Washington Capitals‘ 6th round pick in the 2012 draft (#167 overall) 2nd year right wing Riley Barber(19) gets his first nod to join the parent club for a pair of NHL outings.
He played an average of 12 shifts for 9 minutes of total ice with 2 shots on net and one hit, which sort of points towards him not being as engaged as the coach would maybe like to see in one win and a loss.
The 6′ 193 lbs. forward was reassigned back to affiliate Hershey Bears, where in 19 AHL games he has 7 goals and 5 assists with a +1 rating.
He’s been on the sidelines for at least half the season with a nagging injury and unfortunately his numbers will probably come up a bit short of his rookie stats: 26-29-55 in 74 contests but regardless he’s an effective, feisty, hard-skating player with good puck sense.
This was on full display through three years at Miami University (Ohio), where he was a more than point-per-game contributor and helped them win the 2015 NCAA (NCHC) Championship.
He was also a part of the 2011 USHL Clark Cup winning Dubuque Fighting Saints.
The 23-year old is signed to a three year entry level deal that runs through 2017/2018 and should get more opportunities to prove his game in the big league.
Anaheim Ducks‘ 3rd year left wing Nic Kerdiles(17) scored his first NHL recall.
He skated 17 shifts for 11:08 total ice time with a +1 rating in a 5-3 win with two play breakups and 2 giveaways before being returned to affiliate San Diego Gulls.
In 11 AHL games he has 4 goals and 4 assists with a +2 rating.
Through 45 contests in 2015/2016, decently sized forward scored a career high 15 goals and 12 assists.
The 23-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign but seems like to be re-upped for at least another look.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 3rd year defenseman Kevin Gravel(53) started his season as one of the final reassignments to affiliate Ontario Reign.
He had a career AHL year in 2015/2016 scoring 7 goals and 13 assists with a +4 and then tacked on another 7 points in 12 playoff match-ups, while also playing his first 5 games in the big league.
Recalled just under a month into the current calendar there’s no looking back as he’s managed to stay in the lineup for 41 games.
The 24-year old has 4 assists and just added his first NHL goal to the stat sheet.
He should be able to command a nice pay bump, which ain’t bad for a kid that came all the way up from his start with Marquette Rangers of the NAHL.
7th year defenseman Michael Stone(26) skated 324 games with draft team Arizona Coyotes but as his original squad is looking at another season without a playoff berth, they are starting to dump salaries.
Set to become an unrestricted free agent after signing a lucrative one-year deal for 2016/2017 the big blue liner gets dished to surging Calgary Flames, who look to be stockpiling players for their postseason push.
He was coming off a career year in 2015/2016 doubling his best assist mark with 30 and 36 points but has a bit of a tough -40 through 4 full NHL seasons and 2 partial.
Given a new environment, it’s tough to think the still young-ish 26 year old won’t turn the corner.
If he can agree to a new deal where he is may really push some of those scoring categories into new territory much like he did in four campaigns with Calgary Hitmen, which included a 2010 WHL Championship as team captain.
4th year right wing Ty Rattie(18) was given a one-year one-way extension by draft team St. Louis Blues heading into 2016/2017 as a restricted free agent.
He was on the opening night roster and appeared in a game one week later before being sent back to affiliate Chicago Wolves but quickly recalled.
The decently sized, good skater in all zones had a few more appearances playing limited ice time but found himself a healthy scratch for much of his two months before it was decided to return him to the farm club.
He was scooped on waivers by Carolina Hurricanes, inserted directly into the line up, skating 5 games of increased action with a pair of assists and a -2 rating but then was again watching from the stands for the next month.
The 24-year was set to be reassigned for a second time in one season but the Blues stepped back in and reclaimed him to return.
He’s expected to be sent to the AHL to continue his oddball campaign and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see if he’s summoned back up and switches squads for a third time.
Swedish-born 6th year defenseman Viktor Loov(5) was recently involved in a trade that sent his rights from draft team Toronto Maple Leafs (7th round in 2012, #209 overall) to New Jersey Devils.
