AHL: Amerks Generating Own Stimulus

The Rochester Americans finished with an AHL-worst 24-46-6-4 record in 2007-08, when the team had a split affiliation between the Buffalo Sabres and the Florida Panthers. The Amerks looked liked they were in for even worse early in 2008-09 with Florida as its sole NHL affiliate. Rochester went a horrific 2-16-0-1 in their first 19 games, but the team has since gone 18-15-0-3 and has established itself as a competitive club once again, with rookie-pro Panther prospects such as Keaton Ellerby, Michal Repik, Shawn Matthias, and Jason Garrison helping lead the charge back to respectability.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey recently had the opportunity to catch the Rochester Americans in action and files notes on several Florida Panthers prospects.

Keaton Ellerby (Fla), D, Rochester

Big (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) defenseman plays a smooth game .. smooth, fluid skater with long strides and good speed .. has decent acceleration for some separation with the puck .. gets down low backwards with a wide base and has good lateral movement to angle opponents .. backward stops are smooth and allow him to stick with opponents who hold up .. smooth stickhandler too .. fluid when transitioning the puck circling backwards to forward .. stays calm with the puck and doesn't panic when pressured .. smooth walking the point with the puck and has a fairly hard slapshot and wristshot .. makes hard, accurate passes .. adept d-to-d passer .. plays with some physicality and can pin opponents along the boards and eliminate them from the play .. plays on the second powerplay unit and on the penalty kill .. the Panthers have a big defensive defenseman on their hands who skates very well and moves the puck reliably .. no reason Ellerby shouldn't make a strong push for a spot in Florida next season .. signed by Florida through 2010-11 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 14 assists in 50 games.

Michal Repik (Fla), RW, Rochester

Skilled Czech plays a good two-way game .. a smooth skater with good speed .. a playmaker off the half boards that can find teammates through traffic and connect .. an adept one-touch passer and can connect on such at a distance .. has a decent wristshot and has a little dangle to his game, although he loses the handle at times .. one-timer is average .. plays on both the powerplay and the penalty kill .. active on the PK with his stick and puts in a good effort pressuring the point and gets the puck out of the zone .. despite being a tad small at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, he actually does a good job to maintain possession of the puck with big defensemen bodying him .. one day younger and this major junior veteran would be ineligible to play in the AHL this season .. Panthers appear to have someone capable of becoming a skilled third-liner that can play up a line when needed .. signed by Florida through 2010-11 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 13 goals and 20 assists in 50 games and was leading Rochester in scoring .. has played 4 games with Florida and has 1 goal.

Shawn Matthias (Fla), C, Rochester

Big center with nice hands, needs to work on skating .. not particularly fast, although he does show some power in his strides at times .. a bit upright crossing over, with or without the puck, and doesn't power out of his turns .. skating is a bit lumbering with the puck, especially under acceleration .. has a very hard wristshot with a quick release .. possesses soft hands and can receive and make a pass in one smooth motion .. able to use his reach to carry the puck out wide, but then adept at bringing it in and across his body .. as expected, he is also able to use his 6-foot-3, 211-pound frame to shield the puck down low .. reasonably active on the forecheck and sticks with his assignment on the backcheck, but still somehow has an alarming minus-28 rating as of Feb. 16 .. definitely has NHL potential as a power center if he can improve his speed, acceleration, and skating overall .. signed by Florida through 2010-11 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 8 goals and 6 assists in 41 games for Rochester .. has played 16 games with Florida so far in 2008-09 tallying 2 assists.

Jason Garrison (Fla), D, Rochester

Twenty-four-year-old out of Minnesota-Duluth among the AHL's leaders in rookie defenseman scoring .. a fluid skater with powerful strides and good speed .. also has good speed with the puck and isn't afraid to skate it .. involved in joining the attack and pinching down low .. must improve effectiveness with the puck, as he gets deeper into the offensive zone and not turn it over .. plays on the Amerks' first powerplay unit .. has a hard shot from the point and a decent one-timer .. able to get a hard pointshot off with little wind-up .. makes quick passes, but too often moves it up the ice or the boards to nobody .. definitely has the solid physical build of an NHL defenseman .. needs to improve his breakout play and defensive game, but has a lot of the tools to become an NHL defenseman .. signed by Florida through 2009-10 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 4 goals and 21 assists in 53 games .. has played 1 game with Florida so far in 2008-09. Click the link for a recent interview with Jason Garrison

