ECHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

Category: ECHL

10Apr

Cody Sol (41)

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Big as a redwood, Winnipeg Jets‘ rookie defenseman Cody Sol(41) scored his first AHL goal to go along with 3 assists in his 21st game for minor league affiliate St. John’s IceCaps.

He started his first pro season in the ECHL with Colorado Eagles (5 goals, 3 assists, 25 games) and has been recalled three times with the most recent one occurring in mid-February; and from there he’s stuck with the team.

The absolutely massive 6’6″ 242 lbs. d-man is signed for another season on a three-year entry level deal, one of which appears to have been paid even though he spent the season in his final skate in juniors with Kitchener Rangers of the OHL.

He was originally an Atlanta Thrashers‘ (r.i.p.) 5th round pick in the 2009 draft (#125 overall) and actually played a single game with then affiliate Chicago Wolves at the end of 2010.

At 22-years of age, there’s literally no where to go but up. He plays with all the grit and fight you’d want from a player with his size, but still seems to be finding the finer points of his game.

It’s still officially only his debut season and with the goal we’re sure more confidence follows.

07Apr

Ryan Grimshaw(32) South Carolina Stingrays

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Undrafted, rookie defenseman Ryan Grimshaw(32) signed a deal to join Trenton Titans to start the first full season of his pro career.

He inked an ato with them after his college playing career playing three games with the team.

The 6′ 195 lbs. hard-nosed blue liner attended Toronto Marlies‘ training camp on an invite but was reassigned to the ECHL at the start of the season.

In 23 games he registed 3 goals and 3 assists before being recalled to the AHL at the beginning of the new calendar year.

On a pto with the Marlies, he proved he deserved a place on the roster in 16 games of gritty play and was upped to an spc to finish out the 2012/2013 season.

While up in the higher league, his rights were traded to South Carolina Stingrays to complete an earlier season swap.

He was recently reassigned to help them in their bid for the Kelly Cup.

The 23-year former Harvard Crimson captain will likely be back soon as it appears the quest for ECHL excellence will end in the first round.

01Apr

Thomas Greiss(1) San Jose Sharks

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San Jose Sharks‘ 2004 3rd round pick in the 2004 draft (#94 overall) goaltender Thomas Greiss(1) was reassigned to minor league affiliate Worcester Sharks for conditioning.

After starting the lockout shortened season with a shutout win, he’s been shaky in his last three starts, all losses before going down to what is reported as being a neck injury.

In 42 NHL games the 6’1″ 215 lbs. German-born net minder owns a 17-15 record with a 2.55 GAA and a .910 SV%. His stats in the AHL are similar, although more games played at 141 with Worcester going 74-60 with 2.70 GAA and .904 SV%.

The 27-year old is in the final year of his 2-year extension (one-way deal for 2012/2013) and set to become an unrestricted free agent.

It seems highly improbable that they will keep him around. He’ll see little playing time as the season heads down the stretch to prove any uncertainty the organization might have after 7 years in the prospect system.

30Mar

Michael Pelech(27) Peoria Rivermen

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4th year center Michael Pelech(27) finally struck for his first tally in his fifth AHL recall, third this season.

The 6’3″ 203 lbs. power forward has been basically a point-per-game guy in the ECHL for his last couple of campaigns, including the current one, in which he has 13 goals and 33 assists in 50 contests with Cincinnati Cyclones.

Originally a Los Angeles Kings‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#156 overall), he spent his entire rookie year with Ontario Reign but signed to a one-year deal with affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

He started his sophomore season with the Monarchs but was reassigned once again after 5 games with no points.

His point production also slumped slightly in 2010/2011.

By the start of his third year, he needed to find a new home and inked a deal with Toledo Walleye.

It wasn’t too far into the season though before he was traded to Cincinnati, the team that he would find his scoring stride with.

He finished 2011/2012 with them popping in 16 goals and 44 assists in 60 games, and a career best +17 rating.

He also earned a one game call-up to Norfolk Admirals.

In a no-brainer move he re-signed with the Cyclones and continued on his point scoring streak through the new year, when he started get phone calls from AHL teams.

His first call was to join his older brother Matt’s team Worcester Sharks for four games.

He got his first point, an assist.

A couple weeks later he was summoned to Connecticut Whale but failed to connect and released.

It wasn’t until his current recall to Peoria Rivermen that he finally found the back of the net.

He has been with the team through 7 games.

The still only 23-year old could very easily play out the regular season where he is or once again get reassigned soon to start the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Neither roster moves seems so bad, unless the Rivermen don’t make the playoffs and the Cyclones end in one round.

29Mar

Ian O’Connor(24) Manchester Monarchs

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Undrafted 2nd year left wing Ian O’Connor(24) signed to rejoin Reading Royals for his sophomore season, the team he skated with at the end of his college career and was then traded to late in last year’s campaign.

He was called up on a two occasions in his rookie season to play a couple of games with Worcester Sharks but was unable to connect on the scoresheet. He actually attended their training camp in his first year.

In 122 ECHL games he has 37 goals and 27 assists.

The 6′ 203 lbs. forward is currently signed to a pto with Manchester Monarchs, where in 12 games he notched his first AHL goal.

As a 16-year old he played four seasons with New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, not even 30 minutes up the road from where he was born in Londonderry. So the recall is a sort of homecoming for the now 25-year old pro.

26Mar

Shane Harper(11) Trenton Titans

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Philadelphia Flyers‘ undrafted 3rd year right wing, Shane Harper(11) has definitely had his ups and downs in the final season of his three-year entry level deal.

