Category: AHL

05Aug

Nikita Kashirsky(5) Greenville Road Warriors

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5th year undrafted Russian-born left wing Nikita Kashirsky(5) re-signs for another run with Reading Royals after being an integral part of the 2013 Kelly Cup Championship team.

In 41 ECHL games last season he struck for 17 goals and 27 assists with a +11 rating and didn’t stop there as he appeared in all 22 playoff contests connecting for another 5 tallies and 15 helpers with a +12 plus/minus. His 15 assists in the postseason were tied for the league lead.

Skating most of his pro career with a few different ECHL clubs, he’s managed to put up 161 points (66 + 95) in 191 games and win two Kelly Cup Championships (2009 South Carolina Stingrays).

He received 3 AHL call-ups in his first two seasons with Springfield Falcons, Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears but the 6′ 196 lbs. forward has been unable to score himself a permanent gig for a higher club despite his very able point production in the lower league.

The 28-year old has maybe a bit surprisingly played almost all his hockey in North America except for one game in the KHL.

Original story: 7/23-13

For 2013/2014 he actually left to explore new territory signing a one-year deal with Dundee Stars of the EIHL.

In 51 games he would duplicate what he was basically doing all along, being a point-per-game player connecting for 23 goals and 33 assists.

Following up that performance he decided to return to the his comfort zone, inking for the year with Wichita Thunder.

Although he maybe didn’t reach the scoring heights of previous campaigns he still managed a quite healthy 16 goals and 23 assists in 64 games on a team that failed to make the postseason.

Now 30-years old (which seems a bit crazy) he has agreed to skate 2015/2016 with Greenville Road Warriors, marking his 6th stint in the ECHL.

05Aug

Hubert Labrie (3)

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Undrafted 5th year defenseman Hubert Labrie(3) for a second season found himself in the unrestricted free agency open market.

It only took him until the end of the first month to sign a one-year deal and he’s going to be back in the lone star state once again, this time under contract with San Antonio Rampage.

Skating last season under an AHL contract with Springfield Falcons he played a career high 46 games scoring a new best 8 assists and 9 points and has also been known to occasionally drop the mitts with 65 minutes spent in the penalty box.

At 5’11” 194 lbs. he isn’t the biggest of blue liners but plays with enough strength and gusto to get the job done.

In 146 games he maintains a +6 rating.

He was originally signed by Dallas Stars to a three-year entry level deal after playing 4 seasons of junior hockey with Gatineau Olympiques, was captain in his third stint and won the 2008 QMJHL Championship as a rookie.

After spending most of his first campaign with farm club Texas Stars, he would split time equally in 2012/2013 with ECHL affiliate Idaho Steelheads.

In the last year of his contract though he would only skate 4 games in the lower league and 40 contests up but only appeared in 4 postseason match-ups en route to a 2014 Calder Cup Championship.

At just 24-years old this may be a blue liner that is just getting started.

04Aug

Tyler Biggs(22)

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3rd year former Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#22 overall) right wing Tyler Biggs(22) was involved in a corker of a deal that sent Phil Kessel and one other player to Pittsburgh Penguins for three prospects in return.

After two seasons of US Development Team junior hockey, followed by a year at Miami University (Ohio) and another campaign with Oshawa Generals, where he scored 26 goals and 27 assists in 60 OHL games he turned pro on an ato with farm team Toronto Marlies.

In 4 AHL games he scored his first pro goal.

Through the next two years he would only score 9 goals and 5 assists through 108 games and was even reassigned for almost a month to the ECHL affiliate Orlando Solar Bears skating 8 contests.

He managed 4 goals and 2 assists in the lower league before being called back up.

The big 6’3″ 224 lbs. forward signed a three-year entry level deal that makes him a restricted free agent at the end of 2015/2016.

He’ll almost certainly start the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and will need to prove he’s got game.

03Aug

Jamie Oleksiak(5) Dallas Stars

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Dallas Stars‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#14 overall), mammoth-sized defenseman Jamie Oleksiak(6) made his NHL debut after starting his rookie season with their minor league affiliate Texas Stars.

He skated 21 shifts for 15:32 of total ice time in a 4-3 shootout win.

At 6’7″ 250 lbs. his size speaks for itself but he started to show an offensive upside in the second half, after a trade, of his only year in junior hockey. That followed one season in college hockey.

In 43 AHL games he has scored a modest 3 goals but added a playmaker 20 assists to his scoring totals and leaves the farm club (for now) with a +12 plus/minus. He also was selected to the starting lineup of the recent 2013 AHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition.

The 20-year old signed a 3-year entry level contract that keeps him in the Stars‘ system through 2015. He should easily become a full-time fixture in the show well before then as a solid two-way specialist.

Original story: 2/2-13

He would finish his first season posting a team leading 27 assists and 33 points for d-men with a healthy +19 rating.

He also appeared in 16 games with the big club recording his first two assists.

In his sophomore campaign he played a new high 69 AHL games but only got into 7 contests with Dallas, unable to get any points. His 5 goals, 18 assists and 23 points with a +8 plus/minus were second amongst blue liners on Texas and he would be a part of the 2014 Calder Cup Champions contributing 5 assists and a +13 rating in 21 playoff outings.

He would start his contract year on the opening night roster but was a healthy scratch and called into action for the following game.

For the next few games he’d be back in the stands watching but after that he would start showing up regularly.

He would end up playing 36 contests getting his first NHL goal and 7 assists.

While mostly playing with the big club he was sent down, skating 35 games with the farm club.

