Rasmus Sandin was sent to the Marlies training camp a few days before the end of the NHL preseason. He played in one exhibition game, left with a sprained thumb, and hasn’t been discussed since.
Today the Marlies announced their opening day roster ahead of tonight’s first game on the road in Utica, and Sandin isn’t there. AHL teams have no real roster limits and can add players and remove them easily, so this doesn’t necessarily mean Sandin will be going either to Sweden or, less likely, back to the OHL.
There are also some players on PTOs not listed, namely Justin Peters and Ryan Sproul. Hudson Elynuik is still injured, but will likely be cut to the Growlers when ready to play.
The Marlies roster to start the season has 16 forwards, seven defenders and two goalies. Remember those heady days of summer when we all thought there were too many goalies and defencemen? Well, no more:
2018 Marlies opening day roster
| Number | Name | Position | Shoots | Height | Weight | Birthdate | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Moore, Trevor | LW | L | 5-10 | 182 | 1995-03-31 | Thousand Oaks, CA |
| 10 | Grundstrom, Carl | LW | L | 6-0 | 201 | 1997-12-01 | Umea, Sweden |
| 13 | Clark, Emerson | LW | L | 5-9 | 182 | 1992-12-17 | Whitby, ON |
| 14 | Brooks, Adam | C | L | 5-10 | 181 | 1996-05-06 | Winnipeg, MB |
| 15 | Cracknell, Adam | C | R | 6-3 | 209 | 1985-07-15 | Prince Albert, SK |
| 16 | Molino, Griffen | LW | R | 6-0 | 185 | 1994-01-21 | Trenton, MI |
| 17 | Clune, Richard | LW | L | 5-11 | 211 | 1987-04-25 | Toronto, ON |
| 19 | Mueller, Chris | C | R | 5-10 | 196 | 1986-03-06 | West Seneca, NY |
| 20 | Marchment, Mason | LW | L | 6-4 | 204 | 1995-06-18 | Uxbridge, ON |
| 27 | Bracco, Jeremy | RW | R | 5-11 | 171 | 1997-03-17 | Freeport, NY |
| 32 | Piccinich, J.J. | RW | R | 6'0 | 190 | 1996-06-12 | Paramus, NJ |
| 36 | Jooris, Josh | RW | R | 6-1 | 198 | 1990-07-14 | Burlington, ON |
| 38 | Greening, Colin | C | L | 6-2 | 210 | 1986-03-09 | St. John's, NL |
| 41 | Timashov, Dmytro | LW | L | 5-10 | 192 | 1996-10-01 | Kirovograd, Ukraine |
| 47 | Engvall, Pierre | LW | L | 6-5 | 214 | 1996-05-31 | Ljungby, Sweden |
| 89 | Gagner, Sam | C | R | 5-11 | 200 | 1989-08-10 | London, Ontario |
| 5 | LoVerde, Vincent | D | R | 5-11 | 207 | 1989-04-14 | Chicago, IL |
| 6 | Nielsen, Andrew | D | L | 6-4 | 228 | 1996-11-13 | Red Deer, AB |
| 7 | Liljegren, Timothy | D | R | 6-0 | 193 | 1999-04-30 | Kristianstad, Sweden |
| 11 | Subban, Jordan | D | R | 5-9 | 182 | 1995-03-03 | Rexdale, ON |
| 25 | Jardine, Sam | D | L | 6-2 | 209 | 1993-08-12 | Lacombe, AB |
| 48 | Rosen, Calle | D | L | 6-1 | 195 | 1994-02-02 | Vaxjo, Sweden |
| 55 | Borgman, Andreas | D | L | 6-0 | 183 | 1995-06-18 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 30 | Kaskisuo, Kasimir | G | L | 6-2 | 204 | 1993-10-02 | Vantaa, Finland |
| 31 | Glass, Jeff | G | L | 6-3 | 213 | 1985-11-19 | Calgary, AB |
With new players Sam Gagner, on loan from Vancouver, and Jeff Glass, signed yesterday, fleshing out the roster, this is who we should expect to see play most nights.
J.J. Piccinich made the roster after doing well in the ECHL last year. Griffen Molino, a new AHL signing is also on board. It’s hard not to imagine that Martins Dzierkals would have made this team, but he wanted a guarantee of no ECHL time, so he’s in the KHL, and Emerson Clark is getting a shot as a depth player.
This is both and older team and a bigger team than last year’s champions. There’s a lot of offence that’s gone, and it’s reminiscent of the roster that played the year after William Nylander and Mark Arcobello led the team deep in the playoffs. Kerby Rychel led that team in points, and someone new will be the star of this team.
The Marlies face off against the Utica Comets, former home of Molino and Jordan Subban, tonight at 7 p.m. The Marlies Monday home opener features the Calder Cup banner raising.
