2018 - 19 Amerks Report

[Scott-New York]

In our first edition of this years Amerks report, we begin by focusing on change. With the Amerks in full rebuild, it appears the next veteran on his way out could be Casey Cizikas. Cizikas was a last minute scratch in tonight's game in Montreal. Max McCormick will dress tonight in place of Cizikas. Look for more in Amerks Report coming soon on the new direction in New York as the team seems to be headed toward a youth movement which started this summer.

[Scott-New York]

There hasn’t been much to write about this season in New York. The Amerks, by their own admission, are not expected to even the sniff the playoff race. The team is in the early stages of a rebuild and is looking more toward the future so they aren’t bothered by their 3-7-3 start to the season. The trading of players like Phil Kessel, Mark Giordano, Stephen Johns, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Cam Talbot combined with allowing UFA’s like Jonathan Marchessault, Jared Spurgeon, Jeff Petry and Michael Grabner to walk have the team with a lot of youth in the line-up, especially on the blue line. Rookies such as Madison Bowey, Sebastien Aho, Ethan Bear and Paul LaDue have all logged minutes on defense this season and arguments can be made that none of them are GHL ready. Luckily, Roman Josi has bought in to the rebuild and is a great piece to have to mentor the Amerks young defensemen. Josi does have some solid help in UFA acquisition, Frederik Claesson, as well Amerks former 1st rounder, Jake McCabe. One very bright spot in the Amerks young defense is Maxime LaJoie. The Amerks signed LaJoie as an undrafted free agent to a 3 year entry level contract and thus far, LaJoie has been tearing up the minors with 4 goals and 3 assists in 12 games while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time and has given management every indication that he will be ready to join the Amerks in a top 4 role next season. LaJoie will turn 22 years old in just a couple of days and has everyone in the organization very excited due to his ability to play in all situations. Another bright young player is newly minted #1 netminder, Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck was signed to a 6 year deal at just over 5.84M/year and although this year could be a long one between the pipes for Hellebuyck, he is expected to be leaned on for many years of Amerks playoff hockey to come. The forwards on this years team are a mash up of talented youth who are building into there capabilities like Arturri Lehkonen and Joel Eriksson-Ek and solid GHL players who are forced to play a little above their ideal roles this season. Aside from Chris Kreider, there isn’t a true scorer in the line-up right now. Mikael Backlund, Brock Nelson and Lehkonen are top 6 forwards but will have to continue to gel with each other as well as whoever is added to the Amerks top six as the rebuilding Amerks continue to fill the voids they admit exist, particularly in that top 6. Jesper Fast is playing top line minutes and powerplay minutes right now. While definitely very talented, Fast is better suited for middle 6 minutes and penalty kill duty. Colton Sceviour has also found himself in the top six. Sceviour is currently tied with Nelson for the teams goal scoring lead at 5 apiece but everyone, including Sceviour himself know he’s more affective as a bottom six role player. Nelson leads the team with 9 points and free agent pick up, Matt Calvert is one off Nelson’s pace with 3 goals and 8 points. At the end of the day, a roster full of youth and role players logging more ice time than they should will lead to a tough season for the Amerks and their fans but the future looks bright with players like LaJoie, Henrik Borgstrom, Jordan Greenway and Calle Rosen all first year pros, it might take a year or two to see the Amerks back in the playoffs, but with GM, Scott Jones committed to building a team that, by his words, will not only be back in the hunt sooner rather than later but will remain a contender for the long term, the team and their fans seem ready to endure the long road ahead this year to reap the rewards a year or two down the road.

[Scott-New York]

The GHL Christmas break has begun and although the Amerks 9-24-5 record doesn’t bring much holiday cheer, some lights have been shining bright on the Amerks tree. Two players are shining the brightest in the Amerks locker room of late, Jesper Fast and Connor Hellebuyck are two gifts that proverbially keep giving this season. Fast not only leads the team in scoring with 25 points, including his team leading 16 goals, which is 7 more than any of his teammates, but he also has points in 13 of the last 15 games, which included a 10 game point streak. Perhaps even more impressive than Fast leading the teams offense is the play of man between the pipes. Hellebuyck has been earning his new 5.8 million dollar deal in the first year of his new pact. Despite the teams record, Hellebuyck’s .917 save % is currently 5th in the league. “To have Connor and Quickie playing so well really shows the leadership roles these two guys are taking in the room” said coach Justin Brassard. As we draw toward the new year and look ahead, the teams future also seems to be shining brightly. The Amerks have a lot of players on the verge of being ready to contribute at the top level. Forwards Jordan Greenway, Henrik Borgstrom should bring a youthful infusion to the roster as soon as next season, along with defensemen Max Lajoie and Gavin Bayreuther. Some other players trying to earn spots on the Amerks roster are Brandon Pirri, Daniel Brickley and William Carrier. The rebuild is full swing and at times appears to be in fast forward. GM, Scott Jones has made his intentions clear. “It’s great to see players like Quickie and Connor playing the way we are now and we’re excited about what the future holds. We are rebuilding but don’t expect a long stretch without winning. We’re aiming for playoff hockey next season, we will be bringing up some of the younger players, but they’ll have to earn their spots and prove they can play at not only the pro level, but that playoff level”. Amerks hockey is exciting and it sounds like the team management is geared toward keeping it that way. GO AMERKS!

