AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks, Panthers Announce Plans for 2009-10 AHL Season

April 8, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, April 8).... The Rochester Americans and Florida Panthers announced their plans for the 2009-10 American Hockey League season this afternoon in a press conference held at The Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial. Florida Panthers General Manager Jacques Martin and Amerks owner Curt Styres were on hand to discuss their collaborative efforts to restore a winning, competitive environment next season for the AHL's second oldest franchise.

"I first want to thank Jacques and the Florida Panthers organization for all of their support in the first year of our affiliation agreement," said Styres before members of the media and several fans in attendance. "We are pleased to say that we are working together to make the Amerks a contender for our 54th season in the AHL."

Martin agreed that changes need to be implemented to not only put a competitive product on the ice but also to further the development of Florida's young prospects here in Rochester, with the first and perhaps the most significant being an increased presence of veteran players.

"We are actively pursuing additional veteran-caliber players that we can bring in here and have an immediate impact," said Martin. "We want to bring in at least four quality players who are capable of producing on the top two lines offensively. You learn a lot more through success."

"Having a stronger veteran presence will make for a better hockey team, a team that will be more competitive night-after-night," added Martin.

Martin also added the possibility of bringing in a fifth veteran on defense to provide balance on the blueline. The Panthers, however, did express their approval in the play of defensemen Jordan Henry, Jason Garrison, Michael Caruso and Keaton Ellerby, who all but one are in currently in their first season of professional hockey.

"The four of them really demonstrated a lot of confidence and poise in each game they played," said Martin in reference to the young corps of defensemen.

Martin also addressed the importance of stability and consistency in goal, something up until the arrival of Mike Brodeur later in the season, was a continuous struggle for Rochester this season. Martin revealed that the Panthers are interested in signing Brodeur to a contract next season and are confident that he will be a stable component between the pipes for the Amerks, and quite possibly, even the Panthers.

The Panthers will reexamine the idea of signing an enforcer to address the lack of toughness and fill the void that was left when tough-guy winger Steve MacIntyre was claimed off waivers prior to the start of the season. In order to do that however, the Amerks will contribute more toward the salaries of veteran depth players.

Florida is toying with the idea of expanding its training camp in an effort to get a look at more players from all leagues (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc.) and better determine their skill level for developmental purposes. Martin also mentioned that the entire coaching staff (Benoit Groulx, assistant Jason Cipolla and goalie/conditioning Bob Janosz) will return for next season.

"We feel we have a tremendous coaching staff here in Rochester," said Martin. "Ben (Groulx) is very demanding of his players, but dedicated and committed to developing his players for the next level."

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