Minnesota Wild 6th year center Pat Cannone(12) finally makes his NHL debut at age 30.
In 3 wins, he had no points but 2 shots on net, dished out a pair of hits, had 1 play break up, 1 take away and 2 give aways, while going over 50% on the face off dot skating an average of 10 shifts per game for roughly 8 minutes total ice.
He was returned to AHL affiliate Iowa Wild, where he’s tied for team lead with 12 assists.
In 2015/2016, his third season under contract with St. Louis Blues, he had a career high 20 goals and 53 points for Chicago Wolves, which was good enough for best on the farm squad.
It’s tough to say if he scores another recall while under his one-year contract signed on the opening day of free agency but if he continues to affect the back of the net in the minors, he deserves another shot.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ sophomore center Frederik Gauthier(33) had a pretty nice rookie run with 7 games up in the big league, 18 points for affiliate Toronto Marlies and a +18 rating but failed to connect in 9 postseason contests.
The towering, wide forward was one of the last training camp cuts before being reassigned.
He’s off to a nice start scoring a goal and three assists in 16 AHL games with an accountable +6 but still seems to be lacking that offensive touch he had through juniors.
His good play has earned him an early recall up to the parent club.
In 3 games he scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to his totals with 4 shots on net, 6 play breakups, 5 hits, 1 takeaway and was above 50% in the face off dot skating just over 20 shifts for an average of around 11:30 minutes of total ice per appearance.
St. Louis Blues‘ 4th year center Wade Megan(12) scores a 1st recall with his new parent club after already posting a career high 24 points and tied for league leading 13 goals in only 28 AHL games.
In his big league debut he scored his first NHL goal on his only shot, threw one hit, went 55.6% on the face off dot through 9:40 total ice time and miraculously went a +2 rating in a 5-2 loss.
The 26–year old was reassigned back to affiliate Chicago Wolves, as they do have a game right after Christmas but could be recalled quickly for a second visit to the top level.
13th year French-born defenseman Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel(37) has come full circle as he signed for 2016/2017 with Elmira Jackals, the first team he skated for in the league over two seasons 2011-2013.
The fairly sizable 6’2″ 220 lbs. blue liner began his career with five seasons in his home countries’ top Ligue Magnus after working his way up through juniors.
He first came to North American pro hockey after two games for Chamonix signing in the Central Hockey League with Laredo Bucks. where he played a career high 64 games scoring new bests 9 goals and 15 assists.
Returning for a 2nd season he upped his assist total to 17 continuing a hard-hitting, tough to play against style while continuing to improve his offensive output.
He would next try to move up the ladder some inking for his first run with the upstate New York team in the ECHL but had less success than at the lower rung of double A.
Moving back down to the CHL he agreed to terms with Quad City Mallards for 2013/2014 and had his most productive year yet notching 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points with a +17 rating.
He added another goal and an assist in 14 playoff games as the league was folding.
Staying put in Illinois for a 2nd campaign as they shifted operations to the ECHL he earned his first and only call-up appearing in 20 AHL games for Iowa Wild but could only manage one assist.
Not finding a suitor for another season at the higher level, he moved back down to skate for Evansville Icemen but was waived and quick to jump to Rapid City Rush, where matters improved dramatically but continued to move on finishing with Kalamazoo Wings.
The now 30-year old seems to have settled nicely for now but it remains to be seen what his next move may take.
It definitely wouldn’t be out of the question to see him return to France for a few more seasons before hanging up his skates and moving on to coaching.
Tampa Bay Lightning‘s 4th year center Tanner Richard(38) scores his first NHL recall after a career season in 2015/2016 with affiliate Syracuse Crunch and a hot start to the current campaign.
He played a new high 71 AHL games scoring bests 43 assists and 54 points, both team leading.
Signing a new one-year contract before the conclusion of last season may have further sparked his performance.
He was also a late training camp cut.
Through 22 contests with the farm squad this season he already has 7 goals and 10 assists.
For his big league debut, he skated 16 shifts for 12:23 total ice with 1 shot on net, 2 hits, 1 takeaway and 1 play breakup in a 4-1 victory.
With the injury bug biting the parent club hard, the 23-year old could see some extended time up, especially if he can start connecting with the score sheet as he’s doing in the minors.
Calgary Flames‘ 5th year center Freddie Hamilton(25) made the 2016/2017 opening night roster but wasn’t inserted into the lineup until a week or so into the new season.