[Scott-New York]

The New York Americans are grinding through their toughest season in the contemporary era of the GHL. They will miss the post-season for the first time since the 2010-11 season, breaking a 7 year playoff streak. In the organizations defense, however, I think everyone saw a re-build coming when the Amerks were eliminated by Boston in the Conference finals last season. I don’t think anyone, inside or outside of the organization, could have predicted that the first year of the re-build would be this grueling, however. The Amerks haven’t registered a victory in 17 games. They are 0-13-4 over that span and haven’t scored in their last 3 games. The Amerks last win came on December 7th vs. the GHL leading, Halifax Huskies, of all teams. Connor Hellebuyck made 39 saves in an Amerks 3-1 road win. Hellebuyck continues to be stellar for the Amerks, ranking 3rd in save % in the league despite having only 9 wins on the season. Hellebuyck faces over 30 shots a night on average. That, combined with a lack of offense, is holding this team hostage this season. The Amerks lack of depth is definitely at the root of the problem this season. On the blueline, Roman Josi has been a man on an island. Jake McCabe and Fredrik Claesson are the only other GHLers on the depth chart with Madison Bowey, Paul LaDue, Sebastien Aho and Ethan Bear all playing meaningful minutes; but none of the latter four players would be likely to make the roster on a competitive team. The Amerks are 23rd in the league in goals against, allowing 160 goals against, and are likely only that high because of the play of Hellebuyck, considering the defensive corp is a combined -108. McCabe holds the best +/- on the team at a -7 among the regular defensemen. The forward group hasn’t been much better. Jesper Fast leads the team with 17 goals and only he and Chris Kreider (10) have reached double digits in the Amerks first 47 games. The offense has combined for a league worst 95 goals for. With 35 games left in the season, the Amerks are still working toward better results than what the season has brought them up to this point. “We always want to give the fans wins. Losing never feels good. The guys in that room want to win and we want to win. We are by no means mailing it in this year but this is rough go, without a doubt. It’s no secret that we are trying to build a better product here but we want to win every night we take the ice so going 17 without a W is discouraging for not only the fans but for the players and management as well” said GM Jones after the Amerks fell to Milwaukee 3-0 on Saturday night.

[Scott-New York]

The GHL has reached the All-Star break and the New York Americans will be represented by Connor Hellebuyck. Despite the Amerks record of 10-34-8 heading into the 10 day break, Hellebuyck has been very deserving of the selection this season. He has all 10 of the Amerks wins as well as 6 of the teams 8 ties, accounting for 26 of the teams 28 points. His .915 save % is 4th in the league regardless of the team being 24th in goals against. Hellebuyck has been earning the 6 year extension he inked this past summer and worth every penny of the $5.84 million dollar AAV. There is no doubt in New York that Connor Hellebuyck is an All-Star. The All-Star break will undoubtedly lead GM’s into conversations as the next date on the league calendar is the Feb. 25th trade deadline. Amerks GM, Scott Jones, has said the he will look to continue improving the future of the team before the deadline and is expected to announce the players he will make available following the All-Star game. The Amerks do not have a lot of pending UFA’s so pickings will likely be slim and we don’t anticipate any major moves at this years deadline. Expect Jones to possibly look to add a 3rd rounder in the upcoming draft, considering that he doesn’t currently own one, but don’t expect the GM to mortgage any of the future or extend himself in any way to add that pick seeing as the team has 3 2nd round selections, giving them 4 picks before the 3rd round even begins, but we know Jones will be working the phones and welcoming any and all trade talks once the team updates their trading block this weekend. Let’s Go Amerks! Congratulations Connor!

