Midweek link roundup

A lot has happened in hockey the last few days. A ton of links below the jump:

Link roundup: Jim Waite back with Hawks & more

A few links from around the hockey world of interest to local hockey fans:

• Recently posted by WIBC: an interview with Fuel head coach Scott Hillman done by Ray Steele.
• The Chicago Blackhawks have a familiar face coming in as their goaltending coach -- Jim Waite, who played goal for the IHL Ice throughout the 1990s. 
• Former Indiana Ice assistant coach Adam Krug has been named the head coach at Adrian College, his alma mater. Adrian plays in the NCAA's Div. III. Krug had previously been slated to be an assistant coach for the Green Bay Gamblers. 
• Adam's younger brother, former Ice defenseman Torey Krug, talked about Independence Day with BostonBruins.com last week. 
• A few Independence Day links: THN says the best American team might be one that surprises you and lists the top 10 moments in American hockey history (#1 is an obvious one, and there's a glaring omission that's as big as a Squaw Valley).
• Thoughts & prayers go out to the Ottawa Senators and GM Bryan Murray in his battle with cancer. 
• The Detroit Red Wings featured former Ice coach and current Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill speaking to the team's prospects at development camp. Blashill won the Clark Cup with the Ice in 2009 and the AHL's Calder Cup in Grand Rapids in 2013. 

Commentary: Pan Am Pavilion leaves memories

The boards are gone, the scoreboard taken down, and soon, the walls will be coming down, too. The Pan Am Pavilion has closed its doors.

The Indiana Ice warm up for a game at Pan Am Pavilion.

Built in 1987 as a legacy of the city hosting the Pan Am Games, the two ice rinks and the adjacent plaza have stood as a monument to an event that really propelled Indianapolis into the national eye as a host of major sporting events. Regular visits by the NCAA Final Four, Olympic Trials, the Super Bowl and others have followed, but for those of us who were around, the Pan Am Games left a great legacy.

As a rink, it was built to be a participatory one -- the home of the Indiana/World Skating Academy (which relocated a year ago) and a downtown place for public skating and recreational hockey. It became, out of necessity, the part-time home of the USHL's Indiana Ice the last two seasons.

5 Ice taken in NHL Draft

Five Indiana Ice players were taken in the 2014 NHL Draft, including 3 members of the 2014 Clark Cup champions -- Josh Jacobs (NJ), Rinat Valiev (TOR), Blake Siebenaler (CBJ), Ryan Mantha (NYR) & Dwyer Tschantz (STL).

The five Ice players selected are the most in a single draft year. 

Jacobs' selection as the 41st overall pick makes him the second-highest Ice player to be drafted. John Carlson was the only one picked higher, taken 27th overall by Washington in 2008. He is the fourth player to be picked in the second round, joining Adam Erne (2013-TB), Sam Kurker (2012-STL) & Cristoval Nieves (2013-NYR). There have been 33 players from the Indiana Ice picked in the NHL Draft.

More below the jump.

Krug named to NHL All-Rookie Team

Former Indiana Ice defenseman Torey Krug was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team during the NHL Awards on Tuesday.

Torey Krug as a member of the Indiana Ice. 

Krug had a stellar rookie season with the Presidents Trophy champion Bruins, with 14 goals and 26 assists to total 40 points in 79 games. He was very solid in quarterbacking the Bruins' power play, with six goals and 19 points coming with the man advantage. Krug led rookie defensemen in power play goals, assists and points, and was third among rookie-defensemen in plus-minus with a +18 rating. He factored in on nearly two-fifths of his team's 50 power play goals. The Bruins had the NHL's third-best power play.

It was Krug's first full season in the NHL. He signed with the Bruins as a free agent in 2012 and played three regular-season games with the team through the end of the 2013 regular season, before being called up for the playoffs and helping lead the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final.

He ranks third in Bruins history for goals by a rookie defenseman, trailing only Ray Bourque and Greg Hawgood.