Tyler Plante (Fla), G, Rochester

Second-year pro may still have split time between the AHL and ECHL this year, but he's still a strong goaltending prospect .. butterfly goaltender who does a good job of keeping his torso upright and tall when in the butterfly position .. has fairly smooth lateral pad slides in the crease .. has a sharp glove hand, but often makes these in a sprawling/lunging position as opposed to the butterfly .. stays calm with the play around his net .. reasonably adept at kicking rebounds into the corners with pad saves .. fairly mobile skating out of the crease to stop pucks before they cross the goal line or to go back to the trapezoid .. ability to clear the puck up the boards is inconsistent, as some are weak .. 6-foot-4 netminder definitely has the size, and his technical game is decent, just needs additional AHL experience .. signed by Florida through 2009-10 .. as of Feb. 16, he had played 592 minutes over 13 games for Rochester and had a record of 3-8-0, 0 shutouts, a 3.24 goals-against average, and a .899 save percentage .. has also played for Dayton of the ECHL and has played 1076 minutes over 19 games with a 6-11-1 record, a 3.35 goals-against average, and a .888 save percentage.

Mike Duco (Fla), RW, Rochester

Undrafted forward is the definition of energy forward .. has good speed and hustles shift-in and shift-out in all situations .. quick to loose pucks and quick to cover defensive assignments .. finishes his checks and plays a physical game in all three zones .. always a threat on the backcheck and will body down opponents .. uses quickness to emerge from corners with the puck and/or to drive the net .. has quick turnover in his stride but also has some power .. possesses a decent slapshot .. decent stick skills and can create plays .. saw time on the second powerplay unit .. won't be surprised if Duco is on an energy line in the NHL someday .. as of Feb. 16, he had 9 goals and 10 assists in 50 games and led the Amerks in penalty minutes with 114.

Drew Larman (Fla), C, Rochester

Big 6-foot-3, 197-pound center may still have a future as a defensive center in the NHL .. wins his fair share of faceoffs .. has decent acceleration to get to loose pucks and displays long strides on the forecheck .. plays on the penalty kill .. makes crisp, hard, accurate passes .. has more offensive awareness than his stats in 2008-09 show, as he has some patience with the puck and can put home chances .. may only end up as a depth forward with the occasional NHL call-up in his career, but his game translates well to be inserted into a defensive role in the NHL .. restricted free agent after 2008-09 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 7 goals and 9 assists in 46 games.

Michael Caruso (Fla), D, Rochester

Areas of needed improvement are typical for mid-round draft picks in their rookie AHL season .. passing game needs refining .. can make a crisp pass, an accurate pass, and hard pass, but rarely puts all three together .. hard passes have a little wobble .. does get the vast majority of his passes to his target, though .. 6-foot-2, 191-pound defenseman plays with some physicality and can get aggressive with his stick, but must work to be able to contain higher-caliber AHL forwards .. will step up to make hits at the blueline .. needs to reduce bad giveaways and even makes gaffs when given ample time .. no reason to get down on the 20-year-old Caruso, though .. probably being two years' of solid development away from the NHL .. signed by Florida through 2010-11 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 2 assists in 48 games.

Jordan Henry (Fla), D, Rochester

Split 2007-08 between the AHL and ECHL, but certainly AHL-caliber .. very smooth backwards and can angle opponents without his skates leaving the ice .. adept at angling opponents and rubbing them out .. rarely backtracks and will step up to make hits in the neutral zone .. also a threat with the stick check, but can back it with the body .. plays on the penalty kill .. makes accurate short passes, didn't see him make much more than that .. 6-foot-2, 198-pound blueliner has reasonable size and mobility and could serve as emergency depth for the Panthers in the future if needed .. signed by Florida through 2009-10 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 2 goals and 7 assists in 44 games.

Peter Aston (Fla), D, Rochester

Third-year pro moves the puck well but still needs work in his defensive game .. makes crisp, accurate passes and very reliable in his d-to-d passing .. able to connect on long-distance passes on the tape .. has a smooth stride with good extension, but speed is still only average .. will join the attack, but is responsible in doing so .. has decent shot power, but not overwhelming .. would like to see him keep his gaps shorter, backtrack less, and step up sooner .. has sufficient size at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds and plays with a little physicality down low .. will need to improve speed and his defensive play to get a shot in the NHL .. signed by Florida through 2009-10 .. as of Feb. 16, he had 1 goal and 6 assists in 33 games.

Franklin MacDonald (Fla), D, Rochester

Progressing in that he should skate all of 2008-09 in the AHL .. has some offensive upside .. has good speed and will join the attack when called for .. has a long stride, but can also call on quick feet if needed .. nice footwork with the puck at the point and off faceoffs .. has a crisp wrister from the point .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. can stickhandle in a phone booth if he needs to, but usually doesn't get flashy when not necessary .. 6-foot-0, 198-pound blueliner in third year of entry-level contract and trying to prove he's worthy of another two-way NHL contract, be it with Florida or another organization .. as of Feb. 16, he had 1 goal and 6 assists in 40 games.