He has one goal in 16 NHL games and looks to eclipse his high mark of 17 appearances set with Colorado Avalanche in 2014/2015 after a trade deadline deal from draft team San Jose Sharks.
Heading into a new hockey calendar, he signed a one year extension but once again was on the move being acquired by his brother Dougie‘s club for a conditional draft pick.
He spent most of his time with affiliate Stockton Heat scoring a new AHL best 25 assists and tying his point mark of 43 points in 62 games.
In 4 late season big league games he managed a goal and an assist but was somewhat unceremoniously returned to the minors.
The almost 25-year old is under contract through 2017/2018 but will definitely need to step up his game with some consistency or might be looking overseas for his next step.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 6th year center Byron Froese(10) has successfully earned himself a 2-year deal after a long slog through the minors in his first four pro seasons.
Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 4th round pick in the 2009 draft (#119 overall) he was mostly demoted down for the majority of his three-year entry level deal to the ECHL to either affiliate Toledo Walleye or Cincinnati Cyclones after a disappointing first campaign with Rockford IceHogs.
The 6′ 201 lbs. forward was left unqualified heading into 2014/2015 and elected to sign a one-year contract returning to Cincinnati after a hot playoff run to the Kelly Cup Finals in the previous season, where he scored 25 points in 23 contests.
Loaned up to San Antonio Rampage to start the new year, it lasted only 3 games before being returned.
From there he went on a scoring tear connecting for 8 goals and 16 assists in 17 games before Toronto Marlies paid witness and signed him to a pto.
He managed to continue on the same pace he set in the lower league and wound up with an AHL career high 18 goals, 24 assists and 42 points in 46 contests with a +22 rating, earning an spc along the way.
This effort would get noticed by the parent club and grab him another big league contract through 2017.
Sent down to start 2015/2016, he easily didn’t sweat it scoring 3 times in 4 games to earn a recall that would keep him up for 56 games playing a mostly checking line role but still got him his first pair of NHL goals and 3 helpers.
The 26-year old looks to set more new career high goals with the farm club this season and has become a very efficient skater but also should receive more looks at the higher level.
Ottawa Senators‘ undrafted 2nd year right wing Casey Bailey(37) skated his first big league contest since playing 6 games with Toronto Maple Leafs after finishing up an outstanding third year at Penn State University and subsequently signing a 2-year entry level deal.
In 6 games to wrap up the 2014/2015 season he would score his first NHL goal.
Reassigned to start his rookie campaign with affiliate Toronto Marlies, he scored 4 goals and 14 assists in 38 AHL match-ups but was involved in a major trade that sent him to Canada’s state capital for the remainder of 2015/2016.
Taking up where he left off in the minors, he would better his scoring output with 7 goals and another 14 assists for Binghamton Senators.
A late training camp cut, he rejoined the Baby Sens to start 2016/2017 with a brand new 1-year extension and looks to eclipse his first year scoring marks with already 9 tallies in 25 games.
The hot start has earned him a first recall.
In his debut he skated 13 shifts for 8:35 minutes of ice time with one shot on net and one takeaway.
The 25-year old looks to be just getting started.
Fifth year net minder Connor Knapp(31) spent most of his time guarding the cage for Reading Royals, while under contract with Lehigh Valley Phantoms through the past two seasons.
He played a career high 41 ECHL games in 2014/2015 putting together some decent numbers with a best 24 wins against 11 losses and 2.58 GAA and .915 SV%, then posted similar numbers in 2 rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Originally a Buffalo Sabres‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#146 overall), the extra big 6’6″ 225 lbs. goalie was actually one of only a limited number of skaters to play games in all three top leagues in his sophomore year, when he was recalled for his only pair of NHL appearances including one start, almost ironically only appeared in three games with affiliate Rochester Americans, and split duties with three teams, Greenville Road Warriors, Florida Everblades and Alaska Aces in the lower league.
He was fairly stellar when he was at Miami University (Ohio), where he helped them with the 2010 NCAA/CCHA Championship as a sophomore and was named best goaltender as a senior.
For 2016/2017 the 26-year old signed with Norfolk Admirals but in what is a case of bad luck, a pretty good looking squad on paper is unable to cobble together wins and his numbers are suffering badly.
It would be little surprise to see him leave to explore some overseas pro hockey options next with much better fortune.
