AHL Notebook: Milwaukee keeps producing talent, wins

For years the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals have been a dependable source of talent for the Nashville Predators.
The Nashville-Milwaukee relationship dates to 1998, when the Admirals played in the now-defunct International Hockey League. It is also the AHL's third-longest affiliation. The partnership has produced the likes of goaltender Pekka Rinne, defensemen Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Roman Josi, Dan Hamhuis and Kimmo Timonen. Filip Forsberg, Patric Hornqvist, Colin Wilson, and Scottie Upshall are among the forwards who've advanced from Milwaukee and had productive NHL careers.

Along the way, the Admirals have also played winning hockey for Milwaukee fans. Since moving to the AHL in 2001, the Admirals have reached the Calder Cup Playoffs in 13 of 15 seasons. They won the Cup in 2004 and are coming off a 101-point season in 2015-16.
That tradition is continuing this season. The Admirals'.740 point percentage leads the Western Conference and trails only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (.759). Milwaukee is 17-5-2-1 for 37 points, tying the Admirals with the Grand Rapids Griffins for the Central Division lead.
Milwaukee has battled a near-constant shuffling of players. Most notably, goaltender Juuse Saros has gone 11-2-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage, but he has been limited to 13 games and is with the Predators. Saros and Marek Mazanec have split time between serving as Rinne's backup in Nashville and playing regularly in Milwaukee.
The Admirals have also played the fewest home games in the AHL this season with 10 (6-2-2-0), but they have a league-best 11-3-0-1 road record. Their 2.52 goals-against per game is tied with Grand Rapids for second-best in the AHL, and they have used offense-by-committee to rank 11th with 3.12 goals per game.
Forward Kevin Fiala has spent most of the season with Nashville; he's played seven games for the Admirals. But 20-year-old top forward prospect Vladislav Kamenev's 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 25 games leads Milwaukee after he had 37 points in 57 games as a rookie in 2015-16.
The Nashville-Milwaukee partnership has had a knack for uncovering talent. Behind Kamenev is forward Matt White, who is tied with captain Trevor Smith for the team lead with eight goals. White is in his second AHL season and did not become a regular until he was a 26-year-old in 2015-16 with the Admirals.
Defenseman Trevor Murphy is another such find. Undrafted after four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, Murphy earned a job with Milwaukee last season and went on to finish second on the team among defensemen with 32 points as a rookie. Along with rookie Alexandre Carrier, the 21-year-old Murphy is a top candidate for future duty with Nashville.
Carrier, 20, could be another steal for the Predators. A fourth-round selection (No. 115) in the 2015 NHL Draft, he has 16 points in 25 games.
The task ahead will be to continue this hot start. After a two-game weekend road sweep of the Texas Stars that included a 9-1 win Saturday, Milwaukee visits Grand Rapids on Wednesday and the Chicago Wolves on Thursday to end a four-game road trip and a run of 11 of 15 games on the road.
January will present another tall order, with seven of Milwaukee's first 10 games in the month on the road. But the Admirals, who have played the fewest games of any team in the division, finish the season by playing 20 of their final 31 games at home.

With honors

Hershey Bears goaltender Vitek Vanecek won the CCM/AHL Player of the Week award for the period ending Sunday. The Washington Capitals prospect was 1-0-1 with a .964 save percentage and a 0.96 GAA. He defeated the visiting Springfield Thunderbirds 4-on Sunday for his third shutout of the season.

Stat pack

Forwards Matt Lorito of Grand Rapids and Kenny Agostino of Chicago have tied Bakersfield Condors forward Taylor Beck for the league lead with 30 points. … Forwards Greg Carey of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Nick Baptiste of the Rochester Americans each have a league-leading 14 goals. … San Jose Barracuda forward Daniel O'Regan has taken over the lead in rookie scoring with 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists). … Goaltender Zane McIntyre of the Providence Bruins has the league lead in goals-against average (1.31) and save percentage (.953). … Lehigh Valley is first on the power play at 22.8 percent and goals per game (3.79) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is No. 1 in goals-against per game (2.04) and penalty killing (90.8 percent).

Who's hot

Hershey forward Paul Carey has an 18-game point streak (seven goals, 13 assists), the longest in the AHL this season. … Tucson Roadrunners rookie forward Christian Fischer has six goals during a four-game goal streak.

On the move

Rochester, last in the North Division, has added veteran forward Tim Kennedy on loan from the Charlotte Checkers. Kennedy began this season with Lulea of the Swedish Hockey League before returning to North America. In his most recent AHL stint, he had 59 points (11 goals, 48 assists) in 75 games with Hershey in 2014-15. … Rochester rookie forward Alexander Nylander will play for Sweden at the World Junior Championship. The 18-year-old has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 29 games. … The return of Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford from injury will land Lars Johansson back with the Rockford IceHogs. … Forwards Pat Cannone (Iowa Wild), Nick Jensen (Grand Rapids Griffins) and Tanner Richard (Syracuse Crunch) each made his NHL debut Tuesday.

Around the AHL

Lehigh Valley and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins each have five-game winning streaks and lead the AHL with 41 points. … Cleveland has a seven-game point streak (6-0-0-1). … Binghamton has points in six of its past seven games and has climbed out of last place in the North Division. … Rockford ended a franchise-record nine-game losing streak (0-5-1-3). Providence defeated Syracuse 3-1 on Sunday for its sixth consecutive home win, the second-longest such streak in the league this season. Syracuse has a seven-game home winning streak. … Hershey forward Chris Bourque and forward Ryan Craig of the Cleveland Monsters will serve as captains for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic.