Game Day vs Spokane

Brett Connolly reporting to the Tri City Americans may not be completely out of the question. With conditional picks moved, Tri stands to lose only a 5th-round pick should Connolly stick it out with Tampa Bay. If Steve Yzerman is inclined to send Connolly back, it has to be by NHL trade deadline or he no longer is eligible, so keep your eye on Feb. 27.

I have a sneaking suspicion he will end up with Tri City, and here’s my thought process.

With the NHL having gotten so much younger, there remains a loophole in the underage player rule. If the Lightning fail to make the playoffs and Connolly’s season comes to an end on April 7, he will still be 19-years-old and according to the CHL/NHL agreement, he will not be eligible for play in the AHL.

If the Americans are still playing, Connolly would also be ineligible as he was not loaned back by the NHL trade deadline. So, ultimately we could have a 19-year-old player with no where to further his development, sitting at home on April 8th, while quite possibly both of his AHL and CHL teams are still playing. That just doesn’t make sense to me.

Somebody needs to come up with a rule or a threshold of games that deems a player in Connolly’s situation a full-time NHL’er. If things remain the same, Connolly is on pace to play 71 NHL games, but since returning from the World Juniors, his ice-time is slightly less than nine minutes per game.

I think a 19-year-old player should be extended every opportunity to continue to develop. He should be eligible to play in either the CHL or the AHL if Tampa’s season comes to an end on April 7. And in the case he may be returned to Tri, keep in mind Connolly has just five games of playoff experience.  (Sportsnet)

This is good to know.  I wasn't previously aware about the part where he couldn't be returned to junior after the NHL trade deadline.  NHL trade deadline is February 27th.

Some good quotes from today's Herald:

"Anytime we play Spokane, it's hard to say it's just another game," Hiller said. "There is a lot of emotion in those games.

"(Today) is job one. Saturday seems a long way away when you are staring at Spokane on Friday. Saturday means nothing if we don't win (today)."

"We are a confident team in our own building, in front of our fans," said Hiller, whose team is 19-2-0-0 at Toyota Center. "There's a strong sense that someone will get it done."

"The losses to Spokane and Portland (last week) -- physically, we were fine. Mentally, we were sluggish," Hiller said. "Against good teams, you have to be sharp or they will beat you. We broke down too many times."

"From the outside looking in, they all look like big games," Hiller said. "We've put ourselves in a position to play big games in January and February, and that's a positive."

"The guys are willing to sacrifice anything," said Rimmer, who leads the league with five shutouts, a 2.10 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. "I have seen (Mason) Wilgosh numerous times dive behind me to knock a puck out, or a stick. That's what it takes to be successful." (Herald)

Mason "Sacrifice the Body" Wilgosh.  I love this team.  It is a big weekend with Spokane and Kamloops.  They'll be on Root Sports tonight, hopefully it will go as well for the Ams as it did the last time they were on Root.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can fill the barn tonight, be safe and cautious out there!