AHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

02Jan

Max Friberg(14) Norfolk Admirals

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Anaheim Ducks‘ 6th round pick in the 2011 draft (#143 overall), Swedish-born left wing Max Friberg(14) is off to a nice start in his rookie season.

In 33 games with minor league affiliate Norfolk Admirals he has 9 goals and 9 assists with a +8 rating.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal in the offseason, he continued to play in his home country’s pro league, SHL for one more campaign before joining the Admirals for 6 contests, scoring his first tally, at the end of 2012/2013.

Listed at 5’11” 195 lbs., those measurements seem a bit generous. His speedy skating style and stick-handling abilities is definitely more akin to a smaller sized player.

He won a gold medal at the under 20 World Junior Championships, finished as scoring leader and was selected to the All-Star Team.

It seems unlikely with all the depth in the prospect system that he earns a call-up this season but he could easily work his way up to fill a roster spot next year, which is also the final year of his deal.

01Jan

Matt Lowry(17) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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2nd year undrafted center Matt Lowry(17) signed a pto to join Bridgeport Sound Tigers after tearing it up in the early season with Evansville IceMen.

He posted 7 goals and 8 assists in 19 ECHL games with a +9 rating.

The feisty 6′ 190 lbs. forward originally an invite to Ottawa Senators‘ training camp in 2009, went down the ladder with Binghamton Senators after three seasons in the WHL, where he put up decent numbers (47-113-160 in 207 games) but was mostly reassigned to play with affiliate Elmira Jackals.

After his rookie season he decided to jump at an opportunity to enroll under a full free scholarship to attend University Of Manitoba.

At the conclusion of his third school year he signed an ato with Greenville Road Warriors. In 9 games he scored a goal and 3 assists but had no points in the playoffs.

The 25-year old has only 1 assist in 10 games with the Sound Tigers but the team has run an impressive 4-6 record with lineup stocked full of call-ups.

31Dec

Adam Lowry(47) St. John’s IceCaps

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Winnipeg Jets‘ 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft (#66 overall) rookie center Adam Lowry(47) has all the size and skill set to become a power forward in the NHL but needs to prove his worth first with minor league affiliate St. John’s IceCaps before he gets his opportunity.

The 6’5″ 205 lbs. skater has 3 goals and 4 assists in 23 AHL games with a -3 rating but is always positioning himself in the middle of the action, using his extra large frame to control the puck.

He was awarded WHL Player Of The Year for 2012/2013, tallying 88 points (45 goals, 43 assists) with a +18 rating and 102 penalty minutes for a well-rounded campaign.

In four seasons of junior hockey with Swift Current Broncos, he was very nearly a point-per-game player and served as team captain in his final run.

The still very young 20-year old is signed to a three year entry level contract and may never quite get the point production expected of him but when he receives his recall he’ll likely never look back.

30Dec

Conor Allen(4) New York Rangers

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New York Rangers‘ undrafted rookie defenseman Conor Allen(4) had an impressive run in prospect then training camp and was one of the final blue liner cuts to be reassigned to minor league affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack.

Starting his pro career in the AHL he was there to continue the learning curve and develop. He did appear in one game with the team at the end of last season after concluding his third year of college hockey at UMass (Amherst) and signing a deal as an unrestricted free agent.

He’s been in the farm club’s lineup for all 29 games scoring 5 goals and 8 assists.

Hampered by injuries the Blueshirts rewarded him with his first recall and in his NHL debut the 6’2″ 210 lbs. d-man skated 22 shifts for 15:47 of total ice time, had two shots on net and ended the evening’s 4-3 win a -1 rating.

The 23-year old may get reassigned down again soon as the parent club’s roster gets healthy but no doubt this is just a brief look and there will be more to come.

He has a two-year entry level contract through 2015.

29Dec

Zach Trotman(37) Providence Bruins

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Boston Bruins‘ 7th round pick in the 2010 draft (#210 overall, the last selection) second year defenseman Zach Trotman(37) may have seemed like an unlikely call-up but a decimated blue line and his strong play with their farm club, Providence Bruins made him an easy choice for a look.

In 23 AHL games he has a goal and 7 assists with a very responsible +10 rating. He also had an impressive training camp with Boston and was one of the last cuts before the start of the 2013/2014 season.

The 6’4″ 202 lbs. d-man skated 20 shifts for 16:41 of total ice time in his NHL debut, including 3:06 on the power play. He had 3 shots on net and coughed up the puck once in the team’s 4-3 loss.

Signed to a 2-year entry level deal, it looks like the 23-year old will easily be qualified to stay in the prospect system for at least one more campaign, if not score himself another pair of seasons extension.

27Dec

Petr Straka (24)

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Czech Republic-born rookie right wing Petr Straka(24) was originally a Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft (#55 overall) but went unsigned until Philadelphia Flyers stepped in with a 3-year entry level deal for the 2009/2010 QMJHL Rookie Of The Year.

