For people looking to find an identity among this year’s Portland Pirates, the first step toward a bit of consistency to that end happened Friday when the team announced its official opening-day roster.
For now.
“It’s kind of funny, because everybody makes a big deal out of the roster, but it could change tomorrow,” Pirates’ coach Ray Edwards said. “It’s just that fluid kind of a thing at this level.”
The roster now stands at 21 skaters and two goalies. Of the 21 skaters, 15 are listed as forwards, leaving only six — the typical game minimum — on defense. One of the reasons for that, Edwards said, is that the Pirates and its NHL parent club, the Phoenix Coyotes — want to see what their young defensemen can do.
“We’re always trying to improve on the back end,” Edwards said. “We have a young group back there right now, but that’s part of our jobs as coaches to find those players and find that potential in the players we have.”
Former Lewiston Maineiacs player Mathieu Brisebois is among those six, along with University of New Brunswick product Daine Todd. Brandon Gormley, Mathieu Brodeur, James Melindy and Connor Murphy round out the group. The average age of the six? Just shy of 22.
To help with their transition, veteran Mark Louis, who played most of last season on the blue line but is listed this year as one of the team’s 15 forwards, will play both positions when needed.
“Mark Louis, that’s part of the role he’s going to play this year,” Edwards said. “The tricky part of his role is that he’s going to be the guy who will play some forward, and may drop back and play some defense for us, as well. If you drop him back with the defense, then we have 14 forwards there, which is pretty typical.”
The group on the front line is more experienced and includes more faces and names familiar to the Pirates faithful. In addition to the return of leading scorer Andy Miele, the Pirates brought in veteran forwards Tim Kennedy and Brandon Yip. Collectively, the pair has played in 397 NHL games.
“You look at Kennedy and Yip, those are guys we’re going to be calling on as veterans,” Edwards said. “They’re younger than typical veterans, but that’s by design. We feel like we should be looking for that next blue-chip prospect, and we feel fortunate when we find those. It’s one of the real intricacies of scouting, to recognize and develop prospects.”
Between the pipes, the Pirates’ primary tandem remains intact, with Mark Visentin and Mike Lee donning the pads. But former Moncton Wildcat and Quebec Rempart Louis Domingue made things interesting in camp.
“(Domingue) is going to play some games in the AHL, no question,” Edwards said. “We have three really good, young goalies, and we just signed another one in (Chris) Rawlings. We feel like we have an opportunity in the next few years to really develop some good, young goalies.”
Also food for thought: The Coyotes’ tandem in the NHL — Mike Smith and Thomas Griess — is less stable than some others around the league, and Visentin and Lee could be in line to see some call-up action as the season moves along should either Phoenix keeper go down.
“Vis and Mike are two guys who are ready to play if called up, also,” Edwards said.
The Pirates will have a day off Saturday. The AHL opened its season Friday, but the Pirates don’t open until Wednesday, when they host the Manchester Monarchs at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
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