6th year defenseman Philip Samuelsson(5) only had to wait until the 2nd day of unrestricted free agency to get his option picked up by Montreal Canadiens for 2016/2017.
He was last in Arizona Coyotes‘ system for a pair of seasons after a trade that sent him from draft team Pittsburgh Penguins.
The big d-man has always managed a handful of NHL appearances in the last three seasons but unable to stick, spending most of his playing time with affiliates.
He was last spotted in 2015/2016 guarding the zone for Springfield Falcons and just so happened to post some career high scoring marks with 21 assists and 25 points with 97 shots on net in 56 AHL games. His four goals were one short of his best.
The still young 25-year old may compete for a spot on the parent club’s blue line out of camp, as he does have the ability to play some serious shut down style defense.
4th year center Chris Crane(21) was enjoying his most productive season ever on reassignment to Allen Americans scoring a career high 21 goals and 17 assists for 38 points in 41 ECHL games before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the calendar.
Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ deep 7th round pick in the 2010 draft (#200 overall), this was a 2nd tour with the team, as he spent the last 3 games of 2014/2015 grabbing 3 goals and an assist before potting 10 tallies and 10 helpers en route to their first 2015 Kelly Cup Championship.
Allen repeated the title defense in 2016.
The 6’1″ 193 lbs. forward returns for a full campaign, inking his first minor league contract.
He was on a 3-year entry level deal through the end of last season after two seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL and a 2010 Clark Cup Championship and four years at Ohio State University but left unqualified heading into 2016/2017.
Unfortunately he’s only had moderate success at the higher level of hockey in a limited playing role with affiliates San Jose Barracuda last year and two campaigns for Worcester Sharks to start.
He did have a goal and 5 assists in 13 AHL in 2014/2015 but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to stick.
If the 24-year old can have another successful season, he may move on and find better success overseas.
4th year center Mitchell Heard(22) signs his 2nd minor league contract, keeping him in the Western Conference but heading east for 2016/2017 with Charlotte Checkers.
He’s coming off a season where he played only 22 games under a deal with Stockton Heat but scored a decent 3 goals and 4 assists.
The 6’1″ 205 lbs. forward fared much better on reassignment to Adirondack Thunder, where he was basically a point-per-game player pocketing 12 goals and 20 assists with a +17 rating in 33 ECHL games during the regular season, then tacked on another 5 tallies and 6 helpers in 12 Kelly Cup Playoff contests.
These totals mirror what he was able to accomplish in his final pair of campaigns for Plymouth Whalers of the OHL.
Originally a Colorado Avalanche 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft (#41 overall), he almost turned pro after being selected, but half was through the year the parent club decided to return him for his final season of juniors after playing 23 AHL games but seemingly sputtering out of the gate.
Twice reassigned quickly from training camp to affiliate Cleveland Monsters he spent two full seasons in the league but was mostly challenged to connect with the score sheet on a consistent basis.
There’s little doubt the 24-year old is awaiting another breakout, this time in the higher league.
If that doesn’t occur in the upcoming season, he may look overseas next and should do well over there.
11th year veteran Mike Angelidis(10) signs his first minor league contract with Stockton Heat since agreeing to his third deal in 2008/2009 for Albany River Rats.
He spent his first three seasons on Carolina Hurricanes‘ radar before getting his first major deal in 2009/2010 but was left with the farm club as an assistant captain.
From there, the unrestricted free agent would ink a late-ish transaction with Tampa Bay Lightning for 2010/2011, then stick with the team for the next 6 years.
In his first season on reassignment, he posted career high points in the AHL getting 20 goals and 18 assists.
He would replicate those exact scoring totals 5 years later.
For his sophomore campaign in the Tampa Bay system, he was named captain and helped guide Norfolk Admirals to the 2012 Calder Cup Championship in a historical run.
That season he also appeared in his first big league game and grabbed his first NHL goal in his debut.
With only 14 games in the show he netted his 2nd tally on recall this past year.
The 31-year old has been captain of Syracuse Crunch for the last five campaigns and should assume the same role once he gets out west to start the next chapter.
Undrafted 4th year left wing Jesse Mychan(29) had a career year last season with Colorado Eagles.
He re-signs for a third campaign with the team after leading them in 2015/2016 with 32 goals and his 55 points was good enough for second.
The 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward was loaned for a pair of games to San Jose Barracuda but failed to connect.
He had one other AHL recall as a rookie with Portland Pirates but also didn’t register a point.
For his sophomore year he decided to try out some overseas hockey joining Cardiff Devils for 2014/2015.
His 25 points in 44 EIHL games looked to possibly set the stage for his scoring uptick.
Through a short two years of juniors with Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans, he was never known for putting up crazy points but held his own nicely, leaving after posting 19 goals and 22 assists in 60 WHL games.
One stat that has followed him through his time on the ice is penalty minutes.
He led the ECHL as a rookie with 262 minutes and an outstanding 19 fighting majors.
Although he still spends quite a bit of time in the box, his fisticuffs bouts have dropped considerably, which could have something to do with his increased point production.
