The 2008-09 AHL season is almost upon us and after a thrilling 2007-08 season, several teams have made improvements while others have not. The Chicago Wolves won the Calder Cup and will look to repeat, but is there another team to keep an eye on? Here’s a preview of the Atlantic Division.

EASTERN CONFERENCE – ATLANTIC DIVISION

Hartford Wolf Pack
2007-08 Record: 50-20-2-8, 110 points

Key Additions: Brian Fahey (Chicago), Sergei Demagin (Belarus), Tomas Kundratek (Czech Republic), Mike Brodeur (Rockford)
Key Losses: Ivan Baranka (Russia), Andrew Hutchinson (Tampa Bay), Josh Gratton (Nashville), Jake Taylor (Springfield), Mitch Fritz (N.Y. Islanders), David LeNeveu (Anaheim), Ryan Constant (Springfield)

Season Outlook: After a strong 2007-08 season, the Hartford Wolf Pack did little to help their chances of making a deep Calder Cup run in 2008-09. Several players bolted for better opportunities and the New York Rangers did very little to help their minor league affiliate.

Greg Moore returns for his third full season with the Wolf Pack, but how much time he spends in Hartford will depend on what happens in New York. Moore will be a top call-up and could spend most of the season up and down. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau returns for his second season with the Pack after leading the team in scoring in 2007-08 with 81 points. Parenteau is in the same situation as Moore. He will be subjected to recall to the Rangers should there be a need.

Hartford’s defense took a major blow during the offseason when Andrew Hutchinson signed a two-year NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Hutchinson and his 64 points bolted for Tampa Bay, the Pack will now turn to Thomas Pock to lead the defense. Corey Potter is also expected to pick up his game and be relied upon as a top two defensemen. Potter will look to improve on his career best 32 points last season.

The Wolf Pack are poised to turn over the goaltending reigns to Miika Wiikman for the long-term in 2008-09. Wiikman spent the beginning of his rookie season as the back-up to Al Montoya, but as Montoya struggled and eventually traded, Wiikman was inserted as the starting goalie. The Pack had enough confidence in him to allow veteran David LeNeveu walk away. The Pack will need Wiikman to be the backbone of the team and rely on him for a deep playoff run.

Lowell Devils
2007-08 Record: 25-43-7-5, 62 points

Key Additions: Chad Wiseman (Germany)
Key Losses: Olli Malmivaara (Finland), Jordan Parise (Austria), Ivan Khomutov (Russia), Noah Clarke (Switzerland), Mike Pandolfo (Norway), Frank Doyle (Germany), Mark Pandolfo (Norway)

Season Outlook: The Lowell Devils are thankful that the calendar has moved away from 2007-08 to 2008-09, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Devils are going to have success in the season ahead. But then again there shouldn’t be high expectations for a team that finished last in the Atlantic Division in 2007-08 and finished last in the league in attendance and did very little to upgrade their offense.

Two of the top five point producers – Noah Clarke and Ivan Khomutov – are gone. Insert Chad Wiseman as the answer. Wiseman last played in the AHL in 2006-07 with the Hershey Bears, scoring 35 points in 48 games. Petr Vrana and Barry Tallackson return for another season in Lowell, but neither player averaged near a point per game. Offense was a problem last season for the Devils and it’s going to be another problem this season. The Devils are going to need to find a way to get more goals.

Defense, defense, defense, what can be said about Lowell’s defense? It's awful. Not upgrading the defense this offseason is going to hurt the Devils a lot. They were one of the worst defensive teams last season and are poised for another horrible defensive season in 2008-09. The Devils used three rookies on defense last season and will look for experience to take affect this season for those three. One complete season under their belt in the AHL could help with some of the problems on defense.

The Devils look ready to turn to goaltending duties over to Dave Caruso in 2008-09. Starting goalie from last season, Frank Doyle, was not re-signed by New Jersey. With Jordan Parise leaving for Austria and Doyle not returning, Jeff Frazee is slated to serve as Caruso’s back-up. The two have a combined 18 AHL games played. That's scary.

