Bailey’s allegations raise an interesting question.

Jason Bailey lasted only one season in the Ducks organization, but it’s becoming a memorable one.

A third-round draft pick by Anaheim in 2005, the forward turned pro three years later and was assigned to the Bakersfield Condors, then the Ducks’ ECHL affiliate. Bailey, who is Jewish, is suing the Ducks for unspecified damages stemming from alleged discrimination against him by two Condors coaches during the 2008-09 season.

According to multiple reports citing documents filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, Bailey claims he was the target of anti-Semitic remarks. Additionally, Bailey alleges that Condors head coach Marty Raymond and assistant coach Mark Pederson forced him to travel apart from the team, and he was “rarely given any ice time,” because he is Jewish.

Raymond was suspended for one week by the Condors and is still the team’s head coach. Pederson, who was suspended two weeks at the time, left after the season to coach in Europe. Bailey was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Shawn Weller in September 2009. Bailey has spent all of the last two seasons – and is still playing for – Ottawa’s top farm team, the Binghamton Senators.

A Ducks spokesperson said late Tuesday that the team cannot comment on the case.

The most interesting facet here might not be the substance of the allegations, but who should be legally held at fault if they’re true.
Continue reading “Bailey’s allegations raise an interesting question.” »

Reports: Florida, Elmira candidates to become Ducks’ ECHL affiliate.

Since severing ties with the Bakersfield Condors, the Ducks have been searching for an ECHL affiliate closer to AHL affiliate Syracuse. According to reports out of Florida and New York, the Florida Everblades and Elmira Jackals are the leading candidates.

The Naples-based Everblades recently severed ties with the Florida Panthers. Elmira is already affiliated with the Ottawa Senators, but dual affiliations are not uncommon and no ECHL city is closer to Syracuse.

Coincidentally, the Jackals’ new head coach, Malcolm Cameron, spent the last two seasons coaching the Everblades.

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).

Sexton, Clark, Salcido shut out in Hamilton.

Consider this a belated, Ducks-related, American Hockey League playoff update.

Since the Ducks do not have an AHL affiliate this year, tracking their prospects’ postseason progress is a more haphazard endeavor than usual. Three (Dan Sexton, Brian Salcido and Mat Clark) are with the Manitoba Moose, who tonight lost Game 1 of their seven-game series against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Needless to say, each was held scoreless.

On Wednesday, defenseman Nathan Oystrick had two assists in the Chicago Wolves’ 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Admirals in Game 1 of their series. Shawn Weller, playing for the Abbotsford Heat, contributed the second of three goals in a 3-2 win over the Rochester Americans. Heat defenseman Mark Mitera was held scoreless.

The Ducks’ ECHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, begin play in the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs tomorrow against the Stockton Thunder. Kyle Calder, MacGregor Sharp, Ryan Donally, Maxime Macenauer, Matt McCue, Eric Regan, Stu Bickel, Timo Pielmeier and J-P Levasseur are all competing in the series for Bakersfield.

Bakersfield influx, goalie rumors, elimination scenarios.

1. Several minor-league prospects changed addresses Monday, when the Ducks assigned goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur, defenseman Stu Bickel and center MacGregor Sharp to the ECHL affiliate Bakersfield. Also joining the Condors for the postseason is Kyle Calder, an NHL veteran who has split this season between Anaheim, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and the Condors.

“I got a text message (from Calder) — he wants to win a championship,” Bakersfield coach Marty Raymond told the Bakersfield Californian. “So
I’m pretty pleased with that and that’s usually contagious with the
rest of the team.”

2. According to the Edmonton Journal, Finnish free agent goalie Jussi Rynnas has met with the Oilers and Stars about possibly coming to the NHL, and also has the Ducks, Flyers and Canadiens on his list. The Journal reports that Rynnas told Stars management he would have a decision in “about three weeks.”

3. The NHL schedule tonight is stacked, with 11 games involving 22 teams. The only two that matter to the Ducks are their own game against the Kings (obviously), and the Colorado Avalanche’s 7 p.m. game against the Vancouver Canucks. If Colorado wins, or Anaheim loses in regulation, the Ducks are eliminated from the playoffs. If Anaheim loses in overtime or a shootout, they need the Avalanche to lose in regulation to avoid elimination.

McElhinney arrives, Pielmeier to Bakersfield.

Goaltender Timo Pielmeier was returned to ECHL affiliate Bakersfield on Friday, clearing the way for Curtis McElhinney to join the Ducks’ roster.

