AHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

14Jul

Brian O’Neill(23) Los Angeles Kings

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Los Angeles Kings‘ 2nd year, undrafted right wing Brian O’Neill(23) signed his qualifying offer to stay in the team’s prospect system for another season.

As a rookie, he skated in 49 games with their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs scoring 3 goals and 12 assists. He also appeared in all four playoff games, recording another tally.

He had joined the team on an ato after finishing up four years with Yale Bulldogs. In 12 games he had a goal and an assist and added another helper in the 2012 playoffs.

The 5’9″ 170 lbs. forward finished up his college playing career as a 1.18 point per game player and was named team captain in his final year.

They will definitely be looking for the small winger to step up his game in the upcoming campaign as they know he connect on the score sheet.

13Jul

Raman Hrabarenka(41) New Jersey Devils

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After spending his rookie season on an AHL contract with minor league affiliate Albany Devils, big, undrafted, Belarus-born defenseman Raman Hrabarenka(4) signs a 3-year entry level deal with New Jersey Devils that keeps him in the system through 2016 .

The 6’3″ 212 lbs. blue liner notched his first pro goal and added 4 assists in 34 games, but also found himself watching from the sidelines on too many occasions as a healthy scratch and also missed some playing time due to injury.

He still needs to step up his game with that sizable frame and definitely showed that ability in his last season of junior hockey with Drummondville Voltiguers.

At only 20-years old he is still very young and may have a big spurt of development this season, when he joins the parent club for prospect development and the upcoming training camp.

12Jul

Nathan Paetsch(4) Grand Rapid Griffins

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11th year, double-drafted defenseman Nathan Paetsch(4) re-ups with Grand Rapid Griffins for another couple of seasons after a year overseas in DEL with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg.

He appeared in 70 AHL games scoring 4 goals and 27 assists with a +13 rating and added another 11 assists in 24 Calder Cup Playoff contests on the way to the league championship.

The 6′ 195 lbs. blue liner has 319 AHL games to his credit.

He had been under NHL contract from 2006-2011 and skated in 167 match-ups mostly with Buffalo Sabres, the second team that drafted him in the 7th round in 2003 (#202 overall).

He was initially picked by Washington Capitals in 2001 in the 2nd round (#58 overall) but never signed.

The 30-year old is likely to happy to have secured a place to play pro hockey through the 2015 season, if not beyond that and will likely continue in his assistant captain role with the team.

11Jul

Mike Hoeffel(26) New Jersey Devils

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New Jersey Devils‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#57 overall), 3rd year left wing Mike Hoeffel(26) was re-signed to a one-year extension for 2013/2014.

He was initially signed to a 2-year entry level contract that saw him play 112 games with their AHL Albany Devils scoring 10 goals and 9 assists. He had virtually identical numbers in each of his first couple campaigns, although he was able to turn a -11 rating into a more formidable +1 on a team that was only 6 points removed from a playoff berth.

The 6’3″ 205 lbs. has power forward size and will definitely be stepping up his game. He should be a 10/10 guy without even blinking, like he was able to achieve in four years of college hockey play with University Of Minnesota. In 149 games he left with 48 goals and 39 assists.

The 24-year awaits his first NHL recall.

09Jul

Ian Slater(12) Orlando Solar Bears

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Undrafted 2nd year center/right wing Ian Slater(12) was signed to a contract with Adirondack Phantoms for his rookie season.

He started his pro career in the ECHL with affiliate Trenton Titans, where in 31 games he scored 7 goals and 3 assists with a +9 rating.

The 6′ 198 lbs. forward was recalled to the AHL right after the beginning of the year and would play out the regular season schedule with the team. He notched an assist and was a -9 in mostly limited fourth line use.

The 25-year old was never exactly a point scoring machine in college play at Western Michigan University but was team captain for his last couple of years and won a championship. He also provide lots of energy on the ice whenever he’s out there.

For his sophomore campaign he has decided to ink a deal with Orlando Solar Bears, the team just an hour up the road from his hometown.

He will likely be kept an eye on for a call-up and maybe even attend an AHL training camp to start.

07Jul

Jason Demers(5) San Jose Sharks

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Heading into his 6th pro year, San Jose Sharks‘ defenseman Jason Demers(5) signs a 1-year extension to play another season for the only team he’s ever suited up for.

He was originally a 7th round pick in 2008 (#186 overall), but played only one full campaign with their AHL affiliate Worcester Sharks before being recalled to the parent club on a more permanent basis during his sophomore season.

The 6’1″ 195 lbs. blue liner had career lows in a lockout shortened 2013 run that was riddled with injuries for the 25-year old.

