6th year Danish-born defenseman Markus Lauridsen(44) will switch up countries once again signing for 2017/2018 with EHC Munchen of DEL after a decently successful season in the SHL with Leksands IF.
He was on a 2-year deal.
This followed his first campaign after leaving North America hockey for the country’s tier 2 Allsvenskan, where he had a career high 8 goals, 13 assists and 21 points with 28 penalty minutes for AIK.
He actually did three years of junior hockey in Sweden so is likely pretty comfortable there, but then almost oddly left to play US junior hockey with Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL for two years and somehow got on Colorado Avalanche‘s radar.
During the lockout of 2012/2013, as he was set to turn pro the parent club encouraged him to agree to terms with affiliate Lake Erie Monsters.
The decently-sized 6’1″ 205 lbs. split his rookie season between leagues and even started with Central Hockey League‘s Denver Cutthroats doing nicely on the score sheet with both.
He would sign a two-year entry level in 2013/2014 playing for the farm team doing ok but maybe not quite enough to be given a qualifying offer even after a new season best 62 AHL games.
The 26-year old will likely flourish in Germany and could find a good sticking spot.
5th year goalie Mark Visentin(29) will explore pro hockey in Austria signing a one-year deal to join Fehervar AV19 for 2017/2018 after playing his first full season in the ECHL with Cincinnati Cyclones, while under contract to Milwaukee Admirals.
It was his only full run in the lower league, where he posted a 10-11-2 record with a 2.94 GAA and .893 SV%.
He also had a pair of shutouts and did have one AHL appearance.
The former Arizona Coyotes‘ high draft pick spent three years in the system with one NHL appearance but did not play 2014/2015 due to an ankle injury in need of surgery.
He was not qualified with a contract extension and signed for 2015/2016 with Rockford IceHogs but played only 13 games as the backup.
At only 24-years old (turning 25 over the summer), he may find a new lease on life overseas and start climbing up a few levels in short time.
Vancouver Canucks‘ 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft (#85 overall) 2nd year center Cole Cassels(19) had modest gains in his sophomore season over what he did as a rookie with affiliate Utica Comets.
He scored a new high 6 goals, tied his 5 assists and a new best 11 points in 66 AHL games with a -5 rating.
The 6′ 182 lbs. forward has yet to approach what he was able to accomplish in his final pair of campaigns for Oshawa Generals, when he was a more than a point-per-game player in the OHL.
As a feisty skater he also had 100 penalty minutes but spent limited time in the box through his first two seasons and somewhat surprisingly only drop the mitts on 3 occasions.
At 22-years old he is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of 2018 and it would seem that he’ll need to step it up to be given a qualifying offer.
He is the son of former NHL great Andrew Cassels, who played over 1000 games through 16 years in the big league.
Buffalo Sabres‘ 2nd year right wing Hudson Fasching(52) played a career high 10 NHL games last season adding an assist to a goal and helper he already had, when he joined the team at the end of 2015/2016 after finishing his third year at University Of Minnesota.
Traded by draft team Los Angeles Kings (4th round in 2013, #115 overall) following an outstanding freshman debut, he signed a three year entry level deal after posting 20 goals and 18 assists in 37 games as a junior in college.
He was also won the 2015 NCAA/B1G Championship when he was a sophomore.
The 6’2″ 207 lbs. forward skated most of 2016/2017 with affiliate Rochester Americans scoring 8 goals and 4 assists through 37 AHL games.
At 21-years old (22 over the summer) he will look to make the full-time jump up to the big league in the upcoming training camp.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 6th year left wing Tanner Pearson(70) signs a lucrative, new 4-year deal after a breakout season playing a career high 80 NHL games, scoring a best 20 goals and 44 points.
The restricted free agent was coming to the end of his two-year contract, where the former high draft selection started to take his game to another level.
He started his time with the club in a full season for affiliate Manchester Monarchs, then split time between the two leagues as a sophomore skater before moving up 2014/2015.
At 24-years old he’s now an integral part of the future forward for the California club, who missed the playoffs and will be looking to get back on firm footing immediately.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 8th year right wing Ben Smith(18) scores a 1-year extension to stay with the club for 2017/2018.
He played 36 NHL games scoring 2 goals and 2 assists last season after being picked up on waivers from Colorado Avalanche after only 4 games with no points.
It would be his 2nd stint in Ontario after being acquired by the team at the 2016 trade deadline.
Touted as very good on special teams, especially the penalty kill, despite being a healthy scratch for much of the time, he fills a necessary role when inserted into the lineup.
He is still looking for a breakout campaign in the big league like he had through 2013/2014 with draft team Chicago Blackhawks, when he played a career high 75 games getting a best 14 goals and 12 assists, while also hoisting the Cup
The forward will turn 29-years old over the summer, and even if he clears to get reassigned in the upcoming season will likely be happy spending more time on ice with affiliate Toronto Marlies.
Buffalo Sabres‘ undrafted defenseman Casey Nelson(34) will enter training camp looking to secure a full-time spot on the big league roster as he enters his 2nd season.
He played a new career high 11 NHL games in 2016/2017 registering no points with a -3 rating on a non-playoff squad.
The very decently-sized 6’2″ 190 lbs., tough to play against blue liner signed a 1-year entry level deal after his third campaign at Minnesota State University-Mankato, where he put up 26 assists as a sophomore and another 16 as a junior.
He directly joined the parent club for 7 games through the end of the season recording 4 assists and a +1.
In his first year with club affiliate Rochester Americans had 7 goals and 14 assists with a -10 in 58 AHL games and an offensively active 111 shots on net.
The 24-year old signed a two-year extension before his new restricted free agency status kicked in with the forthcoming year set as a one-way deal.
No doubt, this is a quick developing player that will be interesting to watch.
10th year veteran forward Carl Klingberg(48) will stay to spend a 2nd (and probably 3rd under contract) season with EV Zug after have a respectable outing in his debut.
He scored 13 goals and 14 assists in 47 NLA games.
The very decently sized winger has consistently put up 10+ goals in 4 years in the minors with 20+ assists in three of those campaigns and a 20-22-42 run in 2013/2014.
He left with 269 AHL games to his credit to go along with 12 games in the big league with his first and only NHL goal.
The still young 26-year old still has a lot of time left to play elite level hockey.
It will be very interesting to see if he settles in Switzerland or move around some.
Also, crazy to think how many years he’s been seen wearing that #48.
6th year center Sean Collins(81) switches teams in the KHL after a successful season with 1st year China-based team Kunlun Red Star.
In only 60 games he had a career high 26 assists.
He average 20+ assists and 30+ points through 4 AHL campaigns appearing 278 contests, while also scoring 15+ goals in each of his three final runs.
The decently sized power forward also played 21 NHL games, three seasons with draft team Columbus Blue Jackets, then one for Washington Capitals recording three assists and looked to fit in nicely but was unable to seize a consistent roster spot.
He left for greener pastures in 2016/2017 and will become part of HK Sochi for the upcoming session, where the 28-year old could see even greater impact on the score sheet.
