Undrafted 4th year right wing Austin Block(19) was traded from Manchester Monarchs, where he signed for 2015/2016, to Orlando Solar Bears for future considerations a little after the half way point of the season.
The somewhat older 27-year old forward skated a career high 63 ECHL games scoring a moderate new best 5 goals and 14 assists.
A most telling stat though was turning a -20 rating with his former team to a +2 with his new one.
The not exactly huge 5’11” 185 lbs. player has seemingly struggled with on-ice accountability as a pro.
It wasn’t this way coming up through his two seasons of American junior hockey in the NAHL with Fairbanks Ice Dogs, where he was just under a point-per-game performer and a hefty +41 before heading off to four years at University Of New Hampshire.
In his senior year he was able to connect with 15 goals in 39 games before heading off to Europe for his rookie campaign.
He started in Finland’s Liiga with HIFK but after stumbling a bit was loaned down to HCK of 2nd tier league Mestis before leaving to finish out the calendar in Sweden’s Allsvenskan for Karlskrona HK.
For his sophomore season he went to Slovak Extraliga signing with HC Banska Bystricha but left after only 21 games scoring a nifty 9 goals and 6 assists before deciding to play pro in North America for a first time.
He finished 2014/2015 with Bakersfield Condors skating 14 games putting in a pair of goals and 6 assists but was a faulty -13.
There’s little doubt this is a player that can step it up quite a bit and be more accountable. This could be an important year.
5th year left wing Darian Dziurzynski(26) leaves North American pro hockey joining England’s Manchester Storm for 2016/2017, and he’s off to a hot start.
In 8 EIHL games he already has 5 goals and 6 assists.
The feisty forward (183 pims, 11 fights in 2013/2014) should be able to connect well on the score sheet and easily eclipse what he posted in his first full ECHL season, where he had 15 goals and 13 assists with three different teams.
The 15 tallies tied what he’d accomplished in the AHL in 2014/2015, the last year of his contract with Arizona Coyotes.
At 25-years old he could find easily find himself climbing the European hockey ladder, if he puts his mind to it.
5th year left wing Justin Florek(18) signs his first minor league deal agreeing to 2016/2017 with Milwaukee Admirals.
He’s already played 297 AHL games with initial team Providence Bruins until last season, when he signed with New York Islanders but spent the entire campaign with affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
The fairly large player has skated 4 games in the big league with draft team Boston Bruins scoring a goal and an assist with a +1 rating before being sent back returned to the farm squad.
It’s a bit surprising the big power forward hasn’t had another look even though he scored a career high 19 goals and 38 points in the year of his recall, then put up a best 24 assists and another 35 points in the next season.
The 26-year old unrestricted free agent may catch fire with his new team in a new conference and may even catch the attention of parent club Nashville Predators.
5th year left wing Justin Florek(18) signs his first minor league deal agreeing to 2016/2017 with Milwaukee Admirals.
He’s already played 297 AHL games with initial team Providence Bruins until last season, when he signed with New York Islanders but spent the entire campaign with affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
The fairly large player has skated 4 games in the big league with draft team Boston Bruins scoring a goal and an assist with a +1 rating before being sent back returned to the farm squad.
It’s a bit surprising the big power forward hasn’t had another look even though he scored a career high 19 goals and 38 points in the year of his recall, then put up a best 24 assists and another 35 points in the next season.
The 26-year old unrestricted free agent may catch fire with his new team in a new conference and may even catch the attention of parent club Nashville Predators.
7th year German-born goalie Niklas Treutle(1) had an unfortunate short stint with KooKoo of Finnish elite Liiga after not being qualified by Arizona Coyotes, who he spent last season with as a prospect on a one-year entry level deal.
Most of his time was spent with affiliate Springfield Falcons, where he put up a 12-19 mark with a pair of shutouts and a decent 3.05 GAA and .905 SV% IN 39 AHL games on a very under-performing squad.
His time up with the big club in two appearances didn’t go so well, which is easily why he wasn’t retained for a longer look.
The 6’2″ 190 lbs. net minder actually looked pretty dazzling at times in the minors.
