Category: ECHL

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.

Will Acton

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.

Tony DeHart

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.

Philippe Dupuis

25Jun

Brent Henley(44) Nottingham Panthers

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Giant-sized 6’7″ 249 lbs., undrafted 11th year defenseman Brent Henley(44) will don the jersey of his 21st pro hockey team, when he jumps shores to continue his career in the EIHL with Nottingham Panthers for 2013/2014.

He has skated most of his time in the ECHL amassing 248 games and 1189 penalty minutes in the league, while posting 9 goals and 38 assists.

He’s also played in 114 AHL contests, most recently last season in 5 appearances with Lake Erie Monsters.

The 32-year old was a member of Fort Wayne Komets through three different leagues, playing 164 games and won a pair of titles with the team, 2008 IHL Turners Cup and 2012 Central Hockey League President’s Cup.

Most awesomely though, he started his career with Colorado Gold Kings of the WCHL in 2001/2002.

Brent Henley1

16Jun

Josh Lunden(42) St. John’s IceCaps

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Third year, undrafted left wing Josh Lunden(42) spent most of last season, first in training camp, then on a pair of pto’s with St. John’s IceCaps. In 31 games, he notched 8 goals and 10 assists playing mostly energy line roles.

In his sophomore campaign he was recalled for AHL games by three different times.

He has been signed for the last two seasons with Las Vegas Wranglers. He also appeared with the team during his rookie season, reassigned while under a one-year entry level contract with Phoenix Coyotes.

The 6’2″ 202 lbs. forward also participated in their 2010 training camp.

In 79 ECHL games he’s pocketed a nifty 33 goals and 36 helpers.

The 27-year old earned a well-deserved one-year contract with the IceCaps for 2013/2014, where he should be able to continue to step up his game.

Josh Lunden1

05Jun

Riley Gill(30) Reading Royals

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3rd year undrafted goaltender Riley Gill(30) is likely used to being bounced around from team-to-team in his thus far short pro career.

By our count, he’s worn a minor league sweater for 8 different teams and played in games for 7.

He started with Kalamazoo Wings right after finishing up four years at University Of Michigan. He played a few regular season games and then appeared in four more in the playoffs, almost getting them past the opening round.

After that impressive performance, he was given a one-year deal.

The 6’1″ 211 lbs. net minder was recalled twice to the AHL and got in between the pipes for one game with Worcester Sharks and a pair with Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Both outings were less than impressive.

He signed an extension to continue with the K-Wings and spent virtually the entire year with the team, helping them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, but found himself without a contract for 2012/2013 as the NHL lockout was trickling down talent and few doors were open for the 28-year old.

Utah Grizzlies invited him to their training camp but he failed to catch on and ultimately dropped down, signing on to play with Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL.

As just about anyone would have predicted, he excelled in the lower league with most wins and shutouts before leaving the team a month prior to the end of the season. His play earned him Goaltender Of The Year honors.

He was recalled to join Reading Royals, where he stepped right into action, posting a 10-3-1 record with a 1.28 GAA and .952 SV% to go along with three shutouts in 14 games played.

He would continue the stellar play into the playoffs, where he would snatch the starting goalie spot in short order as he showed no signs of slowing down putting up a 13-3 record with a 1.91 GAA and .930 SV%, while adding another 4 shutouts.

For his efforts, he was named Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP as winning goaltender for the 2013 Championship team.

There’s a push to have him under contract for the 2013/2014 with parent club Washington Capitals but it remains to be seen if what materializes next for the journeyman backstop.

See related: 12/4-10

Riley Gill

 

 

03Jun

Olivier Roy(38) Oklahoma City Barons

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olivier-roy-1

Edmonton Oilers‘ 5th round pick in the 2009 draft (#133 overall), goaltender Olivier Roy(38) had himself a pretty sparkling sophomore season spending most of his time in the AHL with Oklahoma City Barons.

He started to get reassigned to the ECHL Stockton Thunder with more frequency towards the back third of the season and played in 22 Kelly Cup Playoff games backstopping them all the way to the Finals.

Injured during game 4, he had to sit on the sidelines for the last contest before his team bowed out but put up a very impressive streak 0f 7-2 with a 1.21 GAA and .961 SV% to propel his squad into the postseason.

