ECHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

13Jan

Kristers Gudlevskis (35)

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Tampa Bay Lightning 5th round pick in the 2013 draft (#124 overall) Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis(35) was reassigned to start his rookie season with ECHL affiliate Florida Everblades.

He was quickly recalled and has made the north-south trips already a few times in his first half year pro.

The still somewhat lanky 6’3″ 189 lbs. net minder had pretty stellar numbers in 11 games with the ‘Blades, where he went 7-4 with a 1.83 GAA and .928 SV%.

Currently up with Syracuse Crunch, he’s already appeared in 18 AHL games posting another winning mark of 10-5-2-2 with a 2.48 GAA and .910 SV%.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal through 2016, he played in a pair of KHL games last season with Dinamo Riga.

The 21-year was named CCM/AHL Player Of The Week for January 6-12 recording back-to-back weekend shutouts and a midweek victory.

He was also chosen to represent his country in the upcoming Sochi Olympics.

He’ll likely need to continue to prove himself on the way up.

11Jan

Mike Cornell(4) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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Undrafted rookie defenseman Mike Cornell(4) spent five seasons in the Eastern (Junior) Hockey League starting as a high school age player before skating four years at University Of Maine. where he served as team captain in his final campaign.

He signed an ato out of college with Florida Everblades and appeared in 6 games dishing 4 helpers and also played in 13 Kelly Cup Playoff games, where he recorded 5 assists with a +8 rating through a pair of rounds before getting eliminated.

The not exactly huge out there 5’11” 190 lbs d-man plays a very physical game guarding the zone with his life pretty much.

To begin his first year pro he re-signed with the Everblades scoring his first goal and adding 5 assists in 12 ECHL games. He also owned a tidy +10 plus/minus.

Only a month into the season Bridgeport Sound Tigers came a-calling and signed him to a pto.

He fit right in to the team’s style pretty much from the get-go and before you know it he’s 26 AHL games in and inked an spc to stay.

The late starting 25-year old has two goals and 5 assists with a -5 on a young squad that struggles at times.

He also has a coach that’s been telling him to shoot the puck, because he’s already put 47 shots on net and that’s definitely added to his ability to connect on the score sheet.

This one gets a #nicesurprise.

08Jan

Dominik Uher(26) WBS Penguins

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Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 5th round pick in the 2011 draft (#144 overall), Czech Republic-born center Dominik Uher(26) has already surpassed his rookie season highs in assists and points and is one goal away from setting a new mark in goals as well.

In 31 AHL games with minor league affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he has 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points. Last season in 53 regular season contests he tallied 7 points total.

The 6’1″ 199 lbs. forward plays a feisty style of game out there and only really started to light the lamp before turning pro in his final season of junior hockey in the WHL with Spokane Chiefs, when he was a bit over a point-per-game guy.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal through the end of the 2015 campaign, the still very young 21-year old seems to be just hitting his stride.

It would be no shock to see him continue to increase his point totals and maybe get a look at his NHL game by the parent club.

07Jan

Chris Bruton(16) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers‘ 3rd year undrafted center Chris Bruton(16) was given a one-year, two-way NHL contract for 2013/2014 by New York Islanders to captain the young minor league affiliate squad.

Unfortunately he broke his hand early into the campaign and missed a month of action, leaving the team to field three assistants in his absence.

Upon his return, he has skated in 26 AHL games scoring a goal and an assist but is mostly counted on for his leadership and backing up his teammates when called upon.

He was team captain in his last season with Spokane Chiefs when they won both the Western Hockey League Championship and Memorial Cup. There was also an unfortunate incident that happened with the latter trophy.

At only 5’11” 205 lbs. he isn’t exactly the biggest guy out there but as his fighting record and time spent in the penalty box indicate, he welcomes any challenge.

One of those was after his junior career wrapped up, instead of turning pro immediately he decided to attend Acadia University.

After three years in school he signed his first contract with Alaska Aces after attending training camp with Peoria Rivermen but on his second loan to the club inked a deal in the higher league and re-signed for a 2012/2013.

The 26-year old definitely seems to be enjoying his time as mentor and could be headed for a nice coaching career once he’s ready to step off the ice.

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.

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.

13Dec

Ben Youds(2) Providence Bruins

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3rd year undrafted defenseman Ben Youds(2) is looking to best his AHL rookie season career highs in a big way, as long as he can stick with a tough Providence Bruins‘ roster to crack.