He started the season on AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms‘ roster after spending his entire sophomore campaign with the team, scoring a tidy 13 goals and 14 assists in 70 games.

The small-ish 5’10” 187 lbs. forward once again was in the plans for 2012/2013, but stumbled out of the gate and was utilized less in game situations due the overload of NHL players in the fold as the lockout dragged on.

Just after the new year, he was reassigned to ECHL affiliate Trenton Titans to see if he could regain that scoring touch. He spent only a week in the lower league with little to show, when summoned back up as the stalemate in the show thawed and the Phantoms lost a few key contributors.

He was still snake-bitten though, as he has only had 4 goals and 4 assists in 42 games to his credit, along with a -13 plus/minus on a squad that has been struggling to win.

The 24-year was once again sent back to the Titans, but this time flourished in a big way. He put up back-to-back hat tricks in a pair of big wins for a team out of the playoff hunt and was looking to tie a piece of ECHL history with a 3-in-3 performance.

He fell slightly short of the mark in his third attempt, scoring only one goal but adding three assists in another resounding effort. In 12 games, he has an opponent shattering 11 goals and 11 assists. He was a point-per-game guy in his rookie season with Greenville Road Warriors.

If recalled for another crack at keeping his spot through the remainder of the season, he will have to at least come close to duplicating his output.

Heading into restricted free agent status, it would seem likely that the Flyers would qualify him for another year.

22Mar

William Wrenn(45) Texas Stars

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San Jose Sharks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#43 overall) rookie defenseman William Wrenn(45) was never signed by the team for his first pro season. Even though he attended minor league affiliate Worcester Sharks‘ training camp and didn’t make their opening night roster, he wasn’t simply reassigned to their ECHL team, San Francisco Bulls.

Instead, in all likelihood with the blessing of the parent club, he signed a deal to join him home town team in the league, Alaska Aces.

His first AHL recall was to Worcester Sharks, where he appeared in three games before being sent back and continuing to do well with 5 goals and 16 assists in 51 games playing for what is always an elite squad. He was also chosen to play in the All-Star Game.

A month later the 6’1 210 lbs. d-man received another call-up. This time inking a pto with the Western Conference leading Texas Stars.

It’s been a good fit for the 22-year old, as he’s skated in 12 games and scored 2 goals and 2 assists. He’s also been firing the puck on the net a ton, got into a couple of scraps and even had a three-game point streaking working for him.

Is San Jose taking notice? They are reporting news on him, so probably are.

20Mar

Mike Lee(31) Gwinnett Gladiators

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2009 draft (#91 overall), rookie goaltender Mike Lee(31) has been reassigned and recalled to ECHL and AHL affiliates nine times in his first pro season, which is seemingly a lot but in turn he has received much playing time in both leagues.

He impressively won his first five starts in net for Portland Pirates before coming back down to earth posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.76 GAA and .915 SV% in 10 games until recently being sent back down, where barring any further injuries he’ll likely stay to finish out the year.

The 6’1″ 190 lbs. net minder started the season with Gwinnett Gladiators. He has a record of 14-11-1 with a 2.23 GAA and .916 SV%, has been Goaltender Of The Week on two occasions and made an appearance in the league All-Star Game.

No doubt the future is bright between the pipes for the Coyotes‘ prospects, as the top five goalie in the league will now compete with his former back-up for the starting job heading into the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs, making them one tough team to beat.

The 22-year old signed a 3-year NHL entry level deal, which keeps him in the system through 2015.

19Mar

Adam Huxley(32) Las Vegas Wranglers

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After playing 8 games on a pto with Bridgeport Sound Tigers to fill-in their tough guy role, 9th year right wing Adam Huxley(32) was just released and rejoins Las Vegas Wranglers, as they ready for another Kelly Cup Playoff run.

He has spent his entire pro career in the ECHL playing exclusively for Western Conference teams. He’s played in 479 games in the league with 45 goals and 63 assists to his credit, along with 1863 pims. He regularly eclipsed the 200-minute mark in 6 seasons of play.

The 6′ 200 lbs. forward has also appeared in 31 AHL games with three different teams scoring one assist and always putting up a healthy amount of time in the sin bin.

Hockeyfights credits him with 178 regular season bouts but there’s none listed for his rookie season, when he amassed his career high almost 300 penalty minutes. He also has two NHL preseason fights.

Where the 29-year old decides to sign for his 10th campaign will be interesting to see. It always is for the pro whose playing style is akin to a stick of dynamite.

15Mar

Marcel Noebels (29)

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Philadelphia Flyers‘ 4th round pick in the 2011 draft (#118 overall), German-born center Marcel Noebels(29) started his pro career in the ECHL with affiliate Trenton Titans.

He went to work right away scoring 11 goals and adding 19 assists in 31 games, was voted rookie of the month for December and picked to appear in the All-Star Game.

The 6’3″ 193 lbs. forward was unavailable to play though, as he was recalled to Adirondack Phantoms at the start of 2013 to continue scoring.

He’s not exactly there but has 7 goals and 6 assists in 25 games, which is still awfully good for your North American pro hockey debut.

His numbers in juniors were that of a point per game guy.

The 21-year old (as of March 14: Happy Birthday!) is signed to a 3-year entry level deal, keeping him in the system through 2015.

At the pace the Flyers are going this lockout shortened season, he may be worth a look in their lineup to see if he can give them some goal scoring punch over physical play, which they might have too much of on the current roster.

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