More Kyle Palmieri.

Not much new today regarding the situation of Ducks prospect Kyle Palmieri, but the St. Catherines Standard relays some interesting contents of a conversation with the father of Notre Dame teammate Riley Sheahan.

Sheahan, who was arrested along with Palmieri on Sunday in South Bend, Ind., “would be eligible for a pre-trial diversion program that would require him to
complete 40 hours of community service and stay out of trouble with the
law for a year, after which charges would not be filed.”

Ducks assistant general manager David McNab said that “the organization has definitely looked into [Palmieri’s arrest], is on top of it, and has talked to the player.” McNab declined further comment because he hasn’t personally spoken to Palmieri.

Free-agent forward Lebler signs AHL deal.

Free-agent forward Brian Lebler became the first Syracuse Crunch player to sign with the AHL club under the affiliation agreement with the Ducks.

The Ducks would like him to become more than just a trivia answer, of course. At 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, he possesses NHL size. A natural checking-liner, Lebler’s offense evolved during a four-year career at the University of Michigan. The Pentincton, B.C. native finished third on the Wolverines with 14 goals as a senior in 2009-10. Lebler also had 10 assists and 59 penalty minutes in 42 games.

In 145 games over four seasons at Michigan  from 2006-10, Lebler compiled 33 goals, 26 assists and 216
penalty minutes.
His father, Ed, played hockey at Wisconsin and won an NCAA Championship in
1981.

Prospect update: Palmieri in limbo, Deschamps in title series.

The status of Ducks prospect Kyle Palmieri, who was booked Sunday for resisting arrest and minor consumption, is still in limbo. According to the South Bend Tribune, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson is out of town for various meetings and was not able to comment on what will happen to the freshman hockey player.

Palmieri was taken by the Ducks with the 26th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

The news was better for prospect Nicolas Deschamps, whose Moncton Wildcats are set to begin a best-of-seven series against the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday for the QMJHL championship.

Deschamps, a second-round pick by the Ducks in 2008, finished second in the QMJHL in scoring (39 goals, 96 points) in the regular season.

Ducks prospect arrested.

Ducks prospect Kyle Palmieri has been arrested in South Bend, Indiana, according to the South Bend Tribune.

Citing police reports, the Tribune reports that the 19-year-old Palmieri was arrested after South Bend police officers spotted he and Notre Dame teammate Riley Sheahan standing in the bed of a moving pickup truck about 2:30
a.m.:

Police say Palmieri attempted to run away from an officer, which led to a
struggle between the two that included the freshman hockey player
grabbing at the officer’s Taser. Police said a test showed he had a 0.10
percent blood-alcohol level. He has been charged with two counts of
resisting arrest and minor consumption.

Police said that Sheahan, who was also in the back of the truck, also
tested positive for alcohol, showing a 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level.
The freshman center has been charged with public intoxication and minor
consumption.

Palmieri has had discipline issues before. Three months prior to being taken by the Ducks in the first round of the 2009 Entry Draft, he was kicked off the United States Under-18 team for violating team rules. Ducks general manager Bob Murray said at the time that Palmieri was frank about the incident that led to his removal. “We grilled him in the interviews … our guys were comfortable with what he said,” Murray said.

Expect another grilling in the near future.

Brown undergoes abdominal surgery.

A team spokesperson passes along that Ducks right wing Mike Brown had surgery on Friday to
repair a torn abdominal muscle, the result of “wear and tear.” The surgery
was
performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia. Recovery time is
expected to
be four-to-six weeks.

Brown, 24, had six goals and an assist in 75 games for the Ducks this season, mostly as a fourth-line winger, and did not miss any games due to injury. He also amassed 106 penalty minutes.

Bakersfield eliminated from ECHL playoffs.

The Bakersfield Condors, the Ducks’ ECHL affiliate, saw its season come to an end Saturday with a 7-4 loss to Stockton in Game 5 of their Kelly Cup playoff series.

Timo Pielmeier allowed six goals on 33 shots in the loss and finished the playoffs with a 1-2-1 record, 3.39 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in four games. Jean-Phillippe Levasseur went 3-2-1, 2.61 GAA and .914 save percentage.

Kyle Calder, who had two assists Saturday, led the Condors with five goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games. MacGregor Sharp had a goal Saturday to bring his totals to three goals and eight points in 10 games. Ducks prospects Maxime Macenauer, Stu Bickel and Eric Regan also suited up for the Condors in the playoffs (team stats here).

Apparently, Montreal throws a better hockey parade than Anaheim.

I’ve never been to a bad parade in Anaheim, and certainly Scott Niedermayer didn’t intend to call out the Ducks’ Stanley Cup procession when interviewed by the Canadian Press today.

Still, especially with the Ducks out of the playoffs this year, this one has to sting a little:

Niedermayer, the Canadian men’s hockey captain whose Anaheim Ducks
failed to make the NHL playoffs, has been taking part in the festivities
over the past week.

“That’s the best parade I’ve ever been a part of,” said the multiple
Stanley Cup winner who took part in rallies following cup wins in
Anaheim and New Jersey.

Bryzgalov nominated for Vezina.

Former Duck Ilya Bryzgalov, along with New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur and Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.

In his second season as the Coyotes’ starter, Bryzgalov was second in the league in shutouts (8), third in wins (42), sixth in goals-against average (2.29), seventh in starts (69) and eighth in both shots faced (1,961) and saves (1,805). His season included a shutout streak of 137 minutes and 46 seconds which spanned parts of three games from October 12-15. He also bobs his head and sings “What is Love?” from “A Night at the Roxbury.”

Bryz was the backup to Jean-Sebastien Giguere for parts of four
seasons until Jonas Hiller arrived in Anaheim. His rise to prominence in Phoenix, along with today’s announcement that he was among the top three in Vezina voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, has led to many retellings of the story of his exodus from Anaheim.

For those wondering how the Ducks could have let Bryzgalov leave for free, here is what we wrote when he was placed on waivers in November, 2007 …

Continue reading “Bryzgalov nominated for Vezina.” »

Perry chosen to compete at World Championships.

Ducks right wing Corey Perry was among the 15 players chosen Friday to compete for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships, which will be held May
7-23 in Cologne and Mannheim, Germany.

Perry was the lone player chosen from the Canadian Olympic squad that won the gold medal in February.
Continue reading “Perry chosen to compete at World Championships.” »