Aeros add to gun racks for 2008-2009 season

HOUSTON , Tex – The Houston Aeros 2007-08 campaign was marked by staggering imbalance. On defense, they were rock solid. Goaltending? Best in the league. But the offense was, in a word, offensive. In contrast to a defense that allowed the fewest goals against in the league, the Aeros offense too often couldn’t find the back of the net and ended the regular season one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. Help is on the Way Perhaps hearing fans’ cries of ‘Shoot!’ all the way up at Minnesota Wild

headquarters, Aeros GM Tom Lynn made significant moves early in the off-season to add proven AHL scorers to the Aeros roster.
 
Jesse Schultz (RW), was an unrestricted free agent from the Chicago Wolves earned a solid 26 goals, 66 points, and +15 on a Wolves team where wide-open, creative offensive play was encouraged. But with four Wolves in the top 20 scorers in the AHL, how much of that success came from his excellent teammates?
 
Krys Kolanos (C), is another UFA signing from the Quad City Flames. While last season’s career best 30 goals and 63 points on a mediocre Flames team is impressive, the Aeros are his 9th team since the lockout and fans from former teams are quick to suggest that attitude problems mayaccount for the team hopping. Further, for all those points, he was still a -16 for the season, which suggests an lack of attention to his own end.
 
Corey Locke (C), was acquired from the Hamilton Bulldogs in a swap for Aeros defenseman Shawn Belle. Locke is a young player still on the rise, but at 5’8″ and 171 lbs., his size has been a detractor. In spite of his obvious scoring touch and a strong work ethic, the Montreal Canadiens organization never saw fit to bring him up to the big club.
 
Bryan Lundbohm (C), is former Aero who spent last season in Europe. While not a big points producer, Lundbohm brings a veteran presence andis consistent, generating around 30 goals a season. With the next oldest player four years his junior, he will need to play an important role as mentor to a roster full of youth.
 
To get an idea of the leap in firepower these additions potentially bring to the table, consider this: Schultz, Kolanos, and Locke were ranked among the top 25 scorers in the AHL last season. In contrast, the three highest scoring Aeros players last season were Joel Ward at number 139, Ryan Hamilton at 152, and Adrian Foster at 160. What’s more, only Hamilton is returning to the team this season.
 
Of course, the rap on a six-goalie system like the one Constantinecoaches is that it almost automatically takes a “discount” off a good offensive player’s stats. So it remains to be seen how big the discount will be for these new Aeros and how the chemistry plays out with their new teammates. In the lone blue line acquisition, the Wild struck a multi-year deal with Czech defenseman Tomas Mojzis, who has five years of AHL experience and had a few NHL call-ups in that time but spent the 2007-08 season in Russia‘s Continental league. Core Remains
Meanwhile, the team obviously plans to build on last year’s success by re-signing its four restricted free agents to one year deals, plus signing goaltender Barry Brust to a two-year deal and defensemen Brandon Rogers and Maxim Noreau each to three-year deals. Between these signings and the returning players already under contract, the majority of last year’s core will be back in bomber sweaters this fall. Given the steep learning curve they faced early in the season ramping up to Constantine‘s system, the experience these returning players bring should result in an immediate impact when the puck drops on Oct. 11.
 
However, as with any minor league team, poaching is part of the natural order. Wild GM Doug Risebrough has openly stated that creating opportunities for prospects to get playing time with the big club is a priority this season and has left at least one spot open at wing for just that purpose. Hamilton, Petr Kalus, and agitator Cal Clutterbuck   seem to be the front-runners for the spot out of camp, with the other two possibly getting a chance later in the season.
At center, Kolanos has the most NHL experience and is a big guy, but Locke may edge him out as the organization likes to reward good work ethic with call-ups, and here Locke seems to excel over Kolanos. On defense, Mojzis is ostensibly Erik Reitz’s replacement at the top of the depth chart, but he’ll have some competition from returning players Clayton Stoner and Rogers.
 
The Wild play in a tight division, and further into the season, Coach Jacques Lemaire has seemed less willing to take chances on players who haven’t experienced much NHL play. In the spring, unless the team is far out of the playoff chase, it is more likely that players like Kolanos and Mojzis will get the call over players with no NHL experience. Impressing in camp and early on will be critical for the younger players.
 
So long and thanks for all the goals
Some notable departures include Joel Ward (RW), who ended the season on an uncharacteristic offensive tear and was one of the more prominent off-ice leaders. He signed with the Nashville Predators organization this summer and might even see some NHL time if his scoring touch holds up. Another is Adrian Foster (C), the New Jersey Devils’ 2001 first round pick whose career was decimated by injuries early on, but seemed to have put that behind him, playing a full and relatively productive season with the Aeros. He is unsigned as of this writing.
 
Defenseman Reitz, another strong team leader, who after 6 seasons with the Aeros, got a late season call-up to Minnesota that clinched a one-way deal with the big club. And while the team is also likely losing big, talented forward Benoit Pouliot to the Wild, his finesse-driven style of play never meshed with the gritty, crash-the-net brand of hockey the rest of the team played and, as a result, his contributions on the scoreboard were underwhelming.
 
2008-2009 outlook
So, with the glaring holes on offense filled, the Aeros seem primed to make things miserable for the rest of the west, particularly with the perennial favorite Wolves being dismantled, coach and all, after their Calder Cup win last Spring. On every front, the Aeros seem to have an answer.
 
There’s the dynamic goaltending tandem in Nolan Schaefer and Brust, who last year earned the Harry “Haps” Holmes Award for the best goals-against average in the league. The duo established a friendly competitiveness that improved both their games and in spite of their contrasting playing styles, left coaches with a tough decision about who to start in the playoffs.
 
The Aeros’ defensive play should be on par with last season given the relatively low roster turnover numbers at both ends of the ice.
 
The club’s offensive play should improve dramatically, even if the three new additions up front see their numbers reduced a bit due to the defensive requirements of the system. Returning forwards Hamilton, Clutterbuck, Kalus, and Morten Madsen have the potential to increase production, and from the blue line, Mojzis, Rogers and sophomores Paul Albers and Noreau show some offensive touch.
 
Team toughness was not a glaring issue last season, but enforcing defaulted to 6’8″ defenseman John Scott who earned a three-game suspension at one point in the season and had to back off a bit down the stretch. Some toughness on the blue line is lost with Reitz’s departure to the Minnesota Wild, and if Clutterbuck sticks with the Minnesota either out of camp or early in the season as some expect, a critical bit of grit will be lost. However, if bruising forward Matt Kassian makes the Aeros roster, questions about toughness should be put to rest.
 
The only problem for the Aeros starting the season is the worst schedule in the West Division.   Where the Manitoba Moose have only 5 instances of three games in three days (the average is around 9 for the division), the Aeros have a whopping 15 3-in-3s, none of which are entirely at home. With a travel schedule that is already a grind, particularly for Texas teams who are far removed from their more northern peers, it’s an especially tough ask over an 80 game season.
 
But if the team continues its trajectory from last season, the 2008-09 Aeros should make the playoffs comfortably, and a division title is not at all out of reach. Is this team a Calder Cup contender? It’s difficult to say that they are, with the bulk of their scoring expected to come from players who are unproven in such a tightly-wound defensive system. Still, if the discount on their numbers is minimal and the returning players continue to produce and mind their own end with last season’s ferocity, the only team standing between the Aeros and the Calder Cup is the Aeros themselves.
 
Contact the author at heather.g alindo@prohockeynews.com