PEORIA, Ill — Autumn has arrived in central Illinois, and as the weather cools, so does the temperature at Carver Arena at the Peoria Civic Center. The chillers are running and the Zamboni’s are circling the rink. As longtime Peoria Rivermen fans return for a new hockey season, most of the familiar faces they see will be in the stands. Changes abound with the team and surroundings.
The most obvious major change is with the head coach. Jared Bednar replaces Rick Wamsley, who was a mid-season replacement for Davis Payne. Payne left the Rivermen in January to coach the St. Louis Blues. Davis and Bednar look to be cut from similar cloth – connected with his players, a bit bookish, but with a fire under that serene surface.
The goalie situation is a little old and a little new. Jake Allen is the new guy between the pipes. His first regular season game will be his first professional game. The highly touted rookie will share time in the crease with Ben Bishop. One of the few returning players, Bishop ran hot-and-cold last season but had a “phenomenal” camp with the Blues, according to Rivermen General Manager Kevin McDonald. How will they share those duties?
“There is no plan. There is no number one guy,” Davidson said during the final pre-season tune-up.
Bishop will be trying to play his way to the NHL while Allen tries to live up to the hype. Keep your eyes on both of these guys because one or both of them will be backstopping NHL teams someday soon.
On the defensive unit, Daryl Boyle is a familiar face. He came to the Rivermen in a late-season trade last year. New faces to Peoria fans include Brennan Evans, who brings experience and toughness to the blue line while Dean Arsene brings NHL experience. Other than Evans and Arsene, however, the Peoria defense looks young. The rookie to watch should be Ian Cole. Pay special attention to him early in the season because there’s a good chance he’ll be wearing the Note before too long.
Young is also the watch-word for the forwards. According to Davidson, the Rivermen will ice at least seven players who haven’t played a single professional game. NHL veteran Dave Scatchard joins Dave Spina and Graham Mink who are new to the Rivermen, but not to professional hockey.
While Brett Sonne, Ryan Reaves, Adam Cracknell, and Anthony Peluso return, none of them are classified as veterans. There is plenty to watch for among the rookie forwards. Tyler Shattock, Phillip McRae and Anthony Nigro were all point-a-game players for their Junior teams. Stefan Della Rovere put up 41 points last season in the Juniors while piling up 125 PIM.
This season the Rivermen will bear testimony to whether the Blues can draft and develop talent. If they can, the Blues will be a force to be reckoned with in the NHL for years to come…and the Rivermen in the weeks and months to come.
Contact the author at Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.Com
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