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November was a month marked by inconsistency for the Albany River Rats. In the 11 games played, the River Rats collected 11 points, and remain entrenched at the bottom of the East Division of the American Hockey League.  As we look back at the first quarter of the season, some of the new faces on the Devils top development team are off to a flying start, while some have suffered injuries, and others are still just trying to find their game.

Right wing Aleksander Suglobov continues to impress with his technical skills and outstanding skating ability. In October, Suglobov played seven games while collecting 3 goals and 2 assists. In November, the 21-year-old Russian rookie continued his hard work, adding 2 goals and 6 assists in 11 games. While not a particularly physical player, Suglobov also recorded his first fighting major this past month.

Left wing Maxim Balmochnykh was on track for a great season before he suffered a concussion in a game against the Hershey Bears on November 21st. Before his injury, the speedy winger was starting to pick up the pace on his offensive production. In October, Balmochnykh collected 1 assist in 3 games, and in November, he collected 2 goals, including one game winning goal, and 2 assists in 6 games while playing mostly with fellow Russian Suglobov and veteran center Craig Darby. Balmochnykh is recovering well from his concussion, and when he returns to the lineup sometime in December, he can hopefully pick up where he left off. 

Center Adrian Foster, the Devils first round pick in 2001, is technically not a new face for the Rats, as he played a total of nine games towards the end of the last season after missing the majority of the year due to injuries. His second professional season has started out slightly better.

So far this year, Foster missed the first few games of the season due to an injury, but came back to play in four games in October, collecting 1 assist. In November Foster missed a couple of more games due to a groin injury. In the end, he totaled nine games for the month, adding 2 goals, including one game winning goal, and 2 assists for a total of 5 points overall. Foster’s points total is by no means outstanding, and he is also entering December as a –6, making him the worst Rats forward in that category. However, for someone who has missed the majority of the past five seasons with various injuries, the icetime Foster is now receiving is invaluable for his development, and with time his overall game should improve as well.

Left wing Tuomas Pihlman has had a rough start to his first American Hockey League season. The young Finnish rookie started the season on a high note, collecting 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in his first three games. Since then, he has recorded no points while playing nine games in November for a total of 17 for the season. Pihlman started the season on the River Rats top line, but as other players, most notably veteran winger Steve Kariya, returned to the lineup from injuries, he was demoted first to the second, and finally to the third line, where he has struggled with most aspects of his game. It is difficult to pinpoint an exact cause for Pihlman’s slow start. In part, Pihlman struggles with his positioning on the smaller ice surface. Additionally, his confidence appears to have been shaken after he took some costly penalties in early games, twice causing power play situations that lead opponents to score equalizing goals. In the end, the Rats lost one of those games, and tied the other. With time, Pihlman will hopefully be able to regain his confidence and become more comfortable in a North American system.

Right wing Ilkka Pikkarainen has had an equally rough start to his life in North America. Pikkarainen collected 2 assists in the seven games he played in October. In November, the pesky Finnish winger played four more games, recording 1 assist, before suffering an injury that kept him out of the lineup for the rest of the month. Pikkarainen is expected back in December, and can hopefully provide some additional offensive spark and much needed attitude for the at times lackluster Rats team.

Defenseman Matt DeMarchi, a NCAA product out of the University of Minnesota, played only six games in October before sitting out the next 10 games with a groin injury. DeMarchi started the season rather quietly, collecting only 1 assist in his first 6 games. Since returning to the lineup, DeMarchi, who has never been known for his offensive prowess, has been playing with a tremendous amount of energy and exuberance, and has collected 3 points, including his first goal, in his last three games.

In December, the River Rats will play a total of 12 games, of which nine will be played at home. The team needs to find more consistency in their game, and improve on their abysmal home record, otherwise they could find themselves near hopelessly out of playoff contention before the season is even half over.