He did come in with already 5 years pro experience playing in DEL with Hamburg Freezers, EHC Munchen and SC Riessersee.
The 25-year old returns home signing for 2016/2017 with Krefeld Pinguine.
11th year veteran defenseman Mark Fraser(5) signs a one-year deal with Edmonton Oilers, a team he’d spent 23 games with after a trade from Toronto Maple Leafs late in 2013/2014.
The big, rock solid blue liner will likely be a nice addition to the big club if he can scrub out a roster spot.
He spent the entire 2015/2016 in the minors skating for Binghamton Senators, while under contract with Ottawa Senators.
The 30-year old has 217 NHL games to his credit scoring 4 goals and 22 assists with a surprisingly nice +7 rating.
He also has 302 penalty minutes, including 35 fighting majors and could quite handily help protect the parent club’s shining young stars.
Boston Bruins‘ “new” $6+ million dollar man is 5’9″ 181 lbs. left wing Brad Marchand(63), who led the team in scoring last season with 37 goals, blowing the lid of his previous high mark from 2011/2012 of 28.
He’s been mostly a bit of a streaky player, always rising to the challenge when called out for slumping on the stats sheet but has continuously responded to be a 20+ goal scorer 5 of 8 pro years.
The small, agitating forward also reached a new best in points through 2015/2016 with 61.
There’s little doubt his recent performance as leading goal scorer with 5 in the 2016 World Cup Of Hockey, helping Canada capture the gold, sealed the deal to get the future free agent into a lucrative, new deal.
The 28-year old has managed some incredible heights as a player, including the 2011 Stanley Cup, 4 gold medals and the 2006 QMJHL Championship with Moncton Wildcats but his +138 rating is possibly one of his greatest accomplishments as a fully accountable on ice presence.
He also has a +19 plus/minus in postseason action.
Worth every nickel.
Boston Bruins‘ 7th year center Riley Nash(20) was signed on the opening day of free agency to a 2-year deal with his first new team since spending the first 6 years of his career in Carolina Hurricanes‘ organization.
A veteran of 242 NHL games, he’s spent all of the last three seasons in the big league exclusively after a rookie season playing only with affiliate Charlotte Checkers, then his first 5 appearances as a sophomore skater and finally splitting almost equal time between the two leagues as a third year player before graduating full-time.
The 6’1″ 201 lbs. forward has basically been worth at least 20+ points per campaign in the show but in a new system it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the 27-year old, former Edmonton Oilers‘ 1st round pick do much better.
Rogle BK 8th year center Sebastian Wannstrom(22) is finally having the breakout season that was anticipated by his 2010 St. Louis Blues‘ high draft selection.
In his return to the SHL after 3 below average campaigns in the AHL and even on reassignment further down to the ECHL, the 25-year old seems to be finally taking flight.
After another so-so performance in his first season he netted 14 goals and 7 assists for 21 points, which marked new career scoring highs but was still far below what he achieved in his best showing in Swedish junior hockey and far below expectation.
2016/2017 looks to be a completely different story though, as he’s off to a blistering hot start scoring 4 goals and 3 assists in only 4 games.
The big-ish forward may just be coming to life a little later in his career than expected and with the current breakout could net another look from an NHL team.
San Jose Sharks‘ 4th year defenseman Dylan DeMelo(74) enjoyed more time with the big club than he spent with the farm team for the first time in his pro career last season.
He skated 45 games scoring his first pair of NHL tallies (both on the man-advantage) and 2 helpers (also on the PP) with a 0 rating, while only adding another 15 contests (6 assists) with new affiliate San Jose Barracuda.
The 6th round pick in the 2011 draft (#179 overall) spent his first pair of campaigns in the AHL with Worcester Sharks scoring a career high 5 goals in 2014/2015 and had a best 22 assists and 24 points as a rookie.
The generously listed 6’1″ 194 lbs. blue liner showed great strength head-manning the puck in four years of juniors with Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the OHL averaging over 30 assists a season in his final three years, and also connected for 15 goals in his final run.
The 23-year old signed a nice two year deal, the second being one-way to continue to develop with the only team he’s known.
He very well could become a full-time fixture on the parent club’s roster sooner than later.
