Undrafted third year center Stephan Vigier(28) has decided to take his game overseas, signing a one year deal with Lillehammer of GET-ligaen for 2016/2017.
The small and feisty 5’9″ 167 lbs. forward put up career high numbers last season with South Carolina Stingrays scoring 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points in 68 ECHL games with a +11 rating, then added another 6 goals and 5 assists in 19 postseason contests.
This was his second visit with the team he joined after 4 successful years at Northern Michigan University, where he was named assistant captain as a junior and senior.
In 8 games to finish off the 2013/2014 season he notched his first 5 pro goals and an assist.
As a rookie he would sign his first deal with Cincinnati Cyclones and come out of the game decently potting 14 goals and 14 assists, while also getting a pair of helpers on his first and only loan up to affiliate San Antonio Rampage for 6 AHL games.
To start his sophomore season he signed with Toledo Walleye but that only lasted 2 games before heading back to the Stingrays.
The 26-year old should do very well in Norway.
New York Islanders wasted little time getting 12th year pro Bracken Kearns(38) back into the system after being a huge help with the prospects in the farm system, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and even chipping in an assist on a pair of NHL games recall.
It would be his 32nd and 33rd appearances in the big league.
While in the minors the veteran of 591 AHL games was taking it up a notch with a career high 23 goals and 53 points with a +17 rating, all team leading stats.
He even had two assists in three postseason contests.
Putting a season best 138 shots on net definitely helped his scoring game, while he also continued to play the feisty, hard-checking game he’s known for.
There’s little chance the recently turned 35-year old is slowing down, if anything he continues to get better with age.
Undrafted fourth year defenseman Nick Pageau(8) will take his game to Norway’s GET-ligaen joining Frisk Asker for the 2016/2017 season.
This comes after signing a contract and playing a career high 21 AHL games with Bakersfield Condors, a team he spent his first two campaigns with when they were an ECHL club putting up a scoring best 7 goals and 20 assists.
The 6’1″ 192 lbs. blue liner was reassigned on a few occasions back down to affiliate Norfolk Admirals but finished the year up.
He took a fairly long path before turning pro, first spending four seasons in the OHL with Belleville Bulls averaging 17 assists per year, then heading the college route for another 4 years at St. Francis Xavier University.
The 28-year old should find his game elevates to a whole new level overseas likely move up the European hockey ladder.
New York Islanders re-upped with the captain of their farm squad in Bridgeport Sound Tigers, center Ben Holmstrom(21) for another go at helping guide the youngsters.
He did a very nice job this past season as they scratched their way into a first Calder Cup playoff berth in a long while for the lower Connecticut team.
While he didn’t have his best year in AHL scoring, he still pocketed 20 assists for the third time in his career and hit the 20-point mark for his fifth.
The 29-year was named team captain for his 5th time, while playing more of a checking line role in 2015/2016 than he has in the past but will likely bring up his totals in the upcoming campaign as he gets more comfortable where he is and what his role is.
Who’s knows, he could play himself into an 8th career NHL game. His previous 7 were with draft team Philadelphia Flyers.
He also had a career third 7 fights this past season and that number will likely stay similar.
11th year Swedish-born defenseman Niclas Andersen(38) signed a 1-year 2-way deal with Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2015/2016 season but failed to crack the parent club’s lineup, playing his first full season in North America with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
That was all the 28-year needed heading into his first unrestricted free agency status after putting together a decent 4 goals and 10 assists performance with a +6 rating in 69 AHL games as a “rookie.”
The 6’1″ 207 lbs. blue liner is heading back to the KHL signing for 2016/2017 with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
He has already spent one other season in the league in 2012/2013 with Severstal Cherepovets but the majority of his playing time has been 6 years in his home country’s SHL for Brynas IF.
A fairly steady, stay at home d-man it’s almost ironic that he managed 14 points last season, as it’s his 2nd highest points, only beaten in 2014/2015 by a best mark of 5 goals and 17 assists for 22 total.
