Links: Free agent frenzy

Whew! A pretty crazy start to the free agent period has leveled off a bit, but NHL stars and other players are moving.

Among movement of interest to local hockey fans:

• The ECHL listed its players who were given qualifying offers earlier this week. Teams retain the rights to qualified non-veterans for one year. Players not qualified or signed become free agents.   
• You can check out all the NHL free agent deals here. 
• The Chicago Blackhawks, parent club of the Indy Fuel, have signed a few organizational depth deals: goaltender Scott Darling, forward Cody Bass, forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie and defenseman Kyle Cumiskey. These will likely affect AHL Rockford, but it's possible we could see one or more of these players in Indy this season. Darling is a former Indiana Ice goaltender who had a 2.00 GAA with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals last season. Bass and Labrie are veterans who bring toughness. All three played at the AHL level last season, and would be expected to do the same this year. Cumiskey has recently played in Sweden and is a veteran of 132 NHL games. 
• A handful of Indiana Ice alumni have shown up on the wire in addition to the aforementioned Darling. Shane Berschbach signed an AHL deal with Grand Rapids, the Red Wings' top affiliate. There, he'll play for coach Jeff Blashill at the third level -- Blashill coached Berschbach both with the Ice and at Western Michigan. Enforcer Joel Rechlicz signed a two-way deal with the Minnesota Wild. He is the Ice's first alum to play in the NHL. Also, former Ice forward Mike Embach signed an ECHL deal with Fort Wayne. He had 28 goals in the ECHL last season. 
• And for Ice alumni in the NHL: While the Boston Bruins' cap troubles and depth on defense might force them to trade a defenseman, Torey Krug is one of the core guys likely staying in Boston. Washington's spending spree landed John Carlson a new defense partner, as he'll likely be paired with new signing Brooks Orpik. 
• Of the 5 Indiana Ice alumni drafted on Saturday, two were already playing in the Canadian Major Junior ranks (Blake Siebenaler, Rinat Valiev), two are almost definitely headed to college (Josh Jacobs to Michigan State, Dwyer Tschantz to Cornell), and one has been open to playing either in college at North Dakota or in the OHL with Niagara. A New York Rangers blog says, citing unnamed sources, that Mantha is "close" to signing with Niagara, and Niagara's coach is confident Mantha will sign with the OHL team. Meanwhile, Siebenaler got the eye of E! as, well, just read it.
• In ECHL news, Bakersfield Condors coach Troy Mann is moving to the AHL to coach the Hershey Bears.
• A Junior Hockey News article written by an anonymous junior coach says the USHL is "just as good as all the major junior leagues." The article notes 51 USHL players picked in the draft. Needless to say, the opinion drew some give-and-take, including responses from Canada, and from publisher Joseph Kolodziej.

This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 5

April 5 in Indianapolis hockey history
2008: A rare two-goalie shutout for the Ice, as the division champions blank the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets 7-0 in front of 5,328 at the Coliseum. Scott Darling plays the first and third periods and stops seven shots, while Matt Hoyle takes over for the second and stops eight. John Kemp (G, 3A) tallies a four-point night, while John Carlson and Will MacDonald each tally a goal and two assists. Ron Cramer puts the exclamation point on with a third-period penalty shot goal.
2000: The Ice take a 2-0 series lead over Tulsa with a 4-1 win. Dan Villeneuve scores the game-winner and Benoit Thibert posts his second straight win in goal.
1991: Sean Williams had two goals and two assists, with helpers on goals by Warren Rychel and Stephen Veilleux in the first 2:11 of the third to tie the game at 5-5. But Muskegon's Dave Michayluk scored with 1:38 left to give the Lumberjacks a 6-5 win in the L.C. Walker Arena.
1959: The Chiefs beat the Fort Wayne Komets 5-2 to stay alive in their Turner Cup semifinal series, but would be eliminated in the next game. Red Leger's game-winner for the Chiefs would mark the franchise's final playoff victory.
1950: The Capitals beat the Cleveland Barons 4-1 in the opening game of the Calder Cup Final. Terry Sawchuk makes 47 saves for the Caps, outdueling Cleveland's Johnny Bower. Seventeen years later, the two together would carry the Toronto Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup. 
1942: The Indianapolis Capitals bring a championship to the Circle City. In their third season, the Caps beat Hershey 8-3 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum to clinch the title. Jack Keating, Sandy Ross and Joe Fisher score 51 seconds apart in the first period to give the Caps a 3-0 lead. Joe Turner makes 36 saves in what would be the final game of his career. Keating (9-8-17) and Les Douglas (8-9-17) each set AHL records with points in a playoff season. Teammate Roy Sawyer's 14 assists are also a new AHL record.

