AHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

17Feb

Alex Biega(55) Vancouver Canucks

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Vancouver Canucks‘ 5th year defenseman Alex Biega(55) earned his recall and spent a couple of weeks with the parent club but only practiced with the team.

As a small-ish 5’10” 187 lbs. blue liner he is mostly a stay-at-home style blue liner but has been consistently able to hit the 20-point mark through his four seasons in the AHL and could very well set new career high marks int the current campaign with Utica Comets.

With continued consistent play with the farm club, he received another shot and on little notice found himself suiting up for his first big league game.

The 26-year old skated 22 shifts for 16:32 total ice time with 2 hits, 2 break ups, 1 giveaway and 2 shots on net.

One of those shots ended up being his first NHL goal and the 3-2 game winner.

He’s only signed to a one-year, two-way deal and now is looking more likely to get re-upped.

See related: 8/4-12

16Feb

Ryan Dzingel(43) Binghamton Senators

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Ottawa Senators‘ 7th round pick in the 2011 draft (#204 overall) rookie center Ryan Dzingel(43) has put up point-per-game numbers in his three years at Ohio State University and before that as a member of Lincoln Stars in the USHL.

He was a 2014 Hobey Baker Award finalist.

Upon signing his 2-year entry level contract he went right to work on an ato with affiliate Binghamton Senators scoring 2 goals and 5 assists in 9 AHL games.

The seemingly smaller than listed at 6′ 196 lbs. forward had a good training camp and was a late cut reassigned to start his first year with the farm club.

He’s put up 11 goals and 6 assists in 40 games, which may be a bit of a slow start but he definitely sees the ice well and has game-changer abilities.

The 22-year may stay in the minors this season but he is likely being looked at to have a productive summer and report to camp with a good chance to make the parent clubs’ 2015/2016 opening night roster.

14Feb

Emile Poirier(21) Adirondack Flames

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Calgary Flames‘ 1st round pick in the 2013 draft (#22 overall) winger Emile Poirier(21) has goal scorer written all over his game.

He comes out of a point per game performance in three years of juniors with Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. He did so well he belonged to the 30/30 club as a sophomore skater and a 40/40 mark in his final campaign before turning pro.

As soon as the ink on the 3-year entry level contract was dry he was ready to jump and sign an ato to join then affiliate Abbotsford Heat for the remainder of the regular season and short playoff run.

He scored 2 goals and 2 assists with a +4 rating in 2 AHL games (3 of those points came in one contest) and added another tally in the postseason.

Ready to go as soon as he was reassigned from training camp to new affiliate Adirondack Flames, the 6’2″ 200 lbs. power forward that never shies away from the rough stuff, started in on the score sheet.

In 40 games he’s potted 14 goals and 16 assists with a +11 rating.

He also was selected to appear in the 2015 All-Star Game and came away with one goal and a pair of helpers in the 14-12 Western Conference win.

It’s a bit of a wonder why the parent club has yet to give the 20-year old a shot at the show but maybe there’s a method to how they groom his development.

13Feb

Connor Hellebuyck(37) St. John’s IceCaps

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Winnipeg Jets‘ 5th round pick in the 2012 draft (#130 overall) rookie goalie Connor Hellebuyck(37) is doing everything, including standing on his head to make saves, trying to push farm club St. John’s IceCaps into a playoff berth after last year making it all the way to the 2014 Calder Cup Finals.

The 6’4″ 200 lbs. net minder has started 40 AHL games, more than any other, is tied with a league leading 22 wins and 14 losses to go along with a 2.36 GAA and .926 SV%.

He’s tied for the lead in shutouts with 5 and his goals against average is good enough for 5th among first year back stops.

After two seasons of outstanding numbers with UMass-Lowell Riverhawks including the 2012 NCAA Hockey East Championship and goaltender of the year award in his first year, the 21-year old maybe rightly decided it was time to turn pro.

He’d also shared the top player between the pipes honors in his only year of American juniors in the NAHL with Odessa Jackalopes.

Although he has yet to receive his first NHL recall, he’s easily being groomed and has time as he’s signed to an entry level deal through 2017.

12Feb

Mat Bodie (2)

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New York Rangers‘ undrafted rookie defenseman Mat Bodie(2) was captain of the Union College team that won their first, a Cinderella Story style, 2014 NCAA Championship in his fourth and final season.

They did win back-to-back ECAC Championships in 2012 and 2013.

He slipped under the radar possibly due to where he was playing and even though his numbers have been good, his somewhat small 6′ 175 lbs. size may have been slightly prohibitive for other clubs to take the chance.

They were definitely missing a pretty smart playing blue liner that’s a sharp thinker on ice and can put up points, which is necessary because his physical game is definitely low impact.

He already seems to be out there as a player with more pro experience despite this being his first season. It’s likely it’s due to him already being 24-years old when he started.

Signed to only a one-year entry level deal, he was a bit of a late cut from training camp.

