AHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

30Apr

Philippe Cornet (51)

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6th year left wing Philippe Cornet(51) won Norway’s 2016 Get-ligaen Championship with Stavanger Oilers in his first pro hockey journey overseas.

He was a point-per-game player with 17 goals and 17 assists in 33 games through the regular season, then added another 6 and 5 in 17 postseason contests.

The 6’1″ 197 lbs. forward takes his success to Finland’s Liiga signing a one-year deal with HPK for 2016/2017.

Originally an Edmonton Oilers‘ 5th round pick in the 2008 draft (#133 overall), he signed a three-year entry level deal skating mostly with affiliate Oklahoma City Barons.

His best year of point production came in 2011/2012, where he played a career high 67 AHL games scoring 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points.

He did play a pair of games with the NHL club as a rookie getting an assist but by his third season in the prospect system he was also sent further down to Stockton Heat of the ECHL to begin the year.

Left unqualified he signed a one year minor league contract with San Antonio Rampage for 2013/2014 but was quickly traded to Charlotte Checkers.

For the following campaign he agreed with Hershey Bears but his offense numbers continued to dwindle.

Heading to Europe looks to be the smartest move the 26-year old has made for his playing career.

01Apr

Jordan Szwarz (37)

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6th year right wing Jordan Szwarz(37) was left unqualified by contract team for his first 5 years, Arizona Coyotes heading into the 2016/2017 season.

He was in training camp and officially signed a pto to join Providence Bruins on opening day but was slow to start with only a pair of goals through October.

The small-ish, energetic forward picked up the pace big as the team started to gain its footing and currently has a career high 18 goals and 31 assists for 49 points (both team leading) in 58 AHL contests with a +19 rating.

He was rewarded a month into the year with an spc to stay.

He’s on pace to play a new best games in a single season and also post more shots on net than he has in a past campaign.

The soon-to-be 26-year old, former Saginaw Spirit and Portland Pirates‘ captain with 35 NHL games experience is a good leader for the young minor league squad and could be playing himself into another big league deal for 2017/2018.

He’s easily worth a look.

21Mar

Brady Austin (67)

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Buffalo Sabres‘ 7th round pick in the 2012 draft (#193 overall), extra big 6’4″ 234 lbs. 3rd year defenseman Brady Austin(67) had a strong NHL debut skating 27 shifts for 15:37 total ice with 3 shots, 2 penalty minutes and 1 hit in a 2-1 win.

The upcoming restricted free agent had a pair of 20, one 20+ year as an overage skater in the OHL but is most considered a strong, stay-at-home style blue liner.

He’s played 199 AHL games with affiliate Rochester Americans scoring 5 goals and 25 assists on a squad that will miss the playoffs for a third straight season with him in the ranks.

The soon-to-be 24-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of 2016/2017, when his entry level deal expires but it looks like almost a sure bet to pick up at least a one-year extension to continue.

14Mar

Noel Acciari (55)

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Boston Bruins‘ undrafted rookie center Noel Acciari(55) has been just the kind of spark plug the team was looking for to complete their roster.

Playing mostly limited minutes on an average of 15 shifts per contest, he’s effectively making his presence felt using his small-ish 5’10” but wide 208 lbs. frame to break up plays and agitate the opposing offense despite only notching an assist in 7 NHL games.

He has 6 penalty minutes and a +1 rating.

The team has also magically posted a 5-0-2 record in his time up with the big club.

He has proven he knows how to win as the Providence College squad he skated with for four years won the 2014 NCAA Championship and he was regionally voted as the best defensive forward.

The 24-year old has seemingly played a similar role on reassignment to affiliate Providence Bruins but has also decently affected the score sheet in his first season with 7 goals, 12 assists and a +8 rating in 42 AHL games.

Signed to a 2-year entry level deal he likely just looking forward to become a fixture on the roster.

18Feb

Yann Sauve (4)

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7th year defenseman Yann Sauve(4) played most of his games in 2014/2015 season in the AHL (17 with Springfield Falcons, 5 St. John’s IceCaps and 4 for Providence Bruins) and spent only 13 games with contract squad Orlando Solar Bears.

He followed that up run agreeing to another ECHL deal this time with Manchester Monarchs and a pair of short stints lacing up for Portland Pirates and Stockton Heat.

The decently sized blue liner didn’t seem to mind his time in New Hampshire as he exploded offensively with a career high 7 goals and 22 assists.

That display definitely helped him grab a deal with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL for 2016/2017.

He played 25 games scoring a goal and 2 assists and when that calendar was waning without a playoff berth, re-signed and returned to the Monarchs.

After only a pair of games with a 2 assists, the 27-year old heads back overseas signing with EHC Munchen of the DEL for some postseason hockey.

He could re-appear again.

02Feb

Ethan Werek (20)

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6th year center Ethan Werek(20) signed his 2nd ECHL contract to start 2016/2017 with Orlando Solar Bears but only played a pair of games scoring a goal and two assists before being loaned to Texas Stars, where he was recently given an spc to finish out the season.

