Levasseur Called Up

Turns out the Bucks will not be available to the media at the LEC at 11, so I'll be tagging along when they go deliver toys at Doctors Hospital this afternoon.

One player of interest will not be there, either, though.

Goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur has been called up to the AHL by the Springfield Falcons.

Here's the press release:


Bucks’ Levasseur Called Up To AHL
LAREDO, TX- The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Monday that J.P Levasseur has been called up to the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League. Levasseur is expected to be in uniform for Springfield Tuesday night when the Falcons travel to Lowell.

Levasseur, the reigning CHL goaltender of the month for November, has a 10-3-3 record with the Bucks, to go along with a 2.31 G.A.A and a .919 sv.%. The 22-year-old Levasseur was also named CHL goaltender of the week on November 9th.

“It’s a great opportunity for J.P to go up to the American League, he really deserves it,” said Bucks President/General Manager and Head Coach Terry Ruskowski. “He’s been one of the major reasons for our success this season.”

The Victoriaville, Quebec native is among the league leaders in several goaltending categories. Levasseur leads the league in G.A.A (.2.31), is third in sv. % (.919), and is fourth in wins (10).

“We don’t know how long J.P will be up there, but we know that he will represent the Bucks well. We wish him all of the luck in the world.”

Levasseur, who is on loan to the Bucks from Anaheim, has allowed just one goal in a game three times this season.

Levasseur is the second Bucks player to get called up to the AHL this season, as Darryl Smith was called up by Manitoba on November 4th. Smith played in one game with the Moose.
The 22-year-old Levasseur went 6-1-1 in November, including winning four-straight one-goal games from November 6th-15th. Levasseur had a 2.29 goals against average allowing 19 goals in his eight starts. He stopped 215 of 234 shots for a .919 save percentage. Three of Levasseur’s six wins in the month came in shootouts, where he stopped a total of 13 out of 14 shootout attempts.

The 6’0’’, 200 pound Levasseur won CHL goaltender of the week honors on November 9th. Levassuer led the Bucks to two one-goal victories against Arizona on November 6th-7th, stopping a total of 54 of 59 shots he faced to earn the weekly league honors.
Levassuer (pronounced LEV-a-sur) was drafted in the seventh round (#197 overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, and spent parts of the last two seasons in the AHL. Levassuer is on loan to the Bucks this season from Anaheim.
Levasseur has played in 51 career AHL games, posting a combined record of 17-22-5 with the Portland Pirates (’07-08) and Iowa Chops (’08-09).


Obviously, this puts the Bucks in a bit of an interesting situation.

Coach Ruskowski has a lot of faith in backup Kyle Gajewski, but is he really No. 1 material? And are the Bucks going to have to "sign" a member of their equipment managing staff like they did last season, or can they get another goalie in time for their game in Corpus on Thursday?

Obviously, I'll ask Ruskowski about that when I see him later, but for now, must say congrats to Levasseur. He definitely deserved this.

UPDATE: Sorry for the lack of posting today, but check back tomorrow for some more goalie news.