Ice Chips 06'-07'

Degagne gone before he's begun

The Fort Wayne Komets believed they had the best-laid plans. But you know what they say about those, right? They go awry.

Shawn Degagne, who had been slated to battle with Kevin Reiter for position as the No. 1 goaltender, giving the Komets what they thought would be a league-best tandem of netminders, has re-injured the shoulder that kept him out almost all of last season with Elmira of the United Hockey League. Degagne will not be reporting for training camp Oct. 8.

"He won't be ready for the beginning of season," said Komets coach Al Sims, whose team is preparing for its first season in the new six-team International Hockey League. "We're proceeding as if Shawn won't be playing this year. But we definitely need two guys who can play and we'll move to find what we need before the start of training camp."

Degagne couldn't be reached for comment but Sims said the injury happened while Degagne was working out at in his hometown of North Bay, Ontario, and that the minimum recovery time was put at weeks by doctors, but that Degagne was "not optimistic about it."

Degagne, 28, a sixth-round draft pick of the New York Ranges in 1997, has spent most of his career in the Central Hockey League. His last full season, 2005-06, saw him go 24-16-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage for Amarillo. Last season, he was 2-2-0 with a 3.25 GAA and .902 save percentage in four games for Elmira.

The good news is that the Komets still have Reiter, 25, who spent last season with Laredo of the CHL, going 17-6-1 with a 2.33 GAA and a .915 save percentage, and Sims said the Komets can survive fine with him as the sole No. 1. But the team would like to bring in another top-notch netminder for hearty competition and Sims said there are several available.

The Komets do have rookie Shawn Monette on their roster, too, and a good showing in training camp could pay dividends for him. But Monette, who was 32-13-2 with a 2.92 GAA last season for the Dauphin Kings, will likely play in the Southern Professional Hockey League and be a possible goalie of the future for Fort Wayne.

Degagne was put on a non-roster spot and is eligible to come off Nov. 9, at which time the Komets will reevaluate; Sims said it's not impossible to think he'll play in Fort Wayne this season, but it is unlikely.

Meanwhile the Komets were dealt some more bad news when defenseman Jamie Dowhayko informed them he would be playing in Germany instead of Fort Wayne, Sims said. He had two goals and seven points in 29 games last season with the University of Manitoba.

• Also, check this out. Design your own Komets jersey.

For more on this story, check out Saturday's editions of The Journal Gazette

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Get your TiVo going

On Sunday, Access Fort Wayne, which is channel 57 on Comcast and 27 on Verizon, will begin a marathon of Komets Hockey Games of the Week. There will be seven games from the old International Hockey League.

Here's the lineup:

7 a.m: Komets vs. Detroit, Jan. 16, 1999

9:30 a.m.: Komets vs. Cleveland, Nov. 6, 1992

Noon: Komets vs. Indianapolis, March 20, 1993

2:30 p.m: Komets vs. Quebec, Oct. 10, 1997 (my second game covering the team)

4:45 p.m.: Komets vs. Chicago, Nov. 22, 1997

7:15 p.m.: Komets vs. Peoria, Dec. 31, 1993

9:45 p.m.: Komets vs. Indianapolis, Feb. 7, 1998

Thanks to videographer Patrick Stelte for the information.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

The Turner Cup, well, kind of, not really

The new International Hockey League has decided what trophies its teams will be vying for this season. The playoff champion will receive the Turner Cup. The regular-season champion will get the Huber Trophy.

Those were the trophies from the first incarnation of the IHL, of which the Komets were members from 1952 to 1999. Makes sense, right? Not exactly.

These won't be those trophies. These will be new trophies with the names of the old trophies, which are on display at the Hockey Hall of  Fame in Toronto. The new IHL asked to get them, but the Hall of Fame declined, citing their historical significance.

"We decided to keep the tradition with the names," IHL commissioner Paul Pickard said. "We wanted to incorporate those names into our league. And this was the compromise we came up with. We respect (the Hall of Fame's) decision and hopefully they respect ours."

Personally, I find this a bit silly. If I take a bobblehead off my desk and declare it the Stanley Cup, I won't suddenly have Sidney Crosby skating down the hallway. And if I call my neighbor Eva Mendes, well, maybe I shouldn't go there.

But Komets president Michael Franke was able to assuage some of my anger when he reminded me that the names on trophies are honoring people and these new Turner and Huber trophies will be homages to Joe Turner, an early IHL player who enlisted in the Army and was killed in World War II, and Fred A. Huber, one of the first IHL's founding members.

I guess if you're going to take the name and the record books of the old IHL, which was silly to begin with, at least you can honor some of its giants along the way.

Besides, as the IHL's press release points out, there have been three previous creations of the Turner Cup already -- the first one is on display at Memorial Coliseum.

The Komets won the Turner Cup four times and the Huber Trophy seven times.

What do you think? I'm conflicted.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Two weeks and counting

So, training camp is just two weeks away. Are you jacked?

