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Category: News
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Multiple sources are reporting that Washington Capitals GM George McPhee announced yesterday that Nathan Walker signed a one year contract to play with the Caps AHL affiliate. According to reports they weren't able to sign him to a NHL contract due to the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, but were able to sign him to a minor league deal, which won't prevent him from being eligible for the next NHL draft. I always thought it was quite the opposite with junior hockey players, they could be sign a NHL contract but not be sent to the minor affiliate, but he's technically a European import who did play in the Czech majors and most of my CBA understanding is based on Canadian major junior.


Since I don't fully understand the move for several reasons, particularly the Capitals motivation other than to get him some work in the system. They stand to lose him in the draft if he gathers any more attention. Is the move in Walkers best interest? My gut always suspects the motivation to move a guy to the pros, even the minors, this early. But I do think Stormy can use the exposure and experience to get a nod in his final chance at the draft, so long as he gets the ice time. If he get paid, that's always a bonus and with him playing abroad, mostly as an unpaid amateur, since he was 12 years old, that's got to be a bonus.

Just for references sake, here is an article from a great Caps blog that breaks down what is known, really just a Tweet at this point, and a look at how it works under the CBA. Also I'll point out as of 9/20 he was off the protected list, which only listed 22 players for the Phantoms.

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Category: Game Recap
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Opening night and the Phantoms took on the NTDP U-18 squad in Ann Arbor. Due to the horrid wifi at Motel 6 I'll keep it brief; it was ugly. It was very ugly. I don't know any way to sugarcoat this... we got beat by a touchdown. Jake Moore gave up 9 goals on 38 shots and that's pretty much the bottom line. The offense never had a chance to get going and the defense never had a chance to get settled. USA scored on their first shot just 1:09 into the game and it snowballed from there.


After USA rattled off the first three goals in the first period, Youngstown looked like they were getting back on track. Recent arrival Alex Smith scored a goal at 14:10, less than a minute after the Phantoms killed off a dumb checking from behind penalty he took. That rounded out The First period with the Phantoms down by a deuce. The Phantoms came out of the gate flying in the second. You could feel it as they hit the ice. Less than half a minute in he drew a penalty and JJ Pichinich scored on the ensuing powerplay to draw within a goal. That was as close as it got as USA knocked in four more before the period ended. Ryan Schwalbe scored a goal after a lengthy review, an odd occurrence to those who remember the Dubuque playoff series, to start the third. USA scored two more just to make sure

Of course, Moore can't be blamed for everything. There were plenty of stupid penalties and Team USA played a solid game. The Phantoms have a lot of newcomers and the this U-18 squad is mostly returning U-17 kids. Moore played the full preseason schedule with starting goalie Sean Romeo sidelined with an undisclosed injury and may be tired but we needed him to play a lot better, especially the first half of the game. And with a quick turnaround game at 3:30pm the next day, it will be interesting to see how Moore handles the U-17 squad. Non-affiliate goalie Scott Trellis was on the bench for the first game so unless something changes they'll probably start Moore again.

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Category: Opinion and Editorial
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In most hockey leagues the so-called puck luck starts before any games are played. I'm talking about the schedule of course. Junior hockey and the USHL are no exception. Long bus trips, back-to-back-(to-back) games; it all is part of the season. Everyone has to deal with it and that's sometimes what defines a team is how they deal with it. Other times, it's just bad timing. Playing the third game in as many nights on the road after losing a few top players can hurt you in more ways than just the standings if the team can't pull through. You also have to look at who your playing. Are you playing a lot of games against the defending champs who have most of their core players returning from last season or do you have more than your share against a group that's rebuilding with new, younger, players? So with the season opener looking, let's take a look at how the Phantoms upcoming season stacks up.