A new era in Springfield Falcons hockey begins tonight with a brand-new sole affiliation with the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. With the dawning of this new era, Falcons fans will need their program guides close at hand in order to recognize a completely revamped roster and coaching staff.

However, the changes should be exciting for the Springfield faithful, as the new affiliation brings the wide-open style of Tampa Bay Lightning hockey. For the Bolts, it marks the first time since the 2000-01 campaign in which the organization will have a full minor league affiliation, a new era for a club whose prospect development has no doubt been stunted.

Tampa's affiliation agreement includes the provision for the organization to provide a full roster to the Falcons, and Bolt GM Jay Feaster has accomplished that with a creative mix of offseason veteran signings coupled with his stable of young, solid NHL prospects.

Goaltending

Headlining the Springfield roster this season is veteran NHL netminder Jamie Storr. Storr was brought in by Tampa to provide some much needed depth in the organization behind Nikolai Khabibulin and John Grahame. The Falcons reap the benefits as Storr not only brings a marquee name to the franchise, but more importantly gives Springfield a legitimate chance to win each time he is in net. A 10-year NHL veteran with 219 games under his belt, Storr instantly brings stability and credibility to the club.

Storr will take some pressure off of Tampa's top goaltending prospect Brian Eklund by assuming the majority of starts and providing veteran leadership and mentoring. With the NHL lockout in place, both 24-year-old Eklund and 29-year-old Storr should benefit from working directly with Lightning goaltending coach Jeff Reese.

Defense

Anchoring the Falcon blueline this season are storied AHL veterans Darren Rumble and Terry Virtue. The experience and accolades that both Rumble and Virtue bring to the team will be critical in mentoring and shaping Tampa’s cache of young, skilled defensive prospects. There may be more accomplishments in store for these two greybeards, as they could easily combine for as many as 50 points playing within a Tampa system that encourages defensemen to pinch in and contribute offensively.

Joining these grisly veteran backliners will be five of Tampa's top defensive prospects, all ranked in Hockey's Future Lightning Top 10. The Bolts have assembled a large stable of big, mobile defenseman headlined by 2003 second round pick and top Bolt defensive prospect Mike Egener. Joining Egener on the Falcon blueline are fellow prospects Gerard Dicaire, Andreas Holmqvist, Doug O'Brien, and Paul Ranger. O'Brien and Ranger are two youngsters to keep an eye on. Both are coming off impressive junior campaigns and have been impressive during training camp, specifically called out by Feaster as being the best blueliners during the preseason. Free agent signees Marc Busenburg and Harlan Pratt will provide depth for the mix of veterans and prospects.

Forwards

The Falcons offense should be far from anemic this season with the likes of veterans Shane Willis, Craig Darby, and Jarrod Skalde as cornerstones on the scoring lines. Willis heads the potent Springfield offense and has a legitimate shot at making a run for the AHL scoring title. Darby, who could easily notch another 70-point season in this lineup, will likely center first line. Skalde will center the Falcons second scoring line, and at 35 years of age will provide veteran leadership up front and give the Falcons a dynamic 1-2 punch down the middle.

Likely to join Willis and Darby on Springfield's top line is the Lightning's top left wing prospect Adam Henrich. Henrich led all Falcon players in scoring during the preseason. Feaster has consistently noted him as one of the team's three best forwards this fall and he could potentially make a run at Rookie of the Year honors skating with Willis and Darby.

Players that are likely to spend some time on the Falcons second scoring line with Skalde are wingers Evgeni Artukhin, Darren Reid, and Nikita Alexeev. Artukhin had a solid training camp as a second year pro and possesses phenomenal size and speed to go along with his mile-wide mean streak. Reid, the rookie out of Medicine Hat, is a gritty, hard-nosed player with great hands, a hard shot, and good hockey smarts. The enigmatic Alexeev has much to prove not only to the Tampa organization, but also to the Falcon faithful in general, who remember him in a poor light from the 2002-03 season. Clearly this is a make or break season for the 2000 eighth overall pick who has yet to live up to his high billing.

The continued solid play from Tampa prospect Nick Tarnasky during camp has left head coach Dirk Graham no choice but to give him the centering duties for the checking line, moving second year pro Ryan Craig to wing. Like Henrich, Tarnasky has been consistently cited by Feaster as being one of the team’s three best forwards. Along with the gritty duo of Tarnasky and Craig, Springfield's checking line will be rounded out with Artukhin, Reid, or Alexeev.

Anchoring Springfield's fourth line will most likely be recent free agent signee Andre Deveaux. He will frequently be flanked by perennial AHL tough guy Steve McLaren and Tampa's super-pest prospect Jean-François Soucy. Mitch Fritz will help McLaren patrol the ice and keep the opposition honest, while hulking Harvard University power forward Dennis Packard may grab a cup of coffee from time to time as a depth player.

Outlook

Expect a slow start out of the gate for the Falcons, as the whole of the organization from top to bottom gets acclimated. New affiliation, new coaches, new roster, and upwards of eight rookie players means it will take some time for chemistry to develop. The defensive corps, despite the presence of Rumble and Virtue, will be largely young and untested rookies, and will be challenged by the speed and skill of the AHL game.

With Storr between the pipes, the goaltending should be solid and there should be plenty of offense. Defense will certainly remain a question mark and a risk, as well as the team's lack of depth in Johnstown (ECHL) and Adirondack (UHL). Because of question marks on defense, especially determining how the rookies will become acclimated to professional hockey, it’s hard to predict if the team will be among the best in the league as at least one publication as projected, or if they will be a bubble playoff team. Regardless, the future for the Falcons in Springfield is bright as the Tampa organization is firmly committed to building a perennial AHL contender.

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