He appeared in 4 NHL games as a sophomore skater recording a pair of assists with a +4 rating on a struggling squad but even as a late training camp cut to affiliate Toronto Marlies seemed to fall on the depth chart and was left to play in the minors in the current campaign.
Possibly disillusioned his production seemed to wane with the farm club scoring only 2 goals and 4 assists in 41 AHL games.
Not that the fairly big 6’3″ 208 lbs. blue liner was ever that big on the score sheet but he did manage 6 goals and 15 assists as a rookie.
The 24-year is set to become a first time restricted free agent as he’s at the end of his 3-year entry level deal but it seems like he’d be a good guy to keep around to see what could develop.
Buffalo Sabres‘ 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft (#69 overall) 2nd year right wing Nick Baptiste(13) was one of the last training camp cuts reassigned to affiliate Rochester Americans but was recalled almost immediately and inserted into the lineup for 2016/2017 third game of the season.
The 6’1″ 207 lbs. forward did pick up his first NHL goal in the next outing and currently has 3 for the current calendar with an assist in 14 contests with a +1 rating.
He’s shuttled between the two upper state cities already 10 times in the first half of the campaign.
The speedy, hard-skating player has already eclipsed his rookie goal total in the AHL with 19 and points at 31, but looks to easily pass all scoring marks he accomplished in his first year.
He was a more than a point-per-game producer through his last pair of runs in the OHL and a 20+ goals and assists guy before being selected.
The 21-year old looks to have a tremendous upside moving forward with the parent club and should be a key component of the team’s future.
7th year defenseman Matt Bartkowski(44) found himself in a position of few suitors for a big league deal heading into 2016/2017 after spending the previous season in uniform with Vancouver Canucks under a one-year term.
The nicely mobile blue liner played a career high 80 games scoring his 1st NHL goal (along with 5 others) and 12 assists with a -19 rating on a non-playoff team.
He 212 games in the show to his credit.
Possibly not wanting to give up on the dream, he opted not to ink overseas, deciding to rejoin some familiar ground signing a minor league contract with Providence Bruins.
In 34 AHL games he has 2 goals and 8 assists with a 0 +/-.
His play was good enough to catch the attention of Calgary Flames, who signed him to a 2-year contract for the remainder of the calendar and 2017/2018.
In his 1st game with a new squad he skated 18 shifts for a 10:55 total ice.
7th year defenseman Yann Sauve(4) played most of his games in 2014/2015 season in the AHL (17 with Springfield Falcons, 5 St. John’s IceCaps and 4 for Providence Bruins) and spent only 13 games with contract squad Orlando Solar Bears.
He followed that up run agreeing to another ECHL deal this time with Manchester Monarchs and a pair of short stints lacing up for Portland Pirates and Stockton Heat.
The decently sized blue liner didn’t seem to mind his time in New Hampshire as he exploded offensively with a career high 7 goals and 22 assists.
That display definitely helped him grab a deal with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL for 2016/2017.
He played 25 games scoring a goal and 2 assists and when that calendar was waning without a playoff berth, re-signed and returned to the Monarchs.
After only a pair of games with a 2 assists, the 27-year old heads back overseas signing with EHC Munchen of the DEL for some postseason hockey.
He could re-appear again.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 1st round pick in the 2014 draft (#29 overall) Swedish-born left wing Adrian Kempe(39) earns his first recall and NHL game.
He skated 20 shifts for 15:18 total ice time with two shots on net, two hits and a -1 rating in a 5-3 loss.
The 6’2″ 202 lbs. forward skated two years in the SHL with MODO before joining then affiliate Manchester Monarchs for their 2015 Calder Cup Championship run, where he scored 8 goals and 1 assist in 17 postseason contests with a +3 rating.
In his 2nd season with new farm club Ontario Reign, he’s already equaled in goal output of 11 from his rookie campaign in 43 AHL games.
The recently turned 20-year old is actually in the 1st year of his three-year entry level contract and was allowed to use 2015/2016 as a slide.
He was a late training camp reassignment and with his feisty style of play and good play-making hands, he should be able to make the big club full-time for the remainder of the current calendar, especially if they start falling from the playoff picture.