Manchester Monarchs
2007-08 Record: 39-31-5-5, 88 points

Key Additions: Denis Gauthier (Philadelphia), Oscar Moller (Sweden), Brad Richardson (Lake Erie), Marty Murray (Switzerland), Eric Werner (Germany)
Key Losses: Petr Kanko (Austria), Troy Milam (Finland), Matt Ryan (Germany), Jon Klemm (Germany), Jeff Likens (Germany), Curtis Darling (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins), Lauri Tukonen (Dallas Stars)

Season Outlook: The Manchester Monarchs made a strong run down the stretch late last season to make the playoffs, but were swept by the Providence Bruins in the first round. The Monarchs lost some key defensive players, but bringing in Denis Gauthier will help fill the void.

The Monarchs lost no major players on offense. The return of second-year players Teddy Purcell and Brian Boyle give the Monarchs something to look forward to in 2008-09. That is if Purcell doesn’t make the Los Angeles Kings roster out of training camp. The addition of Brad Richardson, if he is assigned to Manchester, will add power to an offense that already has a lot of strength.

Manchester’s defense took some major blows during the offseason. Troy Milam and Jeff Likens both bolted for Europe this season. The addition of veteran defensemen Denis Gauthier will help fill the void left by Milam and Likens.

Portland Pirates
2007-08 Record: 45-26-5-4, 99 points

Key Additions: New affiliation with Buffalo Sabres, Jimmy Bonneau (Hamilton)
Key Losses: Kyle Klubertanz (Finland), Bruno St. Jacques (Germany), Jason King (Germany), Geoff Platt (Finland), Mike McKenna (Norfolk), Stephen Dixon (Sweden)

Season Outloook: The Portland Pirates surprised a lot of teams during the 2008 Calder Cup playoffs. In a very tough Atlantic Division, the Pirates weren’t expected to get past the Hartford Wolf Pack in round one, but they did. Then they weren’t expected to get past the Providence Bruins in the Atlantic Division final, but they did. The Pirates finally met their match in the Eastern Conference final against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in seven games. The Pirates actually had the Penguins on the brink of elimination when they had a three-games-to-two lead, but the Penguins won the final two games of the series.

Portland had a pretty decent offense during the 2007-08 regular season, but a lot of the offensive power will be gone for the 2008-09 season. Geoff Platt and Jason King combined for 124 points during the regular season, but they are both gone. Stephen Dixon added 45 points that is also gone. As a matter of fact, the entire Portland team from last season is gone.

With their new affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres, the Pirates will see a new group of prospects in town this winter. And if any season is any indication of how things went in Rochester with Sabres’ prospects, it’s going to be a long season in Portland.

Marc Mancari led the Americans in scoring last season with 21 goals and 36 assists for 57 points in 80 regular season games, and he will look to do the same as a member of the Portland Pirates. If the Pirates receive Clark MacArthur for the entire season – which is unlikely – he will add depth and scoring ability to an otherwise lackluster offense.

Defense is going to be a major problem for the Pirates this season as opposed to last season. Last season they ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference in terms of goals scored, but this year’s team won’t compare to last season. Not a single player coming in from the Sabres organization had a positive plus/minus rating.

Adam Dennis is expected to become the number one goalie in Portland this season, and that might not be a good thing. In 46 games last season, Dennis only won 17 times and had a dismal 3.18 GAA.

Providence Bruins
2007-08 Record: 55-18-3-4, 117 points

Key Additions: Johnny Boychuk (Lake Erie), Martin St. Pierre (Rockford)
Key Losses: Brett Skinner (Bridgeport), Dwayne Zinger (Denmark), Sean Curry (Philadelphia), Jeff Hoggan (San Antonio), Chris Collins (Sweden), Jonathan Sigalet (Syracuse), Matt Hendricks (Lake Erie), Pascal Pelletier (Rockford)

Season Outlook: After being the best team in the AHL during the 2007-08 regular season, the Providence Bruins were expected to easily advance to the Calder Cup finals. But after sweeping the Manchester Monarchs in round one, the Bruins met their match when the Portland Pirates eliminated the Bruins in the Atlantic Division final in six games. The Bruins won the most games (55) and recorded the most points (117) of any AHL team during the 2007-08 season.

