Norfolk Scope at full capacity for the first time since 2007, taken during the second period.

Due to life doing what it does best - be inconvenient - I haven't been able to visit the Norfolk Admirals as often as I would like to this season. But, I made the three-hour drive down last weekend, just to see what was going on. And, I wasn't the only one.

Skipping the festivities in Ottawa for the NHL All-Star Weekend was JM Steve Yzerman. He was in Norfolk Scope for both games against the Hershey Bears (the Washington Capitals farm team) on Friday and Saturday. I was only there Saturday night and saw him slink in myself, but that's what I was told. The NHL Board of Governors, as well as the general managers, met in Ottawa to discuss business, but Yzerman was not among them.

So, take that as you will.

This was the last game before the AHL All-Star Break, and the next game for Norfolk isn't until Thursday, 2 February. Three Admirals were heading to the AHL All-Star Game in Atlantic City tonight - center Trevor Smith, rookie left-wing Cory Conacher, and defenseman Mark Barberio. The first and second periods were pretty good, but you could tell a bit into the third that both teams were looking forward to vacation a little too early.

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Since the launch of Raw Charge in March 2009, I can't say there was a young player that we have pulled for quite like center James Wright. Wright came into the 2009-10 Lightning training camp and earned a roster spot. He saw playing time with the likes of Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis... He earned the nickname "Killer" from a preseason incident in Saskatoon against the Ottawa Senators Alex Kovalev.

But former GM Brian Lawton gave up on the Wright experiment in January 2010 - returning Killer to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL while claiming Nate Thompson off waivers from the New York Islanders.

And now, James is gone from the Tampa Bay Lightning system.

Wright, along with veteran minor league defenseman Mike Vernace, were traded to the Florida Panthers organization this evening for defensemen Mike Kostka and Evan Oberg. None of the mentioned players have been in an NHL game this season.

Kostka has not played an NHL game in his career. He played for UMASS-Amherst before becoming a journeyman on several AHL teams (the Rochester Americans, Portland Pirates and San Antonio Rampage). A righty-shot, Kostka has put up points in his minor league career where ever he has gone,

Oberg played in a total of 4 NHL games in his career, all with the Vancouver Canucks. His weight has been listed as both 165 lbs and 191 (he stands six-foot tall). He spent two years with the University of Minnesota-Duluth before joining the Vancouver Canucks organization.

The full press release about the deal is listed below the jump.

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In 2001, the International Hockey League, which co-existed with the AHL as the top-tier minor league for NHL teams, folded.  The fate of it's teams were mixed.  Some, like the Chicago Wolves, Milwaukee Admirals and Utah Grizzlies, joined the rival American Hockey League and kept on going.  Others, like the 2000-2001 Turner Cup champion Orlando Solar Bears, outright ceased operations.

It appears the Solar Bears did not get shot and stuffed on an economic mantle with other defunct franchises though.  They were just in extended hibernation.

On Tuesday, the ECHL - the minor league that operates below the AHL -- announced that Orlando would be home to an expansion hockey team starting in 2012.  The franchise will be known as the Solar Bears and will play its games in Amway Center.  San Francisco also has a team starting play in 2012, named the Bulls.

The Solar Bears become Florida's second current ECHL franchise.  The Florida Everblades have been operating in Estero since 1998.  Florida has also hosted several ECHL affiliates in the past, including the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks, the Jacksonville Lizard Kings, the Miami Matadors, and Pensacola Ice Pilots.  

The Lightning currently have an affiliation with the Everblades.  They share that affiliation with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The American Hockey League announced today that Norfolk Admirals right winger Carter Ashton has been named the Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month for October.

Ashton, the Tampa Bay Lightning's first round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (29th overall), leads the league with nine goals and has scored 13 points in 10 games so far, which leads all AHL rookies. He recorded four multi-point performances in his first five games and ended the month with goals in four consecutive games. He was also named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending October 9th. 

The Admirals are off to a 7-2-0-1 start and are in first place of the East Division of the Eastern Conference.

