Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 5th year defenseman David Warsofsky(5) was picked up on the first day of free agency in his first run at the open market after 4 solid years developing in Boston Bruins‘ organization.
In his time in Beantown he played 10 NHL games scoring his 1st goal in the big league and added a pair of assists with a +2 rating.
Unfortunately as one report had it, there was little room in the system for another solid puck-moving, small blue liner, and having two is just crazy talk.
Where he is, the 25-year old fits in nicely on what is a bit of a young, shaky d-corps to begin with but has a lot of power up front.
A super-late cut from training camp he started the season with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but was called up a month and a half in and has stayed.
One more game played and he will have more games with the Pens than he did in two years with Boston, and has himself his 2nd goal but is a bit of a woeful -7 plus/minus.
He’s definitely starting to look the part out there and it would be no surprise to see him stay.
Arizona Coyotes‘ 4th year net minder Louis Domingue(35) was recently recalled under somewhat emergency conditions as due to injury the team was minus a starting goalie.
In his first game of the 2015/2016 season, he was called in from the bench to put out a fire that erupted into a 7-5 defeat and unfortunately was saddled with the loss.
The big goaltender’s efforts earned him a start in the next contest.
Facing 25 shots he brick walled them all for his first shutout win.
A few nights later he would return in between the pipes to stop 37 of 39 attempts for a 2nd victory heading into the Christmas break.
His early record of 2-1 with a 1.62 GAA and .946 SV% could be a sign that he’ll stick around for a little longer than may have been initially thought.
Not bad for the now 23-year old deep draft selection that is set to become a restricted free agent for a second time at the end of the current season.
Chicago Blackhawks‘ 7th year left wing Brandon Mashinter(53) was named captain of affiliate club Rockford IceHogs at the beginning of the season.
In 12 AHL games he already struck for a nice three goals and 4 assists before getting his first recall in a year and a half with the parent club.
He was initially acquired in a minor deal from former team New York Rangers and spent the remainder of 2013/2014 and all of last season on the farm putting up decent numbers but really seemed to get it going in eight 2015 Calder Cup Playoff games scoring 3 goals and 3 assists.
The big 6’4″ 212 lbs. power forward is known more for mixing it up with opponents than affecting the score sheet but finally got on the board in his 12 appearance, connecting for his 1st NHL goal.
With extended time in the big league, he looks like he could stay put and has already reached a new season high games played.
The 27-year old is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the current calendar is done but will in all likelihood be retained to continue in a system he looks very comfortable with.
Pittsburgh Penguins made sure they locked up undrafted free agent left wing Conor Sheary(43) for at least a couple seasons signing through 2017 on an entry level deal.
Already under the watchful eye, he has put up impressive numbers ever since he landed on an ato for the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs with farm team, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
He would end that short first run with 6 goals and 5 assists in 15 AHL games with a +4 rating through 3 postseason rounds.
For 2014/2015 he would return with a minor league contract in hand and a dream to be had.
In 58 games his 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points were good enough to lead the Baby Pens in scoring as a first year guy.
Once again playing the extended part of the regular season, he lead the team with 5 goals and 7 assists but they were eliminated in the second round.
A late cut from the parent club’s 2015 training camp, he reported and started to rock and roll right away getting 6 goals, a league 2nd best 19 assists with a +8.
The second year pro gets his first recall a couple of months into 2015/2016 and makes his debut.
In his 2nd appearance he nets his first NHL goal to start the game and adds an assist in what turned out to be a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Boston Bruins.
He’s gone on to skate roughly 16 minutes with lots of power play time in 4 games but is a suspicious -4 rating.
It will be interesting to see if the 23-year old sticks. Regardless, good story right here.
Tampa Bay Lightning 4th year left wing Yanni Gourde(65) put up crazy good numbers last season with affiliate Syracuse Crunch.
He had a career and team best 29 goals in a complete schedule of 76 AHL games with 28 assists for 57 points and unloaded 163 shots on net. He was also a +13 plus/minus.
Not exactly a late cut from training camp for his second year in the organization, he took his reassignment in stride already connecting for 5 tallies and 8 helpers in 24 contests.
The small pivots hard work got rewarded two months into the new campaign earning him a first recall to the parent club.
In his debut he notched his first NHL point, an assist.
Over two games he skated roughly 7 minutes each appearance with 2 hits, 2 penalty minutes, one break up and was a +1 rating.
Unfortunately he sustained an injury somewhere along the line and was recently sent back down to make room for healthy bodies.
The soon-to-be 25 year old may just be getting started in the highest level of hockey and should continue to show scoring strength.