I must admit, I'm intrigued to find out what we've gotten ourselves into with the International Hockey League. Will it be a joke? Or will the play be solid? I'm going to reserve judgment until I see some games, but the rosters of the teams -- you know, all six of them -- look pretty solid so far.

No question, there have been lots of players apprehensive about coming to the IHL and its newfangled rules, but consider this: When the regular season approaches, many of them won't have any choice if they want to be playing in 2007-08.

You'll be happy to know that several members of the Komets' organization have been asking what I think of the roster in recent weeks and I've been telling them, "Well, it looks OK, but where's the toughness?" They've conceded it's been a struggle, the recent signings of people like Olivier Legault aside, but they maintain, that toughness will come. I believe it will, but I also wish we could escape the yearly cycle: Season ends, Komets promise more toughness, then don't deliver.

• I was glad to see Bloomington signed Jason Ralph. There probably isn't a better trash talker in the league.
• It seems the dribble that is a press release from Muskegon --Terry Ficorelli just doesn't translate well to type -- has caught on all the way down in Texas. Check out "The Defense Never Rests" post from Greg Rajan's blog at The Corpus-Christi Caller-Times. Yes, Rajan is the guy who loves spending his spare time bagging on the United Hockey League-turned-IHL. (Apparently, there's not much to do in Corpus Christi.)  See his shout out to me and the comments there; apparently I'm a homer -- someone should tell the Frankes that before they ban me from the locker room again.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Tickets, signings and more

On Monday, I brought you a blog entry in which Komets president Michael Franke denied the accuracy of a Prohockeynews.com report that said the team was offering discounts on tickets to bring back former season-ticket holders. Prohockeynews.com has since recanted its statement.

Speaking of tickets, single-game tickets for the upcoming season go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Memorial Coliseum and www.ticketmaster.com.

Also, the Komets have signed forward Olivier Legault and defenseman Clay Lewis.

Legault, 20, had 16 goals and 32 points in 44 games last season with his junior team, Terrebonne. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Lewis, 24, had 10 assists and 85 penalty minutes in 34 games last season with Buffalo State.

Finally, the International Hockey League will hold its training camp for officials at McMillen Arena on Saturday. It was a staple there in the United Hockey League and the IHL's vice-president of hockey operations, Brad Jones, will be running the camp.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Ticket sales good

Fort Wayne Komets president Michael Franke said the team's ticket sales have been brisk and that there will be about 75-to-100 more season-ticket packages sold than last season's roughly 3,410.

"Things have been wonderful," he said. "We're probably going to end up with our highest season ticket amount in three or four years."

Franke also said a report out of Prohockeynews.com that the team had offered discounts to former season ticket holders was erroneous and that prices have remained the same.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Where's the beef? Not with Durdin.

OK, I did my best Clara Peller and asked "Where's the Beef?" Rather, I asked Komets general manager David Franke, "Where's the toughness."

So get off my back.

Franke admitted, it is an area on which they're still working.

"We're still looking for more toughness," Franke said. "We're close to putting something together with a 6-foot-5 rookie forward, which will help. ... But the one thing we've always felt is that if you're going to be tough, you have to be able to play, too. We're not interested in our 19th man being somebody who will see the ice only a couple times per game. You have to be able to contribute. I'm not that worried about that end of it; that part usually takes care of itself (in the offseason).

"We do have (defensemen) Kevin Bertram and Kevin Hansen -- they're both big kids -- and I'm not worried. We'll be fine. But it is an area we're still working on and we will continue to right through training camp. There will be guys who are tough and won't catch on in other leagues."

Meanwhile, the Komets continue to be in touch with tough guy Brent Henley, who tore a knee ligament in the playoffs last season, Franke said. But Henley won't be able to play until December, Franke said, so he's in no rush to sign with anyone.

But the news of the day was this: Even though it had seemed to be an impossibility because he was going to Europe, defenseman Sergei Durdin rethought things and signed with the Komets. The team's No. 1 pick in the dispersal draft this summer -- he had eight goals and 43 points in 69 games with Quad City last season -- Durdin is a top-pairing type of defenseman.

"We always liked the way he played against us," Franke said.

Look for Durdin to run the point on the power play along with Guy Dupuis.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Sessa joins Komets

The Fort Wayne Komets signed forward Jason Sessa, who spent last season with Memphis of the Central Hockey League, scoring 30 goals and 54 points in 64 games.

"I'm very excited to be coming to Fort Wayne," Sessa said. "Knowing the atmosphere and the kind of teams Fort Wayne has every year, I'm excited we were able to work out a deal."

Sessa, 30, should be familiar to Fort Wayne fans -- he played against them in the United Hockey League between 2003 and 2006, surpassing the 30-goal plateau twice.

"We look at Jason as being one of our top six forwards," Komets general manager David Franke said. "He played against us when he was in Quad City and Elmira and he knows the electricity that goes on in our building with the number of fans we get, and he knows we have a good chance to win everything here. We're excited to have him. He always played very well against us and we always considered him one of the bets players in the league."