Between the offense capability and the defense of the Bruins last season, they were one of the best teams in AHL history. The Bruins has seven players record 15 or more goals and 10 players with 30 or more points. Pascal Pelletier was by far the best offensive player for Providence. Pelletier recorded 37 goals and 38 assists for 75 points in 73 games to finish the season ranked ninth in league scoring. The Boston Bruins traded Pelletier to the Chicago Blackhawks during the offseason for Martin St. Pierre. Martin Karsums led the team with 43 assists and Jeff Hoggan, who left for Phoenix during the offseason, led the team with a +39 rating.

While the Bruins added some defensive help with the addition of Johnny Boychuk, the losses of several key players will hurt Providence in 2008-09. If Tuukka Rask returns to Providence for another season, he will need to be on top of his game once again. Providence’s best defenseman, Brett Skinner, is gone and so is fourth leading scorer Matt Hendricks. Very few upgrades were made and it could come back to hurt the baby Bruins. The success the Bruins have in 2008-09 will depend on if Martin St. Pierre is in Providence or Boston and how Karsums will handle being a team leader at the young age of 22.

There is also a new coach in Providence for the first time in five years. AHL coach of the year, Scott Gordon, was hired to be the new head coach of the New York Islanders in the NHL.

Springfield Falcons
2007-08 Record: 35-35-5-5, 80 points

Key Additions: Jake Taylor (Hartford), Carl Corazzini (Grand Rapids), Ryan Potulny (Philadelphia), Ryan Constant (Hartford), Derek Bekar (Slovakia), Ryan Huddy (Germany)
Key Losses: Alan Rourke (Germany), Harlan Anderson (Germany), Daniel Sparre (Italy), T.J. Kemp (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins), Rick Berry (Germany)

Season Outlook: The Springfield Falcons were a .500 team last year, and they almost made the playoffs with a .500 record. The Falcons made some big offensive improvements this offseason in hopes of reaching the post season once again.

The Falcons NHL affiliate, Edmonton Oilers, signed two key players in Springfield’s quest for a playoff spot. Carl Corazzini has been one of the best AHL players over the past three years. His numbers have improved each of the last three seasons. The only major factor is whether Corazzini is assigned to Springfield or makes the NHL out of training camp. Ryan Potulny was acquired in an offseason trade for defensemen Danny Syvret, who was loaned to Hershey last season. Potulny, like Corazzini, has season his production increase over the past few seasons.

In addition to the two new players, the Falcons have Rob Schremp returning after nearly putting up a point per game last season. Scoring goals was a major concern for the Falcons last season, but they should have that all figured out this season.

Goaltending could become a concern for the Falcons if Jeff Deslauriers can’t find his form from the 2006-07 season when he won 22 games in limited action. Devan Dubnyk is expected to back-up Deslauriers once again.

Worcester Sharks
2007-08 Record: 32-37-5-6, 75 points

Key Additions: Corey Larose (Europe), Brendan Buckley (Europe)
Key Losses: Mike Iggulden (N.Y. Islanders), Dmitri Patzold (Germany), Graham Mink (Hershey), Nate Raduns (Philadelphia), Tom Walsh (Finland)

Season Outlook: The Worcester Sharks are going to be in for a long season. The losses of several key players will catch-up with Worcester over the course of the 2008-09 season. Worcester’s top two scorers from last season, Mike Iggulden and Graham Mink, are gone as is top defenseman Tom Walsh.

There is a plus side to all the losses the Sharks have suffered – Tom Cavanagh returns for another season. Cavanagh will now be forced into a leadership role with Iggulden and Mink leaving town. The only problem for Cavanagh and the entire Sharks offense is going to be finding production. The addition of Corey Larose from Europe should help the offense, but it won’t be enough.

Defense and goaltending are going to be major concerns for Worcester. The defense allowed the third most goals in the Eastern Conference last season, and the loss of Walsh will hut even more. Only three players that appeared in 30 or more games last season, only three had a positive plus/minus rating. Thomas Greiss returns for another season in net for Worcester, but his numbers last season weren’t exactly spectacular. Greiss finished with only 18 wins in 41 games. Back-up goaltender Dimitri Patzold had decent numbers, but he chose to spend the 2008-09 season playing in Europe.

Predicted Division Standings

1. Hartford
2. Providence
3. Manchester
4. Springfield
5. Worcester
6. Portland
7. Lowell