Bridgeport Sound Tigers‘ foward Steve Bernier(37) blocks Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Ryan Graves(27) shot and the puck careens all the way to the other end of the ice for an empty net goal.
You don't see that every day. #BRIvsHFD pic.twitter.com/jV0wEfEDy6
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) November 24, 2016
Have a safe and great holiday!
3rd year Slovakian-born left wing Radoslav Illo(61) was originally an Anaheim Ducks‘ 5th round pick in the 2009 draft (#136 overall) but never signed.
He played his rookie season back in his homeland for MHC Martin scoring 5 goals and 8 assists in 37 Slovak Extraliga after playing 2 years of junior hockey in America for Tri-City Storm in the USHL putting up solid numbers before deciding on four years at Bemidji State University getting 10 assists twice and potting 10 goals as a senior.
The small 5’9″ 198 lbs. forward signed his first deal an ato after college with AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals but saw limited action in 3 games with no points and remained unsigned by the parent club making him an unrestricted free agent.
He returned to the U.S. initially signing with Evansville IceMen before being traded at the start of the season to Tulsa Oilers, but only played a single ECHL game with them before being released from his spc and ultimately finding his way via reported another trade back to Norfolk Admirals but this time in a lower league.
His time on the blocks wouldn’t end there as he was once again he was on the move to Idaho Steelheads to finish up his sophomore campaign but actually starting clicking with 3 goals and 4 assists in 19 games, then another pair of points in 5 Kelly Cup Playoff match-ups.
The 26-year old quickly made a decision to remain in the country signing at the start of the off-season with Missouri Mavericks and looks to be on his way to posting career highs with already 3 goals and 4 assists in only 12 games.
It’s still hard to think he’ll stay put if he can find that scoring touch.
9th year right wing Jordan Knackstedt(10) signed for 2016/2017 with his 13th different team, Herlev Eagles of Metal Ligaen and 7th pro league.
He hasn’t been with the same team twice since his three year entry level deal with draft team Boston Bruins (7th round in 2007, #189 overall), who he was with for 2 and a half seasons before getting traded to Florida Panthers mid-season then reassigned to affiliate Rochester Americans.
The big 6’3″ 200 lbs. forward would next leave heading to Italy’s HC Bolzano for 2011/2012.
He would win his only league championship lighting it up for 10 goals and 11 assists in 12 playoff games with the team.
But instead of sticking around, he decided to leave for Sweden’s tier 2 Allsvenskan signing with Tingryds AIF but that experimented was quickly ditched and he returned to Italy for the remainder of the calendar signing with Milano.
For the 2013/2014 season he decided to return to North American inking with Bakersfield Condors and had his best offensive output putting up 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points in 69 ECHL games and even earned himself a one game recall to Abbotsford Heat.
Once again, he would take his game back overseas to Russia’s VHL but was unable to find footing on two squads, so split for DEL2, where he connected nicely for ESV Kaufbeuren.
Returning closer to home for 2015/2016 his next contract would come from Greenville Swamp Rabbits, where he spent the majority of the season before being traded to Quad City Mallards.
He finished the campaign with a second best 44 points.
The 28-year old’s is off to a hot start in Denmark with 3 goals and 9 assists in 9 games but it’s fairly doubtful the journeyman will stay put.
Undrafted 5th year left wing Jared Gomes(12) looked as though he was ready to play out the season in the new Alps Hockey League with Ritten Renon as he joined them for the Continental Cup Tournament grabbing two goals and two assists in 3 games.
Instead he decided to head back over to Germany’s DEL2 signing with SC Riessersee for the remainder of 2016/2017.
The sturdy 6’1 189 lbs. forward skated 41 games in the higher league for Straubing Tigers scoring 4 goals and 10 assists a couple of seasons ago.
After this campaign, he returned to North American pro hockey, where he started playing two years for San Antonio Rampage and had his highest point totals as a rookie potting 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points.
For 2015/2016 he signed with Bridgeport Sound Tigers, establishing himself as a hard-checking, hard to play against instigator that could affect the score sheet on occasion.
He scored almost a point per game in his final run in juniors with Mississauga Steelheads, then went on to play three years of college hockey at University Of Prince Edward Island.
Now 28-years old, it will be interesting to see what direction he takes next.
Undrafted 5th year left wing Jared Gomes(12) looked as though he was ready to play out the season in the new Alps Hockey League with Ritten Renon as he joined them for the Continental Cup Tournament grabbing two goals and two assists in 3 games.
Instead he decided to head back over to Germany’s DEL2 signing with SC Riessersee for the remainder of 2016/2017.