A fourth-round draft pick of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs in 1996, Sessa played three seasons at Lake Superior State University and has played parts of six seasons in the American Hockey League. He is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds.

"I look at him as being a power forward," Franke said. "He goes to the net and plays hard and he's got a good amount of skill. We hope he can get 25 to 35 goals for us."

Sessa said to be careful with the power forward description, since he doesn't consider himself a bruiser.

"I'll hit when I have to, but I just go out there and try to be reliable, offensively and defensively," he said, "and I try to do what I do best and not be a liability on the ice."

Meanwhile, the Komets added rookie goaltender Shawn Monette to their preseason roster, where he will join netminders Kevin Reiter and Shawn Degagne. Monette played junior hockey last season for the Dauphin Kings, going 32-13-2 with a 2.92 goals-against average.

"(Monette) has got a job already down in Knoxville of the (Southern Professional Hockey League), but we're bringing him into camp to find out if he's a guy we'll look at if we have a call-up to one of our goalies or sickness," Franke said. "He'll only be an airplane flight away. ... I expect him to get into an exhibition game and we'll give him a good look."

The Komets have 13 forwards, five defensemen and three goalies so far for their inaugural season in the new International Hockey League. Training camp opens Oct. 8.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

On Smith and Ruskowski

To see Journal Gazette columnist Ben Smith's take on the International Hockey League going with the record book from the old IHL, click here.

Meanwhile, I thought this was interesting: The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League gave a lifetime contract to coach Terry Ruskowski, a former United Hockey League coach with the Knoxville Speed.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette.

Out with the old, in with the older ... records

The International Hockey League has decided to use the records from the old IHL, which played from 1945 to 2001, and shelve the records from the United Hockey League.

The six members of the IHL were all in the UHL last season but reformed as the new IHL this summer.

So this means records like most shutouts (26) in UHL play, held by former Komets goaltender Kevin St. Pierre, are a matter of historical record only. Meanwhile, records like most points in the IHL (1,252), set by former Komets forward Len Thornson between 1956 and 1969, are fair game again.

"We feel that the IHL was around for a long, long time. Several of the cities that are in our league now and may be in the future, they were in the IHL for many, many years," said Michael Franke, president of the Komets. "This was a very, very important part of the changeover from one league to the other. I think this also shows this isn't the United Hockey League with a new name."

I don't blame the new IHL for wanting to get away from the UHL's records, not just because it's distancing itself from the old league but also because some of the record-keeping from the early days, when Paul Polillo was tallying points from the concession stands, are farcical. And I won't even elaborate on Robin Bouchard's supposed goal-scoring streak of 2003-04.

But I have serious concerns about comparing the new IHL's statistics to that of a AAA-level league I covered before the Komets joined the UHL in 1999. Franke, however, had a legitimate point when he explained: "Really, the truth be known, the IHL was several different levels over the years it was a league. There were years the IHL was not considered AAA. In the 1970s, many characterized the IHL as a goon league. Over the course if its existence, it changed many times over and the players will tell you that; there was tremendous talent in the league for many years when the NHL only have six teams ... and it was, of course, very strong again in the 1990s. Things changed a lot."

Franke took it a step further, when he said the new IHL might actually end up with a Thornson-like level of play.

"Who knows? Being totally honest with you, I think there will be teams in our league this year who can on any given night play with teams in the (AAA-level) American Hockey League," Franke said. "That's how strong I feel about our league this year."

No determination has yet been made on what championship trophies the new IHL will use.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Updates and more updates

The Komets are close to signing a third goaltender to be brought into training camp, where he will compete with Kevin Reiter and Shawn Degagne, general manager David Franke said.

Speaking of goalies, Dan McWhinney, who was the Komets' No. 2 netminder last season, will play for Amarillo of the Central Hockey League this season. In this story from yorkregion.com, McWhinney said he was "bitter" after being "strung" along by the Komets this summer.

In other news, the Komets said they're unaware of how Justin Chwedoruk's apperance in rookie camp with the Edmonton Oilers will affect their chances of signing him. However, they knew all along he would be going to the camp.

"I don't know what's going to happen after the rookie camp, if he's going to get signed (by the Oilers)," Franke said. "We're in the mix, but we have to see what happens after the rookie camp and then go from there."

Finally, the Komets have five players of veteran status -- Colin Chaulk, Guy Dupuis, Konstantin Shafranov, Terry Marchant and Kevin Hansen -- and can carry seven in games. They plan to hold at least one, possibly both, of those spots until training camp begins to see if quality players trickle down from the higher levels, which they almost always do.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Chwedoruk gets a shot

Justin Chwedoruk, whose rights the Komets possess in the International Hockey League, is getting a look from the Edmonton Oilers. When I last spoke with general manager David Franke, they still hoped to bring him to Fort Wayne this season.

And check this out.

Finally, former Komets defenseman Ed Campbell is playing in Kalamazoo.