Tampa Bay Lightning 4th year left wing Yanni Gourde(65) put up crazy good numbers last season with affiliate Syracuse Crunch.
He had a career and team best 29 goals in a complete schedule of 76 AHL games with 28 assists for 57 points and unloaded 163 shots on net. He was also a +13 plus/minus.
Not exactly a late cut from training camp for his second year in the organization, he took his reassignment in stride already connecting for 5 tallies and 8 helpers in 24 contests.
The small pivots hard work got rewarded two months into the new campaign earning him a first recall to the parent club.
In his debut he notched his first NHL point, an assist.
Over two games he skated roughly 7 minutes each appearance with 2 hits, 2 penalty minutes, one break up and was a +1 rating.
Unfortunately he sustained an injury somewhere along the line and was recently sent back down to make room for healthy bodies.
The soon-to-be 25 year old may just be getting started in the highest level of hockey and should continue to show scoring strength.
5th year right wing Mike Hoeffel(11) entered the 2015/2016 without a contract and signed a pto with Springfield Falcons, the team he was under contract with last season, a month and a half into the current campaign.
After four AHL games and no scoring he looked elsewhere to continue his pro career, agreeing to skate the remainder of the calendar with Stavanger Oilers of Norway’s GET-ligaen.
In 2014/2015, he played a best 62 contests scoring a new high 9 goals with 103 shots on net and was a +7 rating on a non-playoff squad.
The now 26-year old should be able to elevate his game overseas and may just find a new hockey home.
New York Rangers‘ 1st round pick in the 2010 draft (#10 overall), fourth year defenseman Dylan McIlrath(6) has been on a slow climb from minors to the parent club but finally cracked the lineup out of 2015 training camp.
The excessively large 6’5″ 220 lbs. blue liner put up identical numbers in each of his last two seasons with affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack (6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points, 165 penalty minutes and 13 fighting majors).
In 13 games with the big club he’s already dropped the gloves on a pair of occasions and added his first NHL goal and an assist to his punishing style of shutdown hockey.
Through four years of juniors with Moosejaw Warriors of the WHL he accumulated 551 minutes in the sin bin but was also able to help out decently on the score sheet with 16 goals and 58 assists to his credit.
As he’s able to get himself a roster spot more often, his confidence will continue to grow and the 24-year old will in all likelihood become a top four d-man.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 4th round pick in the 2011 draft (#110 overall) 2nd year left wing Michael Mersch(49) is getting his shot at the NHL after going on a scoring tear in his rookie year, tied for goals scored with minor league affiliate Manchester Monarchs at 22 during the regular season, then led the whole league getting 13 goals and 22 points all the way to the 2015 AHL Calder Cup Championship.
The fairly large 6’2″ 198 lbs. power forward style player was a very late cut from training camp but got right at it again with new farm team Ontario Reign, scoring 12 goals, 3 assists for 15 points.
He also has a mammoth 93 shots on goal in only 19 games this season. That follows similar stats during his first campaign. 223 was the final count of pucks fired at goaltenders, then another 66 in 18 playoff games.
This is a player that likes to go to the net.
In his first three big league appearances he’s skated an average of 16 shifts for almost 11 minutes of ice, including :30 on the penalty kill. He had three shots on the cage, an almost given 6 hits, 1 giveaway and unfortunately came away a -2 in the last game he skated. The team has run a 1-2 record.
No scoring yet but that should come if he’s given the chance now to make it happen.
A graduate from University Of Wisconsin, the 23-year old was unique among college players as he was given a three-year entry level deal that runs through 2016/2017, so there is time.
Ottawa Senators‘ 3rd year goaltender Andrew Hammond(30) was such an unlikely, integral part of their push into last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs running an unprecedented 14-0-1 record to start his emergency recall.
He finished 2014/2015 recording a 20-1-2 mark with 3 shutouts and a 1.79 GAA and .941 SV%.
The hot start earned him the nickname “The Hamburglar” breaking goalie records as he continued to roll.
The incredible feat earned the undrafted net minder a three-year extension.
To start the first campaign of his new deal, he’s 2-0-2 with a decent 2.42 GAA and .930 SV% but suffered a groin injury and then a fluke head injury and has been sidelined twice already.
The 27-year has been reassigned to affiliate Binghamton Senators for conditioning and may stay there for an extended period until the parent club feels his game is back to where it needs to be.
He’s out to an 0-2 start and things may not be so easy for him as he’s tending the cage for the 2nd worst team in the AHL with only 6 wins in 23 games to their credit.