McElhinney came to the Ducks in Wednesday’s trade that sent Vesa Toskala to the Calgary Flames, but obtaining a work visa delayed McElhinney’s arrival. McElhinney is a native of London, Ontario who had never been employed by a United States-based team, spending his entire three-year career in Calgary.

A new opportunity for Ducks’ youth.

For the Ducks, the benefits of having a wealth of players participating in the Olympics extend beyond organizational pride.

Anaheim’s eight Olympians are considered non-roster players by the NHL until after their national team is eliminated in Vancouver. That means that goaltender Jonas Hiller, whose Swiss squad lost to the United States on Wednesday, became the first to officially re-join the Ducks – the league added him to the active roster at 2 p.m. today.

Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer, Corey Perry, Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Whitney, meanwhile, are giving Randy Carlyle and Bob Murray some vacant roster spots to play with until they’re gone from the Games.

On Thursday it was announced that Dan Sexton, Timo Pielmeier, Brendan Mikkelson and Brett Festerling had been recalled from the minors, and both Sexton and Pielmeier were among the 16 players in practice Thursday. Mikkelson and Festerling were still en route from Toronto, where they had been playing with the American Hockey League’s Marlies.

“This is when the NHL-level team, the parent hockey club, has to be
selfish,” said Carlyle, who expected no additional recalls. “I’ve been on the other side of it and it’s not a lot of fun
when those things happen. But the reality of it is, we made a decision
that’s in the best interest of the Anaheim Ducks. They can come
complement us in this time.”
Continue reading “A new opportunity for Ducks’ youth.” »

Selanne, Blake in; Boynton, Beleskey out.

Teemu Selanne is back at right wing on the Ducks’ second line, joining new left wing Jason Blake with center Saku Koivu. The Ducks and Panthers are just getting underway in Sunrise, Florida.

With Selanne re-joining the team, Matt Beleskey has been re-assigned to ECHL affiliate Bakersfield. Defenseman Nick Boynton was placed on waivers earlier in the day, and can be claimed by any NHL team before 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Playing mostly alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on the Ducks’ top line, Beleskey had five goals and nine points in 34 games this season for the Ducks. His five goals in January tied for second among all NHL rookies.

A fourth-round draft pick of the Ducks in 2006, Beleskey has never appeared below the AHL level. In 15 AHL games this season, split between San Antonio and Toronto, Beleskey had two goals and seven points.

Ducks connections in ECHL All-Star Game tonight.

Ducks minor-leaguers Shawn Weller, Eric Regan and Timo Pielmeier will be suiting up for the National Conference, as will A.J. Perry, the younger brother of Ducks forward Corey Perry, in the ECHL All-Star Game tonight in Ontario.

Weller, Regan and Pielmeier all play for the Ducks’ ECHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Perry plays for the Utah Grizzlies.

The Condors’ captain, Weller leads the team and ranks ninth in the ECHL with 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists). This is his first full season in the Ducks’ organization, and his first full professional season below the AHL, since being acquired in an off-season trade with the Ottawa Senators for prospect Jason Bailey. 

Weller was selected as a replacement for center MacGregor Sharp, who is currently playing for AHL San Antonio.

Regan is second among the Condors’ defensemen with nine goals and 19 points, and his five power-play goals rank second among ECHL blueliners. The 21-year-old spent last season, his first as a pro, with the Ducks’ former AHL affiliate, the Iowa Chops.

Pielmeier ranks 10th in the league with a 2.86 goals-against average and is tied for second with 16 wins. Acquired at last season’s trade deadline from San Jose in the deal that sent Kent Huskins and Travis Moen to the Sharks, Pielmeier is playing his first full professional season.

Perry, who went undrafted after a standout OHL career split between the London Knights and Belleville Bulls, split last season between San Antonio and the CHL’s Arizona Sundogs. He has 14 goals and 36 points in 33 games this season for the Grizzlies.

Also, in case you missed it, check out today’s story featuring Troy Bodie’s recollections of playing in the ECHL.

MacMillan sent home following DUI arrest

Ducks prospect Logan MacMillan has been sent home following a DUI arrest in Bakersfield, where is currently on injured reserve for the ECHL-affiliate Condors.



MacMillan, 20, was arrested by Bakersfield Police around 2 a.m. Monday morning in the 3600 block of California Avenue and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and and driving without a license.

“He has gone home for personal reasons,” David McNab, vice president of hockey operations for the Ducks, said on Thursday. “That’s our comment.”