Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 2nd year net minder Matt Murray(30) was a bit of a late cut from the 2015 training camp but reported to affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to put up numbers that weren’t too dissimilar to the stellar job he put in as a rookie.
The large 6’4″ but light 178 lbs. goalie didn’t quite post the 12 shutouts he did in his first campaign but had a nice 20-9-1 record in 31 AHL games before being recalled on a more permanent basis late in the season.
With their starter out with a concussion, he became their go-to man in between the pipes down the stretch, into the postseason.
For 2015/2016 he would record a very handsome 9-2-1 NHL mark with 2.00 GAA and .920 SV% and continue through the first and now into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs posting a tidy 4 wins against one loss and even managed to slightly lower an already impressive goals against and save percentage.
This soon-to-be 22-year old is looking at quite a next pay bump.
6th year left wing Philippe Cornet(51) won Norway’s 2016 Get-ligaen Championship with Stavanger Oilers in his first pro hockey journey overseas.
He was a point-per-game player with 17 goals and 17 assists in 33 games through the regular season, then added another 6 and 5 in 17 postseason contests.
The 6’1″ 197 lbs. forward takes his success to Finland’s Liiga signing a one-year deal with HPK for 2016/2017.
Originally an Edmonton Oilers‘ 5th round pick in the 2008 draft (#133 overall), he signed a three-year entry level deal skating mostly with affiliate Oklahoma City Barons.
His best year of point production came in 2011/2012, where he played a career high 67 AHL games scoring 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points.
He did play a pair of games with the NHL club as a rookie getting an assist but by his third season in the prospect system he was also sent further down to Stockton Heat of the ECHL to begin the year.
Left unqualified he signed a one year minor league contract with San Antonio Rampage for 2013/2014 but was quickly traded to Charlotte Checkers.
For the following campaign he agreed with Hershey Bears but his offense numbers continued to dwindle.
Heading to Europe looks to be the smartest move the 26-year old has made for his playing career.
Calgary Flames‘ 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft (#42 overall) 2nd year defenseman Patrick Sieloff(50) had himself quite the debut in what was an unfortunate, rather uneventful season for the team.
He scored his first NHL goal on his first shot and it was the game-winner in a 2-1 late season victory.
Almost ironically he’s never really been much of a scorer.
In his first game the 6’1″ 205 lbs. blue liner also had 3 hits, 2 breakups, 2 penalty minutes and even 2:35 on the shorthanded situation with a +1 rating over 22 shifts for 17:59 of total ice time.
He had a modestly better sophomore year with new affiliate Stockton Heat, tying his 2 goals mark and establishing a new career high 9 assists and 11 points.
He’s also an unfortunate -16 plus/minus dropping from a -9 in the previous campaign.
Starting with a pair of years in the USHL with the US National Team Development Program, then a year of the OHL for Windsor Spitfires that was cut short by a hip injury.
He would turn pro the following season but after only 2 AHL games with then farm team Abbotsford Heat was befallen by a staff infection that knocked him out of the entire 2013/2014.
All is well now though.
He still has another year on his entry level deal and with a strong training camp could find himself on the big league opening night roster.
Toronto Marlies have a pair of Carrick‘s in their lineup but they are not related.
Both, 5th year defenseman Connor Carrick(4) & 3rd year center Sam Carrick(16) played NHL games with Toronto Maple Leafs as recent as the current season.
The two players have also skated an equal 19 contests in the big league through the past two campaigns, although Connor had 34 with his old team Washington Capitals as a rookie.
Another similarity is they were 5th round draft picks (#137 and #144 respectively).
Connor is US-born and Sam is Canadian.
Connor just detonated the score sheet in the AHL Calder Cup North Division Semifinals series clincher with a hat trick and 2 assists and has 7 points in 3 postseason games.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms‘ 2nd year goalie Martin Ouellette(1) re-signed for a return despite appearing in only 8 AHL games posting a decent 3-2 record.
Originally a Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 7th round pick in the 2010 draft (#184 overall), he was never signed as they had sort of a logjam of prospects for net.
The 6’2″ 194 lbs. back stop would play the bulk of his games as a rookie reassigned to the ECHL with affiliate Reading Royals.
He put up a 17-10 record with a 2.91 GAA and .907 SV%.
As a sophomore goaltender on a 1-year extension he still would only get into 9 games with another decent showing of a 5-3 record but once again the majority of his time between the pipes would come in the lower league.
Not to worry he posted an identical 17-10 record from his first campaign but upped his numbers nicely with 2.10 GAA and .922 SV%. He also had 4 shutouts.
