AHL Preview: Atlantic Division

The 2008-09 AHL season is almost upon us and after a thrilling 2007-08 season, several teams have made improvements while others have not. The Chicago Wolves won the Calder Cup and will look to repeat, but is there another team to keep an eye on? Here’s a preview of the Atlantic Division.

EASTERN CONFERENCE – ATLANTIC DIVISION

Hartford Wolf Pack
2007-08 Record: 50-20-2-8, 110 points

Key Additions: Brian Fahey (Chicago), Sergei Demagin (Belarus), Tomas Kundratek (Czech Republic), Mike Brodeur (Rockford)
Key Losses: Ivan Baranka (Russia), Andrew Hutchinson (Tampa Bay), Josh Gratton (Nashville), Jake Taylor (Springfield), Mitch Fritz (N.Y. Islanders), David LeNeveu (Anaheim), Ryan Constant (Springfield)

Season Outlook: After a strong 2007-08 season, the Hartford Wolf Pack did little to help their chances of making a deep Calder Cup run in 2008-09. Several players bolted for better opportunities and the New York Rangers did very little to help their minor league affiliate.

Greg Moore returns for his third full season with the Wolf Pack, but how much time he spends in Hartford will depend on what happens in New York. Moore will be a top call-up and could spend most of the season up and down. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau returns for his second season with the Pack after leading the team in scoring in 2007-08 with 81 points. Parenteau is in the same situation as Moore. He will be subjected to recall to the Rangers should there be a need.

Hartford’s defense took a major blow during the offseason when Andrew Hutchinson signed a two-year NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Hutchinson and his 64 points bolted for Tampa Bay, the Pack will now turn to Thomas Pock to lead the defense. Corey Potter is also expected to pick up his game and be relied upon as a top two defensemen. Potter will look to improve on his career best 32 points last season.

The Wolf Pack are poised to turn over the goaltending reigns to Miika Wiikman for the long-term in 2008-09. Wiikman spent the beginning of his rookie season as the back-up to Al Montoya, but as Montoya struggled and eventually traded, Wiikman was inserted as the starting goalie. The Pack had enough confidence in him to allow veteran David LeNeveu walk away. The Pack will need Wiikman to be the backbone of the team and rely on him for a deep playoff run.

Lowell Devils
2007-08 Record: 25-43-7-5, 62 points

Key Additions: Chad Wiseman (Germany)
Key Losses: Olli Malmivaara (Finland), Jordan Parise (Austria), Ivan Khomutov (Russia), Noah Clarke (Switzerland), Mike Pandolfo (Norway), Frank Doyle (Germany), Mark Pandolfo (Norway)

Season Outlook: The Lowell Devils are thankful that the calendar has moved away from 2007-08 to 2008-09, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Devils are going to have success in the season ahead. But then again there shouldn’t be high expectations for a team that finished last in the Atlantic Division in 2007-08 and finished last in the league in attendance and did very little to upgrade their offense.

Two of the top five point producers – Noah Clarke and Ivan Khomutov – are gone. Insert Chad Wiseman as the answer. Wiseman last played in the AHL in 2006-07 with the Hershey Bears, scoring 35 points in 48 games. Petr Vrana and Barry Tallackson return for another season in Lowell, but neither player averaged near a point per game. Offense was a problem last season for the Devils and it’s going to be another problem this season. The Devils are going to need to find a way to get more goals.

Defense, defense, defense, what can be said about Lowell’s defense? It's awful. Not upgrading the defense this offseason is going to hurt the Devils a lot. They were one of the worst defensive teams last season and are poised for another horrible defensive season in 2008-09. The Devils used three rookies on defense last season and will look for experience to take affect this season for those three. One complete season under their belt in the AHL could help with some of the problems on defense.

The Devils look ready to turn to goaltending duties over to Dave Caruso in 2008-09. Starting goalie from last season, Frank Doyle, was not re-signed by New Jersey. With Jordan Parise leaving for Austria and Doyle not returning, Jeff Frazee is slated to serve as Caruso’s back-up. The two have a combined 18 AHL games played. That's scary.

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