Good morning all!
Before I can even start the usual recap/photo gallery fun, there is a lot of news roster wise to catch up on that I couldn’t do earlier due to my work/travel schedule yesterday. So to get everyone caught up on who’s here, who’s up, and who’s coming down:
-On Friday, Mattias Tedenby was placed on non-roster waivers so Ryan Carter could be activated off injured reserve. He cleared and was assigned to Albany on Saturday, and was in the lineup in Adirondack. He only appeared in 15 games, registering one goal in New Jersey. He played two games earlier in Albany on a conditioning assignment, scoring 3 goals in 2 games.
-In a last minute surprise on Friday, Mike Sislo was recalled and made his NHL debut Friday night at the Rock against Chicago, skating on the fourth line with Reid Boucher and Andrei Loktionov. He had just surpassed Boucher for second on the team in scoring with 20 points. He is the third A-Devil to make his NHL debut this year (Boucher and Jon Merrill the others). On a personal note for me, this is just another reason why I love being involved with this team and doing what I do. I still remember his first day in Albany, it was the night of the first A-Devils End of Season Party for the season ticket holders in April 2011. He had just signed his two year contract (and amateur tryout) over the weekend and came down that afternoon from New Hampshire. So of course he gets thrown right into the fire without even knowing anyone, new teammates included. I took a chance when he had a free moment alone, went over and introduced myself…I think I was probably one of the first fans to actually reach out to him (because I’m sure most of the room was probably like, who?).
-And another roster surprise on Saturday: with Anton Volchenkov coming off IR after a one day stay (he was placed on the list to make room for Sislo’s callup), Eric Gelinas was reassigned to Albany. Most everyone thought after his recall at the end of October he was likely not coming back after a strong start in New Jersey. In 33 games he scored 4 goals and added 12 assists, good for third among New Jersey defensemen behind Marek Zidlicky and Andy Greene, and good for second in the NHL among rookie defensemen. There was even a point that he was mentioned as a possible Calder Trophy nominee. But struggles as of late, and the eventual return of Adam Larsson among others from injury worked against him. I doubt he’ll stay down here for long.
-And finally Stefan Matteau has returned to the roster after the United States were eliminated from the World Juniors in Sweden earlier in the week. He had 4 points (including 3 goals) in 5 games, but also lead the team in penalty minutes with 10. He was back in the lineup Saturday in Adirondack.
Thoughts Inside The Box 