New York Islanders‘ 3rd year, Finnish-born goalie Christopher Gibson(60) received his first NHL game recently coming in for relief, putting out the fire on a 5-2 drubbing.
He faced 17 shots making 16 saves in 29:03 of work and left with a .943 SV%.
It was the only appearance he made before being sent back to affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he has been solid in net.
In 25 AHL games he has an 11-7 record with a 2.32 GAA and .932 SV% and 2 shutouts equaling his mark he posted in 45 contests last season for Toronto Marlies.
The 6’1″ 195 lbs. net minder was traded from Toronto Maple Leafs just before the start of 2015/2016 in what was mostly a minor league prospect transaction.
He is in the final year of his entry level deal he signed after four campaigns guarding the cage with Chicoutimi Sangueneens of the QMJHL.
On numerous occasions he was voted with top goaltender of the week honors and in 2009/2010 had the best SV% in the league.
Originally a Los Angeles Kings‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#49 overall) he never inked with them.
The 23-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and it’s looking good for him to be given a qualifying offer to stick in the system.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 3rd year right wing Josh Leivo(32) has scored himself recalls in each of his seasons in the prospect system.
He had a bit of a down tick in goals and points (11-32) in his sophomore campaign but did slightly outpace his previous efforts in assists (21) in fewer appearances.
The power forward style player also skated a couple more games (9) with the parent club last season and got himself another NHL goal in the process.
Off to a super-hot start with affiliate Toronto Marlies, in 35 AHL games he already has equal to his goals from 2014/2015 with 11 and 19 assists, which looks to easily beat his previous high mark.
He was recently summoned for his first game of 2015/2016 with the big club and played 16 shifts for 10:58 of total ice with 2 shots on net, 1 hit and 2:37 of power play time.
With injuries to starters, he could find himself staying up for some extended time, especially if he can produce on the score sheet.
The 22-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign and will likely be a no brainer to extend for at least another look.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 4th year center Tyler Toffoli(73) last played a minor league game in late-ish 2013/2014 with former farm team Manchester Monarchs.
He actually started the first month of the season with the affiliate before being recalled despite putting up his first pair of NHL goals and 3 assists in 10 contests through the lockout shortened campaign and another 2 tallies and 4 helpers in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The 6’1″ 200 lbs. forward with a knack for the net was up and down on three occasions in sophomore year, which was maybe a little odd considering he posted 12 goals and 17 assists in 62 games with a +21 rating, then 7 goals and 7 assists in 26 postseason match ups en route to the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship.
That finally would be all the convincing the parent club needed as in 2014/2015 he skated a 76 game schedule with a career high 23 goals, 26 assists and 49 points and again had a monster +25 plus/minus on a non-playoff squad.
Signed to a huge 2-year extension payday before his restricted free agency kicked in, he has become a go-to-guy in 2015/2016 and looks to eclipse his scoring best from last year 20 goals already in only half a season’s work.
The 23-year has all real positives in his stats but the phenomenal +72 he owns on ice is crazy accountability, while marking up the score sheet big.
He should be a future Kings‘ prize draft pick for many years to come.
St. Louis Blues‘ 3rd year right wing Ty Rattie(18) scored his first NHL goal in his 6th game (1st back up) on his second recall from the parent club this season.
His first big league tally came after he had a pair of assists for a 2-game point streak on his first time in 2015/2016 with the big club.
A last minute cut from training camp, he’s been lighting it up at a career high pace in the minors with affiliate Chicago Wolves.
In 29 AHL games he already has 9 goals and 14 assists.
The 22-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and looks good to be extended for at least one more year.
He could very well be on his way to scoring a one-way contract with his next deal.
St. Louis Blues‘ 3rd year right wing Ty Rattie(18) scored his first NHL goal in his 6th game (1st back up) on his second recall from the parent club this season.
His first big league tally came after he had a pair of assists for a 2-game point streak on his first time in 2015/2016 with the big club.
A last minute cut from training camp, he’s been lighting it up at a career high pace in the minors with affiliate Chicago Wolves.
In 29 AHL games he already has 9 goals and 14 assists.
The 22-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and looks good to be extended for at least one more year.
He could very well be on his way to scoring a one-way contract with his next deal.
Chicago Blackhawks‘ 3rd year center Phillip Danault(24) underwent hip surgery over the summer that caused him to miss training camp and the early part of 2015/2016.
It was a bit daunting for him to undergo the procedure as he heads into the final year of his entry level deal and is set to become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the current campaign.
Cleared to return to action a little early he was reassigned to affiliate Rockford IceHogs at the beginning of December.
He appeared in 6 AHL games scoring a goal and an assist when he was recalled as the injury bug bit the parent club.
In his second game he would notch his first point, an assist and then a week later got another one and went on a three-game point streak before putting the puck in the back of the net for his first NHL goal, which turned out to be the game-winner.
The 22-year old is seeing a good deal of time on ice full strength and is being utilized in short-handed situations through his 12 appearances thus far.