In four seasons of junior hockey he was a point-per-game producer (97-111-208 in 212 contests).

He attended a pair of Blue Jackets‘ training camps but they remained under-impressed allowing him to explore other options.

The seemingly smaller than he measures, 6’ 195 lbs. forward starts his first pro season with minor league affiliate Adirondack Phantoms, where in 28 AHL games he has put up 5 goals and 10 assists with a +1 rating on a team that’s just below the playoff bubble.

At just 21-years old, he looks to be a player that has all the promise to explode on the score sheet but for now he’s maybe playing his game a bit under the NHL radar.

26Dec

Kyle Beach (14)

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Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2008 draft (#11 overall), 4th year right wing Kyle Beach(14) finally saw his time expire in the team’s prospect system.

Unable to secure an NHL recall while playing with minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs, he was still qualified for another season after his three-year entry deal was up.

The fairly big 6’3″ 210 lbs. player definitely has power forward size but seems to have a bit of unwillingness to use it where he is for anything more than getting it skirmishes with opponents.

In 175 AHL games he has 41 goals and 36 assists with 4 of those tallies coming in 7 contests in the current campaign.

He was a point-per-game guy though four WHL seasons, while always putting up close to 200 penalty minutes each year. He also concluded his junior hockey career with a +51 rating.

Traded to New York Rangers‘ organization and reassigned to their farm club, Hartford Wolf Pack, he has only notched one assist in 7 contests.

The still super-young 23-year old is only under contract through the end of the season and it’s possible his game will pick up to where it needs to be with the change of scenery, but he’s going to have to connect soon or his ice time may dry up.

23Dec

Pierre-Marc Bouchard(96) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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Former Minnesota Wild 1st round pick in the 2002 draft (#8 overall) veteran left wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard(96) is spending his first time in the AHL since the lockout season of 2004/2005, when he skated with minor league affiliate Houston Aeros.

A veteran of 12 seasons he’s skated 593 NHL games scoring a very tidy 110 goals and 246 assists with an overall +6 rating.

Standing at a mid-sized 5’10” with a small 175 lbs. frame, he’s a quick moving forward with great instincts but has also been injury-prone in the last few years and missed 2009/2010 altogether.

In the four previous seasons though, he was averaging almost 60 points a campaign with over 40 assists.

Reassigned to minor league affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers by New York Islanders, his first team other after a phenomenal 11 seasons with the Wild, he’s already put up a goal and 3 assists in 4 games.

The 29-year old is a great stabilizing presence for what is a young squad in the parent club’s prospect system.

He’s likely to reach the 600 game mark in the show but may need to wait another season.

22Dec

Akim Aliu(78) Hartford Wolf Pack

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5th year right wing Akim Aliu(78) is a bit of an enigma.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#56 overall), the rough and tough forward has only played in 7 NHL games while under contract with Calgary Flames, who picked up the last year of his entry level contract, then qualified him for another season.

In his first pair of big league games he notched a pair of goals and an assist but through his next five contests in last year’s lockout shortened season he failed to connect with the score sheet.

The 6’4″ 225 lbs. power forward spent most of his time with farm club Abbotsford Heat, where in 84 games he’s collected a sparse 14 goals and 11 assists with an unsettling -20 rating.

Through 214 AHL contests his point totals are surprisingly low.

It’s fairly well documented that the still young 24-year old has temper and attitude problems, which probably has a lot to do with his limited success.

He started the current campaign on a try-out contract with Hamilton Bulldogs but was released after 14 games.

Picked up a month later by a struggling Hartford Wolf Pack, in a pair of appearances he scored his first tally with the team, has one fight and unloaded 5 shots on net.

He seems to fit with the team pretty well but without a sizable increase of offense production, it seems unlikely he’ll be given an spc to stay through the regular season.

21Dec

Arron Asham(45) Hartford Wolf Pack

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16-year veteran right wing Arron Asham(45) last spent time in the AHL with teams that are long-defunct: Quebec Citadelles and earlier Fredericton Canadiens. This occurred more than 10 seasons ago, when he was signed to the team that chose him in the 3rd round of the 1996 draft (#71 overall), Montreal Canadiens.

He spent four seasons with the team and in their prospect system until he was traded to New York Islanders and would play the next 10 years exclusively in the NHL.

The 5’11” 210 lbs. forward has played in a staggering 789 big league games scoring 94 goals and 114 assists with a -42 rating, which isn’t great and makes us wonder how he managed to sign so many one-way contracts throughout his pro career.

Signed to a two-year deal with New York Rangers that ends at the conclusion of 2013/2014, the 35-year old has been up and down with minor league affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack but will likely see his career make it to 800 big league games.

Where he ends up next (possible retirement) is a crap shoot.