Montreal Canadiens‘ 3rd round pick in the 2014 draft (#73 overall) 2nd year defenseman Brett Lernout(36) basically ended his 1st official season (2015/2016 was played on an entry level slide) adding a pair of games to his totals on the big league roster.
He’s skated 3 NHL games but easily had no greater role than in his last appearance, skating 25 shifts for 23:54 of total ice in a 3-2 overtime win.
The big 6’4″ 213 lbs. blue liner is always tough for opponents to match up against but has also shown the ability to affect the stat sheet as he did in his third and final year with Swift Current Broncos, when he posted 28 assists in 72 WHL games.
He was also raise his game slightly in 2016/2017 with affiliate St. John’s IceCaps playing a career high 74 AHL games scoring new bests 3 goals and 13 assists with a +5 rating and 95 shots on net.
The 21-year old is signed through 2019 and look for him to compete hard to stay on the parent club roster for a full-term when 2017/2018 starts.
Manchester Monarchs and Brampton Beast engaged in an all out on ice brawl during the 3rd period as the game was slipping away from the visiting team from Canada 4-0 in the third period.
With the game 3 win the ECHL Kelly Cup North Division Finals stands at 2-1.
Even Monarchs‘ goalie Sam Brittain(1) can be seen mixed up in the melee.
Beast resident tough guy Mathieu Gagnon(21) threw punches at no less than three players from the opposing team in the feisty affair.
Hard to believe former 1st round draft pick Marc-Antoine Pouliot(78) will suit up for games in his 13th year of pro hockey.
He will play for a 2nd consecutive year, 3rd overall with EHC Biel-Bienne, his 6 season in the NLA.
The 6’1″ 189 lbs. forward joined the elite Swiss Hockey League after spending the majority of the 2012/2013 campaign with Portland Pirates, while under contract to Arizona Coyotes.
Although he’s played 192 NHL games, he only had one full year 2008/2009 up in the big league skating 63 contests but otherwise split time or played mostly in the minors.
At 31-years old it seems like he still has plenty of playing time left but how long he’ll want to continue is solely up to him, although we could easily see him grabbing good contracts overseas into his 40’s.
Undrafted 5th year defenseman Spencer Humphries(2) gets a one year extension from Stavanger Oilers after he scored a league best 14 goals for a blue liner and 19 assists in 45 games, then added another 4 goals and 5 assists in 14 playoff contests en route to the 2017 Get-ligaen Championship.
The rugged 6’2″ 209 lbs. d-man had a pair of 20+ assists seasons in the ECHL from 2014-2016 and a nice playoff ride with South Carolina Stingrays, so definitely can put up the points, especially those helpers.
He proved that early, especially in his final two runs with Calgary Hitmen, where he cranked out an exceptional 30+ assists.
In a bit of an odd move, he spent his rookie season in the KHL with HC Lev Praha, while also being loaned for 10 games and playoffs to HC Litomerice.
The 25-year old (as of today – happy birthday!) seems like he could play himself up the European hockey ladder quite nicely if he decides to stick with it.
7th year left wing Garrett Roe(11) switches lands for his two seasons, leaving two strong campaigns with Linkoping HC of the SHL for EV Zug of the NLA.
It will be the fourth country since heading overseas in 2013/2014 that have included EBEL and a career best run with EHC Munchen, where he was a point-per-game player connecting for 13 goals and 38 assists in 51 DEL games.
The former deep draft pick has put up 40+ points four times and eclipsed 20+ assists on 5 different occasions, including his rookie season for Adirondack Phantoms.
He proved he was able to connect big through 4 years at St. Cloud State University, as he was credited for 178 points (65-113) in 156 NCAA games and had similiar results in his final pair of runs with Indiana Ice of the USHL.
The small 29-year old seems to have a lot left in the tank and is having plenty of fun.
He just needs one championship to complete the story.
Boston Bruins‘ 11th year right wing Drew Stafford(19) was picked up on trade deadline day to help the team’s chances to make the postseason for the first time in three attempts.
In 18 games he connected for 4 goals and 4 assists, then added another two tallies in 6 playoff contests.
The former Buffalo Sabres‘ 1st round pick in the 2004 draft (#13 overall) has played an outstanding 725 NHL games scoring 400 points (183-217).
The fairly big 6’2″ 214 lbs. power forward spent his first 9 years in upper state New York before being dealt to Winnipeg Jets, where he spent parts of the last three seasons before the recent transaction.
