This weekend’s games at Mile One Centre might be touted as a matchup between the current ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Newfoundland Growlers, and the Leafs’ former ECHL partner, the Orlando Solar Bears.
However, there isn’t a whole lot of commonality beyond that.
Only three players on the Growlers — forwards JJ Piccinich and Todd Skirving, along with defenceman Alex Gudbranson — played with Orlando last season, while Newfoundland head coach Snowden was a Solar Bears assistant for the last three years.
In fact, just three players on the current roster for Orlando — now primarily the Tampa Bay Lightning’s ECHL team — were with the Solar Bears in 2017-18.
But there are Newfoundland/St. John’s connections with the visitors.
St. John’s native and defenceman Cody Donaghey, who is on loan from the San Jose Sharks organization, is the Solar Bears’ second-leading scorer this season (12-20-32), and Orlando head coach Drake Berehowsky played 52 regular-season and playoff games on the blueline for the AHL’s St. John’s Maple Leafs (1992-94) after being drafted 10th overall by Toronto in 1990.
Donaghey is set to be teammates with the Growlers’ two leading scorers, fellow St. John’s natives Zach O’Brien and Marcus Power, at the 2019 world ball hockey championships in Slovakia in June. However, it looks like Donaghey might not get to discuss that trip to Europe with O’Brien this weekend. On Thursday, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies recalled O’Brien, who leads Newfoundland in scoring and has eight points in his last three ECHL games, and returned centre Brady Ferguson to Newfoundland.
The Marlies have games tonight and Sunday afternoon.
It’s O’Brien’s second call-up to the Marlies in the last couple of weeks; he appeared in one game with them in late February.
Thursday was also trade deadline day in the ECHL and the Growlers made one move, sending forward Malcolm Gould to the Allen Americans. There was no specification if it was for future considerations, although it may be for past considerations related to Newfoundland acquiring the ECHL rights to defenceman Sam Jardine (now with the Marlies) from Allen in January.
Gould was only acquired from the Worcester Railers a week ago for future considerations and appeared in one game for Newfoundland.
With Jardine and Kristians Rubins up with the Marlies, there was some thought the Growlers might look for some help on defence at the deadline. That didn’t happen, but then again, Newfoundland knows it will be getting a top-notch blueliner back later this weekend. Captain James Melindy’s seven-game suspension for an off-ice, post-warmup skate fight with the Brampton Beast’s Mike Folkes last month in Brampton will expire after Saturday’s contest.
Twitter: @telysports
