Phantoms Weekly Release #11

Click HERE to access the current Phantoms Weekly Release.

Transactions that we've had this week have included call-ups, send-downs, and signing of players to PTO/ATOs. The list is as follows:

12/26/2008 Billy Ryan (C) Philadelphia ADD Signed to ATO
12/26/2008 Chris Zarb (D) Philadelphia ADD Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) from Mississippi (ECHL)
12/26/2008 Claude Giroux (RW) Philadelphia DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)
12/26/2008 Jonathon Kalinski (LW) Philadelphia DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)
12/26/2008 Rob Sirianni (RW) Philadelphia ADD Signed to PTO
12/23/2008 Andreas Nodl (RW) Philadelphia DEL Returned on loan to Philadelphia (NHL)
12/23/2008 Andreas Nodl (RW) Philadelphia DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)
12/23/2008 Jonathon Kalinski (LW) Philadelphia ADD Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL)
12/22/2008 Jeremy Duchesne (G) Philadelphia DEL Returned on loan to Mississippi (ECHL)
12/22/2008 Michael Teslak (G) Philadelphia DEL Returned on loan to Elmira (ECHL)
12/21/2008 Jonathon Kalinski (LW) Philadelphia DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)
12/20/2008 Randy Jones (D) Philadelphia DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)

So in other words... Zarb is up with the Phantoms. Duchesne and Teslak are returned to their ECHL clubs. Jones is back with the Flyers. Kalinski, Nodl, and Giroux are up with the Flyers. And we've signed Billy Ryan and Rob Sirianni to tryout contracts. Mercy sakes, our front office has been busy!

Tonight, we have the opportunity to close out our 2008 home schedule on a high note. We are playing the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, against whom we have played very well recently.

Go Phantoms!

Articles: Phantoms vs. Bears; Kalinski's callup

This morning, the Phantoms site features an article on the Phantoms' season series with the Bears, whom we face yet again tonight.

There's also an article on our recent roster moves, including the callup of Jonathon Kalinski to the Flyers, as well as the Phantoms' signing of Tyler Donati and Dominic D'Amour to PTO contracts.

The Phantoms have gone 2-3-0-0 vs. the Bears this season, but in most of those games, we've had a battle on our hands in the third period. In the one case, even going into the final frame with a three-goal lead wasn't enough to ensure a win. So we will have to make sure and put forth a full 60-minute effort if we intend to avoid getting saddled with another L. We can certainly beat the Bears -- we've already done so this season. But it'll be a win we will have to work hard for.

Go Phantoms!

Phantoms/Albany Game Recap, Donati article

I love the headlines we get on the Phantoms site for the game recaps. This one, in honor of our annual School Day game, was, "Munroe takes Rats to School". LOL!

In other news, click HERE for the article on the Elmira Jackals site announcing the callup of Tyler Donati to the Phantoms. He's the Jackals' top scorer and is tied for second in the ECHL in points.

Phantoms vs. Albany School Day Game, 11/19/08: First Period

Not only is Jared Ross back from the Flyers, he's in the starting lineup. Along with our defensive callup D'Amour, for whom I saw a transaction yesterday, we have another new name in the lineup: Donati. He's sitting with the forwards and wearing number 6. (D'Amour is number 4.) I saw no indication online yesterday that we were calling up another player, so I'll have to do a little looking around online when I get home.

We took a penalty early, but through the first minute and a half of our PK, the Rats have not gotten a puck on net.

Just as we returned to even strength, Munroe had to be sharp. Nice work, Muny. :)

D'Amour is paired with Ratchuk. Kalinski just made up for his trip to the sin bin by getting the primary assist on a NICE Phantoms goal by Szwez. :) Ratchuk got the secondary helper. We took the shot, and Szwez was off to the side in perfect position to lob the rebound into a wide-open net. Grand teamwork so far -- we look ten zillion times better than we did on Saturday in the final frame of the Hershey game. Yes, I realize that the River Rats aren't anywhere near as stacked of a team as the Bears are, but still, we aren't showing any after-effects from that brutal drubbing.