They are likely thinking he has what it takes to bounce back. He’s never been the most prolific point getter but is mostly steady in his own zone and dishes out enough punishment to attackers that the suits took notice.

He has skated in 205 NHL games scoring 11 goals and 50 assists, while going a +12 plus/minus.

This pic was taken on December 1, 2009.

05Jul

Will Acton(14) Edmonton Oilers

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After a couple of seasons with Toronto Marlies in the AHL, 3rd year undrafted, unrestricted free agent left wing Will Acton(14) signs his first NHL contract with Edmonton Oilers.

He follows his former coach, Dallas Eakins and dad, new assistant coach Keith Acton west to Alberta, agreeing to a two-year, two-way deal that will almost certainly see him play with their top notch minor league affiliate Oklahoma City Barons.

The 25-year played almost an identical amount of games in each of his two seasons in Ontario and showed an uptick on the score sheet in 2012/2013 with 8 goals and 11 assists. He was able to take that even further in the postseason scoring 4 goals and 2 assists in 9 playoff games.

At 6’2″ 190 lbs. he has a big enough frame to be considered a power forward and with the move and new challenge will likely pay dividends.

03Jul

Tony DeHart(2) St. Charles Chill

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After a couple of seasons with the ECHL Stockton Thunder, including an appearance in the 2013 Kelly Cup Finals with the team, 3rd year defenseman Tony DeHart(2) is one of the first players to sign with the Central Hockey League expansion St. Charles Chill for the 2013/2014 season.

Originally a New York Islanders‘ fifth round pick in the 2010 draft (#125 overall), the 6’2″ 202 lbs. blue liner was never signed. Instead, he attended Montreal Canadiens‘ and AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs‘ training camps on an invite before being released.

He signed his first contract with Stockton as a rookie and inked an extension to return for his sophomore campaign, where he had career highs in goals, assists and points finishing the 2012/2013 season with 5-20-25 marks.

Not being so much of a stranger to putting up points, he notched 40 assists in his fourth year in juniors with Oshawa Generals and has continued to increased the number of pucks he’s put on net for scoring chances.

Joining the St. Charles‘ squad brings the 23-year old back to his home state of Missouri. He was born less than a half hour away from their home arena. u

Chances are he’ll look to impress and put up points in an effort to move back up the pro hockey ladder.

27Jun

Philippe Dupuis(19) Hamburg Freezers

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Heading into his eighth pro year, unrestricted free agent center/right wing Philippe Dupuis(19) will take his game to Germany joining Hamburg Freezers of DEL for the 2013/2014 season.

He was last spotted with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but only appeared in 34 games scoring a pair of goals with 9 assists and a -7 plus/minus. He was signed by Pittsburgh Penguins for a 1-year, two-way deal and did appear in their shortened training camp before getting waived.

The previous season he was playing on a similar contract with Toronto Maple Leafs but unfortunately put up a goose egg in 30 games. His luck was far better with their minor league affiliate Toronto Marlies, where he put up 15 goals and 16 assists in 34 games with a +12 rating and did even better going all the way to the 2012 Calder Cup Finals. In 17 postseason games he had 4 goals and 10 assists with a +6.

In 2010/2011, the 6′ 196 lbs. forward skated almost the complete season in the NHL with Colorado Avalanche. He appeared in 74 games registering 6 goals and 11 assists.

He was originally a Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 4th round pick in the 2003 draft (#104 overall), spending a couple of seasons in their prospect system and even spent time in the ECHL with Dayton Bombers and went on a nice Kelly Cup run with the team.

It won’t be a surprise to see him become a point per game guy overseas, which he basically was throughout juniors.

26Jun

Joakim Andersson(18) Detroit Red Wings

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Detroit Red Wings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2007 draft (#88 overall), Swedish-born center Joakim Andersson(18) has been given a qualifying offer to stay in the team’s prospect system for a fourth season.

He originally signed a 3-year entry level deal that is up as of July 1 and is coming off a career year in the system, playing 38 NHL games, scoring 3 goals and 5 assists during the shortened lockout season and adding another tally and 5 helpers in 14 playoff games.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward was reassigned to their minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins as soon as they were eliminated, rejoining a team the 24-year old had already skated in 189 AHL games with, including 36 to start 2012/2013. He had 10 goals and 17 assists in his most recent campaign and 38 goals and 63 assists total.

As a Griffin once again, he put up another 3 goals and 5 assists on the way to a Calder Cup Championship ring.

Might very well be the last the lower league sees of this guy.