6th year Washington Capitals‘ right wing and current 2-time captain of affiliate Hershey Bears, Garrett Mitchell(76) finally earns his first NHL recall and makes his debut on the last game of regular season.
The feisty, hard-checking forward skated 13 shifts for 8:48 total ice time delivering two hits with a 0 rating in 2-0 loss.
He’s not likely to stay with the parent club as the farm club is fighting for their playoff life with only a few match-ups remaining.
In 352 AHL games he has 46 goals and 56 assists with a -4 and 560 penalty minutes, although he averages only 6 or so fights each year.
The 25-year is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current calendar.
He’s seems like a good guy to keep around but he may look elsewhere for increased playing time in the big league.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 2nd year right wing Kaperi Kapanen(28) scores his 1st NHL goal at probably the most important moment for the team going forward.
He potted the game-tying tally late in the third period to help them gain a playoff position for the first time in 4 years and was his first point in 16 appearances.
Now listed at 6’1″ 185 lbs. he played 9 games in 2015/2016 and 7 so far this year.
2016/2017 is actually being counted as his rookie campaign, as he played last season entirely in both leagues on an entry level slide.
The Finnish flash scored 9 goals and 16 assists in 44 AHL games and another 3-5 for 8 points in 14 postseason contests for affiliate Toronto Marlies.
In the current calendar he’s doubled his goal production up to 18 and raised his assist mark to 25, while doubling shots on net for a career year in the minors, possibly his last.
The 20-year old will turn 21 this summer but likely has some playoff hockey to pursue in both top leagues.
He’s signed through 2019, so there is plenty of time for this prospect to develop.
Anaheim Ducks‘ 7th round pick in the 2012 draft (#210 overall) 3rd year defenseman Jaycob Megna(75) received his first NHL recall as his 3-year entry level deal is set to expire.
In his debut he skated 18 shifts for 15:20 total ice time, was credited for little more but left the 4-0 win with a +1 rating.
The huge 6’6″ 225 lbs. blue liner has taken his offensive game to a whole new level in his second season with affiliate San Diego Gulls through 60 AHL games.
His 5 goals, 22 assists and 29 points are far and away better numbers than he’s ever put up and his monster +33 is easily a team best.
He never quite had great stats through 3 years of college hockey with University Of Nebraska-Omaha but did get 17 assists in his one year with Muskegon Lumberjacks in 50 USHL games.
It would seem like an easy decision to extend this mountain of defense for at least one more look.
Hey Pasta? How’s that black eye?
Boston Bruins‘ David Pastrnak(88) took a high stick up to the face recently and is sporting the shiner.
We think he’ll add to his new career high 34 goals, 36 assists and 70 points in the playoffs despite the injury.
The soon-to-be 21-year old has his entry level deal come up this year and becomes a restricted free agent who’s likely to assume a nice pay bump.
New Jersey Devils‘ 4th round pick in the 2012 draft (#96 overall) 3rd year left wing Ben Thomson(43) gets into his first pair of NHL as he’s set to become a restricted free agent.
The 6’3″ 204 lbs. power forward plays a full-on aggressive style and never shies away from mixing it up.
Although his fighting majors are down slightly in 2016/2017, he had 13 battles in each of his first two campaigns with affiliate Albany Devils.
Never quite known for being too prolific on the score sheet, he did have a fairly successful last run in the OHL with North Bay Battalion after spending most of his junior career with Kitchener Rangers.
Through 209 AHL games he has 19 goals and 24 assists but is mostly looked at for player protection.
In his 2 games he played 9:31 and 10:50 total ice, skated 15 and 18 shifts with 4 shots on net, 5 hits, 4 penalty minutes and was a -3 in a win and a loss.
The 24-year old seems like a no risk to extend for another season to see what can develop.
Philadelphia Flyers‘ 1st round pick in the 2013 draft (#11 overall) big big defenseman Samuel Morin(50) gets the nod for his NHL debut as the team is out of the playoff push and gets a chance to look at some prospects.
The 6’6″ 202 lbs. blue liner played 24 shifts for 17:47 minutes of ice time with a two shots, a monumental 7 hits and 1 takeaway in a 1-0 overtime loss.
