Hamilton rookie Maxwell avoiding the injury bug

by Garry McKay || AHL On The Beat Archive For Ben Maxwell, his first season as a professional hockey player with the Hamilton Bulldogs is progressing well. And the call-up to the Montreal Canadiens was a bonus. What’s really pleasing to the six-foot, 177-pound center is the fact that it’s January already and he’s completely […]

Wolf Pack’s Wiikman looking to stay steady

by Bob Crawford || AHL On The Beat Archive Last season Miika Wiikman was the only one of the Wolf Pack’s goaltenders who both started and finished the year with the Wolf Pack. At neither the start nor the end of the season, though, was Wiikman the number-one man. He began the year backing up […]

Chops moving from Iowa to the Pond and beyond

by Will Michaelson || AHL On The Beat Archive Bobby Ryan has starred for Anaheim after beginning the season with Iowa. In the American Hockey League, it’s not uncommon to see players come and go in a matter of weeks, sometimes days. The Iowa Chops have seen more than a few of their players move […]

Bissonnette fighting for respect with gloves on

by Brian Coe || AHL On The Beat Archive Some people might have seen Paul Bissonnette as a one-dimensional hockey player as this season started. But he didn’t seem to mind. After all, it was Bissonnette’s ability to crash, bang and drop the gloves (and opponents) that earned him a spot on the Pittsburgh Penguins […]

On the eve of a century

by Randy Rice || AHL On The Beat Archive Pavol Demitra was the first Grand Rapids Griffin to graduate to the NHL. On March 17, 1997, Pavol Demitra became the first-ever Grand Rapids Griffins alumnus to play in the National Hockey League, suiting up for the St. Louis Blues. Nearly 12 years later, the Griffins […]

Rookies form odd couple in Providence

by Adam Kaufman || AHL On The Beat Archive Brad Marchand leads Providence rookies in scoring with 16 points in 34 games. One was born May 11, 1988 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The other, exactly two months later in Drumheller, Alberta. Little did they know at the time, or for the next decade for that […]

Hot Brust has Aeros rolling

by Andrew J. Ferraro || AHL On The Beat Archive Minutes after the Houston Aeros beat the Quad City Flames 4-1 in a Dec. 11 game at Toyota Center, goalie Barry Brust and enforcer John Scott should have been talking about their team’s big win. But Brust’s 33-save performance and how Scott scored the game-winning […]

Coin bringing change of luck in Rochester

by Warren Kosel || AHL On The Beat Archive “A new day … for a Rochester tradition.” That’s the new slogan that symbolizes the new era for the Rochester Americans’ hockey club as the team entered its 53rd season in the American Hockey League, and boy, is it ever true. The Amerks came into the […]

Boyle bolsters Monarchs’ lineup

by Melissa Loughran || AHL On The Beat Archive The Manchester Monarchs have welcomed back with open arms their quick-handed center Brian Boyle. Boyle, assigned to the Monarchs on Dec. 2, spent the beginning of the season with Manchester’s NHL affiliate, the Los Angles Kings. Suiting up for 14 games with the Kings, he recorded one […]

Championships remain the expectation for Cheveldayoff

by Elizabeth Casey || AHL On The Beat Archive Chicago Wolves general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff doesn’t view things in terms of places he has been and places he will go. Sure, he carries the priceless snapshots of each time he’s lifted a Cup in his mind’s eye, and doubtless, he has aspirations for the future, […]