Reassigned to start with minor league affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack, he’s managed to get 3 goal, 14 assists and has a +1 rating in 48 AHL games with a squad that’s fighting for their playoff life.

The parent club will probably want to continue to watch this prospect develop.

He’s set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and it would be a surprise to see them step away from a qualifying offer to stay put.

11Feb

Scott Clemmensen(40) Albany Devils

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New Jersey Devils‘ veteran goalie Scott Clemmensen(40) has been in the system for 8 of his 14 pro years serving as their primary back-up and has played games with all three of their affiliates, Albany River Rats, Lowell Devils and current Albany Devils‘ teams.

In the few NHL seasons where he was either called on to be the starter or at least co-starter between the pipes, he performed pretty well, especially through 40 games on his second tour of duty in the Garden State 2008/2009, when Martin Brodeur went down with his first big injury.

The 6’2″ 200 lbs. net minder posted a 25-13-1-2 record with a career best 2.39 GAA and .917 SV%. He also had two shutouts.

Based on his performance the unrestricted free agent decided to search for a #1 spot and landed a three-year deal with Florida Panthers. He would spend the next five seasons down south.

In 120 games he went 40-39-18-3 and kept decent numbers through his first three years but with less playing time his numbers suffered.

Almost ironically his only really good year in the AHL was one campaign with Toronto Maple Leafs on reassignment to Toronto Marlies.

He is likely to finish out his one-year deal in the minors with the occasional call-up due to injury.

No doubt he’ll be looking to get that 5000th save (he’s at 4931) to go along with the more than 1000 minutes played, and a 200 game mark wouldn’t suck either.

It’s been quite a career for the 37-year old, former 8th round pick in the 1997 draft (#215 overall), 2001 NCAA Champ with Boston College Eagles.

10Feb

Faceoff Dot: Antoine Laganiere(28) vs. Marek Hrivik(15)

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Norfolk Admirals‘ center Antoine Laganiere(28) faces off against Hartford Wolf Pack‘s Marek Hrivik(15).

See related: 4/1-14, 4/23-12

09Feb

Jyrki Jokipappa(2) Dallas Stars

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Dallas Stars‘ 7th round deep pick in the 2011 draft (#195 overall) 5th year Finnish-born defenseman Jyrki Jokipappa(2) won a Calder Cup in his rookie season on reassignment with affiliate Texas Stars.

In 21 playoff games he had 5 assists and was a +8.

The rangy 6’3″ 210 lbs. blue liner was a late training camp cut showing in preseason action he was ready to step up his efforts.

In 23 NHL games he already has 6 assists.

In 19 AHL games he struck for 3 goals and 2 assists.

With 3 years of pro hockey under his belt with Ilves of Liiga, the top league in Finland, he’s one of many new international players that are taking that route to North America.

He was even loaned back in the first season of his three-year entry level deal to continue his development overseas before arriving here and is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign.

The 23-year old will easily be given a qualifying offer for another year, if not tied up for another two.

06Feb

Mike Richards(18) Manchester Monarchs

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Los Angeles Kings‘ 10th year veteran center Mike Richards(18) was recently put on waivers and reassigned to minor league affiliate Manchester Monarchs for the first time ever, save for the time he spent winning the 2005 AHL Calder Cup with Philadelphia Phantoms after finishing up 4 years of juniors with Kitchener Rangers.

One season previous he won the 2003 OHL Championship and subsequent Memorial Cup.

As a 20-year old playing his first pro games he was a point per game guy in the playoffs with 8 goals and 7 assists. He was also a +8 plus/minus.

You’d think the sports’ world stopped for a second when in his first game not so unhappily reporting to skate, he failed to get a point.

In his second appearance though he came up with the night’s first goal, assisted on two others and was chosen the game’s first star.

Through 704 NHL games he has 179 goals and 302 assists with a +21 rating.

He’s four times connected for over 60 points in a season, once had 80 points, twice over 30 tallies and on three occasions had over 40 helpers with 50 in one campaign.

The 5’11” 196 lbs. two-time 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Champion was originally a Philadelphia Flyers‘ 1st round pick in the 2003 draft (#24 overall).

He played 6 years with the team and was captain for his last three.

Signed to a 12-year deal in 2007 he’s officially under a big league contract through 2020.

It’s likely that a buy out will be exercised and he’ll be free to pursue a fresh start, which is easily what the still young 29-year old needs moving forward.

05Feb

Fight Card: Micheal Haley(18) vs. Chris Breen(8)

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Worcester Sharks‘ Micheal Haley(18) has 8 fighting majors but also is second on the team in goal scoring with 12. He looks to reach a career high mark in the category this season.

This was only the 2nd fight for the 6’7″ 224 lbs. Providence Bruins‘ defenseman Chris Breen(8).

Despite giving up almost half a foot and 20 pounds the smaller, still tough as nails Haley held it to a draw.