Albany Devils Playing Well; Honoring the Past Next Week

The Devils’ top American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany Devils, are hurtling forward while still taking a look to the past this season.

The team has been playing well, in second place in the AHL’s Eastern Conference North Division, with 16 points and an 8-4-0-0 record. They trail the Toronto Marlies by one point in the division and stand at fifth place in the conference (behind the Bridgeport Sound Tigers only because they have two fewer goals scored). They also rank eighth in the league overall, virtually tied with the Sound Tigers and the Grand Rapids Griffins (of the Western Conference).

At 6-1-0-0, they have the second best home record in the entire AHL, behind only the 6-2-0-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (who have also played one more game at home) due to having given up more goals against.

Blake Pietila is currently leading the A-Devils in scoring (6 goals, 5 assists for 11 points in 12 games) while Joe Blandisi (3g, 5a, 8p in 11 games) and John Quenneville (4g, 3a, 7p in 12 games) have also been playing well.

Between the pipes, Scott Wedgewood is 4-3-0-0 in eight games with a 2.44 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Mackenzie Blackwood, in five games, is 3-1-0-0 with a 3.28 goals against and a .902 save percentage. Ken Appleby has one win in one appearance with a 1.85 GAA and a .929 save percentage.

The New Jersey Devils also made a trade over the weekend that will be of benefit to the A-Devils for the time being. The Devils acquired Petr Straka from the Flyers “for a conditional seventh round selection in either the 2017 or 2018 NHL Draft” according to TheAlbanyDevils.com.

Straka, who is 24 years old, has only three NHL games with the Flyers under his belt (played during 2014-15) in which he has two assists. He has spent the majority of his pro career in North America with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. According to the article posted on the A-Devils site by Kevin Zalaznik, Straka had a career high in goals (19) and points (37) last year with the Phantoms. His AHL career has seen him score a total of 42 goals, 46 assists for 88 points in 192 games.

As well, Luke Gazdic recently cleared waivers after coming back off the injured reserve with a broken foot, and was assigned to the A-Devils.

The Albany Devils look to be in good condition heading forward.

But, coming up, they will be honoring a bit of the past in Devils’ AHL history and hockey history in the New York capital region. Yes, the Albany River Rats are making a return, if only for two games. The A-Devils will be doing two “throwback nights” during the season – with the first one coming up on November 26. The other will be played on March 25.

The throwback nights will consist of the team wearing River Rat jerseys on the ice and “a 1990’s theme integrated into the game presentation.” The jerseys will be autographed and auctioned off through the A-Devils’ website after the March 25 game.

The Albany River Rats were the New Jersey Devils’ AHL club through much of the 1990’s after the team was moved to Albany from Utica. After a brief stint being affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team was moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Devils then moved the Lowell Devils to Albany to take the place of the departed River Rats.

The River Rats, who won a Calder Cup in 1994-95 (the same year the NHL parent club Devils won the Stanley Cup – a rare feat for an organization), are fondly remembered both in New Jersey and in New York state’s capital. It should be a fun time for A-Devils fans to enjoy the past and for Devils fans who make the trip up to reminisce as well.

Former Devil John Madden Named Head Coach in AHL

After head coach Jared Bednar took the vacant job in Colorado and became the new coach of the Avalanche, the defending AHL Calder Cup champion Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters needed a new bench boss.

And they got a good one, tapping former three time Stanley Cup champion (Devils in 2000 and 2003 and Blackhawks in 2010), Selke Trophy winner (2001), and NCAA National Champion (University of Michigan, 1996) John Madden. Madden is getting his first shot as a head coach at any level after serving three years as an assistant with the Florida Panthers.

Originally hired as a pro scout by the Panthers in September of 2013, after finishing his career with the team he was named an assistant coach that November. He had retired from a career that spanned 1998 to 2012 with the Devils, Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Panthers. He finished his career with 165 goals, 183 assists for 348 points and 219 penalty minutes. In 898 NHL games, he was an amazing +20 plus/minus. He was part of the Panthers team in 2012 that won the Southeast Division and then were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Devils in seven games.

In his time as an assistant coach, the Panthers improved a little bit season by season and eventually finished last year with a 47-26-9 record and 103 points, winning the Atlantic Division. They were eventually defeated in the opening round of the playoffs by the Islanders.

The Monsters, AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, are coming off last season’s Calder Cup win, beating the Hershey Bears to bring Cleveland a championship a few weeks before the Cleveland Cavaliers won their historic NBA title.

Madden, a Toronto native, was a great two-way forward during his time in the NHL. He should be a good influence on a young team, instilling in them the need for defense as they develop and head into the NHL with the Blue Jackets.

Still affectionately known to Devils fans as “Mad Dog,” Madden was a key part of the Devils’ success in the early 2000’s. Now, the Columbus organization has a fine coach in the form of Madden in their system, eager and hungry to show that he can be a head coach. Good luck to John Madden and the Cleveland Monsters heading into the 2016-17 AHL season and congratulations to the Columbus Blue Jackets for nailing down a good coaching prospect for their organization.