I saw on a Flyers message board that Powe is healthy enough to return to play, but I'll have to look around to see official confirmation of that. (Either that, or I can just wait till the next Fyers game and see who's on the roster. ;) )

Ross is on a line with Szwez and Clackson, with D'Amour and Ratchuk on D. I missed the announcement of the scratches, so I'll have to have a look at who's out there and figure out who's missing by process of elimination. Now it's Raduns with Beaulieu and Laliberte, with Bartulis and Curry. Incidentally, Beaulieu is actually taking real shifts in this game, as opposed to Friday when he dressed but didn't play, or Saturday when the only shift I saw him on the ice for was the one in which he took a hooking call. So it's nice to see Beau back.

Guenin and Syvret, our two assistant captains, remain as a D pair. Matsumoto is on a line with Kalinski and Donati. They just generated a really nice rush. Clackson is out with Giroux and Szwez... Now that I think about it, one player I don't see is Kane, who was on a line with Giroux over the weekend. He's neither on the bench nor on the ice. Hersley is also missing from the lineup, but I believe he's injured, as is Bellamy.

We need to get the heck away from in front of our net. Muny has been more than up to the challenge, but we keep having our D dueling with Rats for loose pucks in front of our crease. If we let that happen too often, it'll eventually cost us.

FINALLY, btw, we see Neil Little back where he belongs, as the Eye in the Sky for the first part of the game. He's been off scouting in Parts Unknown in recent weeks.

The forward line combinations are, to put it mildly, not written in stone. Every time I think I know what line is out, I notice someone different is on the ice. Ditto for the D, which I think we have seven of at the moment. Ratchuk is out with his regular partner, DeSantis. We also have D'Amour, Curry, Syvret, Guenin, and Bartulis dressed on D. That's a good way to break in the newest member of the blueline corps. It also means we don't have four full lines of forwards dressed, so someone's going to be double-shifting here and there.

Syvret and Guenin are out as defensemen, but this time it was SYVRET who blocked a shot... Normally, that's Guenin's purview. Speaking of Nasty Nate, he's headed to the box for cross-checking.

The PK is over, and apparently River Rats are allowed to try and run Matsumoto over when the puck is nowhere near him. GRRR...

And AGAIN, in the final minute of the period, a Rat (Petruzalek) tried to throw a check on Guenin, but missed and hit the boards hard. Only problem is, the puck was nowhere near Guenin at the time. Mumble, grumble...

The first period is over, and the Phantoms take a 1-0 lead into the locker room. SOG: Phantoms 12, River Rats, 9.

Dayton Bombers (ECHL) loan defenseman Dominic D'Amour to Phantoms

From the ECHL's transactions:


Bombers Loan D'Amour To Philadelphia November 17, 2008


DAYTON, Ohio - The Dayton Bombers announced that they have loaned defenseman Dominic D'Amour to the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

Selected in the third round (88th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and in his fifth professional season, the 24 year old has seven points (3g-4a) and 25 penalty minutes in 12 games for the Bombers.

Team Press Release

Callup(s) from Mississipi

Thanks to a fellow fan's post on the Phantoms Phorum, I was clued in to an article on the Mississipi Sea Wolves site.

Here's the announcement that Phantoms have called up forward Chase Trull from the Mississippi Sea Wolves.

Welcome to Philly, Mr. Trull, and may I point out that athletes named "Chase" seem to do pretty well here. Just ask Mr. Utley. :)

That's the callup that there's no doubt about.

However, again according to the above-mentioned post, these transactions were announced by the ECHL today:

Mississippi:
Delete Frederik Cabana, recalled by Philadelphia (NHL)
Delete Chase Trull, F loaned to Philadelphia (AHL)

There are a few things that are interesting about this. First of all, Freddy Cabana's not in Philly at the moment. Second of all, his transaction describes him as having been recalled by the FLYERS (NHL), not the PHANTOMS (AHL) -- compare it to Trull's transaction. The way this is panning out, it has all the earmarks of a transaction that's the precursor of some other roster move. What that might be, I can't predict. But it will be worthwhile to watch the Phantoms' and AHL's transaction pages for the immediate future.