Now 23-years old he signed a one-year extension early into his restricted free agency to stay with Dallas Stars and is expected to stick with the big club exclusive in 2015/2016.

03Aug

Rob Flick(26)

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Rob-Flick

Florida Panthers‘ newly signed 4th year center Rob Flick(10) comes off a career season with Providence Bruins skating a new high 65 AHL games, scoring a team leading 19 goals, 24 points, a +11 rating and 124 shots on net.

He also dropped the mitts a season low 3 times after his first three years with 9, 8 and 6 fights, so that aspect of his game may be changing.

He did produce some decent numbers in his third and final campaign of juniors with Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors before turning pro.

A restricted free agent heading into 2015/2016 he decided for a change of scenery after two years under contract after his trade to Boston Bruins.

The infinitely tough 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward was originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 4th round pick in the 2010 draft (#120 overall) but wasn’t signed to his 3-year entry level deal until cutting his teeth for a year in the minors with affiliate Rockford IceHogs, which included some early rookie time in the ECHL with Toledo Walleye.

He will probably start the upcoming season with new affiliate Portland Pirates but some good, hard skating may just him earn a first NHL recall.

02Aug

Marko Dano(56) Chicago Blackhawks

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Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 1st round pick in the 2013 draft (#27 overall) Slovakian-born center Marko Dan0(10) starts his rookie year on the NHL roster after playing two seasons with HC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL as a teenager and signing an ato late last season to join minor affiliate Springfield Falcons for their playoff run.

Still at only 19-years old he collected his first goal and an assist in just his second game.

The somewhat small-ish looking, speedy 5’11” 183 lbs. forward put in a pair of goals and 4 assists in 10 AHL games, adding another 2 helpers in 5 postseason contests.

He comes to North American hockey already possessing a good amount of experience, so it looks to be mostly watching him grow as a pro and see if he can continue to keep pace in the best league in the world.

Original story: 10/15-14

He would split his first season playing time almost equally, recording close to identical numbers in each league.

Starting the year with the parent club he had his first multi-point game in just his second appearance with his 1st NHL goal and assist.

In 35 games he would finish strong with 8 goals 13 assists and a +12 rating.

His year in the minors would wrap up playing 39 AHL games scoring 11 goals and 8 assists with a -4 plus/minus.

Traded as part of a mult-player deal on the day before free agency started, he joins 2015 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks for his sophomore season and is said to be in contention to grab a roster spot if he can continue putting up numbers.

Getting right to work, the 20-year old decided to take part in prospect camp and will prove through his constant, hard work ethic that he deserves a permanent place with the team.

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02Aug

Bruno Gervais(37) Eisbaren Berlin

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Bruno-Gervais5 After putting up some decent numbers (10-16-26) with the farm team while under contract for Philadelphia Flyers, on the first day of free agency he switched teams signing with Colorado Avalanche.

Although a late cut from training camp, he would skated another full campaign in the minors serving as team captain for affiliate Lake Erie Monsters, playing 71 AHL games.

He didn’t have great numbers at 3 goals and 10 assists with a -10 rating but certainly helped guide the youngsters in the system quite nicely.

For 2015/2016, he may not be able to see another big league deal so he returns to Germany on a contract with Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL.

Tough to say how much time the soon-to-be 31-year old will have left on the ice but should have a few good runs with some overseas clubs.

02Aug

Steve Pinizzotto(13) EHC Red Bull Munchen

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steve_pinizzottoEdmonton Oilers‘ 8th year undrafted right wing Steve Pinizzotto(13) got his first NHL goal recently after appearing in 34 games over the last three years.

He added his second tally a month later to go along with a pair of assists he notched in one game earlier in 2014/2015, and now has new career highs for goals and points but will need to add another helper to pass his previous mark set in only 6 games late last season.

The 6’1″ 205 lbs. forward plays a gritty power forward style that has been fairly successful in the minors.

In 9 AHL games to start the current campaign with affiliate Oklahoma City Barons, he has no goals but a pretty nice 6 assists.

His best seasons in the league were 40+ efforts in 2010 & 2011 with Hershey Bears, while under contract with Washington Capitals.

He also won consecutive Calder Cup Championships with them in 2009 & 2010.

If he can continue to contribute there is little reason to believe the 30-year old won’t stick around on a team that could use some swagger.

He has easily worked hard for any inch of ice his been given and was the first player out of Rochester Institute Of Technology to sign a big league deal.

Original story: 12/27-14

He would stay with the big club for another month before being returned to the farm team but managed to play in a career high 18 games (36 total) getting a 2nd goal and 2 assists, both new bests.

The now 31-year old was likely looking at a decent contract in the minors for 2015/2016 but has chosen to take his game elsewhere signing a one-year deal with EHC Red Bull Munchen of DEL.

It may not be out of the question to see him put up some big numbers overseas.

01Aug

Bretton Stamler(48)

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Bretton-Stamler

After 5 games (3 assists) to start the season with new team, Gwinnett Gladiators defenseman Bretton Stamler(48) would get his recall, once again via Hartford Wolf Pack and spent the next month in the AHL before being returned.

The reliable and rugged d-man played 7 games recording no points but had other plans worked out to move his game overseas joining Hamburg Freezers for the balance of the regular season.

He would record a new career high 11 assists with a goal and a +6 rating on his third team of ’14/15 campaign through 24 DEL games.

For 2015/2016 he will continue in the league but switch squads signing for a year with Augsburger Panther.

It will be interesting to see if a full slate of games will elevate his game even further for the 28-year old.