We’ve got some news from the Springfield front office today as the Falcons prepare for tonight’s pre-season game. Per a team press release, Anton Blomqvist and Oliver Gabriel have both been assigned to the Evansville IceMen, while tryout players Dan Gendur, Patrick Kennedy, Don Maloney, and Daren Machesney have all been released.
Gendur and Kennedy were both signed to contracts by Evansville over the offseason, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Maloney or MacCheesy show up there, either.
The news on Blomqvist isn’t too shocking – he’s really still learning the North American game, and Springfield has a big glut of talent on the blue line thanks to the lockout, but Gabriel is a little disappointing. He really stood out in training camp a couple of years ago, and I’d hoped to see him step up this season.
Unfortunately, the lockout is likely hurting his cause, too, given the arrival of quite a few bodies in the AHL who were earmarked for Columbus. Hopefully he’ll be able to use that as motivation and push himself back up to the Falcons.
Springfield wraps up their pre-season tonight at home vs. the P-Bruins, and kicks off the regular season next Saturday vs. St. Johns. I’d expect to see the last 9-10 cuts sometime tomorrow or Monday before they finalize the roster.