Everyone, I promised you that this week would be LAKE ERIE MONSTERS WEEK AT GET HIGHER (LEMWAGH), and to kick things off, we have a post written by brand new GH contributor Todd Mathias! Todd will be helping me by bringing you Monsters information 1-2 a week. -Sarah

The American Hockey League (AHL) can be a very fluid league. It’s one where you get the chance to see future National Hockey League (NHL) players develop and become the stars of tomorrow. Being a feeder league for the NHL, the AHL is a place where faces can change at the drop of a hat. Your parent club has an injury and the player can be on a flight that day up to the show. While it is great to see guys get a chance at their dreams, it leaves holes at the lower level. This process is something one has to accept as a fan of an AHL team. The benefits though are that you do see some great hockey and again great talents as the season progresses.

Goal¬tending

This year the Lake Erie Monsters will have a totally new look in net. Cédrick Desjardins and Trevor Cann are both moving on, Desjardins to the Canadiens organization and Cann having not received a qualifying offer at the end of his contract term. There will be four goaltenders fighting for the two spots in Cleveland this year. Calvin Pickard, who played two games for the Monsters at the end of last season, is looking to make the jump into the AHL. Finnish tender Sami Aittokallio will also be poised to move to North America after playing in Finland. The Colorado Avalanche also have two goalies fresh from college. Kent Patterson comes from the University of Minnesota and Kieran Millan from Boston University. These two are very competent goaltenders but from everything I’ve seen they will be starting with the Denver Cutthroats of the CHL. Training camp will be very competitive though and there could be a surprise or two when all is said and done.

Forwards

The Lake Erie Monsters corps of forwards is once again on the younger side of things. With the loss of veterans like Greg Mauldin and Ryan Stoa, the influx of players such as Paul Carey, Michael Sgarbossa, and a healthy Joey Hishon will have to step into the AHL ready to go. Again this year one gets the feeling that it will be a scoring by committee type team where each goal will be a hard fought one. Fan favorite Patrick Bordeleau will also be returning this year and will hope to improve on his AHL career high 4 goals while being a welcomed presence on the ice. Another player that will be returning this year is David Van Der Gulik. After splitting part of last season with the Avalanche, and receiving an extension this offseason Van Der Gulik will be looking to keep on pace for another solid season.

Defense

Defense for the Lake Erie Monsters this season will have some familiarity, with Cameron Gaunce, Tyson Barrie, and Stefan Elliott at least starting the season here in the AHL. All three cut their teeth in the AHL and are well on their way to breaking into the Avalanche roster eventually. One new face to look for will be Duncan Siemens. Duncan brings with him size and a physicality that will have to adapt to playing in a league with men as it will be his first full season out of the WHL. Some veteran signings will also bolster the defensive end of the Monsters. Sean Sullivan and Thomas Pöck will bring more size to the team as well as 512 combined games of AHL experience.

Photo: Matt Boulton/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche announced today that they have re-signed defenseman Erik Johnson. Johnson has been signed to a four year deal, worth $15 million, giving the Avalanche a cap hit of $3.75 million per year.

It became clear after the trade of Stewart and Shattenkirk for Johnson and McClement that Johnson was expected to lead the defensive core for many years to come, both as an offensive juggernaut and a shutdown defenseman. Last season was a bit rough in the beginning, but the final 35-40 games showed what kind of a player Johnson can really become. He was a +9 after a disturbing -16 start, and his icetime continued to increase.

I am expecting him to continue improving upon his consistency, and to hopefully be able to increase his point-production. He still has a lot of untapped potential, and I look forward to seeing him push himself towards constant improvement. If Johnson reaches his full potential, he could be a 40-50 point defenseman, with a ludicrous plus/minus rating too.

As always, the mention of Johnson’s name will evoke discussion of “the trade”. Here is a look at what we have thus far.

For Colorado:

Erik Johnson had a very good second half, but a rough first half. He will be with the team for the next four years.

Jay McClement’s time with the Avalanche has finished, as he has now signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his time here, he had 11 goals and helped the penalty kill tremendously.

Duncan Siemens has yet to play in the NHL, but he was named the captain of his junior team in the past season.

For St. Louis:

Chris Stewart, once the main component of the trade for St.Louis, has seemingly fallen out of favor. If he doesn’t prove himself next year, I don’t expect his stay in St. Louis to extend past this upcoming season.

Kevin Shattenkirk has become a top four defenseman, with stellar personal statistics.

Ty Rattie is a strong prospect, though he has yet to make an NHL appearance.

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche do not play again until April 5. The next few days will be stressful, as fans can only watch other teams, and hope that Thursday’s game against Columbus will have some meaning to it.

There is not a lot of news out of the Avalanche camp today. I suspect the team took the day off after returning home from their roadtrip. Seeing as there are only two games left, and a rare lengthy break, it makes sense for players to rest their bodies while they have the chance.

Duncan Siemens, the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft, will be playing with the Lake Erie Monsters as they end their season and hope to make the playoffs. Siemens attended training camp, and was signed to a three year deal with a “slide clause”. However, he was then sent back to the WHL, and his junior team, the Saskatoon Blades. (A slide clause is used to protect the team. They can sign a young player to a three year deal, but if the player does not qualify for the NHL team, the contract “slides” and begins when the player is ready to play at the NHL level. This is particularly useful in the case of players who are under 20 years of age, as they are unable to play in the AHL for a full season. I am not sure if Siemens contract will slide past this year, seeing as he will be spending some time with a professional team. However, I think it is likely that the contract will slide, as he is only spending the end of the year with the Monsters in order to gain experience.)

Something interesting to note is the fact that Shawn Hunwick, the younger brother of Avalanche defenseman Matt Hunwick (above) was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets have had some injuries in net, and Hunwick was brought in to back up another inexperienced goaltender. It is interesting that the Avalanche’s next opponent is the Blue Jackets. While I don’t necessarily think Hunwick will get the start, it would be pretty cool if he was still on the bench as his team takes on that of his brother.

Also, with the firing of the Montreal Canadiens general manager, Patrick Roy has been a frequently uttered name for successor. Roy played 11 seasons in Montreal, before playing eight with the Colorado Avalanche. Widely considered one of the best goaltenders to ever play the game, “Saint Patrick” is beloved by fans in both cities. While I have hoped that Roy would at some point join the Avalanche organization, I will wish him well if he chooses to work in Montreal. Roy has always been my favorite hockey player.

This is just going to be a quick preview, because my cat has decided to lay down in between my arms as I type on my bed.

St. Louis won the last game between the two clubs 4-0. They completely dominated the game, and Colorado could not get anything going against them. That game came on the second night of a back to back, just as tomorrow’s will. Colorado won the previous two matchups.

St. Louis has the best record of any team at home, while Colorado boasts a decent home record. The best chance for the Avs to win this game will be to get off to an early start, and then roll all four lines for the remainder of the game. They need to be prepared to grind it out for every puck, and for a physical challenge.

And, you can expect multiple mentions of the huge trade between these two clubs last year. Erik Johnson, Jay McClement, and a draft pick (Duncan Siemens) were traded to the Avalanche for Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk and a draft pick (Ty Rattie). People are constantly trying to figure out who “won” this trade. I think it’s way too early to tell.