All-Rookie Team member Torey Krug

A 5-foot-9, 180-pound defenseman from Livonia, Mich., Krug had 47 points for the Indiana Ice in 2008-09. He helped lead the team to a Clark Cup championship, scoring the series-winning goal in the opening-round series' Game 5 against Cedar Rapids, and totaling seven points in the postseason. He went from the Ice to Michigan State, where he played two years and captained the Spartans, before joining the Bruins.

Torey isn't the only Krug to have a Clark Cup ring with the Ice. His older brother Adam was an assistant coach for this year's championship-winning Ice squad. Torey returned to Indianapolis and was on hand to drop the first puck before Game 4 of the Clark Cup Final this spring.

Krug is the second Indiana Ice player to receive an NHL All-Rookie honor. John Carlson, who played for the Ice in 2007-08, was named to the team in 2011 as a member of the Washington Capitals.

The rest of the All-Rookie team were Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen, Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm, Tampa Bay forwards Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, and Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon, the Calder Trophy winner.

Krug was fourth in the Calder Trophy voting, behind MacKinnon, Palat and Johnson. He was the highest-rated defenseman.

NHL.com release
Boston Bruins release

Friday link roundup

A few items of interest to local hockey fans have popped up in the last couple of days, so time for another link roundup.

• ICYMI, a couple of posts from yesterday: 
• The ECHL Indy Fuel have signed their first player, Pete Massar.
• Our post on Jeff Brown & several Ice personnel on the move. Lots of links from Ottawa on Brown heading to coach the OHL's Ottawa 67s. Associate coach Adam Krug is headed to a similar position with the Green Bay Gamblers. Defenseman Chris Martenet is also headed to the OHL's London Knights.
• The NHL Draft is a week away. Three players with Indiana Ice ties were rated in the top 100 by THN's Ryan Kennedy. Josh Jacobs is rated 43rd, 2012-13 Ice player Blake Siebenaler is rated 74th and defenseman Ryan Mantha was rated 85th. The Hockey Writers' Shawn Reznik has Jacobs rated 32nd in his top 60. Several other current and former USHL players are also on the list. THW's profile on Jacobs is here.
• The United States of Hockey's Chris Peters has an interesting blog post on USA Hockey participation around the nation. Indiana's 5,922 players ranks 21st in the nation, but the growth (2.1%) is higher than the national average.
• Indiana Ice 2008-09 Clark Cup champion-turned-Boston Bruin Torey Krug has a new website. Check it out at ToreyKrug.com.
• A few NHL items with potential local interest: 
• It's been known for some time that the Washington Capitals will host the 2015 Winter Classic. We now know their opponent - the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks will be playing in their second Winter Classic -- they hosted the second one at Wrigley Field -- and third outdoor game. The Hawks also hosted Pittsburgh in a Stadium Series game last season at Soldier Field.
• Boston Bruins assistant Geoff Ward is taking a head coaching job in Germany, leaving a vacancy on Claude Julien's bench. One candidate widely mentioned to be moving up? Former IHL Ice player and head coach Bruce Cassidy, who is the head coach of the Bruins' AHL affiliate in Providence. Cassidy also has NHL head coaching experience with the Washington Capitals.
• The Carolina Hurricanes hired Bill Peters as their head coach on Thursday. Peters had previously coached in the Blackhawks' organization in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs.
• The 2014-15 NHL schedule will be announced Sunday. 

• The Pan Am Pavilion, where the Indiana Ice played a significant number of home games the last two seasons (as well as a handful of games in previous seasons) is officially closed. The site is slated for redevelopment into a two-tower hotel. Here was their Facebook post on the closing: "This is how it ends. The funeral dirge for Pan Am pavilion, a building that has seen 30 years of hockey figure skating and even curling pass through its doors and onto the ice of two rinks. The altogether unimpressive brick and mortar clothing metal girders has undoubtedly held the echoes of many of you for the last time. From the echo of private conversation to the constant hum of the compressors the building will sit silent because of all the life taken from it. All that life belonging to you our customers, from the die hard, week in and out attendees to those who visited once in a great while you will all be missed. Because in the end Pan Am the building was just that; a building. It was the great people whom passed through those doors that gave it life. It’s from the bottom of our hearts and with the most sincere offering we the staff say thank you. Thank you for bearing through it all with us, and most importantly thank you for helping us chase a dream and afford the blessing of working in a field where our hearts passion was the main focus of our livelihood."

