Barracuda Bytes: It's Almost Time!
Aug 26, 2015What’s the good word Barracuda fans!? Eric Lindquist (PR and radio voice of the Barracuda) checking in to provide you with an inside scoop on everything Barracuda and whatever else I find interesting! With the release of the AHL schedule on Thursday and the return of kids back to school, we are itching closer and closer to the start of hockey season!
First thing's first (schedule update)... The AHL schedule will be released on Thursday, August 27 at 10am Pacific time. Any guesses on who the Barracuda will open up against at the SAP Center on Oct 9? I will provide a full schedule breakdown after the schedule is released… but after taking a quick glance… I am excited to get things rolling! Make sure to check back at SJBarracuda.com for the complete Barracuda schedule!
New players… The Barracuda added a couple of players on two-way AHL/ECHL deals last week: Vincent Arseneau and Rick Pinkston.
The 23 year-old Arseneau played for four teams last season and was acquired in a trade by the Worcester Sharks from the Manchester Monarchs for future considerations on March 9. The 6-foot-2, 200lb left winger from Iles-de-la-Madeleine, PQ played in two games for Worcester after beginning the season with Ontario and Indy of the ECHL. Arseneau then went on to help the Allen Americans win the Kelly Cup after appearing in 24 ECHL playoff games and posted 11 points (7-4-11) and 49 penalty minutes. In his career, Arseneau has skated in 26 AHL games (0-1-1, 97 PIM) with Lake Erie and Worcester, 47 games in the now defunct CHL with Denver (24-13-37, 120 PIM), and 45 games in the ECHL (11-12-23, 166 PIM) with Ontario, Indy, and Allen. Before turning pro, Arseneau played with Acadie-Bathurst and Shawingan in the QMJHL.
The 24 year-old Pinkston played six games (0-1-1pt) for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) at the end of last season after wrapping up four years with Dartmouth College (ECAC). The 6-foot-1, 200lb defenseman from Trenton, MI completed his final season in Dartmouth by finishing first on the team with a plus-14 rating in 28 games. He set new career highs in both points (13) and assists (9), while matching his career-best output with four goals. Pinkston finished his career at Dartmouth having appeared in 117 games (11-23-34). His 117 games played in a Dartmouth sweater rank as the 34th-highest figure in the program’s 109-year history. Before joining Dartmouth, Pinkston played three seasons with Tri City in the USHL.
Both Arseneau and Pinkston will attend the SJ Sharks rookie camp and will fight for a spot to start the season with the Barracuda!
The Sheriff… The San Jose Sharks brought back fan favorite Frazer McLaren on Monday to a two-way NHL/AHL contract for the 2015-16 season. Time will tell if Frazer will play with the SJ Sharks or the SJ Barracuda this season… I have a feeling Frazer could see action with both clubs next season!
McLaren spent all of last year in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. The forward has recorded 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) and 678 penalty minutes in 245 career AHL games with Toronto and Worcester, and has added four goals, seven assists and 264 penalty minutes in 102 career NHL games with the Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs. McLaren played for Worcester/San Jose from 2008-12 and ranked near the top in several Worcester franchise categories, including penalty minutes (577, 1st) and games played (217, 7th). I was a huge fan of McLaren when he was with Worcester – one of the toughest in hockey and a great guy to deal with off the ice… welcome back Fraz!
Here are a few of my favorite Frazer moments with the Worcester Sharks.
Frazer vs. Rechlicz – click HERE
Frazer vs. Johnson (pregame) – click HERE
Barracuda Facilities… The new Barracuda facilities at Sharks Ice at San Jose is very close to completion. The outer shell is almost complete and we will be moving in a lot of the furniture and hockey equipment supplies this weekend. I will make sure to post at bunch of picture on my twitter account this weekend during the move at @BarracudaVoice.
Possible Barracuda players… Any player on a two-way NHL/AHL contract with the San Jose Sharks or any player on an AHL contract (Parkes and Young) is eligible to play for the Barracuda. (Does not mean that they will necessarily play for the Barracuda). Players on 1-way NHL contracts would have to clear waivers before playing with the Barracuda; unless it is on a conditioning assignment – like Mirco Mueller, James Sheppard, and Tyler Kennedy last season.
Here is a list of players that are currently under 2 way NHL/AHL contracts or AHL contracts for the upcoming season: (in no particular order…I am just going to rattle them off!)
Forwards: Bryan Lerg, Micheal Haley, Chris Tierney, Barclay Goodrow, Trevor Parkes, Petter Emanuelsson, Nikolay Goldobin, Nikita Jevpalovs, Ryan Carpenter, Joonas Donskoi, Daniel Doremus, Jeremy Langlois, Tomas Hertl, Chris Crane, John McCarthy, Vincent Arseneau, and Frazer McLaren.
Defensemen: Gus Young, Karl Stollery, Dylan Demelo, Joakim Ryan, Julius Bergman, Mark Cundari, Mirco Mueller, Patrick McNally, and Rick Pinkston.
Goalies: Troy Grosenick, Aaron Dell, and Joel Rumpel.
A good mix of these players will suit up for the Barracuda at some point this season! Barracuda fans can expect a few more signings before the start of training camp in mid-September. – will keep you posted!
Tickets… The Barracuda ticket staff have been working hard all summer selling full and half season tickets and are now offering group seats for our six guaranteed dates. Individual tickets will not go on sale until September. Give our crew a call at 408-977-4747 for more ticket info.
Questions?... If you guys have any questions about the Barracuda, AHL, or anything else, shoot me an email at barracudavoice@sjbarracuda.com and I will make sure to have you covered in the next Barracuda Bytes!
Until next time Barracuda Fans…. See Ya!