When the CBJ-Lake Erie affiliation was announced I wrote a piece for Blue Jacket fans to share some history on their new little brother and I promised a follow up later geared towards Monsters fans to help them learn more about the players coming to the Q soon. And now it that time.
The Monsters could be one of the youngest teams in the AHL with only 6 players on the training camp roster being over 25 including probably one of the youngest players in the AHL, 19 year old Sonny Milano. Adding to “the Youth Movement” identity, the Monsters could dress as many as 11 players who have played 10 AHL games or less and that includes six rookies.
Up front, the Monsters could be lethal with “The Great Dane” (registered trademark CBJProspects Inc LLC RSVP DVD) Oliver Bjorkstrand (Byork-strand) and Milano. Bjorkstrand has been one of the highest scoring players in the Western Hockey League the last two years putting up 227 points in 128 games including 63 goals (including one that went completely through the net) last season. Sonny was the Jackets’ 2014 first round pick and played for the U16 Cleveland Barons in 2011-12 where he put up 87 points in 40 games. Sonny is highly skilled and could miss time in December and January if the Jackets allow him to play for team USA at the World Junior Championships. Last year’s leading CBJ AHL scorer was TJ Tynan who put up 48 points in 75 games in his first pro season.
As for the rookies making their pro debuts, along with Bjorkstrand is sniper Daniel Zaar who uses a lethal wrist shot to score from anywhere and he has experience running the point from his play in Sweden. Some of the tough customers for the Monsters will be rookie Nick Moutrey and Josh Anderson (who currently is still with the Jackets and has battled some injuries this preseason) but their main focus will always be putting the puck in the net. The sheriff in Lake Erie will be Brett Gallant who’s got in 64 fights the last three years in the AHL along with three fights in four NHL games last year. The Monsters captain will more than likely be the elder statesman Ryan Craig who’s worn the C his last five seasons in the AHL and is the most experienced player for the Monsters. Two players that could slot into the Monsters top six that are still in Columbus are William “Wild Bill” Karlsson and 2013 first round pick Kerby Rychel. Karlsson was part of the James Wisniewski trade and went pointless with the Falcons but had two points in three games with the Jackets. Kerby is currently making it hard on the Jackets to send him back down. Kerby is another sniper who is also not afraid to get his nose dirty and he plays a style much like his father, former NHL-er, Warren Rychel.
Three Blue Jackets draft picks that weren’t signed by the club that are making their way to Cleveland are Dublin’s Trent Vogelhuber, Seth Ambroz and Peter Quenneville. Quenneville is unique for this trio as I believe the Jackets still have this year to sign him before losing his rights. Quenneville is another sniper whose hockey sense is one of his strengths. Also for you Monster fans, when there’s an empty net…its #AmbrozTime as Seth has a reputation for scoring empty net goals from his time in college (Minnesota). Seth is another net front presence and is not afraid to drop the gloves.
As for the blueline the Monsters defense is…monsterous (sorry) with only two players are under 6’0″. Leading the charge are the Jackets top two defenseman prospects in Lake Erie at the moment (until a certain first round pick probably joins the team after his season is over) Michael Paliotta and Dillon Heatherington. The Duo were the Jackets top pair in Traverse City. Both players are big shut down dmen so they could be split to balance out the pairs. The only AHL All-Star from last year on the Monsters blueline is Austin Madaisky. Last year was a breakout season for Austin until in the most CBJiest of things (at least last season) he suffered an injury when a teammate fell on him in practice.
Two vets on the Lake Erie blueline are Jamie Sifers and Andrew Bodnarchuk (who’s still in camp with the CBJ at this time). Bodnarchuk was a member of last year’s Calder Cup champion Manchester Monarchs. Another Monsters defensemen who will be lining up – John Ramage who is the son of 1979 number one Rob Ramage who played 1044 games in the NHL. You can also dd in a rookie to North America Dean Kukan who comes over after playing with Daniel Zaar last year in Sweden. There’s also the big fella Oleg Yevenko or the “Belarussian Giant.” The 6’7″ Yevenko got a bit of press during CBJ camp for impressing and fans speculated about the Blue Jackets signing him but, as of this moment, it hasn’t happened. Yevenko is a tough customer who earned 14 penalty minutes in four games last year with Adirondack.
In net, the Monsters will rely on the Scandinavian pair of Swede Anton Forsberg and Fin Joonas Korpisalo. Forsberg was one of the AHL’s top rookies last year and, stop me if you’ve heard this, could have been the rookie of the year had he not suffered an injury. Anton was supposed to be a starter for the AHL All-Star Game but was held out of the game when he was recalled to Columbus due to Sergei Bobrovsky’s groin injury. Korpisalo came over to the US last season and made it into three games after his season in Finland was over, going 0-2. Joonas has been the better of the two this preseason but I expect Anton to be the starter as games get underway.
There you have it Monster fans – a little heads up on the players that’ll be coming to the Q this season. We’re just over a week away from the Monsters opener against Rochester.
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