[Scott-New York]

The New York Americans made a pair of trades on a low volume deadline day. Colton Sceviour was traded to Adirondack and joins ex-teammate, Brock Nelson, who was acquired from the Amerks by the Aces on December 1st. The Amerks acquired center, Ryan MacInnis, in return for Sceviour. MacInnis, son of Al MacInnis, not only adds pro pedigree to the Amerks but also brings his 6’3” frame and a very good shot to the Amerks middle ice position. The Amerks also made a lateral move, sending Arturri Lehkonen to Montreal in return for native New Yorker, Alex Iafallo. Iafallo will step right into New York’s top six and brings the versatility of playing both center and wing and a two way game to the Amerks.

We were able to catch up to GM Jones before he left the Amerk offices for the night and got a quick assessment of how he viewed today’s moves.

“We expected today to be fairly quiet but we’re happy with the moves we made. Alex will hopefully add a little offense. We weren’t looking to move Arturri but after Mike (Montreal) contacted us regarding him, we really liked what we saw in Alex. I actually just got off the phone with him and he’s very excited to get here. He’s thrilled with getting a chance to play in his home state. He’ll be in the line-up Tuesday night against Calgary… Mac is a big body added to our center ice position. The kid obviously has great bloodlines and we’re excited to see how he develops. We wish all the best to Colton and Arturri in the post-season and thank them both for their time here in New York.”

[Scott-New York]

The New York Americans have seven games remaining in the season and the Amerks will be enjoying some home cooking over their last stretch of games, with five of the seven being on home ice. A short trip to Philadelphia and Hershey aside, the team will wrap up the 2018-19 season in the big apple. With just under two weeks left in the regular season, we caught up with GM, Scott Jones, to see what is on his to do list in a quick Q & A..

Q : As the season wraps up, what did you see as the highlights?
A : “Well, there is no doubt we had a disappointing season and it’s no secret that we’re looking to the future, so mostly we’ve been evaluating the players we have in the system but to answer the question, I don’t think there is any doubt that Connor (Hellebuyck) had a great season. Aside from him, the effort was there all around. This group never gave up on us despite our record, they came out and battled for each other almost every night. I’m not sure if you guys are aware of this but 13 of our losses this season were by a single goal. You add those 13 games to our 13 wins and 11 ties and we’re not far off from being a 37 win team instead of a 13 win team. I’d also be doing a great disservice to Quickie (Jesper Fast) if I didn’t recognize him. He’s had a career year and he leads the team in goals, assists and points. We’ve been really impressed with him.

Q: Are there any specific players you are looking to take the next step next season?
A: “Definitely. We actually think 3 or 4 guys have a chance to come in here next year and compete for ice time. I think up front we have Jordan (Greenway), Henrik (Borgstrom) and possibly Dryden (Hunt) that all have a good chance of making the roster. Max (LaJoie) and Gavin (Bayreuther) have a chance on the back end as well. If we could get even a couple of those guys to step up and make the roster, we’d be happy for sure”.

Q: Are there areas of concern heading into next season?
A: “I wouldn’t call them areas of concern. We’re building something here and we have a clear path that we’ve discussed. Yes, we’ve identified areas that we’d like to improve upon but we’re going to be in a good spot in the draft and our scouts have identified some really solid talent at the top here, any of which we’d be happy to add to our organization. We think quite possibly, any of them have the potential to step into the league next year so when we add that to the other guys that could come in, I think we have a good chance to improve and in a rebuild, when your adding good young talent to your line-up, you’re heading in the right direction. Aside from that, we’ll look at what areas we have left that we want to specifically improve on building and see what we can add in free agency but we’re currently not looking to be big players in the free agency or summer trade market but at the same time, we never rule anything out”.

Q: Any specific goal for next season?
A: Absolutely. We’ve mentioned this earlier in the season even. This team will be back in the playoffs next year. We’re pretty confident in that. That’s the goal.

After the season wraps up, Amerks fans will anxiously await the draft lottery results on April 9th. It sounds like Jones and his staff are ready to head into the off-season and continue making improvements to the team and it sounds like the Americans could be an exciting team to watch again as early as next season.

[Scott-New York]

GILLIES EARNS FIRST GHL WIN

Jon Gillies made 33 saves as the Amerks edged Suffolk, 2-1 on Saturday night. The win was Gillies’ first ever in the GHL coming in his 19th appearance. Gillies commented after the win. “It took a little too long but it feels good to get that one out of the way. It’s been a tough year but you keep going out there every night and try to do what you can to help the team win.” GM Jones reflected Gillies’ sentiments. “He deserved to get this one with the season we’ve had here. Jon went out every time we called on him and battled through the season just as hard as anyone else. We asked a lot from some pretty young guys this year, that’s just the nature of the situation we’re in. This was scheduled to be his last game this year but we’re going to reward him for his effort and get him in at least one more time down the stretch here, he’s earned it.” The Amerks have 4 games remaining starting tonight vs. Hartford. Philadelphia, Hershey and Boston also remain on the Amerks schedule. Gillies has played two games vs. Hershey and has a .915 save % against the Bars so we wouldn’t be surprised if that game is the one Gillies draws.

