7th year defenseman Keith Aulie(44) attended Arizona Coyotes‘ 2015 training camp on an invite but was released after fracturing his wrist.
A month into the new season he signed a pto with new affiliate Springfield Falcons.
Although he looked like a decent fit with the mostly young team, he was cut after 7 games (1 goal, -6 rating).
He would next appear a month later on Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in host country Switzerland and win it.
This must have given him the impetus to try his game on the other side of the pond for the first time in his career.
He signed for the remainder of the season with HIFK of Finland top league Liiga.
The 26-year old has appeared in 167 NHL games with three different teams, won a gold medal at the World Juniors Chamionship in 2009 and the 2012 Calder Cup as a member of Norfolk Admirals.
With his extra large-sized 6’6″ 222 lbs. defensive frame he should be able to continue his game quite nicely in Europe.
Washington Capitals wasted no time signing 25-year old, group 4 unrestricted free agent Aaron Ness(55) to a nice one-year two-way deal.
He spent the entirety of 2014/2015 with Bridgeport Sound Tigers serving as team captain and putting up AHL career bests 8 goals, 37 assists for 45 points.
The previous year the somewhat small-ish 5’10” 187 lbs. blue liner skated in a season high 20 games with draft team New York Islanders, scored his first NHL goal and got a pair of assists.
As a rookie he played his first 9 games in the big league registering no points.
In his second recall this young season from the farm team, he received the nod for his 30th game and played 15 shifts for a moderate 8:49 ice time, had 2 breakups and left the 5-4 shootout loss with a +1 rating.
He may only be in for a little while as the top defenseman recovers but he starts with his new team making a good impression.
He’s off to a fast start on the score sheet with his first new minor league club Hershey Bears scoring 2 goals and 11 assists and a
Arizona Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft (#39 overall) rookie center Laurent Dauphin(76) has been playing hard, putting in the effort with new affiliate Springfield Falcons.
In 30 AHL games he has a tidy 5 goals and 5 assists with a -3 rating and 68 shots on net.
The not exactly huge 6’2″ 180 lbs. forward mostly skates a style that is always sniffing out the puck and driving to the net.
Through three years with Chicoutimi Sangueneens he was more than a point-per-game guy with 80 goals and 106 assists through 170 QMJHL games, leading his team in all scoring categories as captain in his final campaign.
In his NHL debut he had 13 shifts for 9:30 total ice time, :36 on the power play, was 33% in the face off circle and had 1 takeaway in a wild 7-5 loss.
There’s little doubt the 20-year old could get comfortable and play more minutes up in the big league but he’s at the beginning of 3-year entry level deal so sending him back down to continue to work on all aspects of his game may be more in line with reality.
Boston Bruins‘ 3rd year center Seth Griffith(53) has possibly done all he can through his time in the minors.
He’s in the final season of his 3-year entry level deal and was reassigned to Providence Bruins as soon as he was ready to play again after suffering a knee injury in the preseason opener.
In 24 AHL games he has a team leading 10 goals, 17 assists, 27 points and is on pace to surpass the 20-30-50 mark he put up as a rookie.
That is if he stays on the farm.
He is finally being awarded the opportunity to see if he can find more of what he had in 30 NHL games last season, where he notched 6 goals and 4 assists.
In his 31st game he skated 15 shifts for 12:27 ice time with 1 game-winning assist, 1 hit, 1 giveaway and 2:28 on the power play but left the 7-3 victory with a -1 rating.
This 22-year old has to be so on go.
Anaheim Ducks‘ 1st round pick in the 2013 draft (#26 overall) defenseman Shea Theodore(53) received his first NHL game after a few recalls with no appearance and tearing it up with new affiliate San Diego Gulls.
In 27 AHL games, he’s already tied his career high 4 goals and added new bests 12 assists and 16 points.
The rookie blue liner has already appeared in 4 different stints in the minors; first on an ato with former farm club Norfolk Admirals, then was reassigned for conditioning after a 2014 training camp elbow injury but sent back for his final year with Seattle Thunderbirds, where he was named team captain before being signed to another ato to finish out the season in the minors.
To conclude 2014/2015, he would put together more than point-per-game production with 4 tallies and 7 helpers in 9 games.
