In terms of number of games played for the team, eleven of the top-20 will definitely not be with the Admirals in 2010-2011. Some of the remaining nine could find themselves in Nashville, including Jon Blum, Teemu Laakso, Nick Spaling, Mark Dekanich and Colin Wilson. Barring injury or a complete meltdown, Wilson won’t be in Milwaukee.

 

There seems to be a sense of panic on message boards about this situation. I get that to a degree. People are thinking about the unknown. “Who’ll be here? Will he be as nice as the last guy?” I have some of those same feelings.

 

However, some of the comments left on the boards seem to count the team out before it’s even in town. I don’t get that. Yes, the Admirals are losing a lot of players. But they’re players from a team that finished in fourth place.

 

And before some start to blame the coach, let it be known that I’ve spoken with a lot of people over the last couple seasons about how our organization, specifically the coaches are viewed. Unanimously (yes, unanimously, in a poll of more than 50 people that I trust to tell me the truth, off the record, from outside the organization and around ten inside the organization), they tell me that Lane Lambert is one of the best coaches working today. I even had some people tell me last year that the team the Admirals had on the ice would not have been a playoff team if it weren’t for the coaching of Lambert and Ian Herbers. There’s some inside info for you.

 

So, where does that leave the Admirals?

 

Blake Geoffrion led the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team to the NCAA Championship game. He scored 28 goals for the Badgers and won the Hobey Baker Award. He should be here.

 

Ryan Thang scored 115 points in 159 games over four seasons at Notre Dame. In twelve games with Milwaukee, he tallied six points. He also had four points in seven playoff games with the Admirals. He should be here.

 

Jamie Lundmark has played 295 NHL games. In 306 AHL games, Lundmark has scored 227 points. He should be here.

 

Anders Lindback is a 22-year old goalie from Sweden that stands 6’6”. In 66 career SEL games, he has a career goals-against-average of 2.50 and a .914 save percentage. He could be here.

 

Roman Josi could wind up being the greatest Swiss player ever. Josi helped SC Bern win both the Swiss League regular season and playoff titles in 2009-10. He led Swiss defensemen with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and a plus-3 rating in seven games in his second appearance at the World Championships in May. He has also played three World Junior Championships and two U-18 World Championships. Josi was named to the Swiss team for the 2010 Olympics, but could not participate due to injury. He should be here.

 

Brett Palin participated in three straight Memorial Cups with Kelowna and won it in 2004 as a teammate of Shea Weber’s. He was Abbotsford’s captain last season, despite being injured much of the year. The 6-2, 203-pound blueliner was an AHL All-Star in 2008-09. He should be here.

 

Linus Klasen averaged a point-per-game in the Swedish League last season. Coaches and upper management raved about his offensive skills at the Predators developmental camp in July. He should be here.

 

Matt Halischuk has the tools to be a solid contributor in the NHL for years to come. Acquired in the Jason Arnott deal from New Jersey this summer, Halischuk was a linemate of Spaling’s in the OHL with Kitchener. He should be here.

 

Ryan Flynn, like Geoffrion and Thang, served as his college team’s captain last season. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher has a heavy shot and a quick release and is also known as an excellent penalty killer. He should be here.

 

Gabriel Bourque scored 29 points in 21 playoff games for QMJHL Moncton last spring. He won the Guy Lafleur trophy as the playoff MVP as the Wildcats made it to the Memorial Cup. He was a member of Silver winning Team Canada at the World Junior Tournament this past year, scoring nine points in six games (seven of those points was in one game vs. Latvia). He should be here.

 

Players that fans in Milwaukee are familiar with already that could/should be here, at least for a while: Andreas Thuresson, Dekanich, Chet Pickard, Scott Ford, Mark Van Guilder, Chris Mueller, Spaling, Kelsey Wilson, Blum, Laakso and Mark Santorelli.

 

There are many new faces. They do all have nice resumes, though. For all we know, this could be the best team in the league (it could be the worst, too) but let’s focus on the positive.

 

Moving on…

 

I just got a text message from Dallas forward Adam Burish. He was, of course, a member of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks. He is bringing the Stanley Cup to the Kohl Center in Madison Aug, 18^th for fans to get pictures and autographs. The Stanley Cup will be on display inside Gate A from 10 am until noon.

 

Here’s a fairly interesting note from “USA Junior Hockey Magazine”. The Nashville Predators have signed three players between March and August 1 that played U.S. Junior ‘A’ Hockey: Ryan Flynn, U.S. NTDP (NAHL); Blake Geoffrion, U.S. NTDP (NAHL) and Ryan Thang, Soiux Falls/Omaha (USHL). The team that signed the most former Jr. ‘A’ players in that timeframe is Colorado with nine. The New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes did not sign any former Jr. ‘A’ players during the offseason. In all, 110 former Jr. ‘A’ players signed with a NHL franchise between March and the beginning of this month.

 

I’m extremely pleased to know that former Minnesota-Duluth head coach Mike Sertich is back in the game. Several years ago, I was lucky to be invited to a party for former University of Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer and Sertich played the role of roastmaster, so to speak. Sertich is a very funny man who has given so much to the sport, it’s good to have him back.

 

Catholic Memorial grad Jeff Costello will start his freshman season at Notre Dame this year. Costello was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft by Ottawa. He tallied 53 goals in two USHL seasons with Cedar Rapids.

 

Brookfield native Troy Grosenick, who also played the past two years for Cedar Rapids as a goalie, will attend Union College this fall.

 

I leave you with a song that’ll make you all feel better.