He was signed to a three year entry level deal the same year as he was selected, but sent back to Rimouski Oceanic on slides for another two seasons, winning the 2015 QMJHL Championship and earlier a second gold medal at the World Juniors.
His stats over his first pair of campaigns with affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms are pretty much identical with 7 goals and 27 assists in 144 AHL games but did also drop the mitts on two more occasions than he did as a rookie.
Although maybe not considered a big point getter, he did clear 20+ assists in his last two seasons in juniors.
The 21-year old who will turn 22 over the summer was a late training camp cut before 2016/2017.
He should compete for a roster spot for the last season of his contract before becoming a restricted free agent.
Florida Panthers‘ 7th round deep draft pick in 2013 (#206 overall) 3rd year defenseman MacKenzie Weegar(52) gets into his first NHL game in his 2nd recall.
He’s put up career high, blue liner team leading numbers for affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds with 13 goals, 9 assists for 32 points and a nicely accountable +4 rating in 57 AHL games.
In his debut he skated 23 shifts for 16:45 of total ice time with 1 shot on net, 2 hits and 2 penalty minutes in a 4-1 loss.
The 6′ 212 lbs. d-man was reassigned all the way down to Cincinnati Cyclones, playing 21 ECHL games as recently as late 2015 as a rookie.
He skated only two years of juniors with Halifax Mooseheads but won both the 2013 QMJHL Championship and subsequent Memorial Cup as a first year skater.
The 23-year old is set is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current calendar but should be a no brainer to be re-up for at least another season.
Buffalo Sabres‘ 1st round pick in the 2006 draft (#8 overall) Swedish-background rookie right wing Alexander Nylander(70) got the opportunity to make his NHL debut on the opposite side of older brother William.
The 6’1″ 180 lbs. forward skated 14:28 total ice in a 4-2 loss with 1 takeaway and 1 giveaway.
It’s highly likely he stays with the big club for the remainder of the season there’s no playoff hopes for them or affiliate Rochester Americans, where he has 9 goals and 18 assists in 52 AHL games with a -20 rating that obviously thinks offense first.
In his one and only year with Mississauga Steelheads he absolutely tore it up scoring 28 goals and 47 assists in 52 OHL games and was named the league’s rookie of the year.
He also played junior hockey in his home country and even skated 3 pro games with AIK of tier 2 Allsvenskan.
At only 19-years old and signed to a three year entry level deal through 2019, this player will likely start to materialize sooner than later.
His dad is Michael Nylander.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers‘ 3rd year center Connor Jones(48) was enjoying some of his best work with the club reaching new career highs in virtually all categories including 56 AHL games played, 13 assists, 18 points, 82 shots on net, 87 penalty minutes, 3 fighting majors and a tidy +8 rating.
It’s almost ironic that heading into last season he signed a minor league deal with Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL but probably quite happily failed to play a game with the team.
There’s little doubt the small forward plays a feisty style out there but it would have been tough to guess parent club New York Islanders was watching and see something they like to offer him a first big league contract for the remainder of 2016/2017, and then just over a month later he would be recalled to skate his first NHL match-up as the squad is clawing for a playoff spot.
In his debut, a 4-2 win, he was out there for 18 shifts equaling 11:13 ice time with 2 shots, 3 hits, 1 take away, 1 giveaway, went 50% on the face off dot and left the game with a +1 rating.
Those are the stats of a player getting himself involved in every aspect of the match-up.
The 26-year old becomes an unlikely restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign but seems to be a good bet for him to be re-upped for a full term.
New York Islanders‘ 4th year defenseman Scott Mayfield(42) is enjoying split time between the two leagues for the first time in his pro career.
He signed a 2-year deal as a restricted free agent that pays him basically equal money wherever he plays.
The big, tough hitting blue liner has played a new best 21 NHL games with the parent club scoring another goal to go with his one from the previous season and a new best 6 assists and 7 points.
As one of the last cuts to be reassigned to affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers, he’s spent only 23 AHL games scoring 3 goals and 3 assists but has been up exclusively with the big club mostly and since mid-January.
The 24-year old should be able to complete the process becoming a full-time member of the Isles‘ defenesive corps heading into 2017/2018.
