The team fell short of its goal - reaching the playoffs - but several players recorded impressive milestones.
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Cam Atkinson of the Springfield Falcons provided fans with plenty of thrills this season and proved to be a class act off the ice as well.If we judge the Falcons' year based on the performance of the team on the ice, we failed since we did not qualify for the post-season. However, I think it is also fair to point out some very positive things that took place this season.
Brent Regner, who everyone thought might struggle to crack our line-up this season, turned his career around with a solid performance and won the best defenseman award. Brent also was our iron man, playing in 75 of the 76 games. This is pretty remarkable since we went through 45 skaters and seven goaltenders this season.
Manny Legace, who was signed by Columbus due to all of the injures we sustained in goal, ended up leading the team in wins for the fourth time in his remarkable career. Manny's unfortunate injuries late in the season probably cost him the chance of a call-up to Columbus during the stretch when they were down to one goaltender. Manny is 39 years old, but he can still play and still has the love of the game. He will make a great goalie coach when he is ready to retire.
Cam Atkinson finished with 29 goals and if not for the recall to the Bluejackets may have surpassed Daniel Briere's 36 goals, which is the Falcons' record for most goals by a rookie. Cam was no doubt the most exciting rookie we have had here since Danny and like Briere is a first-class young man.
Alexandre Giroux had 28 goals, which puts him in seventh place on the AHL's all-time goals list with 368. He is only eight goals away from tying former Springfield Indian Harry Pidhirny for sixth on the list.
Martin St. Pierre was signed last off-season to provide the Falcons with a point- producing center. He did not disappoint as he led the team in scoring with 64 points and was third in the league with assists.
Paul Dainton was fifth or maybe even sixth on the organization's depth chart for goalies when the season began. However, due to the injuries Paul was given a chance to prove he could play at this level and turned in a number of great performances to keep us in the playoff race. All anyone can ask for is opportunity; then it is up to the individual to make the best of it - and Paul certainly did just that.
Wade MacLeod may have been the sleeper for us. He was a high-scoring player in college and came to camp just hoping to earn a spot on the roster. Although he finished with "only" 10 goals and 19 assists, those are pretty good numbers, especially since for the first few months of the season he saw limited ice time and never played on the power play. Wade has the potential to be a 20-goal scorer in this league.
Greg Amadio was picked up in a trade with Grand Rapids and quickly became a fan favorite with his physical brand of play. Greg is a warrior and the type of person and player that teams need. He is fearless at blocking shots, is tough in front of the net and in the corners and lays out some bruising hits. He is also not afraid to drop the gloves when necessary. It is nice to know we have Greg under contract for another year.
Nick Drazenovic had 41 points in 41 games and there is no doubt that his two injuries hurt the team. Nick has proven he has the ability to be a No. 1 center in the AHL and to be worthy of a call-up to the NHL. He also provides solid veteran leadership.
By now fans will know that Rob Riley did not have his contract renewed. I want to go public and say that Rob is a good coach and respected by the players. He is also an outstanding person. Rob was able to keep the team in the race, despite an uncommon amount of adversity. However, sometimes moves have to be made that you hope are for the good of the team. It is the tough part of the business.
The off-season is here a little sooner than we would have liked. On the business side, we will have our off-site staff meeting next week to review every aspect of the operation. We will start the process of putting together our operational blueprint for next season. We will lay out new promotions and a number of new special events. We will be tweaking some of the things that went well and eliminating some of the things that did not work. The off-season sales process has already started with ticket packages and corporate sponsorships. We are raising the bar and have some lofty goals to meet. We appreciate the wonderful support of all of our returning package holders and corporate partners.
On the hockey side of the business, the process will begin with Columbus to address the coaching needs of the team. Also, Columbus has already put a list together of potential free agents that will be tweaked right up until July 1, when free agency begins.
All players during the exit meetings were given a very detailed off-season workout plan that was compiled by our strength and conditioning coach, Dan Gregory. Certain benchmarks have been set that players must meet when they report to camp. Columbus has made it very clear to all players that if you are not in camp in tip-top shape, you will pay the price.
Decisions also have to be made on whether to offer contracts to our Group 3 free agents.
The season may be over, but the work is just beginning, as we do everything we can to continue to build our fan base and work toward a successful 2012-13 season.
Bruce Landon is president and general manager of the Springfield Falcons. He can be reached by commenting on this blog or sending him an e-mail at blandon@falconsahl.com. For more information visit the team website.