Just picked up a win over the Chicago Wolves with goals from Morin, Pokka, and Bickell. Two assists from Rasmussen (who had the second goal Wednesday night to go along with goals from Morin and Gustafsson), also a secondary assist on the power play from Gustafsson.

Hartman is one point off the team scoring lead with 6 and 5 in 17, hardly amazing, but he deserves more of a look than Mashinter does. Bickell has nine points in nine games. I'd be interested in seeing Dennis Rasmussen come up so we can see whether he'd be a better 13th forward than Joakim Nordstrom was.

Overall, lots of has-beens and never-weres on this roster, I'd say: Morin, Paille, Schilling, Dowell, Cumiskey, Leighton, so forth. I know you need those guys at the AAA level, but I feel a distinct lack of blue-chip guys past Pokka and Hartman (who not coincidentally lead the team in scoring). That the Bowmans' new developmental philosophy appears to be "throw undrafted NCAAers and non-tendered draft picks at the wall and see who sticks" probably contributes to that.

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Now they still have Schmaltz provided they sign him.... He has been doing some work for North Dakota this year.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

The DiCaro thread has a better chance of causing an erection.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I gotta be honest, I'm more attracted to this thread.

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Michael Leighton earned his 46th AHL shutout, making him the all-time league leader. He's arguably been one of the best players in the whole league; Rockford has been competitive with an ever-changing roster (even by AHL standards) and scoring by committee. The question, then, is whether you keep him backstopping Rockford in the Calder Cup or call him up to back up Crawford in the event of another first-round bedshitting, because I don't trust Darling this time around. Leighton helped us win one championship, maybe he can help us win another.

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Can you trust Leighton much more than Darling?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Normally, no, but from what we've seen of Darling, it's a coin flip.

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I might trust Leighton more simply for the fact he's had regular playing time. Darling has been flat out bad this year...I'd like to know if that's from being on the bench most games or if something else is up.

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He's heeeeere

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