell University (ECAC)

DEFENSEMEN — Justin Faulk – Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA), Derek Forbort – North Dakota (WCHA), Jon Merrill – Michigan (CCHA), Patrick Wey – Boston College (HE), Brian Dumoulin – Boston College (HE), Nick Leddy – Rockford (AHL), John Ramage – Wisconsin (WCHA)

FORWARDS — Nick Bjugstad – Minnesota (WCHA), Ryan Bourque – Quebec (QMJHL), Mitch Callahan – Kelowna (WHL), Jerry D’Amigo – Toronto (AHL), Brock Nelson – North Dakota (WCHA), Chris Brown – Michigan (CCHA), Kyle Palmieri – Syracuse (AHL), Drew Shore – Denver (WCHA), Chris Kreider – Boston College (HE), Charlie Coyle – Boston University (HE), Emerson Etem – Medicine Hat (WHL), Jeremy Morin – Rockford (AHL), Jason Zucker – Denver (WCHA)

The U.S. National Junior Team, coached by Keith Allain, begin preliminary-round play at 8 p.m. on Dec. 26 against Finland.

Thomas led the Generals to two wins beginning with his first career six-point game on Friday night as part of a 10-3 win over the Erie Otters.  He scored three goals and three assists and was named first star of the game.  On Saturday night he recorded a four-point game scoring twice and adding two assists as first star of a 7-4 win over the Barrie Colts.

Thomas, an 18-year-old from Toronto, ON, is a New York Rangers prospect selected in the second round, 40^th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  Playing in his third OHL season, Thomas had 33 points in 20 games so far this season to lead the Generals.

Alex Belzile of the Rimouski Oceanic was also considered after an impressive showing in two games this week with seven points including two goals and five assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-6.  In the WHL, Kellan Tochkin led the Everett Silvertips to three wins and also produced seven points including four goals and three assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-7.

2010-11 CHL Players of the Week:

Nov. 15 – Nov. 21: Christian Thomas, Oshawa Generals

Nov. 8 – Nov. 14: Brendan Ranford, Kamloops Blazers

Nov. 1 – Nov. 7: Jason Akeson, Kitchener Rangers

Oct. 25 – Oct. 31: Andrej Kudrna, Red Deer Rebels

Oct. 18 – Oct. 24: Michaël Bournival, Shawinigan Cataractes

Oct. 11 – Oct. 17: Sena Acolatse, Prince George Cougars

Oct. 4 – Oct. 10: Nathan Moon, Kingston Frontenacs

Sept. 27 – Oct. 3: Brandon Hynes, Victoriaville Tigres

Sept. 23 – Sept. 26: Alex Aleardi, Plymouth Whalers

Lewiston MAINEiacs 19 year-old forward Étienne Brodeur is the first star of the week after registering three goals and three helpers for a total of six points in three games. Moreover, he posted a +4 rating. Brodeur was named the game’s first star against Quebec while recording assists on two game-winning goals in two games against Val-d’Or on Friday and Saturday.

Drummondville Voltigeurs backstop Guillaume Nadeau is the week’s second star after he helped the Voltigeurs collect five out of a possible six points in the standings with three stellar performances. He finished the week with a 1,31 goals-against-average and .931 save percentage by stopping 67 of the 69 shots he faced. Finally, he blanked the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4-0 and the Victoriaville Tigres 2-0.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan winger David Gilbert is the third star following an impressive three-game stretch in which he collected four goals and three assists. Gilbert played his best game of the week against Chicoutimi, registering three points. Furthermore, he scored a goal in an empty net against Moncton. He is now having his best stretches of the season having doubled his points total in recent days.

On Wednesday, October 6^th the Saskatoon Blades hosted the U.S. Division powerhouse Tri-City Americans to the Credit Union Centre.  Dziurzynski found the net twice leading the Blades to a 5-3 victory and was named the games 2^nd Star.  On Friday, October 8^th, East Division rivals the Moose Jaw Warriors travelled to Saskatoon to face the Blades.  Dziurzynski had a 1^st Star performance netting three goals for the hat-trick including a short-handed marker leading the Blades to a 6-4 win over the Warriors.