I attended the Norfolk Admirals second game of the season last Saturday, without an idea as to what I'd wanted to cover. I'd decided early on that I'd pick out a few players, and report on what I saw. So I randomly chose right wing Carter Ashton, left wing Cory Conacher, center Tyler Johnson, and goaltender Jaroslav Janus, who was in net that night.

What I hadn't realized at the time was that Ashton, Conacher, and Johnson were on the same line. They started the game as the second line, and then they were put out together to start the second power play of the game, and during that first shift, they scored a goal. Specifically, Ashton scored on a deflection in front of the net on a Mark Barberio shot.

Ashton did not look like a player straight out of junior hockey. He was confident, knew where he needed to be, taking shots, and throwing hits if needed. Though, he's not a terribly physical player in that regard - throwing hits - he doesn't shy away from the physical play in the corners or in front of the net. At one point, one of the Charlotte Checkers players tried egging him into a fight, but he walked away - and also held his teammates back from jumping in on his behalf.

At 6'3", he towered over his linemates - especially Conacher. Johnson's listed at 5'9", and he probably is, which Conacher's listed at 5'8". Johnson's got a couple of inches on Conacher, so I doubt very much that Cory's really 5'8". Not that Tampa Bay Lightning fans have any problems with shorter hockey players, right?

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Sometime after the Lightning's drubbing of the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon, the Norfolk Admirals and Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins tangoed once again in AHL playoff action.  While the Ads had jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, and came back tonight after falling in a 3-0 hole early, they dropped tonight's game 6-3, their foruth straight loss, and the overall series to the Baby Penguins.

We have the press-release recap of the game below the jump, and I don't want to dismiss the Admirals and the closing of a great season, but there is an aspect of the loss that the Tampa Bay Lightning can directly contemplate now:  Who do they promote to the NHL to serve as black aces for their own game six contest on Monday (and hopefully for game n, and later rounds of the playoffs)?

Black aces, to explain, is just a nickname for taxi squad players / guys who won't play during the playoffs.  Being part of a taxi squad in the playoffs is both a reward and a just-in-case logistics move, should injuries happen on the big club and what not.

Don't be surprised to hear of call-ups in the next 24 hours, starting with (perhaps) Blair Jones and Mattias Ritola, with others included.

At any rate, I do want to congratulate the Admirals on a great season.  Hopefully, next season, there will be more depth to push the Ads further in the playoffs.

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I noted a few days ago that the Lightning are playing first-round playoff games against the Penguins on two levels: In the NHL and in the AHL with their minor league affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, squaring off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Last night was the opening game of the Ads/Pens playoff series, and Dustin Tokarski backstopped the Ads to their first playoff win since 2006-07. The Admirals beat the Pens 2-1, and Tokarski stopped 32 of 33 shots faced. Mattias Ritola and Marc-Antoine Pouliot scored the goals for the Admirals.

Game Two of the series will be tonight at 7:05 PM in Wilkes-Barre. Tokarski will likely get the start again for the Admirals, with Jaroslav Janus backing him up.

Oen other note from yesterday at the minor league level: Former Barrie Colt and current Lightning prospect Alex Hutchings, who spent his first professional season with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, was promoted from the 'Blades to the to the Admirals.

The Admirals official recap of last night's action is below the fold.

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During the final few days of the season, outside the drama of the Tampa Bay Lightning March losing streak and the Atlantic Division title fight between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, we've had a pretty good inkling that the Bolts and Penguins would be first round foes in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal round.

But here's an interesting aspect: The Bolts and Pens are also squaring off in the first round of the AHL playoffs.

Last night, the Norfolk Admirals beat the Connecticut Whale. The Ads had already clinched a playoff berth (their first while affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning), but they had not clinched their seeding in the. With their victory, the club clinched the 6th seed in the AHL's Eastern Conference, and will be matched up against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to start the AHL Calder Cup playoffs.

I don't know how often it happens, but it does seem like an interesting situation -- the fact the two organizations are paired up as opponents in two different leagues, in the first round of their respective playoffs.