[Scott-New York]

AMERKS COMPLETE EXIT INTERVIEWS

The New York Americans season is behind them and the mantra in the front offices is to just move on in the rebuilding process and completely put the 2018-19 season in the rear view mirror. GM Jones spoke this morning on the upcoming off-season.

“We feel we’re right on track, we have 43 players already under contract heading into next season so we are definitely concentrating on the draft. Our scouts have been working tirelessly and we know that going into the lottery tonight that we’re guaranteed to pick in the top 6. With that said, we’ve narrowed down a list of about 9 or 10 players we think can step right in and help as early as next year and about 11 or 12 guys we think are valid top 6 picks. Of course we’re hoping the lottery balls bounce our way tonight but we’re very comfortable anywhere in that top 6. There is legitimate talent at every position in that pick range so we’re gonna get a guy that can help whether it’s in net, on D or up front. Heading deeper into the draft, we hold 3 2nd round selections and our scouts are just as excited about what will be on the board with those picks as they are about that top selection. This draft will be a key component of the re-build process and we’re ready thanks to our highly talented scouting department. I will personally represent the team at the draft lottery tonight and our scouting department will be on the edge of their seats. As far as the summer is concerned post-draft, we’re committed to building the right way so at the moment we’re not looking at any big off-season acquisitions but we have identified some guys coming to the market that we have some interest in so if the right opportunity presents itself, we’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn’t keep every possible option open. Putting aside our personal endeavors, the Amerks organization would like to congratulate all 16 playoff teams and wish each of them good luck as the post-season kicks off tomorrow night”.

The Amerks roster is already pretty full, with players under contract with only 2 players needed to reach the roster minimum with any potential buy-outs aside. It looks like it could be the end of the road in New York for UFA’s Patrick Eaves, Mark Lestestu, Cody McLeod and Greg McKegg. The Amerks have 5 RFA’s in Cole Cassels, Chris Dreidger, Blake Pietila, Justin Bailey and Madison Bowey. The Amerks are already rumored to be in talks with Bowey but there has been no recent news on any of the other RFA’s. The expectations of 2018 first round draft picks Henrik Borgstrom and Jordan Greenway have opened up options up front while Max LaJoie could be ready to step in on the blue line, but while LaJoie started out on fire, his play leveled off as the season wore on so he will have to work hard to make the Amerks next season. There is plenty of opportunity behind Josi and McCabe, however, on the blueline for the Amerks young defensemen to challenge for roster spots. Expect Bowey, LaJoie, Fredrik Claesson, Paul LaDue and Gavin Bayreuther to be in the mix this season and don’t rule out that early pick if the Amerks select a defenseman as they have with 3 of their 9 first round picks in the modern era. Only 2014 first rounder, McCabe has panned out for the team, however, and the top tier in this years draft is much heavier with forwards although there a couple very high end defensemen. It’s going to be a pivotal off-season for New York regardless and we know Jones and his scouting department will look to improve in every area of the ice.

[Scott-New York]

AMERKS WIN DRAFT LOTTERY

The Toronto Toros were the big draft lottery winners. The Toros moved from 12th to 3rd overall. The Cincinnati Swords had 3 lottery chances and jumped from 6th to 2nd with Hartford’s first round selection. The Swords will also pick 10th with their own pick and 11th with Syracuse’s pick. Cincinnati holds 3 other picks in the 1st round as well for a total of 6 picks in the opening round, owning Detroit, New Jersey and Alaska’s selections in the bottom half of the round. New York moved from 3rd to the #1 overall pick at the lottery and we caught up briefly with GM Jones after the announcement that his team would be selecting 1st overall for the 1st time in his tenure.

“It’s exciting, we’ve never even picked in the top 10 and when we saw we were guaranteed to stay in the top 3, we were thrilled, but seeing that card flipped and winning #1 was definitely a happy moment. We sat down yesterday and started really looking at our top 6. Having #1 overall now, we’re heading back in the scouting room today and will start discussion specifically on our top 3 and start narrowing that down to who we think is the absolute best player in this draft”.

Q: Is there any chance you’ll consider trading the pick?

“No. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say that. We never rule anything out, but the offer would have to be pretty skewed in our favor to convince us that it’s better for our club to move back a little. I will say that at the moment, I don’t see that happening”.

Q: Can you give us some insight on who the player is that you are highest on?

“No. And that no is a firm no.”