The Albany River Rats had a very disappointing 2003-04 season, becoming the first team to miss the AHL playoffs for four straight seasons since the 1985-89 Springfield Indians and Baltimore Skipjacks. The team only recorded 21 wins, and finished with a measly 0.338 win percentage. Adding insult to injury, the River Rats were held scoreless in 13 games, and did not post back-to-back wins until the final two games of the season.

The New Jersey Devils have made a number of offseason changes to their top affiliate. The first, and perhaps most important improvement, came towards the end of last season when the River Rats welcomed back their original coach, Robbie Ftorek. Ftorek, who coached the River Rats from 1993-96, lead the team to the 1995 Calder Cup Championship. During his first tenure with Albany, he helped mold the careers of future NHL stars Patrik Elias and Steve Sullivan. Ftorek’s experience in developing young talent will be much needed for the glut of young prospects he’ll be in charge of this season.

Moving on

Over the summer, the River Rats parted ways with a group of veterans that combined had over 2200 AHL games on their resumes. Leading scorer and Albany native Craig Darby signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and will be suiting up for their new AHL affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts. Darby’s sidekick for most of the past two seasons, pint-sized winger Steve Kariya, signed in Finland, and leading defensive scorer Ray Giroux will be playing for the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. Other veteran players who remain unsigned as of the time of writing include Joe Hulbig, Greg Crozier, Maxim Balmochnykh, as well as last year’s captain, Mike Matteucci.

Veterans weren’t the only victims of the roster makeover as the Devils also opted not to resign defensive prospect Tyler Hanchuck, and forward prospect Chris Hartsburg. Both players have since signed with teams in the Central Hockey League.

Offense

With most of the veteran core gone, the River Rats will have a distinctly different look up front, though one familiar face is set to make a comeback. Pascal Rheaume, one of the original River Rats, was signed to a two-year contract this summer. Rheaume was on the team that won the Calder Cup in 1995; he later won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003, and has played in over 300 NHL contests. His experience and veteran presence will be invaluable for the young team, especially since it appears that the only other non-prospect forwards will be veteran enforcer Rob Skrlac as well as last year’s surprise discovery, penalty-killing specialist Ryan Murphy.

Apart from the three veterans, every forward is born in 1981 or later. Most are returning for their second or third season, but there are a handful of newcomers. Headlining the crop of new arrivals is one of the Devils most touted prospects in recent years, Minnesota native Zach Parise. Parise, the Devils first round draft pick in 2003, spent the past two seasons at the University of North Dakota. At the tender age of 20, the 5’11 playmaker has already assembled a lengthy hockey resume. He was a top-ten Hobey Baker nominee in his freshman year and a top-three nominee in his sophomore year at North Dakota. Along the way he also earned numerous other collegiate accolades. He has excelled on the international stage as well. He was tournament MVP at the 2004 World Junior Championship where he helped the USA bring home their first ever gold.

The second rookie forward, Ivan Khomutov, hails from Saratov, Russia. The 6’3 center, who doesn’t turn 20 until March of 2005, spent the past season with the London Knights, one of the top teams in the OHL. He missed almost half the season due to a broken arm, but still finished with 21 points in 40 games.

The last player in the group of new forwards is Missouri native Cam Janssen. The 5’11 right wing agitator spent the past three seasons with a couple of different teams in the OHL, and racked up a stunning 748 penalty minutes in 178 games.

On the wings, five prospects are returning for their second season in Albany. Finnish wingers Tuomas Pihlman and Ilkka Pikkarainen both had decent first seasons in North America. Pihlman led River Rats prospects in scoring with 29 points in 73 games. While Pikkarainen also chipped in offensively, he mostly contributed as a pest, recording 118 penalty minutes in only 63 games. The two Finns are joined by Russian right wing Aleksander Suglobov. Suglobov displayed great offensive skills last year, and lead all AHL rookies in shooting percentage. Unfortunately he was limited to only 35 games because of a wrist injury that required surgery.

Two towering Canadians round out the group of returning wingers. British Columbia native Aaron Voros spent the past three seasons at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and arrived in Albany after his college season ended in late March. The 6’4, 23-year-old right wing made a quick transition to professional hockey, recording two goals and an assist to go along with 14 penalty minutes in nine games. On the opposite wing, 6’3 Ahren Nittel had a tough rookie year. The 20-year old OHL graduate struggled with nagging injuries, and only appeared in 42 games.

