AHL: Milwaukees Net Gain

With workhorse Pekka Rinne moving on to Nashville from Milwaukee, the Admirals needed new goalies for the 2008-09 season, and the Predators responded by not only signing a new AHL number one in Drew MacIntyre, they also inserted 2006 draft pick Mark Dekanich. The 22-year-old Colgate grad has given Milwaukee something they did not have in 2007-08 - a dynamic duo in net. Playing a technically sound game, the 6-foot-2, 192-pound Dekanich has been a big part of Milwaukee's AHL West Division-leading record. He has matched almost identically the stats of his veteran teammate in net and is already looking more than capable of being an AHL starter and an NHL goaltender perhaps sooner rather than later.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey was able to catch the Milwaukee Admirals in action once in December and once in February and files notes on several Admirals including Dekanich, Cody Franson, Patrick Hornqvist, and a number of other noteworthy Nashville prospects.

Mark Dekanich (Nsh), G, Milwaukee

Big butterfly goaltender plays a solid technical game .. does a good job to keep his torso upright in the butterfly position and to take pucks in the chest and allow no rebounds .. stays pretty compact when he goes down, although his pads don't butterfly out as far as many other goalies .. despite that, he still does a good job directing pucks to the corners .. very quick to reset for the next shot and can get across his crease quickly to do so .. has a quick glove hand .. fairly active in coming out to stop dumped pucks .. adept puckhandler able to make crisp, short passes to defensemen and can also launch it up the glass or up the ice .. has split time with veteran netminder Drew MacIntyre, but looks like a capable AHL number one now .. no visible reason why the 22-year-old Colgate grad cannot develop into an NHL netminder .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had played in over 23 games and had an 11-8-1 record, 1 shutout, a 2.09 G.AA, and a .920 save percentage for Milwaukee.

Cody Franson (Nsh), D, Milwaukee

Looked very good earlier in the season, but February viewing was slightly disappointing .. showed a new-found physical edge earlier in the season and was knocking over and throwing down opponents in December viewing, but February viewing had little physical play .. did a good job in December viewing of not backtracking and engaging at the blueline .. passing game is still sniper-rifle accurate .. always makes hard, crisp accurate passes, and makes them look effortless .. smooth skater with good all-compass mobility .. plays on both the powerplay and penalty kill .. important for Admirals that Franson step up and be the number one defenseman he can be, especially if Alexander Sulzer is in Nashville .. 6-foot-5, 219-pound blueliner most certainly has NHL top-four talent, just needs to consistently bring a physical element .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 7 goals and 30 assists in 56 games for Milwaukee.

Patric Hornqvist (Nsh), RW, Milwaukee

5-foot-11, 194-pound Swede is a mix of spunk and skill .. has a hard wristshot with a quick release .. also has a hard slapshot .. shoots first and asks questions later .. finishes his checks and throws in a distinct physical edge on some shifts .. on other shifts his effort is lacking .. has good speed and can execute tight turns .. plays on the powerplay .. if he finds the shift-to-shift consistency former Admirals and current Predator Antti Pihlstrom showed in AHL, he has a future as a top-nine forward in the NHL .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 13 goals and 15 assists in 41 games for Milwaukee and 2 goals and 5 assists in 20 games for Nashville.

Mike Santorelli (Nsh), C, Milwaukee

These two viewings were decent, but not as good as ones earlier in the season .. still demonstrated his vision and playmaking from the half boards .. has quick hands and can make tight switchbacks along the boards to evade checkers .. has good speed and decent acceleration with the puck .. at his best when he's playing hard as F1 with a physical edge and creating turnovers .. plays on the powerplay and some on the penalty kill .. didn't have the same physical edge as in earlier viewings this season .. was in an offensive funk after his recall to the NHL in January .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 16 goals and 34 assists in 53 games for Milwaukee and went pointless in 6 games for Nashville.

Andreas Thuresson (Nsh), LW/RW, Milwaukee

Offensive contribution dropped to almost nil from mid-December through February .. still had two decent viewings .. was his regular self with his effort on the forecheck, pressuring the opponents into mistakes .. makes it difficult for the opponent to break the puck out and is always in position to deflect passes .. has good speed with decent stride extension ..not uncommon for him to do a Gretzky circle and making a pass to the point .. makes crisp, accurate passes .. a regular on the penalty kill .. still seeing some time on powerplay while in offensive funk .. 6-foot-1, 204-pound winger has the potential to be a checking-line forward at the NHL level, hopefully he finds the offense he had at the beginning of the season again .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 9 goals and 13 assists in 58 games for Milwaukee.