Dziurzynski’s five goals this past week has him sitting 3^rd among all WHL goal scorers with seven goals in seven games.  The Saskatoon Blades have won four straight contests and currently sit in top spot of the WHL East Division with a 6-1-0-0 record.

Dziurzynski, a 19-year-old from Lloydminster, Alberta, is entering his fourth full season with the Saskatoon Blades.  The undrafted winger has appeared in 174 career games with the Blades scoring 34 goals, 32 assists and 66 points.

The WHL has also nominated Darcy Kuemper of the Red Deer Rebels for the CHL Goaltender of the Week Award.  Kuemper posted a 4-0-0-0 road record this past week, stopping 88 of 91 shots faced for a remarkable 0.850 goals-against average and 0.967 save percentage.  Kuemper, a native of Saskatoon, SK, back-stopped the Rebels to four straight road victories through the WHL East Division earning 1^st Star honours twice along with a 3^rd Star selection.

Boston Pizza WHL Player of the Week

Oct. 3 – Oct. 10: Darian Dziurzynski, Saskatoon Blades

Sept. 27 – Oct. 3: Brad Ross, Portland Winterhawks

Sept. 24 – Sept. 26: Tyler Maxwell, Everett Silvertips

It’s even tougher when Brian Burke is putting that roster together. Burke is man known for his go big or go home mentality.

Dale Mitchell will most likely end up with a spot on the Toronto Marlies. The former 2007 third-round pick is one of the 63 players invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp this year. He’s coming off a nine game stint with the Marlies last season and a second MasterCard Memorial Cup championship with the Windsor Spitfires.

Mitchell has never shied away from the physical side of the game always going to the dirty areas. And, it showed on the score sheet with 136 goals and 334 points spread over 293 OHL games. It may have been Mitchell’s ability to score that got him drafted but it’s his knack for keeping his teammates loose that will get him to the NHL one day.

“He’s crazy,” said former Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner. “Mitchy’s one of those guys – our room before he came back from Toronto was a good room but it was a quiet room. He just brings that energy everyday. He changed our whole team when he came back. He made the room a fun place to be.”

Former Spitfire teammate and first-overall pick, Taylor Hall agrees with Boughner’s assessment of Mitchell.

“Dale is a pretty funny guy I don’t think he takes himself too seriously whatsoever,” explained Hall with a chuckle. “You need those guys in the lineup and he’s just someone who brought our team together.”

During the Windsor Spitfires run to the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup the team found themselves down 0-3 to the Kitchener Rangers in the Western Conference finals. It was Mitchell that lead the way before that pivotal game four.

“We weren’t upset about it we knew it was a do or die situation,” Mitchell says. “We had nothing to lose. We did some pranks before game four and stayed loose. We just had fun. Then we went out for game four and won.”

The Spitfires didn’t lose another game the rest of the way.

Even during the Memorial Cup championship, mired in a long scoreless drought, Mitchell found other ways to help his team. With all the attention focused squarely on Hall and the upcoming NHL Entry draft Hall’s face was constantly on the jumbotron. Every time Mitchell noticed this he would lean over and block out Hall’s face with the blade of his stick. Soon enough the rest of the team got involved and all of a sudden they started playing looser.

Mitchell laughs when recalling that event adding, “it’s just little things like that to keep the guys laughing and loose. At the same time it is all business on game day and when the puck drops there’s not much joking around. We’re all playing for the guy beside us.“

In a dressingroom that has so many reported “issues” the Leafs would be wise to bring in a player such as Mitchell.

“You can’t have enough of those guys,” says Boughner. “He’s definitely a character and a loved guy by all the rest of the players.”

“He’s that spark plug on the ice a shooter and a skater,” says Spitfires GM Warren Rychel. “Every team needs one of those guys. We were a good group and we have a lot of fun and Mitchy is definitely the center of attention.”

Toronto Marlies forward Andre Deveaux has been suspended for three games by the American Hockey League for throwing a roll of tape at a fan during Friday’s game in Winnipeg.

Allegedly, Deveaux threw the roll of tape at a fan who was directing racial slurs towards him, which was noted in the officials’ post-game report.

The league has conducted a disciplinary hearing into Deveaux’s actions, and it was determined a three game suspension was necessary.