AHL Report Headlines: Monday October 9, 2017
	On this day in hockey history… 1952 — Iconic play-by-play announcer Danny Gallivan called his first NHL game on the radio at the Montreal Forum. Gallivan would eventually call almost 2,000 games (radio and TV), including 16 Cup championships by the Canadiens. 1980 — Mark Howe (Hartford Whalers) scores two shorthanded goals in the same game – the first time this feat is accomplished in the NHL by a defenseman. The second of those shorties completed his first NHL hat trick.
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by Joseph Whalen, Staff Writer, AHL Report

► Rocket, Sens, and Devils kick off inaugural seasons

• The Laval Rocket and Belleville Senators got their inaugural seasons started with a two-game set against each other. In game one, the Rocket shutout the Senators 3-0 with goals by Daniel Audette, Michael McCarron and Nicolas Deslauriers. Game two started off well for the Senators, who led 2-0 in the second period with goals by Thomas Chabot and Chris DiDomenico, but Laval stormed back with six unanswered goals, with a pair from Peter Holland, to drop the Sens 6-2, sweeping them in the process.
• For the Binghamton Devils, their opener also took place in front of a sellout crowd at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena and they gave their loyal fans quite a show in a 2-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  Binghamton goals were scored by Blake Pietila (shorthanded), followed by a penalty shot goal for Nathan Bastian (his first professional goal).

Game 1️⃣
Penalty shot goal 1️⃣

Not bad, @14Nbast pic.twitter.com/OxCGjCb3ca

— Binghamton Devils (@BingDevils) October 8, 2017

► Rocket last-minute trades

• Before the two-game set against the Senators started, the Laval Rocket underwent some roster changes. First defenseman Zach Redmond was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Nicolas Deslauriers. Later in the same day, the Canadiens traded Andreas Martinsen for Kyle Baun. All players involved in the trades reported to their respective team’s AHL affiliate.

ROSTER UPDATE | Canadiens Trade Zach Redmond for Nicolas Deslauriers https://t.co/PdSs2btiao pic.twitter.com/UVTcG8MadK

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) October 4, 2017

► Leafs acquire Calvin Pickard

• The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Calvin Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Tobias Lindberg and a sixth-round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft. Pickard posted a 15-31-2 record with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 50 games with Colorado in 2016-17. He was selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL expansion draft on June 21.

► Penguins/Canucks trade

• The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Andrey Pedan and a 2018 fourth-round draft pick from Vancouver in exchange for Derrick Pouliot. Pouliot scored seven goals, 16 assists and a plus-15 rating in 46 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. He also skated in 11 NHL games with the Penguins. Pedan appeared in 52 games with the AHL’s Utica Comets last season, tallying five goals and five assists along with 100 penalty minutes.

► Season signings

• With the AHL season officially underway, this week saw some more players sign AHL contracts for the season.

October 1

• Laval Rocket have agreed to terms on a one-year AHL contract with free-agent defenseman Eric Gelinas. Gelinas was invited to Montreal Canadiens training camp on a professional tryout and recorded one goal in three preseason games.

October 2

• Bridgeport Sound Tigers announced that forward Casey Bailey has agreed to terms on an American Hockey League contract for the 2017-18 season. Bailey, 25, tied for the team lead with 21 goals and added 16 assists for 37 points in 62 games with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators last season, and earned a trip to the AHL All-Star Classic in January.
• Syracuse Crunch have signed forward Shane Conacher to a one-year AHL contract. Conacher posted two goals and nine assists in 25 games with Orlando (ECHL) last year, and also skated in three AHL games with the Toronto Marlies. Conacher is the younger brother of two-time AHL All-Star Cory Conacher, who led the Crunch in scoring last season.

Well deserved! so happy for you buddy! #rockthebarn https://t.co/pGV7ncbY4l

— Cory Conacher (@conhockey19) October 2, 2017

October 4

• Jordan Boucher agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way (AHL/ECHL) contract with the Laval Rocket. He will report to the Brampton Beast in the ECHL. The 23-year-old spent the past four seasons with Clarkson University in the ECAC. The Sainte-Therese native also suited up for nine games with the Binghamton Senators.