Category: AHL

09Jan

Ryan Russell(20) Columbus Blue Jackets

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5th year New York Rangers 2005 7th round pick (#211 overall) center Ryan Russell(20) played his 1st NHL regular season games over the weekend on call-up from Springfield Falcons by his new team Columbus Blue Jackets.

When he couldn’t come to terms with the Rangers on a contract he signed to a two-year entry deal and then another one year, two-way deal with Montreal Canadiens but spent time only with their AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs before he was traded in the offseason to start 2011/2012.

In 2 games with the Blue Jackets (a win and a loss), he’s skated an average of 12 minutes of ice time including a good amount on the pk. He’s played 30 games in the AHL and has 9 goals and 6 assists while maintaining an even plus/minus.

His twin brother Kris Russell plays defense for St. Louis Blues. He was a Blue Jackets‘ player up until mid-November, when he was traded. They did play in the preseason together though.

 

08Jan

Philip Samuelsson (5)

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philip-samuelsson

Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#61 overall) defenseman Philip Samuelsson(5) played only a couple years of college hockey before turning pro.

Signed to a 3-year two-way entry level deal, he started the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with their AHL affiliate.

In 33 games with the Baby Pens he has 1 goal and 7 assists, while going a +6 plus/minus.

His dad is former Stanley Cup Champion defenseman, Ulf Sammuelsson.

At 20 years old he’s already fairly big like his father at 6’3″ 198 lbs.

He’s also considered a stay at home defenseman, much like his dad’s rep was during his playing career.

06Jan

Joe Sova(36) Albany Devils

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New Jersey Devils‘ undrafted rookie defenseman Joe Sova(36) skated in 11 AHL games with Albany after his final college season was over.

He started his rookie year with Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL but was recalled in early December. In 11 games he has a couple of goals and a couple of assists and looks pretty comfortable and accountable out there.

Look for him to continue to move up the depth chart and potentially step into his first NHL even before the end of the current season. He’s fairly big at 6’3″ 190 lbs and is all of 23 years old.

 

05Jan

Rob Klinkhammer(14) Binghamton Senators

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rob-klinkhammer

It’s been a long while since undrafted 5th year winger Rob Klinkhammer(14) has played in the Eastern Conference of the AHL, but he’s back for the first time since his rookie season with Norfolk Admirals in 2006/2007.

In 66 games, he had 12 goals and 12 assists.

From there he was signed to a two-year entry level deal and subsequent one-year, two-way contract with Chicago Blackhawks playing mostly for their affiliate Rockford IceHogs.

He was called up for one NHL game and registered no points but did have a shot on net and went a +1 in 11:36 ice time.

He started his fourth year in the Blackhawks‘ organization but was traded to Ottawa Senators and is playing mostly with Binghamton.

In 15 games, he already have 9 goals and 6 assists and his season totals have him tied for first in scoring on the team.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ottawa call him up to have a closer look.

 

04Jan

Jeff Zatkoff(36) Manchester Monarchs

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One thing Los Angeles Kings have in their prospect system is great young netminders galore. Originally a 3rd round pick in 2006, Jeff Zatkoff(36) has earned the AHL Goalie Of The Month for December.

He was 5-2 with a 1.76 GAA and .946 SV% for Manchester Monarchs. In 17 appearances this season he has a 10-4 record.

This is the last season of his entry level deal, so given the fact that the Kings have a glut of goalies, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the 24-year old pro. He has yet to appear in an NHL game.

 

 

04Jan

Luca Caputi(17) Syracuse Crunch

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In one of the most uncomfortable trade scenarios we’ve come across in a little while, 4th year pro Luca Caputi(17) was traded to the team that happened to be visiting his (former) home area that night, Syracuse Crunch.

Toronto Maple Leafs made a minor league trade with Anaheim Ducks that perpetuated this cruel joke.

What makes it worse is the player he was traded for Nicolas Dechamps(16) scored a goal in his debut for Toronto Marlies 2-0 victory over his new team.

A humorous aside from the trade, the two players also traded numbers assuming each other’s numbers for their new teams.

In 23 AHL games this season Caputi has 2 goals and 1 assist.

He has 35 games of NHL experience with the Maple Leafs and the team he was originally drafted by in the 4th round of 2007 (#111 overall) Pittsburgh Penguins. He has 3 goals and 6 assists to his credit.

Anaheim Ducks are slumping so badly that it’s almost certain he will see his 1st NHL call-up of the 2011/2012 season.

 

02Jan

Nick Palmieri(34) Albany Devils

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We’re thinking it’s mostly a numbers game that has New Jersey Devils‘ 2007 3rd round pick (#79 overall) Nick Palmieri(34) being reassigned to Albany on a couple of occasions. Starting the season with New Jersey, he has skated in 23 games posting 4 goals and 3 assists, but was a -7 plus/minus. No doubt he has to play better to stick with the team.

He’s in the final year of his entry level contract and can be called-up and reassigned without any fear of losing him through waivers.

He played 43 NHL games with them last year as a rookie and pocketed himself a nice 9 goals and 8 assists, while being a +9 player for what was a fairly terrible team. His totals were good enough for first on the team in rookie goal scoring.

In 14 AHL games this season he has just a couple of goals and one assist and is a -5. He seems like the type of player that has it in fourth gear most of the time when playing in the minors.

01Jan

Jon DiSalvatore(14) Houston Aeros

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Houston Aeros‘ captain and 9 year veteran left winger, Jon DiSalvatore(14) earned his first NHL call-up since the 2005-2006 season when he was with St. Louis Blues.

This was only his sixth ever game in the big league. He skated a total of 14:27 including time on the power play and had 2 shots on net and 2 penalty minutes. He was reassigned back to the Aeros the next day.

In 635 AHL games he has 188 goals and 269 assists. He has scored 20 or more goals in all of his previous 8 pro seasons and looks to be on his way to a 9th consecutive 20 goal campaign as he already has 10 in 33 games.

He was originally a 4th round pick in the 2000 draft by San Jose Sharks (#104 overall).

01Jan

Shaone Morrisonn(26) Rochester Americans

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10th year veteran defenseman Shaone Morrisonn(26) was waived at the beginning of the 2011/2012 by Buffalo Sabres to get the team under the salary cap and reassigned to their AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. Accepting the designation he has appeared in 27 games. More importantly he is helping the team stay very much in the thick of the playoff race and has even put up a couple of goals and 7 assists.

He was signed to a 2-year contract by the Sabres last season, appearing in 62 games tallying only a single goal and four assists.

Originally a Boston Bruins 1st round pick in the 2001 draft (#19 overall), he spent a year and a half with them before getting traded to Washington Capitals, where he played for 6 seasons.

To his credit he has 480 NHL games played and only just turned 29 years old.