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The Albany River Rats, the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, are coming off the three worst seasons in the ten-year history of the franchise. In the 2001-02 season, the Rats finished dead last in the league, recording only 14 wins. In fact, the Rats have only won 69 of their last 240 games, and have failed to reach the playoffs since being ousted in the first round in the 2000-01 season.

This year could be the turning point for the young team. A number of players from last year’s team are returning, and second year head coach Dennis “Red” Gendron and his coaching staff will have a lot of new talent to work with as the Devils signed a number of prospects this off-season. All of these new players will probably spend time in Albany at some point during the season.

Moving on and moving up

The Rats parted ways with a few players in the off-season. Ken Sutton, last year’s Rats captain, signed with a team in the German elite league. Right-winger Max Birbaer and defenseman Daryl Andrews signed with the Florida Panthers, and enforcer Jason Lehoux, who racked up over 400 penalty minutes in his three seasons in Albany, signed with the Vancouver Canucks.

A few Rats players also graduated as they have secured spots on the Devils roster. Stanley Cup hero Mike Rupp enjoyed a good training camp and pre-season, and looks to have become a permanent fixture with the Devils. Blueliner Ray Giroux and wingers Christian Berglund and Jiri Bicek are, for the time being, holding onto the last few spots on the Devils roster.

Goaltending

Finnish netminder Ari Ahonen, the Devils first round pick (27^th overall) in 1999, did not have a particularly good season last year. After posting impressive numbers in his first season in North America, Ahonen slumped to a mediocre 3.04 goals against average and a .898 save percentage in his sophomore season behind a struggling Rats team. A team that is, at least on paper, much stronger than the past few seasons, should help Ahonen regain his form. For the third year in a row, Ahonen will be sharing time in net with former Boston College standout Scott Clemmensen. In light of the team in front of him, Clemmensen put up very good numbers last year, sporting a 2.65 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

Defense

Returning veterans Alex Brooks and Mike Matteucci should get help from several returning defense prospects, as well as some talented new faces this year.

Young Russian prospect Victor Uchevatov, who is still only 20 years old, is back for his third professional season with the Rats. The towering, 6’4”, 225-pound Uchevatov is joined by two other returning prospects, Latvian Krisjanis Redlihs, and Canadian Phil Cole. Cole spent most of last season playing in the ECHL.

The players who have received the most attention over the summer and into the preseason, however, are three new blueliners out of the American college ranks. The first two, Matt DeMarchi and Paul Martin, join the Rats from the University of Minnesota. Both players are Minnesota natives, and were part of the Minnesota team that won back-to-back NCAA championships. DeMarchi is a gritty stay-at-home defenseman who is Minnesota’s all-time leader in career penalty minutes (473). Martin, who left college after his junior year, is a smooth skating offensive defenseman who accumulated 97 points in his three seasons at Minnesota.

Rounding out the trio of former collegians is Colorado native David Hale. Hale, the Devils first round pick (22^nd overall) in the 2000 entry draft, spent the last three seasons playing for the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota. The physical defenseman, who suffers from a rare kidney ailment known as IgA Nephropathy, also gave up his last year of college eligibility to turn pro.

Offense

To boost their lackluster offense, the Rats brought in bite-sized winger Steve Kariya from Vancouver Canucks affiliate Manitoba Moose halfway through the 2002-03 season. Kariya proved a valuable addition, averaging exactly a point per game since his arrival in Albany. Kariya is back for another season, and so is veteran center Craig Darby, who recorded 74 points in 76 games last year. The Rats will continue to rely on this dynamic duo, along with veteran forwards Joe Hulbig, Greg Crozier and defensive forwards Scott Cameron and Chris Hartsburg, but expect a number of new faces to appear on the scoreboard.

Much has been written about Adrian Foster since the 6’1”, 200-pound center was a surprise first round pick by the Devils in 2001, but few have actually seen Foster in action on the ice. Troubled by nagging abdominal injuries, the talented center has not played a full season of hockey since 1997-98, when he amassed an amazing 80 points in 36 games, playing on the same midget team in Calgary as Atlanta Thrashers All-Star Dany Heatley. Foster looks to have finally put his injury woes behind him, and should see plenty of icetime in Albany.

After years of sporting small, speedy wingers such as Christian Berglund, Jiri Bicek and Brian Gionta, this year’s wingers are bigger and far more imposing. Russian right-wing Alexander Suglobov turned many heads with his play for the Devils in the pre-season, but with no immediate openings on the Devils Stanley Cup winning roster, the 6’1”, 190 pound Russian will start the season in Albany. Fellow Russian Maxim Balmochnykh is not new to North America. Originally drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1997, the 6’1”, 210-pound right-winger played junior hockey in Canada before spending some time with the Ducks and their AHL affiliate. In the last off-season, Balmochnykh was part of the trade that brought Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky to the Devils. After spending the past year in Russia, Balmochnykh is ready to display his technical skills in Albany.

From Finland hails 6’2”, 210-pound left wing Tuomas Pihlman. Pihlman, 21, spent the past four seasons with the Finnish elite club Jyvaskyla, and more than tripled his offensive output in the last season, prompting the Devils to bring him to North America.

Joining Pihlman on the opposite wing is fellow Finn Ilkka Pikkarainen. Pikkarainen (6’2”, 190 pounds) was the Devils seventh pick, 218^th overall in the 2002 entry draft. Pikkarainen, now reunited with his former teammate, Rats goalie Ahonen, plays a physical, high impact, high-energy game that could easily make him a fan favorite.

Rounding out list of fresh new faces in Albany is Ontario native Ahren Nittel. Nittel joins the Rats after finishing his junior hockey career with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League. The 6’3”, 225-pound Nittel is a bruising power forward that blossomed after being traded from his original team, the Windsor Spitfires, to Oshawa midway through the 2002-03 season.

Season ahead

The Rats seemingly have an unusual wealth of players to choose from on defense and on either wing. The Rats defense sports a good combination of veterans, returning youngsters and talented new prospects. Both the left and right wing should be fairly competitive. The team’s goaltending is relatively experienced, and should be solid. If there is one relative weakness on the roster, it may be the depth at center.

Center Stephen Guolla has been rehabilitating from back surgery for almost a year. With Guolla out of the lineup, Darby is the Rats top center. Foster, while still relatively unproven at the professional level, should be a clear number two. Behind this duo, there is a drop off in skill level in terms of offensive potential. However, as long as Darby and Foster stay healthy, and with the possibility of Guolla eventually returning, there is every reason to believe that the Rats will be able to live up to their potential, and that hockey season will stretch beyond April in Albany this year.

The Rats open their eleventh season on the road October 11^th against the Springfield Falcons. The home opener at the Pepsi Arena in downtown Albany is set for a 4pm Columbus Day matinee against division rival Norfolk Admirals.