The 24-year will undoubtedly get an invitation to affiliate San Antonio Rampage training camp and it wouldn’t be too outlandish to see the tough skater receive a look from Colorado Avalanche in the upcoming camp schedule.
New York Rangers‘ 5th year left wing Chris Kreider(20) has received a long-term commitment and nice pay bump from his draft team and only one he’s known in his pro career.
After his hot start in the 2012 playoffs following three years and two titles at Boston College, the power forward cooled off almost immediately heading into his rookie season.
He would spend the majority of his playing time in 2012/2013 with affiliate Connecticut Whale, where he didn’t exactly light it up scoring 12 goals and 11 assists with a woeful -11 rating.
To start his sophomore campaign he was once again reassigned to the farm team, renamed Hartford Wolf Pack and basically got right to work pocketing a pair of goals and assists in 6 AHL games before being recalled on a permanent basis.
It might have been the wake up call he needed as he would return and pocket 17 goals, 20 assists in 66 NHL games with a +14 rating in what was the final year of his entry level deal.
Once again, he had another strong postseason performance with 5 goals and 8 assists in 15 playoff contests, which definitely had to go a long way helping him secure a two-year extension.
In his last two campaigns he’s posted almost identical numbers with 21 goals and 20+ assists that equaled a pair of 40+ point seasons.
Looking at these stats for the recently turned 25-year old, it makes sense for the Blueshirts to tie him up for the next 4 years.
9th year left wing Garrett Klotz(19) has spent his last four seasons in the ECHL or one year in the similar level Central Hockey League with Allen Americans, where he won the league’s final Ray Miron’s Cup before dissolving.
Originally a Philadelphia Flyers‘ 3rd round pick in the 2007 draft (#66 overall), the first three seasons of his pro career were on an entry level deal before signing his first minor league contract in 2011/2012 with AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms.
The giant-sized forward inked a one-year deal with Elmira Jackals last season, appearing in only half the games, but still managed to get into a team high 13 fights.
The 27-year old, who will turn 28 a month into 2016/2017 has decided to move his game overseas joining champs Coventry Blaze of the EIHL, which should be a boom for the upstart player.
Detroit Red Wings‘ 4th year goalie Petr Mrazek(34) has basically taken over the starting duties with a career high 54 NHL games last season.
His 27 wins and 16 losses with a 2.33 GAA and .921 SV% was good enough to help his club continue their record of consecutive playoff berths.
Although he fell to 1-2 in 3 postseason contests, his 1.36 GAA and .945 SV% basically said scoring was the factor in their first round exit.
He was a restricted free agent as of July 1 and may have been headed for arbitration until almost a month later the big club steps up with a hefty raise on a 2-year deal.
The 24-year old is definitely ready to shoulder the net minder role going forward but it’s a bit of a matter what kind of team is on the ice in front of him.
4th year undrafted defenseman Patch Alber(3) re-signs on for a 2nd season with hometown team Adirondack Thunder.
He put up a career high 30 assists and 30 points through 64 games in 2015/2016.
The somewhat small-ish looking 5’10” 180 lbs. blue liner was never known for his scoring output through 4 years at Boston College only once eclipsing the 10 helpers mark but he was part of a pair of NCAA Championships, once as a rookie in 2010 and then again in his junior campaign of 2012.
With 206 ECHL games to his pro experience, he has scored goals (6 with Elmira Jackals in his first year) and in his last two years has 25 or more assists.
The 27-year old has only skated in the one league without so much as a call up but that could change in the upcoming season.
Regardless, he must feel pretty at home when he’s playing as it’s only 30 minute up the road from where he grew up in Clifton Park, NY.
It will be interesting to see where he goes next though, as Europe could come calling for his abilities.
Undrafted 2nd year left wing Daniel Ciampini(17) scores his 2nd AHL contract signing for 2016/2017 with Ontario Reign.
It should heed better results for the forward than his rookie deal with Rockford Icehogs, which had him skating most of his time with affiliate Indy Fuel.
Through 7 recalls he was unable to fare as well with his contract club.
In 10 games he managed only one goal.
The 5’11” 185 lbs. player did well in the lower league scoring 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points in 48 ECHL games.
These scoring stats were more in line with what he was able to accomplish in his four years at Union College.
As a senior he scored 26 goals and 24 assists and was voted a Hobey Baker Finalist.
He also won back-to-back 2012 & 2013 NCAA/ECAC titles as a freshman and sophomore before grabbing the ultimate prize, the 2014 NCAA Championship, a season in which he was a point-per game player with a +26 rating and earned the top star award.
After graduating, he would join Worcester Sharks on an ato and skated 15 games while continuing his scoring streak with 3 goals and 3 assists, but was somehow absent from the playoff roster. Possibly merely an allowed number of player issue.
The already 25-year old (almost 26) will need to work hard out of training camp to make his new squad but if he can put in the effort may just start hitting the stat sheet with decent frequency at the higher level of hockey.
