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.
New Jersey Devils added big 6’4″ 225 lbs. 8th year left wing Luke Gazdic(20) a few days into unrestricted free agency.
It was the first time the sizable forward was without a deal heading into a new season.
Originally a Dallas Stars‘ 6th round pick in the 2007 draft (#172 overall) he spent 4 years in the system mostly with affiliate Texas Stars but also did some time in the ECHL with Idaho Steelheads.
He’s never been a big point producer. His best campaign came in his third year and was only a modest 11 goals and 12 assists in a career high 76 AHL games.
Almost ironically it was when he had to clear waivers at the beginning of 2013/2014 that Edmonton Oilers spotted something that fit into their roster ideas.
He played his only full NHL season that year scoring a best 2 goals and 2 assists in 67 games with 15 fighting majors in his 127 penalty minutes.
For the next two runs he would skate most of his time at the highest level but did get reassigned on a couple occasions to the minors.
The 27-year started 2016/2017 on the injured list after breaking his foot blocking a shot in the opening game of the preseason.
When he returned, he was reassigned to Albany Devils, where he had a pair of assists in 13 contests before being recalled for his first appearance with his new club.
In his debut he skated a very conservative 7 shifts for only 3:49 of total ice but is being kept around so that time may see a quick increase.
Boston Bruins‘ 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft (#85 overall) rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk(48) is having a great start to his pro career with affiliate Providence Bruins.
The small 5’9″ 174 lbs. blue liner leads all first year skaters with 11 assists and 12 points in 25 AHL games with an impressive +12 rating.
His solid work has led to an early debut for the parent club.
Skating a solid 25 shifts for 14:34 of total ice he also had three shots on net with a 0 plus/minus never looking too out of place in what was a bit of a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss.
He was frequently able to connect for decent points through four campaigns at Boston University, twice getting to the 10 goal mark and reaching 20+ assists on two occasions as well.
Signed to a two-year entry level, the 22-year looks to be on the right trajectory but would likely benefit from increased time in the minors, playing all types of situations.
New York Rangers‘ sophomore defenseman Brady Skjei(76) found his way into 7 big league games as a rookie scoring no points, but came away with a +1 rating.
The big blue liner led affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack first year d-men in assists (24) and scoring (28) in a career high 68 AHL games.
He would make the Blueshirts out of training camp for 2016/2017 and has played his way into a top role on the team.
With 13 assists through 31 games, he already is showing a marked improvement over stats he was able to post through three years of college hockey and closer to what he was able to achieve in his initial year as a pro.
The 22-year old also just potted his first NHL goal, which makes sense considering he averages over a shot on net per game.
This is definitely a high draft selection that learned a great deal from his time in the minors and has arrived into his game quickly.
Calgary Flames‘ 2nd round pick int he 2014 draft (#34 overall) rookie goalie Mason McDonald(35) is looking very comfortable in net and off to a hot start on reassignment to Adirondack Thunder.
In 13 ECHL games he has a 8-2-1-2 record with a 2.50 GAA and .902 SV%.
The rangy 6’4″ 200 lbs. back stop was a bit hot and cold through four seasons in the QMJHL, first with Acadie-Bathurst Titan, then Charlottetown Islanders but really found his footing winning a gold medal with the under 18 Team Canada at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
Signed to a 3-year entry level deal through 2019 he’s playing at a lower level of hockey than anticipated with the glut of talent in the parent club’s cage, but at the very least has time to develop and despite it being early already showing what he can do.
