The Newfoundland Growlers are seven games into their ECHL tenure and have already used 11 different defencemen.
It soon will be 12 … or more.
The Growlers’ blueline corps, already thinned by injuries, took another hit Thursday as the league announced James Melindy has been suspended for five games as a result of the game misconduct he received in Newfoundland’s 3-1 road win over the Reading Royals Wednesday night.
Melindy’ suspension resulted from a second-period incident that saw him leave the bench to confront Royals defenceman Dan Milan as the Growlers (4-3-0) finished celebrating a goal by Sam Babintsev. Milan had taken a shot at Newfoundland forward Brady Ferguson as the Growlers exchanged glove bumps at the bench and Melindy inserted himself into the resulting brouhaha. That netted the 24-year-old from Goulds a fighting major and a game misconduct, then a day later, the suspension and a fine of an undisclosed amount.
Milan got a minor penalty for roughing for his part in the goings-on.
With Carter Struthers, Alex Gudbranson and veteran Adam Pardy — who has yet to play a game — sidelined with injuries, Melindy’s pending penance meant the Growlers travelled from Pennsylvania to southern Ontario with only five healthy rearguards available for a pair of weekend games against the Brampton Beast.
However, Newfoundland is expected to sign at least one blueliner today, with word the Growlers are focused on acquiring a veteran or veterans to address the shortfall. That makes sense since they started the season with Pardy, Gudbranson, and Melindy as their most experienced defenders.
Steffan Leblanc, Evan Neugold, Kristian Rubins, Cody Smith, and Anthony Cortese are the five available defencemen, with Smith and Cortese relative newcomers.
Smith was signed from Peoria of the Southern Professional league at the start of the current road trip, while Newfoundland acquired Cortese from the Royals for considerations a day before their game in Reading.
That trade paid immediate dividends, with Cortese, a 24-year-old native of suburban Montreal, scoring the game-winner Wednesday against his former team.
Cortese, who had played three seasons in the QMJHL and two more at Concordia University, is in his second ECHL season, after having split his rookie pro campaign between the Indy Fuel and Fort Wayne Comets. He joined Reading this fall, but hadn’t played a game for the Royals before being dealt to the Growlers.
Newfoundland has also used Andrew Darrigo — who was released at the same time Cortese was acquired — and local senior hockey league player Rodi Short, for one game, on defence this season.
With the Growlers headed to suburban Toronto, it also might be worth paying attention to any transactions involving their AHL affiliate.
The Toronto Marlies’ current roster shows 28 players, including 16 forwards and nine defencemen. There are no roster limits for AHL teams and the Marlies do have injured players, including forwards Emerson Clark, Adam Brooks, and Pierre Engvall, but they are getting healthier. For example, defenceman 2018 Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2018 first-round draft choice Rasmus Sandin has been cleared to play after being sidelined since the start of the season. As well, the Marlies recently signed former NHL blueliner Frank Corrado to an AHL contract.
With all those bodies, don’t be surprised if the AHL club makes some roster adjustments, with assignments to the Growlers a possibility.
If fact, the Marlies already have made moves this week, releasing defencemen Kyle Cumiskey and Ryan Sproul from tryout contracts. Both Cumiskey (139 NHL games) and Sproul (44) have big-league experience but were in tough to stick with the Marlies, who still have more than the AHL-mandated quota of official veteran players even after their release.
Dog Bites
The fine assessed to Melindy will be collected by the ECHL and given to the ECHL Player’s Hardship Fund, established by the Professional Hockey Players Association, the union for minor-leaguers, … After collecting 15 penalty minutes in Reading, Melindy entered Thursday as the ECHL’s PIMs leader with 35 … Goaltender Michael Garteig, who made 26 saves in the win over Reading, has started six straight games for the Growlers. However, with Newfoundland set to play-back-to back games against the Beast on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, don’t be surprised if Mario Culina sees his first ECHL action. The 21-year-old Culina was signed by the Growlers after Eamon McAdam was called up to Toronto earlier this month … The weekend games against Brampton will make some history as the first regular-season matchups between Canadian-based ECHL teams …
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