The 24-year was most recently up to close out the regular season and even recorded back-to-back shutouts but was sent down to help the Royals with their push for the Kelly Cup.
They won their 1st round over the #1 seed, are dangerous and he has a 4-1 record.
He’ll find himself for a third season an unrestricted free agent and depending upon how far they can push into the playoffs will easily affect where he signs next.
Buffalo Sabres‘ 2nd year left wing Alex Guptill(26) was acquired in a 7-player minor league swap from Ottawa Senators.
It was the second trade for the big 6’3″ 200 lbs. power forward from University Of Michigan.
Initially a Dallas Stars‘ 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft (#77 overall) he skated only 5 games on an ato with affiliate Texas Stars after turning pro before being dished as a prospect on the opening day of free agency.
After his rookie season playing 61 AHL games with Binghamton Senators scoring 9 goals and 9 assists he was mostly a healthy scratch, passed over in the team’s lineup heading into his sophomore campaign.
Six weeks into 2015/2016 he was reassigned down to Evansville IceMen to continue his development but his time to impress seemed to be up, as he was loaned over to Manchester Monarchs a couple of months later.
This was definitely the right move for the 24-year old, as he started to bloom on the score sheet grabbing 5 goals and 5 assists in 14 ECHL games before once again moving on.
Reassigned to farm team Rochester Americans he finally seemed to connect with his surroundings.
In 20 games he notched 3 goals and 5 assists with a +3 rating on a non-playoff contending squad.
With his two-year entry level deal expiring, he is set to become a restricted free agent and it would probably be a low risk move for the Sabres to keep him in the system.
It’s a defensive zone face off for Toronto Marlies‘ newest acquisition, center Ben Smith(21) vs. recently returned from injury Bridgeport Sound Tigers‘ pivot Marc-Andre Cliche(26) in game 2 of the AHL Eastern Conference North Division Semifinals.
The team from Canada took a 2-0 series lead with a 3-0 at Webster Bank Arena.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 2nd year defenseman Kevin Gravel(4) was signed to a 2-year entry level deal on the opening day of free agency after a successful rookie outing with then affiliate Manchester Monarchs.
He posted 6 goals and 9 assists with a +15 rating in 59 AHL games, then added another 5 assists in 19 postseason match-ups on the way to winning the 2015 Calder Cup Championship.
The big blue liner showed a steadiness, an ability to play a shut down style and some offensive upside, which definitely got him noticed.
Heading into his sophomore season with a new contract, he continued his strong play adding to his totals with new career high marks of 7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points.
He earned his 1st NHL recall, skating his 5 games with no points but was kept around on the Stanley Cup Playoff roster before being return to help new farm team Ontario Reign defend their title.
At 24-years old he’s still young but will definitely have to keep pushing and add even more might to his game to stay put in the big league.
4th year former Minnesota Wild 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#28 overall) center/right wing Zack Phillips is spending the season with his fourth team after a trade deadline deal sent him to St. Louis Blues from Boston Bruins for future considerations.
After an early reassignment to affiliate Providence Bruins from training camp he appeared in 39 AHL games scoring 5 goals and 9 assists with a dreadful -14 rating before being sent further down for his first time to Atlanta Gladiators.
The decently sized 6’1″ 198 lbs. forward would only stay there for a couple of weeks before he was moved again and sent directly to Chicago Wolves, where he failed to get a point in 9 contests.
He would once more be shipped down to join Kalamazoo Wings but things looked to improve as he helped the team make the Kelly Cup Playoffs in his pair of ECHL games (1 goal, 1 assist with a +2) and has scored twice with another helper for three points in 4 postseason match-ups.
With his three-year entry level deal ready to expire, the 23-year old is going to be a restricted free agent but it looks unlikely for the former Saint John Sea Dogs‘ winner of the 2011 and 2012 QMJHL Championships and 2011 Memorial Cup to be qualified.
It seems likely he will head overseas for his next pro hockey adventure.
Ottawa Senators‘ 3rd year right wing Buddy Robinson(55) received a chance in the big league and put up his first NHL goal, the game-winner and an assist in 3 games with a +2 rating, 4 penalty minutes, 5 shots, 1 breakup, 1 giveaway and the big man doled out a massive 11 hits in playing time that only surpassed 10 minutes in 2 wins and a loss.
The 24-year old forward is set to become a restricted free agent but should be easily qualified for at least another season if not two to stay in the system.
He was one of the last cuts from last training camp and if he has another impressive preseason could easily find himself with a roster spot to start 2016/2017.
Contributing once he’s up won’t be a problem as has been seen early.
Limited to 62 AHL games this past campaign he still managed a nice 13 goals and 10 assists on a team that never really got started.