Then his 12-7 mark helped push the team to the last round of the playoffs, beating a pair of teams with better regular season records.

Almost ironically the 6′ 180 lbs. backstop also played in 22 AHL games. He ended with a 9-9-1 mark and a 2.77 GAA and .902 SV%.

He turns 22-years old this summer and be on the final season of his 3-year entry level deal. His pretty impressive performance should net him a look between the pipes for the parent club in the upcoming campaign.

In the meantime though, he was reassigned back up to join the Barons‘ practice squad to continue to gain experience in their playoff push.

 

29May

Tyler Bunz(30) Stockton Thunder

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Edmonton Oilers‘ 5th round pick in the 2010 draft (#121 overall) rookie goaltender Tyler Bunz(30) stepped in for ECHL affiliate Stockton Thunder in the Kelly Cup Finals,when an injury took out the starter and helped extend the series to at least a fifth game before bowing out to the eventual winners, Reading Royals.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal he started his first season in AHL training camp with Oklahoma City Barons before being sent down to gain playing time with the glut of backstop prospects in the system. He also appeared in a couple Oilers‘ camps.

He appeared in 37 games posting a 16-16-2-2 record with a 3.35 GAA and .886 SV%. He also had one shutout. In one AHL game with OKC he didn’t fair nearly as well.

The 6’1″ 198 lbs. net minder was very impressive in his last two campaigns in junior hockey with Medicine Hat Tigers. He won more games than any other goalie in his team’s history and was named WHL best in his final year.

Even with the accolades, he may be assigned for another season in Stockton to continue bringing up his game.

The 21-year old may be off to a bit of a slow start in his pro career but that could all change in a hurry.

Tyler Bunz

 

25May

Eric Hunter(15) Stockton Thunder

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Double draft pick, 2nd year center Eric Hunter(15) was the hero in game 4 with 2 tallies, including the game-winning goal, giving Stockton Thunder a heartbeat in the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 8th round pick in 2004 (#229 overall) he was never signed and went back into the pool only be selected again a couple of years later by New York Rangers in the 6th round (#174 overall). They also didn’t sign him.

After five seasons of junior hockey with Prince George Cougars, he elected to attend college in Canada and played for another four years with University Of Alberta.

He maintained a close to or more than a point per game production since his second campaign in juniors and upon completion of his higher education inked his first pro contract, a 1-year AHL deal with Lake Erie Monsters.

The very decently sized 6’1″ 194 lbs. center skated 75 games in 2011/2012 scoring 6 goals and 10 assists, although wasn’t retained by the team for another season.

Looking at a crowded hockey landscape due to the impending NHL lockout, he signed another one-year agreement to join Stockton. In 60 games, he was regaining that scoring touch with 17 goals and 22 assists.

He continues the pace in the postseason with 5 goals and  7 assists in 21 games, while holding a +4 rating.

He was also recalled by Oklahoma City Barons on 4 occasions putting up a goal in 11 contests. After attending training camp with the team, he was sent back to start the regular season but later added to the roster on an spc.

The 26-year old is likely in line for another AHL tour of duty for 2013/2014.

Eric Hunter

 

 

24May

Warren Peters(43) WBS Penguins

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Undrafted 10th year center Warren Peters(43) is the type of veteran skater you want on your team come playoff time for his on ice determination and game leadership he brings.

An unrestricted free agent after two seasons in the Minnesota Wild system, he signed a one-year two-way contract with Pittsburgh Penguins that’s seen him contribute with all the aforementioned qualities during the regular season, but in the postseason with AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins it’s on a whole other level. It’s also good reason for him to wear an assistant captain “A” on his sweater.

The 6’1″ 209 lbs. forward has made it to Calder Cup Finals in two of the last three seasons, first with Texas Stars and followed it up with Houston Aeros.

He’s appeared in 96 NHL with 3 different teams in each of the last four seasons (4 goals, 4 assists) and only likely didn’t receive a recall this season due to the shortened campaign.

As a player that started his career in the ECHL and even spent his entire sophomore season in the league during the other most recent lockout, we can appreciate the fact that he’s worked his way up to the show with lots of hard play and persistence.

The 30-year old is back on the market this summer but chances are the Penguins will offer him a one-year extension.

Warren Peters