Getting caught up

First things first, some signings:
Billy Irish-Baker, Sean Perkins, TJ McElroy, Barret Ehgoetz

All of them are great assets to the team and I'm glad to have them back. I think Irish-Baker and Perkins, with a full season under the belts, will bring great things to the table in their sophomore season. TJ McElroy finished fairly strong after coming over in the trade from Idaho. Ehgoetz, what can I say? The guy has done great things for the team in two seasons. He's a trooper.

And four training camp invitees:
Mikael Bedard, Nicolas Robillard, Paul Lynch, Brian Porter

Lynch and Porter were invitees from the free agent camp in August. Bedard, however, comes to us from the BCHL's Nainaimo Clippers where he put up 71 points in 59 games... 1.2 points per game. Robillard comes from the University of Moncton (CIS), where he played one season and put up 24 points in 28 games after splitting four seasons between the QMJHL and the QJAHL. He won the Memorial Cup with Cedrick Desjardins and the Quebec Remparts in 2005. Lynch spent 48 games in the SPHL last season, chalking up 130PIM. I'll reserve my opinions on this one, based on my feelings about the SPHL, but I'm not writing him off completely. Porter comes to us from the Greater Toronto Hockey League, 58 pts in 46 games with a ... get this ... +49.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have one line! :P

Onto other things of importance... NHL training camps. At least 10 members of the 2007-2008 Cyclones are going to be suiting up for NHL clubs in their training camps this month:

Montreal: Mathieu Aubin, Thomas Beauregard, David Desharnais, Cedrick Desjardins, Conrad Martin, Olivier Latendresse, Ryan Russell
Nashville: Ryan Maki, Mark Matheson
Pittsburgh: Jean-Michel Daoust

Qualifying offers

Qualifying offers were made today to eight players: Barret Ehgoetz (F), Jean-Michel Daoust (F), Billy Irish-Baker (F), Scott Reynolds (F), Matt Syroczynski (F), Matt Macdonald (D), TJ McElroy (D), and Sean Perkins (D)

I can't really say any of them surprise me, or disappoint me. I figured Macdonald and Ehgoetz to be shoo-ins regardless. I'd love to see all three of the defensemen back. Perkins' progress as the year went on was phenomenal, so I think with a year & a Kelly Cup under his belt, he'll be even stronger come training camp in October.

I hope that it means better things will come for Irish-Baker... after the Wheeling game where he got the concussion, his ice time and play were never the same. If we could back get the intense, wanna-make-the-cut version of Billy (circa October) that we all fell in love with, we'd be in really good shape. But I hope for the best for BIBs.

All are great players, I can't say enough great things about Scott Reynolds... undervalued, underappreciated, but one of the hardest working guys on the ice. To some degree, Ehgoetz is much the same, but puts up a few more points. Syroczynski's a great player who put up great numbers quietly - by playing the small game, not the big, flashy way. But I question his focus at times. Sure, sticking up for your much smaller teammates is great, but there's a time and a place for everything. Sometimes it's just not necessary to be a gigantic tool and hit people.

McElroy, I don't have much to say about. His penalties can be an issue, but he's a solid defenseman when he's not in the box. Macdonald has come so far in his two seasons, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he spends a little more time in the AHL than in Cincinnati.

Daoust, on the other hand, was a different player when he came back from WBS. Provided, yes, the team was different when he came back than when he left. But he made a lot more boneheaded moves, but because the city of Cincinnati worships the ground he walks on for reasons unknown the way they do Cedrick, he could do no wrong by the fans. And I don't roll that way. I don't care how many goals you score, how many points you tack on, how many callups or trophies you get, you need to not act like a toolbox.

But that's enough about that. Where is Chad Starling's name on the list? Hm. Need to investigate. Unless they're not worried about him being gobbled up.

Side note: the ECHL rule for qualifying offers says that of the 8, no more than 4 can be vets. So I went looking into who we had in respect to veteran status (260 regular season games). From the final roster, it looks like Chad Starling may be the only player from last season who actually fits that bill... still. Ah, the joys of almost an entire roster full of 21 and 22 year olds.

Roster Takes Shape

Released from Milwaukee's camp: Cyclones' signees Travis Fuller, Jean-Michel Daoust, Conrad Martin, Avery Wilson; Admirals also assigned to Cincinnati defenseman Andrew Martin and Tyler Howells.

And from released from Hamilton were Scott Reynolds & Barret Ehgoetz. Hamilton currently possesses 4 goalies - I'd look to see at least one be assigned in the next few days.

Catching Up

The season is quickly (well, sort of) coming upon us. As I start this post we're at 74 days, 15 hours and some absurd amount of minutes/seconds.

So, getting up to speed, we're at six players now:

• Returning captain Chad "My Plus/Minus is Better Than Yours" Starling: very glad to have him back. Big fan of this guy.
• Returning sometimes-wears-an-A centerman Barret Ehgoetz: another solid faceoff winner that I'm glad to see back, will bring leadership to the table, especially with joining Starls for his third year under Coach Weber.
• Returning forward Scott "the Penalty Killah" Reynolds: extremely happy to see Scotty back. Definitely hoping to see some more playing time, and not just on the PK. Definitely looking to see an increase in his ice presence, as well as his scoring.
• Returning defenseman Greg Gallagher: another good move; I was impressed with Gally's progress over the season. He started off slow, but once he got a considerable amount of playing time he really stepped it up. I look forward to seeing what he can do on a more consistent basis.
• Last returner, Billy Irish-Baker: aside from starting on St. Patrick's Day and packing a ton of energy, I don't remember much about him since he wasn't around for long. Look forward to seeing what he can do full-time.
• Total newb: defenseman Gerard Miller. According to hockeydb.com, he had 57 points in 73 games for Flint (UHL). Including 44 assists. I'm impressed. Not only did he have more than twice as many assists as he did goals -- he's a defenseman. Definitely can't wait to see this guy play.

Other rumblings...

• The team secured a radio deal, on 96.5 FM. Definitely good news for the team, since there hasn't been a radio broadcast in years. It may only be 30 games, but who's to say they won't pick up more if things go well?
• Renewed the affiliation with Montreal & Hamilton - hopefully this opens the door to see a few of the guys they passed along to us last year, if not some incredible new talent.
• Also picked up an affiliation with Nashville & Milwaukee. I think this is great news for the team. A double affiliation might turn out to be difficult if both organizations get strapped at the same time, but hopefully it sets us up for a great load of talent being passed through the ranks to us. Plus, the Predators have signed Grumet-Morris. I will censor my comments on that, though.

And if you just can't wait for October 19th, Concrete Clones will be at the Loveland Meijer this Saturday (8/11), Milford the next (8/18), and finish with Western Hills (8/25).