3rd season center Lukas Sedlak(28) is having an outstanding playoff performance with Columbus Blue Jackets‘ new affiliate Lake Erie Monsters helping the team all the way to the 2016 Calder Cup Finals.
His 8 goals in 13 AHL postseason match-ups leads the league and with 13 points, he’s tied for fourth in overall scoring but has reached his numbers in fewer games.
With these efforts, the parent club is wasting little time extending his contract for another campaign possibly rewarding him for the outstanding play, as he’s set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current season.
The 23-year old showed signs of a breakout with a career high 14 goals, 18 points and a +13 through only 54 games, but it’s doubtful anyone expected him to potentially surpass his single season points in less than 20 playoff games.
If he continues on this pace into the upcoming training camp, the deep draft pick may surprise everyone and find himself grabbing an NHL roster spot for 2016/2017.
Heading into his 13th pro season, veteran center Max Talbot(25) probably didn’t expect any suitors for his dogged, hard working game, so likely put out the feelers elsewhere and came back with a one-year deal from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
His style may just work well in the KHL and he may even continue an odd sidebar trend of his playing career.
Each time he’s started up with a new team, he’s enjoyed a scoring surge.
The freakish occurrence started in his first complete year with draft team (8th round of 2002, #234 overall) Pittsburgh Penguins.
He scored a then career high 13 goals in 2006/2007.
Six seasons later, after signing a multi-year deal with Philadelphia Flyers he posted marks that remain tops for him at 19 goals, 15 assists for 34 points.
It would happen one more time after being traded to Colorado Avalanche early in 2012/2013, he would record a new best 19 assists in a campaign.
Of course, it didn’t happen with his most recent NHL team, Boston Bruins, who dealt for him late in 2014/2015, then re-upped for another run.
The 32-year old has a long list of other on-ice accomplishments as his wiki outlines in terrific detail but there’s no reason to doubt he may just be getting started with dropping his skates elsewhere.
7th year Russian-born left wing Maxim Kitsyn(48) has had plenty enough of the North American minor league system and leaves for home after three seasons of playing mostly in the ECHL with some AHL visits.
Signed after his first full campaign of pro hockey in his country, splitting time in the KHL and lower VHL, he came over on a three-year entry deal but failed to catch on at the higher level despite putting up big numbers in junior hockey for the second half of a season with Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.
His limited time in the OHL came after Los Angeles Kings selected him in the 6th round of the 2010 draft (#158 overall).
The fairly big 6’2″ 195 lbs. forward plays an aggressive style but seemed to have difficulties elevating his game at the higher levels.
He did however come away from last season tying his career best 26 goals with a new high 29 assists, 55 points and an outstanding +37 rating, first on Manchester Monarchs, second in the league.
The 24-year old returns to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, where he spent 8 games before he embarked on his journey from the last few years.
Undrafted 2nd year right wing Dyson Stevenson(26) won the 2015 Kelly Cup Championship, when he was reassigned late in the calendar to the surging ECHL squad.
He had recently been traded from Portland Pirates, who signed him as a rookie, to Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he skated 4 games getting no points.
The 6′ 185 lbs. forward got a goal in 5 games, then added another 3 tallies and 5 assists in the playoffs.
For his sophomore season he re-signed a month outside of training camp with Allen Americans for another shot at the title.
Along the way, he’s played in a career high 68 games scoring 8 goals and a new best 17 assists and 25 points.
He also rarely shies away from a confrontation, recording a regular season best 12 fights.
Through 4 years of juniors with Regina Pats, it was only in his final season after returning from playing four pro games with Bakersfield Condors did he take way up with 38 goals and 38 assists in 66 WHL games.
He’ll turn just 23-years old over the summer and will have to figure out where to play next but he’s showing a nice upside and is playing in his 2nd straight Kelly Cup Finals.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins‘ rookie right wing John McCarron(25) has to consider it a bit fortunate to be reassigned to affiliate Wheeling Nailers for the remainder of 2015/2016 after skating 12 AHL games with no points.
The big 6’3″ 220 lbs. forward is still playing hockey for the 2016 Kelly Cup Championship after clawing their way through two game 7 victories to advance.
At 14 goals and 17 assists in 51 ECHL games in his first year, the former Edmonton Oilers‘ 4th round pick in the 2012 draft (#153 overall) had a decent debut despite not signing with the team that selected him.
It’s in the playoffs though that he’s taking his game to another level.
He leads all rookies in scoring with 18 in 19 playoff games with a +8.
The 24-year old that took a somewhat long route to turning pro, starting with three seasons in the USHL with Lincoln Stars followed by four years at Cornell University he seems to have been bitten with that determination bug to prove naysayers wrong.
His younger brother is Michael McCarron.
