8th year pro, goaltender Barry Brust(33) will take his game overseas next season and play for Straubing Tigers of the German Ice Hockey League.
In 7 years with various minor league teams, he has always posted a winning record in net.
Drafted by Minnesota in 2002, he’s played 11 NHL games, all with Los Angeles in the 2006/2007 season.
He helped Binghamton Senators win the AHL Calder Cup last season.
Goaltender Daren Machesney(1) is another player this season that finds his playing career coming full circle.
He rejoins the Washington Capitals system (drafted in the 5th round, #143 overall in 2005). His 1st three pro seasons were spent in net with Hershey Bears. He has yet to play an NHL game but was recalled to play back-up a few times.
Last season he played games for 5 different teams in the AHL and ECHL (Reading, Elmira, Victoria, Worcester, and 1 game for Springfield).
Big, tough guy (6’5″ 235lb) Garrett Klotz(12) recently re-signed an AHL contract with Adirondack Phantoms after being dismissed to the Central Hockey League Bloomington Prairie Thunder last season.
Something must’ve registered in his head in a good way though, because for the first time in three pro seasons he found a bit of a goal scoring touch and ended up with 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 49 games.
He’s never had much more than 5 points in any year.
We’ll see if he continues to contribute points along with the penalty minutes he racks up each season.
Hard to believe that goaltender David LeNeveu(31) will be entering his 9th pro season after being drafted in 2002 by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2nd round (#46 overall).
For 2011/2012, he has signed an AHL contract to join Oklahoma City Barons, where he’ll compete for the top spot in net.
The head scratcher is that he’s only ever had one really decent year in between the pipes since his college hockey days, when he was impressive enough to leave school early and turn pro. Maybe in hindsight that wasn’t such a good decision.
Cedrick Desjardins(30) was left out of Tampa Bay‘s plans for the future after one year with the organization.
He had a great season with Norfolk Admirals in the AHL and won both his starts with the Lightning.
Colorado signed him for 2011/2012 and he’ll challenge for the starting job or could give Lake Erie a nice boost in net.
He won the ECHL Kelly Cup with Cincinnati Cyclones in 2008.
Last season undrafted goaltender Nathan Lawson(52) appeared in his first NHL games (he played 10 with the Islanders, posting a 1-4 record) but was left without a contract at the end of the year.
He signed a one-year, two-way deal with Montreal Canadiens for 2011/2012, where he will probably be assigned to their AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs and split time with former Colorado 2008 draft pick (2nd round #61 overall) prospect Peter Delmas. He was never signed by the Avalanche.
Lawson could see some more net time in the NHL due to injuries in Montreal‘s crease but it’s kind of doubtful.
Chaz Johnson(8) enters his 7th year pro signing an ECHL contract with Chicago Express for the 2011/2012 season.
He’s played most of his games in the ECHL over the last 5 years but has seen time in the AHL each season.
After 5 seasons in the AHL (the past two as part of Worcester Sharks), TJ Trevelyan(24) signs to play in Germany next season with Augsburger Panther.
We wish him well and remember listening to games he played early on as a rookie in the ECHL with Long Beach Ice Dogs.
After 4 years mostly in the AHL, one-time Flyers‘ 2004 draft pick David Laliberte(10) has decided it’s time for a change of scenery and signed for 2011/2012 to play in Germany for Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg.
He did appear in 11 NHL games in ’09/’10 with Philadelphia notching 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists). It’s doubtful we’ll see him back in North America.
Defenseman Patrick McNeill(2) will continue to develop for the next couple of seasons in the Washington Capitals‘ system as he signed a 2-year, 2-way contract extension.
He’s spent his entire 4-year pro career with the team, mostly playing in the AHL with Hershey. He has received one call-up last season but has yet to appear in an NHL game.
