So the rotation is complete: Travis Hamonic is out until December, and a rested Adam Pelech is up with the Big Club. Brent Thompson’s fine with what they’ve got here; he’s said so since they got down to 11 defensemen before the season. With one of those 11 now out and two of them up (one of those, Ryan Pulock, injured there) and two others in Missouri (ECHL), they’re down to six here. And by the end of the night, it’s not inconceivable they could be down to five. (Or fewer. I mean, these are defensemen we’re talking about. Remember the Islanders’ rotating ATO of 2011? Fun times. Still bummed they wouldn’t call up Calvin de Haan from junior. It was an emergency! Anyway.)
One way or another, they’re going to need at least one more before they go out on the road this weekend. Both the Sound Tigers and Missouri are off until Friday, so there’s time. Thompson said he’ll talk with Missouri coach John-Scott Dickson and make that decision from there. He said he has heard good reports on both Matt Finn and Jesse Graham.
It is, to reiterate, a ways away from Friday, so we’ll see if the lines stay this way. But today’s had a few switches. The Green Line stayed together, as did Verhaeghe-Kearns-Bernier. There was also Michael Dal Colle with Tanner Fritz and Travis St. Denis, Andrew Rowe up with Ross Johnston and Ben Holmstrom, and Josh Ho-Sang with Josh Winquist and Eric Boulton.
Edit: Taylor Beck is AHL Player of the Week. Eight points in three games, then called up to Edmonton.
……
Marek Svatos died yesterday at home near Denver, only 34, leaving his wife and two young kids. Svatos played 102 games for Hershey, and his first professional hat trick came here in the lockout year. He’d played four games for Colorado the year before, and he went on to play another 340 in the NHL.
Thompson played with him in Hershey in 2002-03, Svatos’ first pro season. “He was a wonderful teammate, a great kid — he was a kid when I played with him,” Thompson said. “A young guy — it’s definitely tragic. Obviously my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”