Undrafted right wing Brandon Marino(13) will spend his 8th pro season skating in Slovak 2.Liga for HC Nove Zamky.
This comes after arguably one of his most successful years in North America, where he played a career high 30 AHL games with Utica Comets on loan from contract team Brampton Beast.
The small 5’9″ but stocky 185 lbs. forward recorded 4 goals in his time up, while once again notching at least a point-per-game, getting 13 goals and 28 assists in 40 ECHL games on a squad that consistently struggled to post wins.
He’s always been outstanding on the score sheet.
In 2011/2012, he lead the Central Hockey League in goals scored at 41 with Quad City Mallards and was voted the league MVP.
Then two years later as a member of Fort Wayne Komets led the ECHL in assists (58) and points (88).
After putting up these marks, he was wooed to head to Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga suiting up for Szekesfehervar and continued to connect.
He will turn 30-years old over the summer and shows no signs of slowing down.
Boston Bruins‘ undrafted 2nd year center Austin Czarnik(27) had an amazing rookie season establishing himself as a real threat despite his small 5’9″ 160 lbs. frame.
The American-born skater took a bit of a long route to turning pro but started early at age 16 in the top junior programs in the country, first with US National U18 Team in the NAHL and a year later on a similar squad but a step up to the USHL.
He even stayed for a third year playing for Green Bay Gamblers before heading off to Miami University (Ohio) to have four very productive seasons, including a Hobey Baker Award finalist nod as a sophomore and serving as captain in his last two campaigns, while also winning the 2015 NCAA/NCHC Championship.
Right after that victory he would sign a 2-year entry level deal and join Providence Bruins for three AHL games registering his first pair of pro assists.
The 23-year old’s 41 assists and 61 points would lead all first year players, finishing third overall in team scoring and plus/minus with a +17.
He would then add 2 goals and an assist in three Calder Cup Playoff contests.
A somewhat late cut from training camp, he did receive an emergency NHL recall last in the season and there’s little doubt he’ll be looking to parlay all of it into a roster spot for the upcoming season.
After a breakout AHL campaign with 2015 Calder Cup Champions Manchester Monarchs‘ right wing Brian O’Neill(20) was looking to take the next step up in his 4th pro season under contract with Los Angeles Kings.
The small forward played a career high 73 games posting a league best 58 assists and 80 points with a +30 rating before adding another 10 goals and 10 assists in 19 playoff contests on the way to securing the league title.
Heading into the final campaign of his 2-year extension he would have a good training camp but probably because of his size found himself reassigned to the farm team once again, which very likely had him asking for a trade to a team that he could explore futhrth playing possibilities.
New Jersey Devils took that option and he would start the 2015/2016 on the parent club roster, staying for a couple of months recording his first two assists in 20 NHL games before being dispatched to Albany Devils.
He would continue his torrid scoring pace in the minors getting 13 tallies and 19 helpers in 42 games before helping them to game 7 of the second round of the postseason before being eliminated.
The unrestricted free agent has likely done all he can in North America at this point and leaves to join Jokerit of the KHL.
He’ll turned 28-years old in the off-season and should continue to find his footing overseas.
10th year center Darryl Boyce(18) changes things up after two seasons in Finland’s Liiga with JYP and signs to Germany’s DEL to skate for ERC Ingolstadt.
He came back following half a season with the team in 2013 after being released from a Hamilton Bulldogs‘ tryout agreement.
The feisty forward returned to North America for the 2013/2014 season signing a minor league contract Springfield Falcons, where he posted his best scoring campaign with 15 goals and 17 assists in 63 AHL games.
The 31-year old should have an outstanding run in the upcoming year.
6th year, undrafted Swedish-born right wing Petter Emanuelsson(55) will head back home to the SHL signing for a pair of years with Lulea HF after being under contract with San Jose Sharks for the last three.
He was allowed to stay with Skelleftea, the team he skated juniors with for the first season of his new deal, joining then affiliate Worcester Sharks in 2014/2015 for his rookie campaign.
The 6′ 200 lbs. forward was with them for almost three full years but also did some time on reassignment all the way down to Division 1 skating as part of the Pitea HC club.
As a rookie playing North American hockey he suffered an injury only 6 AHL games in shelving him for the entire calendar.
Despite missing almost his entire first year, he did manage 4 goals in his short time in the minors, which was deemed worth another look and he was signed to a one-year extension.
An early cut from the parent club’s training camp, he reported to new farm club San Jose Barracuda but seemed to struggle some on the score sheet with only 11 goals and 12 assists in 58 contests but was an outstandingly accountable +17 on a squad that barely made it into the postseason.
The soon-to-be 25 year old was set to become a restricted free agent once again but has decided his time here is up and leaves to skate where it’s more familiar.
Never one to really put up big numbers, the versatile forward may still have yet to hit his stride.
