Arizona Coyotes‘ rookie right wing Christian Fischer(36) has spent most of his first pro season in the minors with new affiliate Tuscon Roadrunners.
Through 51 AHL games he has an already impressive 19 goals and 24 assists but carries a bit of a trying -13 rating on what is a non-playoff contending squad.
The very decently sized forward is on his 2nd recall to the big league.
In his first pair of appearances he potted his first and second NHL goals skating limited minutes but then failed to connect in his third before almost strangely being returned to the farm club.
Back up with the parent team he once again strikes for his third goal in 4 outings and may just have earned his spot for the remainder of the calendar.
The still super-young 19-year old is on an entry level contract for two more seasons but is likely to become a fixture at the highest level of hockey starting 2017/2018.
Buffalo Sabres‘ 7th round pick in the 2012 draft (#193 overall), extra big 6’4″ 234 lbs. 3rd year defenseman Brady Austin(67) had a strong NHL debut skating 27 shifts for 15:37 total ice with 3 shots, 2 penalty minutes and 1 hit in a 2-1 win.
The upcoming restricted free agent had a pair of 20, one 20+ year as an overage skater in the OHL but is most considered a strong, stay-at-home style blue liner.
He’s played 199 AHL games with affiliate Rochester Americans scoring 5 goals and 25 assists on a squad that will miss the playoffs for a third straight season with him in the ranks.
The soon-to-be 24-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of 2016/2017, when his entry level deal expires but it looks like almost a sure bet to pick up at least a one-year extension to continue.
Heading into his 6th pro year, left wing Jared Gomes(12) re-signs with DEL2‘s SC Riessersee after appearing in only 15 games with the team in 2016/2017, when he succumbed to a season-ending shoulder injury.
He managed to score 6 goals and 10 assists before being sidelined.
Set to turn 29-years old at the beginning of the 2017/2018 campaign, if he can manage to stay healthy and continue on the scoring tear it would be surprising to see him stay put once again, especially when he has the chance to move up the hockey ladder overseas.
But we shall see…
Skelleftea AIK re-signs 10th year veteran right wing Bud Holloway(4) for a 5th season 2017/2018 after he rejoined the team for 28 SHL games (including playoffs thus far) scoring 11 goals and 12 assists.
He started 2016/2017 CSKA Moskva on a 2-year deal but left after getting 3 goals and 6 assists with a +4 rating in 12 KHL contests before heading back to Sweden a month later.
In his previous campaign he returned to North American pro hockey inking with Montreal Canadiens, but spent all except one brief visit up to the NHL with affiliate St. John’s IceCaps, where he was their leading scorer with 61 points and a team high 42 assists.
The 29-year old seems like he’s quite comfortable and could play out his remaining seasons without switching up the scenario again.
12 year veteran left wing Derek Nesbitt(17) has definitely skated a long, hard road in his pro career playing a phenomenal 372 AHL and 343 ECHL games.
He left North American briefly for one season overseas in EBEL with Italian-based HC Bolzano and had a pretty big showing scoring 14 goals and 28 assists with a +18 rating, then added another 7 points in 7 playoff contests.
In 2015/2016, he would return to Atlanta Gladiators, where he spent his rookie year 2005/2006 and parts of two other seasons.
He had another successful campaign recorded a career 2nd high 28 goals and third best 34 assists.
His goal scoring is tops in team history.
For 2016/2017, the former Ferris State University standout, re-signed to once again play in the southern state, his second as team captain.
At almost 35-years old, he’s probably likely to hang up the skates soon and move onto coaching, where he’ll be great, but as a top scorer he may delay life after hockey for as long as possible.
Straubing Tigers‘ 9th year center Steven Zalewski(15) will spend his 10th pro season, 3rd overall with the team, as he signs another extension to stay despite scoring only 5 goals and 12 assists in 50 DEL games with a -10 rating.
After putting up a career high 30 assists with Albany Devils in 2012/2013, he left for his first stint overseas joining Lukko of Liiga.