He also has a 2012 SHL Championship on his resume.
5th year Czech-born center Dominik Uher(92) will continue to pursue his pro career back home in the Czech Extraliga with HC Sparta Praha for 2016/2017.
Set to become a restricted free agent for a 2nd time, the 23-year old may have been in discussions about a new contract that wasn’t really going anywhere considering he appeared in a career low 48 AHL scoring only 5 goals and 8 assists with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
He had his best year with the farm club in 2014/2015, when he scored a career high 13 goals and 26 points helping him earn a first NHL recall for a pair of games.
Mark Arcobello(28) will indeed take to the ice in the new season on overseas ice signing a two-year deal with SC Bern of the NLA (Switzerland).
The soon-to-be 28-year old scored a career high 25 goals with Toronto Marlies last season on the way to a postseason best 9 assists.
He also skated in 20 NHL games scoring 3 goals with an assist on numerous recalls for contract club, Toronto Maple Leafs.
The pastures are almost definitely going to be greener in a much better lifestyle than living in the minors for the now 7th year pro to explore.
He’ll very likely light the lamp on many occasions.
Francois Bouchard(16) has skated the last three and a half seasons overseas switching countries on a few occasions after leaving Cincinnati Cyclones in 2012/2013 half way through the schedule for Medvescak Zagreb of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga.
The 6’1″ 198 lbs. forward would only stay there for a short time, instead heading to Sweden’s tier two Allsvenskan to join IK Oskarshamn.
After a successful outing in his first year scoring 18 goals and 15 assists through 50 games, he signed with the opposition, Sodertalje SK for 2014/2015.
That would be his last campaign in the country though, as he next would go to Italy’s Serie A and agree to a one-year deal with Val Pusteria, where he put up outstanding numbers, pocketing a league leading 34 goals and 29 assists in just 42 contests and continued with 18 points through 15 postseason match-ups.
The 28-year old is once again on the move, signing his next contract for 2016/2017 in France’s Ligue Magnus with Boxers de Bordeaux.
He may even take his game up to yet another level of scoring like he did through four years of juniors with Baie-Comeau Drakker finishing up with 343 points in 259 QMJHL games.
The seemingly affable player also won the 2009 and 2010 AHL Calder Cups with Hershey Bears.
Heading into his 6th year, defenseman Ben Youds(2) has decided to take his game overseas signing a one-year deal with Leksands IF of the SHL.
The good puck-moving blue liner should excel nicely in this league after putting up career high scoring two seasons ago with Providence Bruins and Lake Erie Monsters.
He had 8 goals and 24 assists for 32 points in 65 AHL games.
Re-upping with Providence last year for his third campaign with the team, he still recorded 5 goals and 17 assists in 50 contests with a +9 rating.
The 28-year old averaged 14 assists in each of his four years at Minnesota State University-Mankato, so has always been effective at head-manning the puck for scoring chances.
After a pretty phenomenal 12-year playing career, center Tim Brent(37) has decided to hang up his skates after returning from 3 seasons in the KHL, to sign for a season with Philadelphia Flyers, but mainly serving as a veteran presence for some of their younger prospects on affiliate Lehigh Vally Phantoms.
The two-time Anaheim Ducks‘ draft pick (2002, round 2, #37 and 2004, round 3, #75) has appeared in over 200 NHL games, including two and a half full seasons (2012/2013 lockout shortened) with Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.
He also played over 400 AHL regular season and playoff games scoring 113 goals and 175 assists.
The former #2 overall pick by Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL had an outstanding juniors effort reaching very close to point-per-game status in four years with Toronto St. Michael’s Majors.
Maybe the crowning achievement in the 32-year old’s run was winning the 2014 KHL Gagarin Cup Championship with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. but two-years of 40+ assists in the minors and a 12 goal, 12 assist campaign in 2011/2012 with the Hurricanes are probably right up there as well.
It will be interesting to see what’s next but he would no doubt make a great coach bringing all of his experience to the table.