In 21 AHL games he has 3 goals and 6 assists with a +2 rating.

The former New York Rangers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#47 overall) was traded to Arizona Coyotes before ever really be part of their system.

Signed to a three year entry level deal, he skated for affiliate Portland Pirates exclusively but was left unqualified heading into 2014/2015.

He would next agree to terms with Providence Bruins but was still unable to elevate his point production to what it was through three years of juniors in the OHL with Kingston Frontenacs when he was a point-per-game player.

The 6’2″ 200 lbs. forward inked his first contract in the lower league with Florida Everblades heading into 2015/2016, but after two months potting 12 goals and 14 assists in 24 games ith a +17 rating was loaned up to Charlotte Checkers.

He played the rest of the regular calendar and even signed a contract but was returned to appear in his first Kelly Cup Playoffs.

At just 25-years old, it will be interesting to see where he heads next but it would be no surprise to see him leave North America to pursue a higher level of hockey overseas.

18Dec

Casey Bailey (37)

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Ottawa Senators‘ undrafted 2nd year right wing Casey Bailey(37) skated his first big league contest since playing 6 games with Toronto Maple Leafs after finishing up an outstanding third year at Penn State University and subsequently signing a 2-year entry level deal.

In 6 games to wrap up the 2014/2015 season he would score his first NHL goal.

Reassigned to start his rookie campaign with affiliate Toronto Marlies, he scored 4 goals and 14 assists in 38 AHL match-ups but was involved in a major trade that sent him to Canada’s state capital for the remainder of 2015/2016.

Taking up where he left off in the minors, he would better his scoring output with 7 goals and another 14 assists for Binghamton Senators.

A late training camp cut, he rejoined the Baby Sens to start 2016/2017 with a brand new 1-year extension and looks to eclipse his first year scoring marks with already 9 tallies in 25 games.

The hot start has earned him a first recall.

In his debut he skated 13 shifts for 8:35 minutes of ice time with one shot on net and one takeaway.

The 25-year old looks to be just getting started.

06Dec

Joel Vermin (92)

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Tampa Bay Lightning 7th round pick in the 2013 draft (#186 overall) 6th year Swiss-born right wing Joel Vermin(92) picks up his first NHL recall and looks to be staying for a spell.

After a quick start with farm team Syracuse Crunch (3 goals, 7 assists in 12 AHL games with a +2 plus/minus), he already looking to eclipse marks set in his rookie year in North America, where he connected for 12 tallies and 21 helpers.

In 2 games with the parent club he skated 15 shifts for 11:18 of total ice time with 1 assist (on the game-winning goal in his 2nd appearance), 1 shot on net, 2 hits, 1 giveaway, 2 minutes of power play time and a +1 rating. Both games were also victories.

The not exactly huge 5’11” 192 lbs. forward skated 5 seasons in his country’s top league for hometown team Bern racking up some decent numbers (31 goals, 50 assists in 177 games with a +32) and won the 2013 NLA Championship.

At 23-years old he signed a three-year entry level deal that makes him a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign and looks to be in line for a nice extension to continue.

02Nov

Jakub Kindl (4)

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Florida Panthers‘ 10th year Czech Republic-born defenseman Jakub Kindl(4) is in the final year of a four-year extension he signed in 2013/2014 with draft team Detroit Red Wings (1st round 2005, #19 overall).

He was traded late last season after 8.5 seasons in Michigan.

The fairly large 6’3″ 198 lbs. blue liner has never been the biggest point producer, playing a bit more of a stay-at-home style.

He was mostly on a slingshot recalled and reassigned between minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins and the parent club for most of his time in the Wings‘ system but did skate exclusively in the NHL from 2011-2014.

After being dealt, he appeared in only big league games and one playoff match-up but was sent to farm club Springfield Thunderbirds to start 2016/2017.

The 29-year old is a veteran of 292 games in the show with a nice +25 rating and 256 AHL games with a not so nice -59.

It’s a bit doubtful he’ll score a new contract for next season unless he shows some remarkable uptick in his play and could easily head back to the Czech Extraliga, where he was part of 27 games with HC Pardubice for the lockout of 2012/2013 and also played some of his junior hockey.

17Oct

Lucas Lessio (14)

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4th year left wing Lucas Lessio(14) was left unqualified by Montreal Canadiens heading into restricted free agency after being dealt a couple of months into 2015/2016 from draft team Arizona Coyotes.

The decently big power forward was given a training camp invite by Los Angeles Kings but released to affiliate Ontario Reign to continue.

A week later he was released from his pto.

Tough to say where things went south for the former high draft selection after a good rookie season with an AHL career high 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points with Portland Pirates, then 26 NHL games and another good run in the minors.

Maybe it was his on ice accountability, which sits at a -11 in the big league and a very lousy -38 rating with three different farm clubs.

The former 2009 OHL Champion and 2011 Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal winner with Team Canada didn’t take long to pick up a new deal after a series of unsuccessful tryouts.

The 23-year old heads overseas on a one-year deal with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL in hopes to turn the corner.