The 6’2″ 195 lbs. d-man has always been a prolific on the score sheet through juniors and won his share of WJC gold medals and top player, scorer nods.
In his big league debut, he skated 21 shifts for 15:45 total ice with 1 shot on net, 1 break up and 1:24 on the power play in a 1-0 win.
The 20-year looks to stay put for the moment and could play his way to a more permanent role.
Tampa Bay Lightning‘s right wing Mike Blunden(46) is making the most of every recall and there’s been a couple already.
He has equal to his career highs of 2 goals and 2 assists, but this year has the mark having skated just 9 games.
It took him 39 contests with Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009/2010 and 40 while playing for Montreal Canadiens a couple years later.
The just turned 29-year old is set to hit new bests, which could just keep him around for another season right where he is.
Florida Panthers‘ 6th year defenseman Dylan Olsen(4) was a former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2009 draft (#28 overall).
The fairly sizable 6’2″ 223 lbs. blue liner played for three full seasons in their ‘Hawks‘ system before being a component part of a trade early in 2013/2014.
He played mostly with affiliate Rockford IceHogs, and even left college after competing in the World Juniors with Canada, then signing his three year entry level deal to join the team for the second half of 2011.
A late cut from the following training camp he was reassigned but recalled a couple of months befoe the conclusion of 2011/2012 and skated his first 28 NHL games and one in the playoffs recording only an assist with a -5 rating but also seemed to fall of the depth chart.
He was never one to put up a lot of points, being mostly a punishing stay at home d-man.
Upon being acquired by the Cats, he was sent to farm club San Antonio Rampage but summoned quickly, skating 44 games with his new squad scoring a career best 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points.
He would be quickly extended for two more year on a one-way contract but did continue to spend some time on a short leash in the minors.
The 24-year old has split time evenly between the big league and AHL so far in 2015/2016 and will enjoy one more season as a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign.
It would appear that he’s fitting in nicely where he’s at and will be full-time in the show soon.
Winnipeg Jets‘ third year Finnish-born right wing Joel Armia(40) is likely very much enjoying his new found time in the NHL in what is a contract year for the future restricted free agent.
At 6’3″ 205 lbs. he’s got good size and can play an intimidating power forward style but still needs to prove he’ll be able to play an effective two-way game in the big league.
In 3 games he’s skated an average of 14 shifts for roughly 10 minutes per contest, had 2 shots on net, 4 hits, 2 breakups, 1 giveaway and 2 takeaways with a 0 rating in 2 losses on 1 win.
Originally a Buffalo Sabres‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#16 overall), he played for a year and a half in their system (including one game with the parent club) before being part of a big trade.
He spent a successful rookie season with Rochester Americans scoring 7 goals and 20 assists and would add to those totals in his sophomore campaign with 12 tallies and 21 helpers, splitting time with new AHL squad, St. John’s IceCaps after the transaction.
The 22-year old started his pro career playing three seasons in his home country’s top league with Assat and even won the 2013 SM-liiga Championship.
It will definitely be interesting to watch if he can catch on.
New York Rangers‘ 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (#28 overall) defenseman Brady Skjei(6) received his first recall from minor league affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack just over a couple months into his rookie season.
The fairly large 6’3″ 207 lbs. blue liner decided to turn pro after three years at University Of Minnesota and previously two campaigns of juniors in the USHL with the US National Development Team Program.
He joined the farm team on an ato late last season and skated in all 15 Calder Cup Playoff games scoring his first AHL goal and adding 2 assists.
Upon being reassigned, he’s appeared in 28 contests, affecting the score sheet unlike he’s ever done with 2 goals and 11 assists.
In his 2 NHL games he skated an average of 22 shifts for roughly 15 minutes of ice time with 2 shots on net, 2 hits, 4 break ups, 1 giveaway, 3 takeaways, 2 penalty minutes and 4:21 in short-handed situations.
The team went 1-1 while he was up.
The 21-year old is signed to a three year entry level contract and could spend the remainder 2015/2016 in Connecticut to continue his progress but he’s definitely being given a good look to see how he reacts, when given the opportunity with the big club.
Happy Hockey Christmas to all our skating family and friends!