The sturdy 6’1 189 lbs. forward skated 41 games in the higher league for Straubing Tigers scoring 4 goals and 10 assists a couple of seasons ago.
After this campaign, he returned to North American pro hockey, where he started playing two years for San Antonio Rampage and had his highest point totals as a rookie potting 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points.
For 2015/2016 he signed with Bridgeport Sound Tigers, establishing himself as a hard-checking, hard to play against instigator that could affect the score sheet on occasion.
He scored almost a point per game in his final run in juniors with Mississauga Steelheads, then went on to play three years of college hockey at University Of Prince Edward Island.
Now 28-years old, it will be interesting to see what direction he takes next.
10th year veteran left wing Chris Porter(24) was left unrestricted by his last team Minnesota Wild heading into 2016/2017 after skating a career high 61 regular season NHL games (4-3-7 points) then 6 more in the playoffs (1 goal).
Signed to a two-way contract by Philadelphia Flyers before the start of 2015/2016, he was reassigned to the minors but never made it before being claimed off waivers.
The 6’1″ 206 lbs. forward was invited to join the team he’d spent the first 8 years of his pro career with St. Louis Blues‘ training camp at the beginning of the current calendar but was released before the start.
A month into the new campaign he signed a pto with Providence Bruins and in 9 AHL games has 6 assists with a +2 rating.
Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 9th round pick in the 2003 draft (#282 overall), he played 234 big league games mostly in a fourth line checking role.
He was always a decent point producer through 4 years at University Of North Dakota scoring 10+ goals and 15+ assists in three of his seasons.
The 32-year old may only stick around for another run in North America before deciding to find some better ice overseas before he hangs up the skates but that remains to be seen.
Montreal Canadiens‘ 5th round pick in the 2014 draft (#147 overall) center Daniel Audette(24) had three point-per-game seasons in the QMJHL with Sherbrooke Phoenix as assistant captain before signing his three year entry level deal.
A late training camp cut, he was reassigned to start his rookie year with affiliate St. John’s IceCaps.
The small 5/9″ 176 lbs. quick, good stick handling forward has his first pro goal and 5 assists with a -2 rating in 18 AHL games.
He signed an ato joining the team after his junior career concluded playing 4 games at the end of 2015/2016 scoring no points.
The son of former NHL star Donald Audette will need to play a big game and continue to set up plays and find the back of the net.
7th year center Philip McRae(17) signed his second minor league contract with Hartford Wolf Pack for 2016/2017 after a rocky season skating for Bakersfield Condors, where he was only available for 35 AHL games.
Originally a St. Louis Blues‘ 2nd round pick in the 2008 draft (#33 overall), he spent the first three years with the team on an entry level deal and played his only 15 contests in the big league as a rookie scoring an NHL goal and a pair of assists.
The decently sized 6’2″ 201 lbs. forward was mostly reassigned to affiliate Peoria Rivermen and posted his best stats in his sophomore campaign playing a record 71 games scoring 23 goals and 16 assists.
Unfortunately he’s also a combined -45 in 278 games in the minors including a -11 currently with 4 points through 14 match-ups.
He had one seasons overseas in Finland’s Liiga spending time first with Tappara for only 8 appearances before finishing the calendar as part of Blues‘ lineup.
For his follow-up year he returned to St. Louis but spent the entire run with Chicago Wolves.
The 26-year old comes from a pro hockey pedigree. His dad was Basil McRae, a veteran of 576 games in the show.
It wold be little surprise to see him leave the country once again to see if he can gain more ground overseas.
9th year goaltender Mark Dekanich(31) is off to a rocky start with new team Reading Royals early in 2016/2017 after signing a one-year deal with Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
In 10 ECHL games he has a 3-6-0-1 record with a disappointing 3.58 GAA and .893 SV% on a team that is also struggling slightly out of the gate.
This is in sharp contrast to just a year earlier, when the decently-sized net minder appeared in 35 regular season contests for South Carolina Stingrays, while under contract with Hershey Bears.
He recorded a quite healthy 20-9-2-2 mark with a 2.16 GAA and .925 SV% including 2 shutouts, then went 5-3 in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff games with another pair of blankings, 1.69 GAA and .922 SV% through the Eastern Conference Finals before bowing out.
Previous to returning to North American hockey, he had a pair of stints in the KHL for Medevescak Zagreb.
His first season went well but unfortunately deteriorated in his second.
The 30-year old former Colgate University standout may be running out of time on the ice but would make for an outstanding goalie coach post-career.
