The day started business-like enough, what with yesterday’s bag skate and all, with the demotion of Matt Calvert to the Springfield Falcons.
I can see that. Somewhat similar to Cam Atkinson being assigned to Springy, Calvert needs more ice time. Make that more quality ice time.
Atkinson kicked it up a notch over the weekend for the Falcons. In fact, but for an inch here or there (on his shots, not his height), he could have easily come out of the weekend with 4, 5 maybe 6 goals.
This could be the same for Calvert. His first portion of last season with Springfield, Matt was a heart and soul player who gave everything he had, every shift he had. Upon his mid-season recall, he brought the same energy to the Jackets.
The Jackets are in a rough spot right now. They don’t need guys like Atkinson or Calvert in a third or fourth line spot. Their talents will be hard to see when they are playing with players who are unable to maximize their strengths.
According to late afternoon reports, everything seemed OK at this morning’s Jackets practice. There was even a report, after the fact, that
was one of the last players off the ice and seemed fine.
Whatever happened between the time Sanford got off the ice and
tweeting of his imminent departure for Columbus at about 3:50PM is purely speculative.
For the time being then, the Jackets appear confident enough that A)
will be able to tend the crease tomorrow night in the rematch with the
. B) Mathieu Corbeil will be satisfactory in tending the pine at the far end of the Jackets bench.
In any event, or better yet, in a Common Sense world, the hockey chain of command should take over. NHL calls AHL with the “we need a goalie for one night” emergency request. Then,
travels to Columbus for Tuesday night’s ride on the pine, maybe a practice on Wednesday and back to Springfield in time for Friday night’s home game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Even in the case of pro hockey, as in the real world, it’s all in the fine print. This is one of the reasons why Scott Howson and Chris MacFarland have law degrees. And according to the rules of the sport, it’s easier to bring a junior player in for one night than it is a player from the top minor league affiliate. Go figure.
Seeing a trend in movement, IE-Atkinson and Calvert down, one might further speculate that the Jackets may be looking to add a little punch to the lineup.
The two names mentioned for most of the afternoon seemed to be
and
. Cody won this one out and has been called up by the Jackets.
In a relatively short time, I have become a big Cody Bass fan.
Just five months ago, Bass was named the AHL Man of the Year, and he captained the Binghamton
to the first ever Calder Cup for the city of Binghamton, NY.
Witnessing his heart and hustle these first two weeks of the new season, Bass is not a goal scorer like
. He only tallied six goals last season. In the Falcons first five games thus far, he has two.
Bass brings a presence to the ice. He can make plays, but he can also mix it up.
The Jackets at 0-4-1 are starting to show signs of desperation. Bringing up Cody Bass is a good move. He will hold his ground. He has shown these first two weeks with the Falcons that he is capable of scoring points. He is also capable of playing a physical style that, with apologies to
, the Jackets have lacked since
broke his thumb.
A different kind of day for the Jackets, maybe, but all in all, it’s just another day.