Barret Ehgoetz signs for 2010-11, Attendance rising ever so much

Cincinnati Cyclones captain, Barret Ehgoetz agreed to terms on a contract for the 2010-11 season making him the first player to sign for this season with the Clones'. We previously reported a deal was in the works and it is now complete. Head Coach, Jarrod Skalde said, "Having Barret provides such a veteran leadership on and off the ice. It's always nice to have a guy like that in your locker room." 

As the past three ECHL seasons have seen our Cincinnati Cyclones take home two of three Kelly Cup Championships, attendance has risen over those three season at an average rate of 27.9% or roughly 758 fans per game. Last season in game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals against Idaho an ECHL record 13,856 came to U.S. BANK ARENA as the Cyclones won their 2nd ECHL title. GM, Kristen Ropp says they do expect to roll out promotions this season to garner their 2nd Kelly Cup Championship.

Jarrod Skalde named 11th Head Coach in Cyclones history.

Cincinnati Cyclones owner and president, Ray Harris stepped to the podium today at U.S. Bank Arena in front of a nice crowd of media and named Jarrod Skalde the 11th Head Coach in Cyclones history. Skalde a native of Niagra Falls, ON was welcomed well and as he came to the podium he told media, "I’m very excited to be a part of the Cyclones organization,” said Skalde. “It’s great coming into a place that has had tremendous success with ownership and fans that expect excellence. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and building on that.”


Skalde who played 18 professional seasons won two championships in 1990 with the Oshawa Generals (OHL) and 2001 with former Cyclones head coach Chuck Weber in Orlando (2001) Skalde learned the coaching curve under some of the best such as Ken Hitchcock, Bill Barber, former Cincinnati Stinger Robbie Ftorek and the man that led the 1980 U.S. olympic hockey team to gold, Herb Brooks.
 
Owner, Ray Harris addressed the media saying, “We’re very excited to bring Jarrod on board,” said Harris. “His years of coaching and NHL playing experience will undoubtedly help him guide and improve our talent. I’m confident he will be able to carry on the championship tradition we’ve built here in Cincinnati.”
 
Now that a new Head Coach has been announced expect to see players to agree to contracts for the 2010-11 season. Jarrod Skalde welcome to the greatest franchise in the ECHL.

Potential players to see in Cincinnati in 2010-11

The Cyclones over the past four seasons have had very good relationships with thier affiliations and many people expect the same to continue into 2010-11. We are going to give you the inside scoop from close resources as to who we may see dressing for our Cyclones in 2010-11.

Rochester (Florida):
Goalie: Brian Foster- Foster was a 5th round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the goalie from Pembrooke, New Hampshire just finished his Senior season with the Wildcats of UNH with a 17-14 record with a 2.98 GAA. Foster spent time between the pipes at UNH for all four letter years going 40-29 also having 13 ties. Foster lists at 6'1 155 pounds and is considered to be a fast, hybrid style goalie with plenty of upside at the pro level.

Forward: Brady Calla- Calla a 3rd round pick from the Panthers in the 2006 draft spent the 2009-10 season between Rochester of the AHL and the Florida Everblades (ECHL). In 33 games with the Amerks, Calla had 1 goal to go with 5 assists for 6 points while also tacking on 14 PIM. In Florida, Calla played in 16 games tallying 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points with 23 PIM. For Calla, a total of 49 games, 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points with 37 PIM. Calla stands 6'1 weighing 205 pounds. He was a member of the Spokane Chiefs 2008-09 Memorial Cup Championship team.

Forward: Ryan Watson- Ryan was a 7th round pick of the Panthers in 2007 out of Western Michigan University. Watson who just finished his Senior year at WMU played in 89 games from 2008 to 2010. The grinding left wing saw his season cut short last year due to injury only playing in 20 games. During his 3 years at WMU, Watson scored 10 goals and had 6 assists for 16 points.

Defense: Colby Robak- Though it is a long shot, Cincinnati fans could see one of the best offensive defenseman out of the CHL in Colby Robak. Colby played 4 seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the OHL and reached the Memorial Cup Finals this past season. Robak who stands 6'3 weighing 205 scored 16 goals and had 5 assists last season for the Wheat Kings. In his four seasons with Brandon, Robak scored 37 goals with 106 assists for 143 points. Robak would give the Cyclones an offensive threat from the blue line.

Millwaukee (Nashville)

Goalie: Jeremy Smith- Smith is no stranger to the Queen City as the rookie spent his 2009-10 season as a Cyclone sharing the net with Robert Mayer. Smith played in 45 games for the Cyclones last season going 23-15-2 with a 2.63 GAA. Smith shared the ECHL Kelly Cup Final MVP Trophy with Robert Mayer as the Cyclones captured thier 2nd cup in three seasons.