The former 1st round draft pick may just be playing his way into a permanent roster spot.
Washington Capitals‘ 7th year center Zach Sill(23) played an entire campaign in the NHL splitting time in 2014/2015 with his team of 5+ seasons Pittsburgh Penguins and then was traded to Toronto Maple Leafs late to finish out the calendar.
The unrestricted free agent was signed to a new one-year deal with his third team.
He would start the new season as a late training camp cut reassigned to affiliate Hershey Bears, where he was named as an assistant captain.
Rather than pouting about playing in the minors again, he got right to business and popped in a pair of goals and 7 assists in 30 AHL games with a +6 rating.
His efforts would be noticed, earning his first recall just after the Christmas holiday.
In 5 games he scored his 1st goal (2nd overall) with his new squad and is earning more playing time, skating 17 shifts for 13:35 total ice in his last game and was 43% in the face off dot. He also got his tally on his only shot on net making that 100% accuracy.
The now 27-year old is playing like he wants to stick with the big club and could be given that opportunity.
4th year defenseman Jeremie Blain(5) has already been on quite the little journey in his pro hockey career.
After being a 2nd round pick in the QMJHL draft by Victoriaville Tigres, he was sent to Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the balance of three years and then traded back to end his run in junior hockey.
He would finish the season with a new high 9 goals and 41 assists for 50 points and was also an Edmonton Oilers‘ 4th round pick in the 2011 draft (#91 overall) before this campaign.
The 6’3″ 200 lbs. blue liner never signed with them though and inked his first contract with Chicago Wolves.
He split time his rookie season playing more ECHL games with Idaho Steelheads but scoring a decent amount of points with a +11 rating that got him noticed by Vancouver Canucks, who signed him to a three-year entry level deal.
In his first year under contract, he would skate only 14 games with new affiliate Utica Comets but once again skate the majority of his games in the lower league for Kalamazoo Wings.
Through 25 games he excelled with 3 goals, 12 assists and a +16.
Things didn’t pick up in 2014/2015 either as he spent an even greater amount of time with the Wings (41 games) and less time with the Comets (6) but as was his trend scored 5 goals, equaled his highest total of 24 assists and fired an average of 2 shots on net per contest.
Heading into the 2015/2016 it was agreed to terminate his NHL deal and he re-signed with Chicago Wolves.
The 23-year old would get reassigned to Brampton Beast to start and lit it up immediately collecting two goals and 20 assists in 31 games, earning a recall.
In two games he has put in his first AHL goal and seems to be fitting in nicely. With all the injuries to parent club St. Louis Blues, he could just find himself sticking around.
Vancouver Canucks‘ 4th year, Switzerland-born left wing Sven Baerschi(47) is enjoying his first full season of NHL action.
In 33 games he has 6 goals, 7 assists for 13 points with a +2 rating.
Heck, through his career his totals definitely point towards production.
In 106 games overall he has 16 goals and 27 assists playing limited time and roles for the parent club.
Originally a Calgary Flames‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#13 overall), it tough to see what they failed to see in his game but in 51 games he had 8 goals 16 assists through parts of three years.
The 5’11” (seems a tad generous) 190 lbs. was traded in exchange for a 2nd round pick (bag of rocks) and has found life in further west Canada.
Upon his arrival he struck for 2 goals in 3 games with the Canucks and even appeared in a pair of Stanley Cup Playoff games.
On reassignment to affiliate Utica Comets, he had 7 goals and 8 assists in 15 AHL games, then another 8-7-15 performance in 21 games all the way to the 2015 Calder Cup Finals in the team’s 2nd year of existence.
The 23-year is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign after signing a 0ne-year one-way extension.
We say contract negotiations for a couple more years should happen.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ rookie right wing prospect, Finnish-born Kasperi Kapanen(42) was permitted to play the 2015 World Juniors’ Championship hosted in Helsinki.
He would score the overtime goal to solidify his country’s second win in the tournament in three years.
Originally a Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 1st round pick in the 2014 draft (#22 overall), he was a piece of the puzzle in the Phil Kessel trade.
He actually appeared in 2014 training camp and was a late cut before being sent back overseas to continue his development.
It was his second season in Liiga with KalPa and he even appeared in 13 games with the team as a 16-year old, while playing under 20 junior hockey.
He returned at the end of the season to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he picked up a goal and an assist in his first 4 AHL games, then made even further strides in the postseason notching another 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 contests.
At 5’11” 180 lbs. he isn’t exactly power forward size yet but plays a swift skating, great puck control style game.
He has yet to score his first recall to the big club but with affiliate Toronto Marlies he has 5 goals and 5 assists with a +6 rating in 17 games with the league’s top team.
No doubt the 19-year has a bright future as a goal-scorer and his opportunity to prove it at the highest level may come soon.
He is also the son of former 13-year NHL veteran mini-might Sami Kapanen, which makes this one another good hockey story.