Ice on the move: Brown to Ottawa & more

As we noted last night, former Indiana Ice coach Jeff Brown has been named the head coach of the OHL's Ottawa 67s.

"To join my hometown OHL team and provide my family with the opportunity to live in the great city of Ottawa is a dream come true," Brown said at his introductory press conference today. Brown, 48, is an Ottawa native who coached the Ice for two seasons. 

Links to articles from Ottawa about Coach Brown:
Ottawa 67s release 
Ottawa Sun 
Yahoo Canada
Ottawa Citizen

More Ice notes below the jump.

Report: Ice's Brown headed to Ottawa

Multiple sources out of Ottawa have reported that Indiana Ice coach Jeff Brown will be announced Thursday as the coach of the Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League.

Jeff Brown (Indiana Ice photo)

Brown led the Ice to a 42-11-7 record and the USHL Clark Cup championship this past season. As coach and general manager, he took over midway through the 2012-13 season and orchestrated a rebuild that led to a worst-to-first turnaround and a championship. He was named the USHL's General Manager of the Year this past season for his efforts in building the roster, using a slew of trades during the 2012-13 season to build a stockpile of draft picks that was used to pick several key pieces for this year's championship squad.

During his tenure with the Ice, Brown's teams went 54-32-5. They also went 9-4 in the postseason -- all coming this season. His teams had a strong emphasis on defense, a heavy forecheck and mobile defensemen who had the freedom to play as Brown often did as an NHL veteran, with the freedom to pinch in from the points to keep the attack alive. This season, the Ice were the USHL's top possession team, leading the league in both shots and shots allowed. The Ice had eight shutouts in 2013-14 -- a franchise record -- and were the top defensive team in the USHL this past season. The Ice were also the third-highest scoring team in the league at the same time.

Mid-week link roundup

So much has happened in the last few days, it was time for another roundup. Here, Indiana Ice memorabilia is headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame, USA Hockey looks to curb fighting, the ECHL recaps the Kelly Cup Final, the Blackhawks sign Swedish forward Dennis Rasmussen, a handful of proposed and enacted NHL rule changes (which would likely filter down to the ECHL, which, as one of two official developmental leagues for the NHL, adopts a similar rulebook), and NBC follows Doc Emrick around for a day.

Roundup: KIngs, Aces & the draft

Today's link roundup has items on former Ice coach Darryl Sutter a win away from another Stanley Cup, a peek at the NHL Entry Draft, the Alaska Aces winning the Kelly Cup, a peek at the ECHL offseason and Ice player movement updates. All below the jump.

Indy hockey links: June 3

A cornucopia of links related to local hockey: catching up with former Turner Cup champion coach Darryl Sutter, a look at the ECHL teams' protected lists for next season and more ECHL news (including the Kelly Cup Final in Cincinnati and a familiar foe heading to Toledo). Also, updates on the new USHL commissioner and four players with Ice ties participating in the NHL Combine.

New USHL commish: "Indiana a priority"

As has been expected for some time, Bob Fallen was named the USHL's new commissioner today. He replaces Skip Prince, who is moving on to a position in the University of Texas athletic department.

Fallen has ties to the USHL, as his son Tommy played for Cedar Rapids for two seasons. He also has most recently served in marketing/branding at Reebok-CCM.

Ice owner discusses future

Indiana Ice owner Paul Skjodt discussed the team's championship and its future in the wake of the Clark Cup championship in an interview with Larry Hawley that aired on WXIN Friday night.

Click here to watch the interview.

Indy hockey-related links 5/28

A cornucopia of links related to Indianapolis hockey.

Ice's Brown named USHL GM of the Year

Indiana Ice head coach & general manager Jeff Brown was named the United States Hockey League's General Manager of the Year.

In his dual role, Brown led the Ice to the franchise's second Clark Cup championship. The Ice went 9-3 in the playoffs, beating Green Bay in four games, Dubuque in three, and Waterloo in a best-of-five series that was decided in the final two and a half minutes.

