With no car and no knowledge of this city that he'll call home for the next seven or eight months, Mike Card passes some of his idle time in a Gates hotel plucking on his guitar.

Card, one of 13 players new to the Rochester Americans and the American Hockey League, has been playing hockey pretty much since he could talk. He just picked up the guitar about a year ago.

So can he play a tune?

"I have a good work ethic," he says with a smile. In other words, Eddie Van Halen has nothing to fear.

New Amerks in town

The American Hockey League begins its 71st season as 27 teams start down the road to the 2007 Calder Cup championship. The 2006-07 campaign gets underway tonight when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins host the Manitoba Moose at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. It marks the seventh consecutive year in which the Penguins have hosted the AHL's regular-season opener.

AHL's 71st Season set to begin tonight

Throughout their nine-year history, the Florida Everblades have carried two goalies — a standard employed by most hockey teams — on their roster.

The Blades won't be using that standard this season. At least not in the beginning.

Florida will carry three goalies entering the 2006-07 ECHL season, Blades general manager Craig Brush said Wednesday. Netminders Craig Kowalski, Kevin Nastiuk and David Shantz were officially reassigned to the Blades on Wednesday. The goalies' NHL parent clubs want each to get playing time in Estero.

The three goalies were part of 13 players officially added to the Blades roster Wednesday. Florida will kick off training camp Monday with 28 players — 23 contracted and five camp invitees.

Blades to have 3 goalies on roster

Three goalies are going to be fighting for ice time at the start of next week’s training camp for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades — and there are only two nets.

Craig Kowalski and Kevin Nastiuk, both under contract to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, were sent down Wednesday morning by Carolina’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany River Rats. The pair join Florida Panthers rookie goaltending prospect David Shantz, who was reassigned by the AHL’s Rochester Americans over the weekend.

“They’re used to training camps where there are lots of goalies, so I don’t think that’s an issue at all,” said Craig Brush, Everblades team president and general manager, about the addition of the two Hurricanes goalies. “Right now they’ll both be with us. These situations usually have a way of solving themselves. With four teams above us there’s a chance that there could be somebody that has an injury.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a full season where we haven’t been looking for an emergency backup, so if it’s determined that we have three goalies here then that’s a luxury we’ve never had.”

It's crowded between the pipes

Two other goalies who are Carolina property -- Craig Kowalski, 25, and Kevin Nastiuk, 21 -- were assigned Wednesday to the Hurricanes' ECHL affiliate in Fort Myers, Fla. Defenseman Chris Lee also was sent to Florida.

Youth Rats' net result
also
Everblades fill out training camp roster; add 13 players

The Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League announced Tuesday they have been assigned left wing Ryan Bayda by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Bayda, 25, appeared in three of Carolina’s five pre-season games and registered a goal and two assists to go along with two penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Saskatchewan, Sask., native is entering his sixth professional season after signing with the Hurricanes as a free agent August 4, 2006. Bayda has recorded seven goals and 13 assists in 69 career NHL games with the Hurricanes. He has 45 goals and 100 assists in 229 AHL games with Lowell and Manitoba.

River Rats assigned left wing Ryan Bayda by Carolina Hurricanes

ECHL Vice President of Hockey Operations Rod Pasma traveled to the National Hockey League office in Toronto to develop the video, which is narrated by NHL Senior VP & Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom, for a new standard of officiating under the one-man referee system.

“We encourage our fans to watch this video as the new standard of rules enforcement will change how the game is played in the ECHL,” said Pasma.

ECHL coaches watched the video at their annual meeting, and each coach received copies of the video with instructions to show and review it with their players during training camp. It was also shown to the Board of Governors at their Preseason Meeting on Sept. 28.

ECHL makes rules enforcement video available online

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Next Game
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Who: Albany River Rats at Rochester Americans
When: Friday, October 6, 2006; 7:35 PM
Where: Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial
TV: B2 Networks
Radio: B2 Networks
Internet: mms://168.75.182.197/rochester
Web site: www.amerks.com