He only had 6 goals and 5 assists in 31 contests but seemed to spring to life some in the playoffs grabbing another goal and 5 more assists.
The 5’11” 190 lbs. pivot stayed in Finland for another season signing with Ilves but seemed to continue struggle a bit to put up points.
Leaving for his debut tour of Germany he regained that scoring punch potting 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points with a +6.
He’s set to turn 31-years old before the start of next season but has obviously been a good, veteran leader for the group, so may have found a good spot to stay before he hangs up the skates.
Lowen Frankfurt of DEL2 liked 8th year right wing Matthew Pistilli(36) for scoring a league best 32 goals in the 2016/2017, his first in the league that they quickly made sure the 28-year old, who will be 29 around the start of next season, returns.
He was 2nd overall in scoring 65 points in 52 games.
It’s interesting that he decides to stay put and not explore trying to move up on the European hockey ladder.
In his first year overseas with Esjberg Energy of Metal-ligean he had 22 goals and 40 assists with a +22 rating, then added another 16 points in 19 playoff games en route to the 2016 Danish Cup.
South Carolina Stingrays‘ 5th year center Kelly Zajac(19) was just returned after being recalled for just under a month to Hershey Bears.
He detonated the score sheet unlike he’s ever done through 9 AHL games scoring 4 goals and 3 assists with a +8 rating.
Almost seems a bit odd that he was reassigned back down.
In his 2nd stint with the Stingrays, he could have arrived at a better time as the team pushes for a playoff berth.
The strong skating forward has a team leading 36 assists and a 2nd 46 points.
When he first joined the squad late season after short stints in Finland’s Liiga with Lukko and Manitoba Moose, he got right to work.
He was a point per game performer in 2015/2016 through the remainder of the regular calendar, then continued to take it up a notch in the playoffs potting 3 goals and 15 assists in 19 match ups with another +8.
The 28-year old will click off another year over the summer but with his current outstanding performance in two of the top leagues, it will be a bit of a stunner to see him continue in the ECHL unless there’s future thinking after hockey entering the picture.
5th year center Drew Shore(42) returned to North American pro hockey signing a one-year, one-way deal with Vancouver Canucks for the remainder of the 2016/2017 calendar after spending the season with EHC Kloten of the NLA.
He led the team in scoring with 24 goals and 24 assists through 50 games, then also helped them win the 2017 Swiss Cup before leaving.
The decently big-sized forward played 80 NHL games getting 9 goals and 15 assists with draft team Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames before leaving, but is a bit of a woeful -16.
In his first game back he skated 20 shifts for 14:07 total ice time with 1 shot on net, 2 hits, 2 takeaways, 2 penalty minutes and left the 6-3 loss with a +1 rating.
The 26-year old is scheduled to become a restricted free agent heading into 2017/2018.
A good performance through the remainder of the calendar will likely bring him back.
5th year center Yanni Gourde(65) was a late cut from Tampa Bay Lightning training camp to be reassigned to affiliate Syracuse Crunch.
He signed a one-year contract extension early into his first restricted free agency after posting a career 30 assists last season in the AHL.
In his only recall of 2015/2016, he posted his first assist before getting injured.
It took a couple of months for him to score a summons for the current calendar but was quickly sent back after a pair of appearances with no points.
No worries, as he returned to the farm squad, continued to work hard and excel in minor league scoring netting 22 goals and 24 assists through 55 games with a +10 rating, good enough for 3rd on the team.
With a rash of injuries to the parent club, he was once again brought up in an attempt to bolster their playoff berth chances.
In his 2nd game he was given markedly increased ice time, which resulted in his 2nd assist and a win.
He would next pot his first NHL goal in another victory and for at least now the 25-year old is making a nice argument to stick around for awhile as the roster returns to healthy status.
What happens next for the upcoming unrestricted free agent, who signed an ECHL deal to start 2013/2014, will be interesting to watch.
