Introducing the new site, the new K's

First of all, make sure you check out the The Journal Gazette's new web site: journalgazette.net. Bookmark it. We will be making improvements in the coming weeks and months, but it's a really good start. Click here to read the story about the site.

The URL for this blog, Ice Chips, remains the same. We will be working on bringing back Komets Korner, and it'll be better than ever before this season begins. In the meantime, click here for the Komets page and bookmark that.

Now, for the news of the day:

Here are the players the Fort Wayne Komets got in today's International Hockey League dispersal draft of players from Rockford, Quad City, Elmira and Chicago.

Round, player, position, former team, stats
1, Sergei Durdin, D, Quad City, 8 goals, 43 points, 69 games
2, Justin Chwedoruk, F, Quad City, 24 goals, 68 points, 71 games
3, Brett Pilkington, C, Quad City, 29 goals, 73 points, 73 games
4, Jesse Bennefield, RW, Rockford, 22 goals, 44 points, 52 games
5, Anthony Pototschnik, RW, Quad City, 0 points, 10 PIM, 6 games
6, Mike Sgroi, LW, Elmira, 3 points, 26 PIMs, 4 games
7, Travis Granbois, F, Quad City, 3 goals, 8 points, 45 games
8, Erik Anderson, C, Elmira, 13 goals, 50 points, 75 games
9, Mike Kautz, D, Chicago, 2 goals, 13 points, 70 games
10, Will McMahon, F, Quad City, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 game
11, Shawn Degagne, G, Elmira, 2-2-0, 3.25 GAA, .902 SP
12, Bobby Kukulka, RW, Elmira, 24 goals, 36 points, 50 games
13, Frank Littlejohn, RW, Elmira, 42 goals, 59 points, 71 games
14, Chaz Johnson, RW, Rockford, 14 goals, 26 points, 45 games

Komets coach Al Sims was ecstatic with the way it turned out.

"I think we're really pleased," he said, "considering we had the sixth (and final) pick. We didn't think Sergei Durdin would be available. He's one of the top defensemen in the league. ... You want guys who show up and play hard and he certainly did that this season."

As for getting Chwedoruk and Pilkington, Sims said they were steals.

Keep an eye on Degagne; Sims said he's known the goalie for years and tried to sign him before. He believes this could be a good goalie for the Komets. Meanwhile, Sims has called Dan McWhinney, the Komets' backup last season, but said he hasn't heard back. The Komets are still hopeful he'll return, though.

As for the late picks of big names like Littlejohn, Johnson and Kukulka, it was a strategic move by the Komets. Those players are expected to play in either the American Hockey League or with Elmira in the ECHL; but if things fall through, the Komets wanted their rights.

Some teams snatched up players already committed in early rounds, which seems like a mistake to me. Draft guys you can actually get to your teams; save the late rounds for the gambles. You reading Flint?

Looking around the league, I thought Flint had a strange draft taking guys like Frederic Cloutier, signed in Europe, and Nathan Lutz, maybe off to the ECHL. Port Huron had a great draft getting goalie Marty Magers, forward Drew Otten and a lot of toughness. If Kalamazoo gets Cris Busby in, the Wings will be scary.

I'm guessing, in most cases, these teams will get three of their drafted players into training camp.

"If we can get our top three picks signed," Sims said, "it'll have been a successful draft."

By the way, check out the new poll on the left side of this page.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Comments

[Hit Somebody!!!]

Mizzi must be going to the AHL? We passed him up 8 times?

[Hit Somebody!!!]

From Savage Thoughts…..or maybe it was Dumb Ideas?

Cloutier has signed in Europe but Sanko said that’s not necessarily set in stone. The IHL doesn’t have a reciprocal agreement with European teams, meaning Cloutier could jump leagues if he wanted.

“I have talked to Cloutier and I know what it would take to get him here,” Sanko said. “It’s not for the public to know, but let’s just say I’m not going to give up on him just because he’s signed overseas. He’s the one (goalie) we wanted, that’s for sure.

“Not everything always works out in Europe. That’s a long ways to go. It’s a long way from your family. You might think you’ve got a car in your contract and you end up sharing a car with a guy. That’s what happened to me. I got tired of it.”

Does this explain why certain guys were taken knowing they have signed in Europe? Could Chaulker leave Europe and become a Komet after all? LOL

[IndyKomet]

The link for the new JG site didn't seem to work all i got was an error message

[Justin Cohn]

Make sure you do journalgazette.net, without the www. ... I know you may need your internet provider to catch up with the change and refresh. Let me know if you still have problems.