Happy birthday to ...
Bill Blackwood: Defenseman who played three games for the Racers in 1977-78 after finishing his career at Clarkson University - where he is in the school's Hall of Fame. He would go on to play two seasons with IHL Fort Wayne. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, he is 58.
Gerald Diduck: Defenseman who joined the Checkers for the 1984 playoffs and made an immediate impact, with a goal and six assists as the Checkers made a surprise run to the Adams Cup Finals. It was the start of a professional career that would span 18 seasons and feature 932 NHL games. He had 56 goals and 212 points with the Islanders, Canadiens, Canucks, Blackhawks, Whalers, Coyotes, Maple Leafs and Stars. He played in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final with Vancouver. He was the Islanders' first-round pick in 1983. A native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, he is 49.
Roy Sommer: Center who played 37 games for the Checkers in 1985-86, tallying nine goals, 10 assists and 118 PIMs. It was a later stop in a pro career that spanned from 1977-87. Sommer has made his mark as a coach, where he began as an assistant with Muskegon in 1987 -- the team he joined after playing for the Checkers. Earlier in 2014, he set the American Hockey League record for games coached, a stint that began in 1998 with the Kentucky Thoroughblades. He has coached the Worcester Sharks since 2006. Sommer won a championship in the ECHL with Richmond in 1995. A native of Oakland, California, he is 57.

Today in history: January 10

January 10 in Indianapolis hockey history

1960: The Chiefs play their first home game outside of Indiana when they meet the St. Paul Saints at Cincinnati Gardens. The Chiefs would play three games in Cincinnati that year – all the second half of back-to-back weekends. The Chiefs lose 5-2, but the game is thrown out due to a Chiefs protest and replayed as part of a four-point game on Feb. 29. The Saints win that one 4-2, too. 

1981: Checkers goaltender Roland Melanson makes 45 saves – on 48 shots – as the Checkers tie the Wichita Wind 3-3. 

Birthdays

Lloyd "Red" Doran: Capitals center for 80 games between 1946-48. He had 23 goals and 45 assists as a Capital. He also split the 1946-47 season with the Red Wings, where he had three goals in 24 games. A good playmaker, Doran played with the Wings' "AA" team in Omaha in 1941-42, but missed four years of his prime due to service in World War II. He played through the 1950-51 season with the St. Louis Flyers and Cleveland Barons before retiring. A native of South Porcupine, Ont., he was born in 1921. He passed away in 1995. 

Danton Cole: Ice winger for 32 games in 1995-96. He had nine goals and 12 assists, and also had a goal and five assists in five postseason games that year against the Detroit Vipers. The Michigan State grad played 318 NHL games between 1989-96 with the Jets, Lightning, Devils, Islanders and Blackhawks. He played one postseason game in 1995 with New Jersey, and has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. He finished his playing career by playing three seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins, before retiring in 1999 -- with the exception of two games the following year. He immediately entered coaching upon his retirement as a player, first as an assistant with the Griffins. In his first year as a head coach, he led the Muskegon Fury to the Colonial Cup title in the UHL. He has also been a head coach in the AHL with Grand Rapids, and in college with Alabama-Huntsville. He is currently the head coach of the USNDTP U17 team, which competes in the USHL. A native of Pontiac, Mich., he is 45.

Jeff Serowik: Ice defenseman in 1995-96. He had 20 goals and 23 assists from the blueline, playing 69 games before being loaned to the Las Vegas Thunder at the end of the season. He spent the vast majority of his pro career -- from 1990-99 -- in the AHL and IHL, playing one game each for Toronto and Boston, and then 26 games with Pittsburgh at the end of his career in 1999, where he had six assists. In retirement, he has moved back to his native New England and currently is the founder and director of the Pro Ambitions hockey school. A native of Manchester, NH, he is 45. 

Mike Hull: Ice forward from 2005-07, where he had 12 goals and 16 assists in 83 games before being dealt to Lincoln at the end of that season. He played the following year in the NAHL -- winning the Tier II national title -- and is currently a senior at Army. A native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., he is 24. 

John Carlson: Ice defenseman from 2006-08. He played two games in 2006-07, then 59 games the following year. He had 12 goals and 31 assists, and also had a goal in four playoff games, and was a USHL Second Team All-Star. Carlson was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals the following summer, making him the Ice's first first-round draft pick. Carlson moved on to the Ontario Hockey League the following year, then turned pro in the spring of 2009 with AHL Hershey. He helped the Bears win the Calder Cup, then made his NHL debut with the Capitals the following year -- and stuck with the Caps from there on out. Entering 2011-12, Carlson had eight goals and 35 assists in 104 games. He is considered to be one of the top young defensemen in the NHL. A native of Natick, Mass., he is 22.