Keith Aulie(3) is a monster of a 22-year old, 2nd year defenseman at 6’6″ 217 lbs.
He’s been in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system from the start of his pro career and played in 57 NHL games (2 goals and 2 assists).
With their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, he’s skated in 64 games (3 goals, 7 assists).
All of that ain’t so bad but in 2011/2012 with the two teams, he has only 3 assists and is a -10 plus/minus.
He must have slipped pretty low on their depth chart because they dumped him at the trading deadline for prospect forward Carter Ashton.
Could be that they just needed more up front than on the blue line.
He will debut with his new team Tampa Bay Lightning in the upcoming weekend. The team needs to make sure it has defense that takes up a lot of space with their goaltending worries, as they stumble and surge, pushing for a playoff spot.
He was originally a Calgary Flames‘ 4th round draft pick in 2007 (#116 overall) but played most of his rookie season with Abbotsford Heat.