Raduns and Kane recalled to Flyers, Teslak assigned to Elmira

The Parent Club giveth and the Parent Club taketh away.

From the AHL's Phantoms transactions for November 4:

Date	Player	Team	Transaction
11/04/2008	Boyd Kane (LW)	Philadelphia	DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)
11/04/2008	Michael Teslak (G)	Philadelphia	DEL Reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) to Elmira (ECHL)
11/04/2008	Nate Raduns (C)	Philadelphia	DEL Recalled from loan by Philadelphia (NHL)

So we got two players back, Downie and Ross, and we sent up two other players, Raduns and Kane.

Also, Michael-Lee Teslak was loaned to Elmira of the ECHL. FINALLY, the man will see some playing time. We've been carrying at least three goalies all season, but we've only been playing Aubin and Munroe. We moved Duchesne to Mississippi a few weeks ago, and now we've found a place where Teslak can play.

I wish all three of them the best during these reassignments. I hope they kick butt and do themselves, and us, proud.

Transactions: Nodl and Cabana

Finally, the Phantoms site has announced that Andreas Nodl has been called up to the Flyers. Here is the article.

That particular move is unsurprising, as it's been mentioned in the local newspapers in the past day or two.

However, I am entirely floored by the OTHER transaction that came through today. Freddy Cabana has been assigned to Mississippi. I first saw this info in a topic on the Phantoms Phorum. I honestly thought I misread the thread title until I clicked on the topic, read through it, and realized that the transaction is listed on the AHL's transaction page.

I am absolutely scratching my head at this move. This was the LAST thing I had expected to see us do. I can't even begin to offer an opinion here; I know that we have surplus players on the team at the moment, and their dispatch to Mississippi was imminent, but I would never have expected Cabana to be included on that list.

So all I can do is say "Kick butt while your with the Flyers" to Nodl, and "Kick butt with the SeaWolves because I want to see you back up here!" to Cabana.

*** Edited to add: Here is an article about the Cabana transaction.

NOW both our guys are on the SeaWolves' rostser

I just checked Mississippi's roster again. Now it shows both Chris Zarb AND Jeremy Duchesne. Good. Now we know they're both accounted for.

Go get 'em, guys!

Interesting tweak to the SeaWolves Roster

I see that the Mississippi Seawolves roster has been updated. Chris Zarb's name has been added to the list.

Jeremy Duchesne's name has NOT.

Color me surprised. I'll keep looking to see if it's updated again to include both our guys' names, or if an announcement of some sort tells us that Duchesne's loaned elsewhere.

Flyers and Phantoms announce affiliation with Mississippi SeaWolves of the ECHL

FINALLY, we have an announcement of an ECHL affiliation! Click the link to see the article that's posted on the Mississippi SeaWolves' site, regarding our affiliation with them.

Oddly enough, I don't see Chris Zarb or Jeremy Duchesne on their roster yet, even though on the Phantoms' roster page, both players are currently listed as having been loaned to the ECHL.

I sure wish that our ECHL team was a bit closer to home, so we could have an easier time monitoring the progress of the guys we've loaned out. However, as I discovered last year during Max O.'s brief stint in Biloxi, I was able to listen to their games online. So our local fans will be able to keep an ear out for any favorite players who are assigned to the SeaWolves.

Phantoms Weekly Release #1; Loanouts

Click HERE for the Phantoms Weekly Release #1 for this season.

Also, I was alerted by a fellow fan that the Phantoms have loaned two players to Mississippi. After reading her post, I looked online in the same place where she looked, and saw the same information she saw. However, I won't officially post it here until I see a press release online, which I hope won't take long to appear. Until then, follow the above link if you want to see exactly what I saw.

When I see an official announcement, I'll post a link to that as well. Meanwhile, to our two guys who are headed to Biloxi, best of luck to you both and KICK BUTT while you're there!