ECHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

03Jan

Jarrett Rush(4) Elmira Jackals

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2nd year pro, undrafted defenseman Jarrett Rush(4) played his rookie season in the single A level Federal Hockey League with New York/Brooklyn Aviators.

He re-signed with the team in the offseason and has picked up basically where he left off. He put up 1 goal and 16 assists in 2010/2011 and was a remarkable +21 in a league where goals are mostly fairly easy to come by.

In 22 games this season he already has 10 assists and is a +4.

He was recently called up to the ECHL and signed a contract to skate with Elmira Jackals.

In 3 games he has yet to get a point but is a +3. He’s a big guy at 6’5″ 225 lbs.

30Dec

JT Wyman(15) Tampa Bay Lightning

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Give that man the puck (or two).

Signed by Tampa Bay Lightning on the first day of free agency to a one-year two-way deal, right wing JT Wyman(15) not only scored his first NHL goal but also got a helper in the same game against the team that drafted him.

Originally a Montreal Canadiens‘ 4th round pick in the 2004 draft (#100 overall), he played 3 years in their system, mostly with Hamilton Bulldogs but skated in 3 NHL games with them, registering 0 points.

In 29 AHL games with Norfolk Admirals this season he has 6 goals and 6 assists in 29 games and on a good team is a +10 plus/minus.

27Dec

Jack Combs(11) Colorado Eagles

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In his 3rd pro season, undrafted wing Jack Combs(11) has been tearing up the scoring sheet pretty much regardless of what AA league he’s playing in.

At the time of his call up to the AHL by Worcester Sharks he lead the ECHL in scoring (17 goals 20 assists in 23 games) with Colorado Eagles.

He scored on his first shift with the team and has struck for 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games.

No doubt, if he continues on this pace, he will remain with the team for the foreseeable future.

In 6 previous AHL games over the last couple of years, he never tallied a goal and only had one assist.

He finished 2nd in scoring and first in goals with 40 for Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League in 2010/2011 and 10th overall in the league.

9/19-12: Maybe in a bit of a surprising move, the 24-year old re-signs to start 2012/2013 with Colorado Eagles of the ECHL.

He completed last season under contract with the AHL Sharks scoring 16 goals and 14 assists in 50 games.

The one downside was a poor -9 plus/minus.

25Dec

Matt Pope (27)

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For a few moments it looked like 4th year, undrafted forward Matt Pope(27) was making some waves and there might have been some under the breath mutterings of him being someone to look at in Vancouver Canucks‘ prospect system.

His 2nd full pro season was spent with their AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose but he was signed to a two-way NHL contract.

That came about after he signed a pto with the Moose at the end of his rookie season and joined the team for their Calder Cup run (12 games, 3 goals, 3 assists).

In that season with Manitoba he didn’t exactly live up to expectations and fell off the depth chart quickly.

From there he played a season with San Antonio Rampage but that came up short and going into his 4th pro season signed a deal a month before training camp with South Carolina Stingrays.

They just so happen to be the ECHL affiliate of Hershey Bears and on two call-ups he’s starting to gain some traction scoring 3 goals and 2 assists in 10 games.

24Dec

Stu Bickel(4) New York Rangers

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Sometimes there’s a player that might not look like much in the AHL. He’s undrafted and almost completely falling under the radar. But then out of nowhere, that player gets his shot to play in the NHL. And he explodes.

4th year defenseman Stu Bickell(4) fits that description perfectly.

In 27 games with Connecticut Whale this season, he has a goal and 3 assists.

After his first three games with New York Rangers, he has four assists and a 3 game point streak going. He’s also a +4 plus/minus and has one fighting major and two roughing penalties to his credit.

Who knew? Obviously Rangers’ scouts did because they traded for him with Anaheim Ducks last season and re-signed him to a one-year, two-way contract.

He did have a strong training camp and accompanied the team to Europe to start the season but didn’t appear in any games before getting reassigned.

22Dec

Tim Wallace(36) New York Islanders

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6th year undrafted wing Tim Wallace(36) played his first five seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ system appearing in 24 NHL games (0 goals, 2 assists) but spent most of his time with their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he skated in 304 games, putting up 70 goals and 53 assists.

In the offseason he signed a new one-year, two-way deal with New York Islanders and in his first season with Bridgeport Sound Tigers was an alternate captain and the team’s leading scoring with 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) when he was recalled.

He’s now played in 7 games with the Isles and has an assist but his first NHL goal still alludes him.

21Dec

Igor Gongalsky(22) Gwinnett Gladiators

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After starting the season on a pto with Portand Pirates, the team he spent most of last season with, 5th year undrafted wing Igor Gongalsky(22) was released and signed an ECHL contract with their affiliate Gwinnett Gladiators.

In 13 AHL games he only registered an assist, but in 5 games with Gwinnett he already has a goal and a pair of helpers.

He’s played most of his pro career in AA hockey (almost 200 games with four different teams) but he’s really a player on the cusp of the higher league.

Maybe he’s just a bit of a late bloomer considering he’s only 25 years old.

12/21: Gongalsky signs a pto with Rochester Americans.

21Dec

Brett Motherwell(25) Chicago Express

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Undrafted 5th year defenseman Brett Motherwell(25) played his first full season in the AHL last year with Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Unable to find the right deal in the offseason, he finally signed a deal in early December with Chicago Express of the ECHL to join them for 2011/2012.

It’s very likely that he’ll play some games in the AHL this season on call-up, possibly with the Express affiliate Springfield Falcons.

17Dec

Drew MacIntyre(31) Rochester Americans

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9th year Rochester Americans‘ goaltender Drew MacIntyre(31) keeps an eye on the play in front of his net.

He was originally picked by Detroit Red Wings in the 4th round of the 2001 draft (#121 overall) and spent the first three years of his pro career with their AHL and ECHL affiliates before getting a short chance in the NHL with Vancouver Canucks, where he made a couple of appearances.

From there he bounced around in the minors signing one-year deals with Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens before inking another one-year two-way contract with Buffalo Sabres for the 2011/2012 season, ultimately ending up in Rochester.

He has played in 250 AHL games.

17Dec

Leland Irving(37) Calgary Flames

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After 4 years in Calgary Flames‘ system, 2006 1st round pick (#26 overall) goaltender Leland Irving(37) got the call-up and played probably as well as you can in his debut 3-2 shootout loss. He backstopped 39 of 41 shots in regulation posting a 1.85 GA and .951 SV%.

He has always been pretty steady between the pipes in 143 AHL appearances with their affiliate Abbotsford Heat. Last season he played in 61 games for the team. In 23 games this season he’s already posted a pretty handy 15 wins, 7 losses record.

In the offseason he only signed for one more year with the Flames after his 3-year entry level contract expired.

He wears the same number 37 in both leagues.