Signed to a minor league contract with Rockford IceHogs, he had 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points as a rookie in the 2011/2012 season.

He was re-signed but ended up splitting time with ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye for most of his sophomore campaign. His numbers in the lower league were pretty stellar at 17 goals and 27 assists with a +11 rating in 43 games.

The 5’11” 180 lbs. d-man was an invite to Boston Bruins‘ training camp but reassigned to the farm club, where he signed a one-year deal in the off-season.

In 15 games with the P-Bruins he has a goal and 8 assists with a +5 plus/minus, already matching his point totals from last season in just 23 games.

03Dec

Jean-Francois Berube(35) Manchester Monarchs

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Los Angeles Kings‘ 4th round pick in the 2009 draft (#95 overall) goaltender Jean-Francois Berube(35) finally moved up the hockey ladder to start the last season of his 3-year entry level deal in the AHL with Manchester Monarchs.

In his first two campaigns he tended net almost exclusively with then ECHL affiliate Ontario Reign.

In 61 games he posted a 32-19-4-2 record with a 2.55 GAA and .908 SV% but really broke through in the Kelly Cup Playoffs where in 10 games he went 6-2-2 and finished with a 2.07 GAA and .914 SV%.

The Kings‘ farm team did have the off season opening for the 6’1″ slim 170 lbs. net minder to step right in and take the back-up job between the pipes; and with that achieved it’s highly doubtful anyone expected him to be pressed into action as the number 1 guy for an extended period.

But that has happened after the farm club’s starting goalie was summoned when Jonathan Quick went down with a long-term injury.

The 23-year old is out of the gate strong with a 6-3-1 record, a solid 2.28 GAA and shutdown .920 SV% very assuredly keeping the Monarchs in their commanding first place Eastern Conference lead.

If he keeps up his stellar play it will be interesting to see if the backstop is qualified with an extension or moved in a trade.

16Nov

David Steckel(39) Norfolk Admirals

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10th year center, former Los Angeles Kings‘ 1st round pick in the 2001 draft (#30 overall) center David Steckel(39) had to hang around for a little while before he found himself a deal for the 2013/2014 season.

He was invited to join Minnesota Wild training camp and eventually signed a pto to continue with their minor league affiliate Iowa Wild but was released after only 4 appearances.

Rumor has it he was fishing for a one-year, NHL deal and there was little room there for him to sign.

So, onto the next and he takes up Norfolk Admirals but inks an spc with the promise of signing with the parent club and team he last skated with, Anaheim Ducks.

He’s played 419 NHL games scoring 33 goals and 46 assists and lead the league in best faceoff percentage in 2010/2011, his last of 6 seasons with Washington Capitals.

The mammoth 6’6″ 215 lbs. forward is killer on the dot and it could be his ticket back to the show.

He scored a handsome two-way deal, was put on waivers and sent back to the AHL.

The 31-year old is a veteran of 219 games in the league with 56 goals, 60 assists and a pretty hefty +37 rating.

His last appearance in the A was Hershey Bears‘ deep playoff run in 2007.

It would be little surprise to see him leave for the KHL to finish out his pro career.

01Nov

Brett Skinner(24) Norfolk Admirals

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9th year veteran defenseman Brett Skinner(24) interestingly signed with the Central Hockey League Allen Americans, eventual President’s Cup winners, after returning from a couple of seasons overseas. Two years ago he ended up playing for teams in Germany, Finland and Sweden, but in the season before that one he played a full campaign in the KHL.

He put up some pretty impressive numbers in the lower league, skating 27 games, scoring 7 goals and 30 assists with a +4 rating.

Grand Rapids Griffins swooped in and signed him to a pto half way through 2012/2013. They upped that to a standard players contract in short order and their season culminated 100 games later as the 2013 Calder Cup Champs.

The 6’1″ 195 lbs. blue liner was originally a Vancouver Canucks‘ 3rd round pick in the 2002 draft (#68 overall) but only played a single year in their system before bouncing around with a few AHL teams until he signed in the off-season of 2008 with New York Islanders for a spell, played his only 11 NHL games with them. The next season he scored some fairly decent numbers reassigned to minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters while under contract with Colorado Avalanche.

Probably helped him get some decent money in Russia.

At 30 years old with his new team Norfolk Admirals, he already has three assists in 7 games. His AHL stats are pretty amazing at 369 games (and counting) 28 goals and 151 assists.

It’s all about the break out pass.