Category: ECHL

15Nov

Andrei Loktionov(48) and Slava Voynov(76) Los Angeles Kings

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Did you hear the one about the two Russians?

Within a day of each other both Manchester Monarchs‘ center Andrei Loktionov(48) and defenseman Slava Voynov(76) were called out west by the parent club, Los Angeles Kings.

Voynov is headed back to the show after an impressive first 5 games (2 goals, 1 assist) last month.

Loktionov was first reassigned to Ontario Reign of the ECHL but that was purely a stopover before the team confirmed they would need him. He’s up for his first time this season. Last year he played in 19 games posting 4 goals and 3 assists.

14Nov

Jared Ross(18) Ingolstadt ERC

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Undrafted center, 7th year pro Jared Ross(18) was all the rage in the Philadelphia Flyers‘ system for a few moments but in 22 NHL games (13 regular season, 9 playoff), he’s only registered one goal in the postseason.

He’s a proven prolific scorer in the AHL despite his small size (5’9″ 165 lbs).

For the 2011/2012 season, he finds himself playing pro hockey overseas, joining former Boston Bruins‘ tough guy Jeremy Reich on Ingolstadt ERC in Germany. That’s a long way from his Huntsville, Alabama place of birth and where he attended college at the University Of Alabama, which both are quite the anomaly for a NHL caliber player.

12Nov

Michael Hutchinson (33)

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Boston Bruins‘ 3rd round pick in the 2008 draft (#77 overall) 2nd year goalie Michael Hutchinson(33) came into the new season prepared with a newly painted mask paying homage to a pair of Bruins‘ great.

Gerry Cheevers looking at you on one side and Bobby Orr‘s classic goal on the other.

Once again with Providence Bruins, he’s playing back-up but has gotten into a couple of games already registering an 0-2 mark with a 3.00 GAA.

11Nov

Jyri Niemi(8)

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In a bit of a head scratcher move, Connecticut Whale have reassigned 2nd year defenseman Jyri Niemi(8) to their ECHL affiliate Greenville Road Warriors after posting only 1 assist in 8 games played.

He was injured late last season and it may be a move to give him some time to play a bit of a different style of hockey and build his confidence.

It would be really strange for him to stay in AA, unless he’s really fallen off New York Rangers‘ depth chart.

He was originally picked by New York Islanders in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft (#77 overall).

08Nov

Jordan Owens (46)

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5th year undrafted wing Jordan Owens(46) signed a pto to rejoin the team he’d played most of his professional career with, Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale and was bumped up to standard players contract for 2011/2012.

In 12 games this season he’s shown himself to be a reliable veteran that no doubt provides strong leadership for the newer players on the squad.

He’s also put in a couple of goals.

He played for the last year and a half in the Detroit system with their AHL affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins after he was traded for Whale fan-favorite, now teammate Kris Newbury.

 

07Nov

Mark Flood(8) Winnipeg Jets

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7th year defenseman Mark Flood(8) scored his first NHL goal with Winnipeg Jets, the team that signed him at the end of last year. He skated last season with Manitoba Moose, who were the old tenant of the MTS Centre.

It was only his 7th NHL game in a career that has seen ice time in 317 AHL games. He was called up after 11 games with St. John’s IceCaps, where he put up a goal and 6 assists in 11 games and is a respectable +4. In 3 games with the Jets he’s put up a couple of points.

He was originally drafted by Montreal Canadiens in the 6th round of the 2003 draft (#188 overall).

No doubt about it, I need to find a better picture of him, but he’s off to the left in this shot (a little out of focus).

11/9: Flood scores his 2nd NHL goal in his 4th game with the Jets.

05Nov

Matt Schepke(45) Reading Royals

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3rd year wing Matt Schepke(45) has skated mostly in the ECHL in his pro career and this year is not much different than the last two as he signed a deal in the offseason to join Reading Royals‘ stacked squad in hopes of capturing the Kelly Cup Championship that’s eluded the team, especially in 2010 and 2011 playoffs.

On call up he’s played in 6 AHL games with 3 different teams but has yet to put up any points on the scoresheet.

He scored the first goal in Greenville Road Warriors history and was a part of the Michigan State University Spartans‘ team that won the NCAA Championship in 2007.

Last year he played a career high 4 games at the end of the regular season with Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

05Nov

Danny Taylor(1) Springfield Falcons

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By the numbers, 6th year pro goaltender Danny Taylor(1) is making an argument for Springfield Falcons to sign him to an American Hockey League standard player contract.

He is currently signed to a pto.

His 2.31 GAA puts him at #17 on the AHL goalie leaders and his .931 SV% ranks 6th.

As of October 7 he signed a contract with Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL but did not appear in a regular season game.

We’ve seen it: this former Los Angeles Kings‘ 7th round pick in the 2004 draft (#221 overall) may have found his zone.

He has one game of NHL experience.

03Nov

Joe Sova(6) Kalamazoo Wings

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Undrafted defenseman Joe Sova(6) was signed by New Jersey Devils to a two-year entry level contract upon completion of his college career.

He was assigned to Albany Devils and appeared in their last 11 games of the regular season, where he put up a goal and 3 assists but was an unfortunate -6 on a team that struggled.

To start his pro career he was reassigned to their ECHL affiliate Kalamazoo Wings.

In this early part of the 2011/2012 season, he finds himself a +8 player, good enough to get him the nod of AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer Of The Month for October.

Pretty likely we’ll see him back up in the AHL sooner than later.

11/4: Good ECHL player feature story was just put out there.