Cal O'Reilly (Nsh), C, Milwaukee

Finally received a recall to Nashville, as he was up with Nashville for late February viewing .. slick stickhandler with good offensive vision .. a playmaking threat off the half boards and around the net .. able to evade checks from near standstill with spins, circles, and swivels .. has decent speed, but wins more races for the puck through positioning .. alternate captain sees icetime in all situations .. leading Milwaukee in scoring and has the hockey sense and defensive commitment to be an option for third-line center for Nashville in 2009-10, assuming he's re-signed after his entry level contract expires .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 11 goals and 46 assists in 57 games for Milwaukee and 1 assist in 2 games for Nashville.

Nick Spaling (Nsh), C, Milwaukee

Center playing more of a third-line defensive role for Admirals .. speed with the puck is only average, particularly with the puck .. shows a little better speed on the forecheck .. has a little dangle to his game, but lacks the speed at the AHL level to be too successful with it .. .puts in a good effort on the forecheck .. a regular on the penalty kill and makes it difficult for the opponent to break the puck out despite being down a man .. also sees time on the second powerplay unit .. shot could afford to be harder .. has good hockey sense, a strong work ethic and positions himself on the ice for success .. just needs to add size to his 6-foot-1, 183-pound frame and add some speed and acceleration .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 11 goals and 17 assists in 60 games for Milwaukee.

Teemu Laakso (Nsh), D, Milwaukee

A good all-around defenseman, but is out for the season after shoulder surgery .. does a good job to let the gap close .. good all-compass mobility .. has good quickness into the corners and decent speed overall .. makes crisp, accurate passes that are generally on the tape .. able to connect on both short and long passes .. has a crisp, quick wristshot from the point .. plays on the penalty kill .. Nashville has a good two-way defenseman on their hands who isn't flashy at anything but solid at most everything .. 6-foot-0, 195-pound frame is a bit below average for NHL defensemen .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 2 goals and 7 assists in 42 games for Milwaukee.

Kelsey Wilson (Nsh), LW/RW, Milwaukee

Physical winger has the makings of an NHL energy-line forward .. tenacious forchecker hounds the opposition as F1 and finishes his checks .. makes some big hits and is willing to fight, but also has some skill .. battles around the net and has the hands to be an offensive threat with stickhandling maneuvers in close or with deflections .. plays on the second powerplay unit .. has a hard slapper that doesn't require a big wind-up .. 6-foot-1, 210-pound winger worthy of a look as at least a depth forward in Nashville in 2009-10 .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 11 goals and 11 assists in 60 games for Milwaukee.

Robert Dietrich (Nsh), D, Milwaukee

Twenty-two-year-old German defenseman appears to be adapting to the AHL and is looking more comfortable .. makes crisp, accurate passes with his d-partner .. has a hard pointshot and a quick one-timer .. did a good job to control passes on the backhand that were slightly off the mark .. 5-foot-10, 172-pound defenseman will have to make it as a puckmoving defenseman, but not NHL caliber at this time .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 3 goals and 11 assists in 45 games for Milwaukee.

Ryan Maki (Nsh), RW, Milwaukee

Plays a defensively responsible and physical game .. 6-foot-2, 203-pound right winger finishes his checks, often with force .. plays on the penalty kill .. wristshot and snapshot are both fairly hard .. creates some offensive chances with his effort on the forecheck .. doesn't have big offensive numbers, but could still develop into a fourth-line NHL .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 6 goals and 6 assists in 45 games for Milwaukee.

Tim Ramholt (Nsh), D, Milwaukee

Swiss defenseman now looking more likely to end up back in Europe .. gets low backwards and has an active stick, but backs in too much, too often .. made an impression as a slick passing defenseman with Quad City while in the Flames organization, but is struggling to see major minutes in 2008-09 .. still makes crisp passes and can also feather a well-placed saucer pass .. able to make some nice cuts to avoid forecheckers and move the puck up .. just doesn't seem to have the intensity .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 2 goals and 6 assists in 41 games for Nashville .. was pointless in 7 games for Philadelphia Phantoms prior to trade to Nashville organization from Flyers organization.

Mark Santorelli (Nsh), RW, Milwaukee

Still limited viewing of Mike Santorelli's brother, but looking much better than earlier in the season .. appears much more confident with the puck and even displayed a little dangle down low .. pace of the AHL game no longer appears to be overwhelming to him and looks like he's acclimated to the pace of the AHL .. was also stronger on his skates .. now appears AHL-worthy .. as of the NHL trade deadline, he had 1 goal and 4 assists in 40 games for Milwaukee and 1 goal and 2 assists in 6 games for Cincinnati of the ECHL.

For more scouting info on Mark Dekanich, Cody Franson, Mike Santorelli, as well as Alexander Sulzer, please click the link to read a recent scouting report by McKeen's Director of Scouting Max Giese Milwaukee Admirals Report