Nick Boucher and Sean O'Connor become the sixth and seventh players to return for a chance at another Fort Wayne championship, the Komets announced Wednesday.
Boucher, 29, will return for his fourth straight season after earning an unprecedented three straight championships in the Fort Wayne nets. Boucher ranked second to teammate Tim Haun among IHL netminders in 2009-10 with a 2.49 goals-against average and .921 save percentage while posting a 23-10-1-2 record in 39 games.
Boucher led IHL goalies in the 2010 playoffs for the third straight year with a 6-3 record and 2.62 goals-against average. Boucher was honored with three IHL Goaltender of the Week awards for the 2009-10 campaign and was named the IHL's Goaltender of the Month for January. 2010-11 will be Boucher's eighth as a pro.
The goaltender is spending the summer as a member of the Sydney Bears of the Australia Ice Hockey league and leads AIHL goalies currently with a 2.02 goals-against average and .936 save percentage (5-2-2) after nine appearances. The Leduc, Alberta native began his career in 2003 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL after being drafted by Pittsburgh in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
O'Connor, 23, has skated each of his two pro seasons with the Komets, collecting the Turner Cup Title each year and plans on staying in Fort Wayne for this third. The Brownstown, Michigan native started 2009-10 appearing in three games with Kalamazoo in the ECHL before returning to Fort Wayne.
O'Connor scored 23 goals and 51 points in 72 games to earn a spot on the 2009-10 IHL All-Rookie Team. O'Connor netted five goals and nine points in 12 post-season appearances en route to the IHL championship. During his pro debut, O'Connor earned Fort Wayne honors as the team's Rookie of the Year for 2008-09 registering 23 goals and 47 points in 59 games.
Comments
Two strong signings.
I like O'Conner hustle.
Bouch's stats speak for themselves.
Wonder who'll be the backup? I can't see spending money on a guy like Haun or Nolan for a backup with the lower cap.
I'm still stinging from losing Huk and Chaulk, but man, this roster is really starting to look awesome. Getting Boucher back, IMO, is h-u-g-e.
Agreed , Big Signings.
But still would like to see Curadeau here ...
Looking good! Very happy with both signings, especially OC. That kid's gonna be a strong leader someday.
I would have to go with Haun for the backup. Numbers don't lie. Curadeau would be a good one to have.
Curdy, Schrock, and an enforcer.
Nobody seems to have any feelings one way or the other on MacMillan. I wouldn't mind seeing Brad back if he's healthy and ready to go. I wonder if he's not on the list with the addition of Cescon?
Thinking the same thing Jungle Monkey ...I like the Cescon signing alot , but would like to see some more size up front .
I think Cescon (will) fight. He didn't seem to be (looking for a) fight..
Some physical, agressive forwards that can really pound on other teams top lines would be good.
Playoff format is out and it kinda sucks.
http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/pressroom/news/index.html?article_id=4731
2 best of five rounds.... interesting and understandable in hopes of keeping travel costs down.
Early round playoff games typically don't draw well anywhere with season ticket holders normally not having playoff games in their packages and corporate partners and other groups not being able to make advanced plans for those games.
So best of 5 makes good business sense.
I have a feeling no matter what the Frankes did with the Komets, you would think it's a good idea, for they can do no wrong.
Was Mr. Burns a season ticket holder???
This guy gets my "vote" for the "Darwin Award"
Nothing like ripping on a dead guy. All because Paul Picard made a business decision. The same type of decision that everyone supports the Frankes for making.
I don't get it.
My regards to Mr. Burns' family.
I agree. It's been removed.
Rob,
It is great that you have feelings and feel comfortable expressing those feelings here. Thank you for sharing!
But let's address your feelings.. How much influence do you think the Franke family had on the playoff format? What do you think of the playoff format?
We already have a enforcer on our team. It's just a matter of whether or not Keith Rodger wants to fight or not.
It's a preconceived notion to think that the league will expand within the next two or three years, almost to the point of absurdity during these times, and catering to that idea with this format is a little silly.
It's like little league when everyone gets a trophy. And at this level, that's a little degrading.
I would think that they would cut the bottom half off and play with the top half. And I agree with Blake that the 66 game schedule is unfortunate as it pertains to records and the like.
To think that the Frankes had NO influence making the decision is almost sillier than thinking that they can walk on water. I'm sure the Board of Governers of this league didn't even WANT to consider asking them how they felt, excuse me, thought (I don't want to get feelings involved becasue I know your soft and I don't want to hurt you). But in all lightness, I'm sure they kept their mouth shut.
Each member of the "Board of Governors" gets only one vote.
I apologize to anyone whom I may have offended with the "Darwin" post. In retrospect it was wrong and I should not have done it. Please forgive me!
Rob, please don't ever make yourself feel important enough where you think you could ever do anything but make me laugh. I do enjoy the fact that you feel compelled to read and directly respond to nearly each and every one of my posts.
On the topic..
On never said the Franke family had no influence however I don't believe they had any more influence or input than any of the other owners in the league.
I don't exactly love the playoff or the season format. I have already addressed why a four tier playoff system with shorter regular season is bad for business. On the other hand... "hope" sells regular season tickets. If they cut the playoffs in half, then several teams could look out of it by January. Then how do you sell the casual fan on coming to the last 10 home games of the season? Making the playoffs or hope of getting in is good for regular season interest and the bottom line. But I have to wonder if many cities will lose more money in the first two rounds than they would make by extending the season by 8 games and cutting the playoffs down.
Since I have only been told by those in the know that teams don't tend to make money in early round playoffs but have not been given hard numbers to go by it is impossible to know for sure what the numbers would be if the regular season was extended and the playoffs cut. It might be a wash....
correcting typo...
"I never said the Franke family had no influence..."
You are no stranger to fallacies I see, which is observed by many others, including myself.
You seem to speak to me directly, but yet "enjoy the fact that you feel compelled to read and directly respond to nearly each and every one of my posts.", yet I only do so when spoken to.
To make one laugh, one would have to comprehend. And one who comprehends, thinks. We could agree that thinking is important, therefore if you think that I think I'm important in making you laugh, then by the nature of this argument, I "feel" that I have done my job. However you mistankenly (quite often) ASSume that I am somehow preoccupied by the desire to be included in your fantasy. So, good luck with that.
To the contrare that "hope" sells regular season tickets. Many people would think that in a 18 team league that their team is going to make the playoffs in a 16 team playoff format. So, I say "hope" would be better served if there were less teams making it due to the fact that there's more merit to it, more value, it's more prestigous making a format with less teams. Teams that are perinnial basement dwellers have more issues than just merely selling tickets.
Oh, good luck in your witch hunting!