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Portland Pirates: An Update On The Come-Ups

By William Grigsby |

Time for an update of the Arizona Coyotes AHL Affiliate, The Portland Pirates

As of this writing (11-17-14), the Pirates find themselves 4th in their Division and 11th in the Conference, with 8 wins and 8 losses for 16 points.

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    • The leading Pirates scorer is Alexandre Bolduc with 6 G, 8 A, 2 PPG and a 18.2 SH%. Lucas Lessio, who was called up recently by the parent Arizona Coyotes-  had 5 G, 3 A in 14 games before heading to Glendale.

    Another well known Pirate — who played for the Coyotes for the past five seasons — is Paul Bissonnette. In an “off the ice” interview conducted to familiarize fans with Bissonnette (doesn’t EVERYONE know who  BIZNASTY  is?), he has some typical responses that only he could supply. The guy has to be one of, if not the,most colorful hockey player to play the game today. Just take a look at how he handled the recent frenzy over THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE, and check out how he spoke his mind over the Connor McDavid situation.

    Other Pirates you may recognize who all lit the lamp with their first NHL goals this season are: Tobias Rieder  (who scored his first NHL goal vs. Washington on 11-2-14, and is still on the active Coyotes roster), Brandon Gormley (who tallied his first NHL goal vs. Edmonton 11-16-14), and Justin Hodgman  (recently called up for four games, also contributing his first NHL goal vs. Florida on 10-25-14).

    Then, most recently, David Schelmko was put on waivers by the Coyotes, and was not claimed- so reported to Portland.

    The one player I’d love to see make it up to the Coyotes, either this season or next, is Henrik Samuelsson. Henrik had some pretty impressive stats while with the Edmonton Oil Kings the past two seasons. I’d say 88 G, 175 Pts in 144 games got my attention! I attended a preseason game when Henrik was teamed up on a line with Max Domi and Martin Hanzal. You can ask coach Tippett how difficult it is to find a line which clicks, and believe me this line CLICKED! Henrik seems to have that knack for being in the right place at the right time- always a good trait to have as a forward.

    I know that Samuelsson as well as Domi need that valuable experience that they are now obtaining by playing at a lower level, but it’s more than difficult to be patient (NOT one of my virtues..) waiting to see these exciting players blossom. Perhaps next season we will see them make the team, and help the Coyotes become more of a competitive team.

    To close, I must share that the Coyotes have some talented young players that are developing at different stages and speeds, and the future looks more than promising for them.

    GO YOTES ! !

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