Brown also led the Ice to a 41-11-7 regular-season record -- second overall in the USHL and first in the league's Eastern Conference -- a significant turnaround from the team that finished last overall in the USHL a year ago.

Jeff Brown coached the Indiana Ice to the Clark Cup title.

An "Ice" look back: The forwards

With the offseason upon us, it's time to take a look back at the 2014 Clark Cup champion Indiana Ice on a player-by-player basis, their contributions and where they'll continue their hockey careers. Yesterday's post focused on the defense and goaltenders. Today, look at the 14 forwards who finished the season on the Ice roster this year.

An Ice look back: The D

With the offseason upon us, it's time to take a look back at the 2014 Clark Cup champion Indiana Ice on a player-by-player basis, their contributions and where they'll continue their hockey careers. Today's installment looks at the defense from the 24-man roster to finish the season.

Clark Cup series thoughts

There will be more time for a greater look at what has been an amazing run for the Indiana Ice, but after having 48 hours to collect thoughts (and sleep off that LONG happy bus ride from Waterloo), a few loose ends from the Clark Cup series.

Ice-Waterloo Game 5 highlights

The USHL site has posted the highlights of Game 5 between the Ice and Waterloo. Jim Mirabello calls the Ice goals and longtime Waterloo broadcaster Tim Harwood calls the Black Hawks' top plays. Both were at their absolute best on this night. All three Ice goals were excellent plays -- Mitch Hults batting a rebound out of the air and into the net from in front of the net, Alex Talcott with a backhand rebound reach around Waterloo goaltender Cal Petersen, and Brian Pinho's snipe into the lower left corner after Aidan Muir carried in and dropped him the puck, changing the angle just enough to give Pinho some net to bury the puck into.

CHAMPS! Ice rally to win Clark Cup

The Ice hoist the Clark Cup after their 3-2 win in Waterloo.

The Indiana Ice produced a perfect ending to a perfect season.

Down a goal going into the third, the Ice rallied with two third-period tallies, vaulting themselves to a Clark Cup championship.

Brian Pinho scored from the right-wing circle on a drop pass from Aidan Muir with 2:15 left in the third period, breaking a tie and giving the Ice a 3-2 victory and the franchise's second Clark Cup.

Pinho's goal came off the rush, with Muir carrying the puck up the right wing, dropping the puck and going in to screen goalie Cal Petersen. Pinho fired and beat Peterson under his right pad, just inside the post. Jason Pawloski made a pair of big saves in goalmouth scrambles from there, and Muir dove to clear Waterloo's last-ditch effort with 12 seconds left.

Earlier in the third, Alex Talcott tied the game, burying a rebound that came from Joe Sullivan's stick. The Talcott-Sullivan-Tyler Pham line was one of the team's best in the series, and carried the play again.

The Ice trailed 2-1 going into the third despite carrying the play for much of the first two periods. Waterloo scored the first goal of the game -- for the first time in the series -- just 3:40 in when Patrick Russell scored on a rebound. Mitch Hults tied it up with his fourth goal in as many games at 11:21 of the first, batting a rebound of Pinho's shot out of the air and in.

The 2014 Clark Cup champions

Waterloo led 2-1 when Jake Horton intercepted a clearing pass at the blueline, and immediately fed Zach Sanford in front of the net for a tip-in goal. It was Sanford's third goal in the last two games.

Ice goaltender Jason Pawloski made 33 saves in the victory. The Ice outshot Waterloo 44-35.

Pawloski was also named Clark Cup Playoffs MVP for his efforts. 

It was the Ice's second Clark Cup title -- joining one won in 2009. It was the ninth champinoship for an Indianapolis hockey team -- joining the 1942 & 1950 Capitals (AHL), 1958 Chiefs (IHL), 1982 & 1983 Checkers (CHL), 1990 Ice (IHL) and 2000 Ice (CHL).

We'll have more looking at the game and the season after returning from Waterloo!

Box score
IndianaIce.com
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier 
USHL.com (with YouTube links to several interviews)