Jennifer
04-20-2005, 02:08 PM
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks certainly didn't look like anything special when they played three "home" games at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in November and December.
The American Hockey League Ducks, not far removed from a stretch in which they had lost 14 of 16 games, left town with an 11-17-0-2 record after a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Road Runners on Dec.19. A Calder Cup playoff berth certainly didn't appear to loom in Cincinnati's immediate future.
Four months later, after a turnaround in which they went 37-17-1-2 after Dec. 4, the Ducks are in Milwaukee for tonight's opener of a best-of-7 West Division semifinal series against the defending Calder Cup champion Admirals.
...
Frederic Cassivi has been our team MVP, no question," said Fletcher, who doubles as assistant general manager for Anaheim. "I don't know that any of us anticipated he could play at this level."
While the Ducks remain high on Bryzgalov, Cassivi might also have earned a look from the big club, particularly if the NHL lockout that wiped out this season leads to the use of replacement players next season.
If not for the ongoing labor dispute, Bryzgalov and wingers Kunitz, Joffrey Lupul, Stanislav Chistov and Michael Holmqvist likely wouldn't have even been in Cincinnati this season. Lupul and Kunitz finished as the club's top two goal-scorers, with 30 and 22, respectively, while Chistov produced 15 goals and played a feisty style that resulted in 141 penalty minutes, including eight fighting majors.
Those youngsters, along with defensemen Aaron Rome, Mark Popovic, Kurtis Foster and Shane O'Brien, Brent and perhaps fellow center Zenon Konopka figure to represent much of the future in Anaheim.
"This year has been tremendously beneficial for those players in particular, and our group as a whole," Fletcher said. "Part of what we're trying to accomplish is a team identity based on hard work and a team chemistry. Potentially, a lot of these players are going to enter the NHL at the same time, and this chemistry has already developed. That's maybe the only benefit of this whole (lockout) process."
LINK (http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/04/20/sections/sports/pro/article_487690.php)
The American Hockey League Ducks, not far removed from a stretch in which they had lost 14 of 16 games, left town with an 11-17-0-2 record after a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Road Runners on Dec.19. A Calder Cup playoff berth certainly didn't appear to loom in Cincinnati's immediate future.
Four months later, after a turnaround in which they went 37-17-1-2 after Dec. 4, the Ducks are in Milwaukee for tonight's opener of a best-of-7 West Division semifinal series against the defending Calder Cup champion Admirals.
...
Frederic Cassivi has been our team MVP, no question," said Fletcher, who doubles as assistant general manager for Anaheim. "I don't know that any of us anticipated he could play at this level."
While the Ducks remain high on Bryzgalov, Cassivi might also have earned a look from the big club, particularly if the NHL lockout that wiped out this season leads to the use of replacement players next season.
If not for the ongoing labor dispute, Bryzgalov and wingers Kunitz, Joffrey Lupul, Stanislav Chistov and Michael Holmqvist likely wouldn't have even been in Cincinnati this season. Lupul and Kunitz finished as the club's top two goal-scorers, with 30 and 22, respectively, while Chistov produced 15 goals and played a feisty style that resulted in 141 penalty minutes, including eight fighting majors.
Those youngsters, along with defensemen Aaron Rome, Mark Popovic, Kurtis Foster and Shane O'Brien, Brent and perhaps fellow center Zenon Konopka figure to represent much of the future in Anaheim.
"This year has been tremendously beneficial for those players in particular, and our group as a whole," Fletcher said. "Part of what we're trying to accomplish is a team identity based on hard work and a team chemistry. Potentially, a lot of these players are going to enter the NHL at the same time, and this chemistry has already developed. That's maybe the only benefit of this whole (lockout) process."
LINK (http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/04/20/sections/sports/pro/article_487690.php)