At center, Adrian Foster and Eric Johansson are the only returning prospects. Former first round draft pick Foster, who had barely played any hockey over the past five years due to a debilitating abdominal injury, managed to appear in 44 games last year. While he still suffered some minor injuries, the talented pivot hopes he has put his major injury woes behind him. Johansson will need to compete to retain his place on the team. With Rheaume, Parise, Foster, and quite likely also Khomutov ahead of him on the depth chart at center, it is unclear just how much playing time the Alberta native will earn.

Defense

In an attempt to replace the experience of departing defensemen Giroux and Matteucci, the River Rats have brought in two former AHL captains. Ray Schultz, who captained the Milwaukee Admirals to last year’s Calder Cup Championship, is a stay-at-home defenseman who can substitute as enforcer. The more offensive minded Bobby Allen captained the upstart Toronto Roadrunners last year. By joining the River Rats, Allen will be reunited with a former college teammate. He played with River Rats goaltender Scott Clemmensen on the Boston College team that won the NCAA championship in 2001.

Joining the two veteran AHL players is the only returning veteran from last year’s defense, former University of Wisconsin Badger Alex Brooks. Brooks, a hard working crease-clearer, was the only regular roster player who recorded a positive plus/minus last year.

The trio of AHL veterans will be complemented by a young NHL player. As a result of the ongoing NHL lockout, the River Rats will be adding former first round draft pick David Hale to their squad. The 23-year-old Hale, who suited up in 66 games for the Devils last season, does not have a lot of offensive upside, but projects to be a solid NHL defensive defenseman. The River Rats should benefit from having him in their lineup.

Returning for a second year is University of Minnesota graduate and two-time NCAA champion Matt DeMarchi. Demarchi will need to rebound from a tough rookie year, where he struggled with injuries and sub par defensive play, finishing as a -19. Latvian native Krisjanis Redlihs had a great offensive year last season, registering nine goals and ten assists, and finished off the year by representing his native country at the IIHF World Championship in Prague. The last returning defenseman is Manitoba native Phil Cole. The tough-as-nails blueliner started out last season with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL, but was recalled halfway through the season.

Rounding out the crop of defensemen are two European rookies. Twenty-year-old Anton Kadeykin, a native of Elektrostal, Russia, spent the past two seasons with the Sarnia Sting in the OHL. The 6’3 defenseman only recorded 12 points during his time in the OHL, and will probably not contribute much offensively. Finally, the last newcomer is 23-year-old Teemu Kesa, who becomes the fourth Finnish player in the River Rats lineup. The 6’1 blueliner, who spent the past three seasons with Lukko Rauma of the Finnish SM-Liiga, was the Devils fourth round draft pick in 1999.

Goaltending

Entering his fourth season between the pipes for the River Rats is Finnish netminder Ari Ahonen. The 23-year-old former first round pick has struggled with inconsistency and only posted a 2.99 goals against average in the 2003-04 season. His perhaps best outing last year came on March 3^rd against the Springfield Falcons. Ahonen made 47 saves and received some rare support from the offense as the River Rats went on to win 7-1.

Ahonen’s goaltending partner Scott Clemmensen, who is also back for a fourth season, showed last year what a difference playing behind a solid defense can make for a goaltender. He split his time between Albany and New Jersey last season. In the four games he started for the Devils, he went 3-1-0 with a 1.01 goals against average and an impressive .954 save percentage

Outlook

The River Rats have attempted to address the defensive problems that have haunted the team in recent years, but it is hard to determine if the offseason adjustments will be effective. Schultz and Allen do not appear to represent significant upgrades over Matteucci and Giroux. While David Hale is a solid addition, none of the other newcomers on the blueline are likely to make an immediate impact.

Offensively, the team has a good core of talented players with a nice mix of size, skill and speed.

The downside is that most of the forwards are young and inexperienced, and can be expected to make mistakes as they grow and develop.

Ftorek’s return may provide a glimmer of hope for this squad, and there is certainly reason to believe that the team can and should improve. However, with the questionable defensive corps, it is unlikely that the River Rats will be able to dig themselves all the way out of the basement this season.

The River Rats open their season at home on Friday, October 15^th against archrivals the Binghamton Senators.

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.