Defense: Jason Jozsa- Jason was the assistant captain for the Clones' last season during the Kelly Cup run. Jozsa played in 51 games for the Cyclones, scoring 6 goals with 19 assists for 25 points. Jozsa provided steady protection at the blueline for Smith and Mayer throughout the year and should continue to provide solid defense for the Cyclones in 2011.

Forward: Mark Van Guilder- Mark has spent a full season and a half in a Cyclones uniform since 2009 and has became a fan favorite over his steady play. Mark played in 15 regular season games with the Clones' last season scoring 6 goals with 5 assists for 11 points. He also played in 14 playoff games during the Kelly Cup Championship run scoring 5 goals with 10 assists for 15 points during the playoffs. Mark is a strong candidate to make the Milwaukee Admirals out of camp but could be sent back later in the season or start in Cincinnati if he does not show well in camp.

Forward: Ian Mckenzie- Ian has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Cyclones playing in 64 games over those two years scoring 15 goals with 5 assists. Ian was praised during the 2010 Kelly Cup run for his aggressive play and using his full 6'5 235 pound frame to knock opponents off the puck and check. There is a good chance Mckenzie will start the season in Cincinnati.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at some potenial players the Cyclones may recieve this season from it's affiliates the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers.

Where Are They Now? Part 1

We debut our "Where Are They Now?" segment of the blog, dating back to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the IHL with who in many minds is the greatest Cyclone of all-time, Paul Lawless. Paul spent 5 seasons with the Cyclones and the highlights included 54 points in his 1st season in which he only played in 29 games after spending time between the AHL and with Graz B.C. in the Austrian League. Lawless would play 255 games as a Cyclone in his career, scoring 132 goals including 44 in the 94-95' season. He also would record 172 assists for a total of 304 points. These days, Paul resides in Pheonix, Arizona and spends most of his time on the golf course with clients of his Real Estate group and Phoenix Coyotes head coach, Dave Tippet. Paul, does however make the occasional trip to Cincinnati to visit friends he has kept in touch with over time.

Stay tuned as next week we dive into a player who stood tall in the 2008 Kelly Cup Finals!

Cyclones partner with Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators in 2010-11

Following the 2010 Kelly Cup Championship, this off-season has seen many changes. Dustin Sproat and Scott Reynolds taking off for hockey overseas, Dean Stork being named Head Coach in Greenville (ECHL) and Chuck Weber moving up to become the Head Coach of the Rochester Amerks (AHL). To add even more the Cyclones have parted ways with the Montreal Canadiens for 2010-11 and will continue affiliations with the Nashville Predators while adding the Florida Panthers to that list as well. Florida of course is the NHL affliate of the Amerks which in turn keeps Chuck Weber tied to Cincinnati.

 I can't agree more with the Cyclones parting ways with Montreal after this season. The Cyclones did not recieve many prospects from the Montreal organization for the last two seasons, though Max Lacroix and Robert Mayer were keys to the Kelly Cup Championship. The Panthers and Preds' alike both have very good young prospects in thier systems and Cincinnati should benefit well from affliations with these two franchises.

Barret Ehgoetz will return in 2010-11

Cincinnati Cyclones captain, Barret Ehgoetz will reportedly return for the 2010-11 season. Barret has spent the last four seasons in Cincinnati playing in 271 games, scoring 81 goals including a career high 23 in 2010 and collecting 152 assists for a total of 233 points. Ehgoetz is expected to remain the Captain for the Cyclones in 2010-11.

NEW CINCINNATI CYCLONES HEAD COACH!

First off, Thanks for visiting Cyclones Live! blog. We have the most up to date and reliable sources for all things Cincinnati Cyclones! We would like to start it out with letting everyone in on who the "unofficial head coach" will be for the 2010-11 season.

Jarrod Skalde, a 39 year-old coach who has spent his first two professional coaching seasons with the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the IHL. Skalde compiled a 60-74 record over his two seasons in Bloomington with a team not filled with top talent. Skalde spent 16 seasons as a professional player including parts of 8 seasons in the NHL playing in 115 games.

Skalde also a brief amount of time with the Cincinnati Cyclones for 4 games in the 92-93 season. Skalde who reportedly was refferred by Cyclones former Head Coach, Chuck Weber was a memeber of the Orlando Solar Bears when Chuck was in Orlando.

The Cyclones will officially announce thier new Head Coach this Thursday at Noon at U.S. Bank Arena but from my sources the signs point toward Jarrod Skalde becoming the 11th coach in Cincinnati Cyclones History.