He’s scored 20+ goal 4 times plus recorded 20+ assists on 5 occasions.
The 31-year old’s 2-year deal signed before free agency was to begin in 2015 is up, so he becomes unrestricted once again and is likely looking for a good, long contract that will at least match what he was last given.
The Black N’ Gold would be well-suited to keep him in the fold but might not have the space under their salary cap.
Florida Panthers‘ 2nd year left wing Tim Bozon(26) has elected to not see about a contract extension as a restricted free agent and opts to join EHC Kloten of NLA for 2017/2018.
The dual US/France citzen played some of his first junior hockey in Switzerland with the team so is familiar.
His dad, former NHL-er Philippe Bozon played in many overseas leagues including the one he’s heading to during his 20-year pro career.
The 6′ 201 lbs. forward appeared in a career high 43 AHL games last campaign scoring new bests 7 goals, 8 assists and 15 points for affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds.
He was also reassigned further down to Manchester Monarchs, where he skated 14 ECHL games.
Originally a Montreal Canadiens 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft (#64 overall) he split his time in similar fashion as he did in his sophomore year with farm club St. John’s IceCaps and their lower affiliate Brampton Beast before being traded before the start of 2016/2017.
Always a prolific scorer in the WHL, he was a point-per-game performer through all of his 4 years but almost didn’t even play his final run as he was attacked by a form of bacteria that put him in a coma for a couple weeks before rebounding to skate virtually the full 2014/2015 calendar for Kootenay Ice.
The still very young 23-old may be leaving North America hockey for awhile but you can always bet if he’s able to connect with an overseas team and catch the attention of a big league club he’ll return to continue pursuing that NHL dream.
Boston Bruins made it official removing the interim tag from Bruce Cassidy making him the 28th head coach in team history.
He took over the spot late in the season from being a first year assistant, running up an 18-8-1 record to help them advance for the first time in three years to the postseason.
Although they were knocked out of the playoffs in 6 games by a healthy Ottawa Senators, he got the job done and deserves a shot.
It was his tenure with affiliate Providence Bruins from 2011 – 2016 that definitely helped solidify the decision to hire him full-time.
His only other time in the position was with Washington Capitals from 2002-2003.
The 51-year old was a former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 1983 draft (#18 overall) and played 36 NHL games in his 11-year pro career that ended in 1997 with Indianapolis Ice of the IHL.
He was an assistant coach for the ‘Hawks from 2004-2006.
It will be interesting to see him manage a squad that might once again be a bit challenged with enough talent to make it to see some extended hockey time.
15th year veteran right wing Brandon Segal(26) signs on for a third season with Nurnberg IceTigers of DEL.
The soon-to-be 34-year old even pumped in more points with 32 on 16 goals and assists with a +11 rating, which was significantly better than his first campaign in Germany, which wasn’t so bad at 12-12-24 through 47 games.
His first season away from North America was in 2014/2015 for Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL.
He basically did ok here as well with 10 goals, 15 assists in 54 games.
Being a decently steady scorer he decided to seek ice overseas after a pair of 44 point seasons in the AHL while under contract to parent clubs.
By our count, he’s had a nice run of big league contracts from 2003/2004 through 2013/2014 and played in 103 NHL games and an eye-popping 652 in the minors.
There looks to be no stopping him from possibly playing 20 years of pro hockey.
Vancouver Canucks‘ rookie left wing Yan-Pavel Laplante(25) spent most of his first pro season on reassignment to Alaska Aces, where he skated 38 ECHL games scoring a modest 9 goals and 11 assists with a -7 rating on a non-playoff squad.
He also played 13 AHL games with affiliate Utica Comets but only managed one assist with a -7.
Originally an Arizona Coyotes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft (#62 overall) he was not signed and put back into the pool as he was ready to start a fifth, overage campaign in the QMJHL with his 4th team, Gatineau Olympiques.
In 2015/2016, he put up point-per-game numbers (34-31-65 in 63), then signed a very handsome 3-year entry level deal.
The 6′ 185 lbs. forward may be a bit inconsistent on the score sheet but puts in a full effort every time out on the ice.
This type of performance earned him a look in the big league with an NHL recall at the end of the season to practice with the team and potential feel the energy of being up in the show for a short stint to put some more energy in his sails.
At 22-years old with his contract running through 2019, he still definitely has some time but needs to prove his game sooner than later before he starts being overlooked.
