Welcome to our Central Division Preview, where one-by-one we will take a look at each of the Checkers' division rivals. Today's focus is on the Lake Erie Monsters, affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Forwards
The Checkers have faced the Monsters in years past, but thanks to an affiliation change this is essentially a new team. Last season this group of Blue Jackets’ prospects, as the Springfield Falcons, ranked in the bottom five in the league in terms of goals per game. Rookie T.J. Tynan led the team in scoring and will look to build on that alongside first-round pick Kerby Rychel, who notched 33 points in 54 games in his rookie campaign. The two young forwards could get shots at extended NHL time, but as long as they’re with Lake Erie, they’ll be the offensive cornerstones.
The Monsters did lose some scoring punch over the offseason, with Sean Collins, Dana Tyrell and late-season addition Luke Adam all leaving via free agency. The re-signing of 37-point scorer Ryan Craig should help soften that blow, though, along with the addition of former Norfolk Admiral William Karlsson. The 22-year-old went scoreless in his 15 games after being acquired by Springfield last season, but showed a nice scoring touch in Norfolk. If Karlsson can bounce back, he should help jump start the team’s stagnant offense.
2014-15 Season
- • 35-29-8-4; 82 points; 4th in Midwest Division; 9th in Western Conference
- • Checkers 2014-15 Head-To-Head Record: 1-3-0-0
- • Three Stars:
C T.J. Tynan – 48 points (13g, 35a)
LW Ryan Craig – 37 points (17g, 20a)
C Sean Collins – 36 points (17g, 19a)
- • Key Additions:
D John Ramage (Signed 2-way contract)
D Andrew Bodnarchuk (Signed 2-way contract)
- • Key Departures:
LW Luke Adam (Signed 2-way contract with New York Rangers)
D Frederic St. Denis (Signed with EHC Munchen in Germany)
C Sean Collins (Signed 2-way contract with Washington)
Defense
The Monsters brought on some more firepower for their blue line, which stood out as their strongest asset last season. The top duo of Austin Madaisky and Jaime Sifers, who combined for 57 points in 2014-15, returns and will look to anchor Lake Erie’s back end. The team also added John Ramage, who played alongside Brendan Woods at the University of Wisconsin, and Andrew Bodnarchuk, who captured a Calder Cup last season with Manchester and has 77 points and a plus-72 rating over his last three campaigns. Those additions give the Monsters a formidable corps of defensemen that is capable of putting pucks in the net.
Goalie
A trio of netminders handled the workload last season for Springfield. Rookie Anton Forsberg led the way, finishing the season with the third-best goals-against average and the fifth-best save percentage in the AHL, while veteran Scott Munroe was serviceable in his appearances. Rookie Oscar Dansk also took a chunk of the playing time, but turned in subpar numbers and spent the majority of his season bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. After making a brief appearance in the NHL, Forsberg could be poised to make a run at a bigger role in Columbus this season, but should he spend time in Lake Erie, he will be looking to continue to hold his spot as one of the top goalies in the league. Munroe’s retirement will most likely open the door for Dansk to step up and take on a larger role, though he will have to shake off a tough rookie year.
Outlook
Coming from the Eastern Conference, the new-look Monsters are a less known commodity to Western Conference teams, who for the most part have not faced them. But on paper the Monsters have young, dynamic scorers, a solid blue line, and one of the top goalies in the league. With all that combined, Lake Erie could be one of the tougher squads in the Central Division.
