Utica Comets‘ undrafted 7th year defenseman Travis Ehrhardt(2) signs his 2nd AHL contract after initially accepting a tryout agreement with the team to start the season.
The deceptively bigger looking than his listed 5’11” 205 lbs. blue liner plays a fairly rugged game and definitely has the ability to put up points like he did with Moose Jaw Warriors then Portland Winterhawks in WHL junior hockey.
He’s off to a hot start in the current campaign with 4 goals (ties his best and shares the team lead) and 3 assists in 17 games.
Initially signed to a three-year entry level deal by Detroit Red Wings and played mostly with affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.
He did pretty well in his sophomore season with 4 goals and 11 assists.
Approaching a first restricted free agency he decided to move on and signed with TPS of Finland’s top league Liiga but only appeared in 17 contests with no points.
He returned and inked a short term contract with St. John’s IceCaps but appeared only 8 times before bolting to Norway joining Stavenger Oilers, and help win the 2013 Spengler Cup.
He contributed a goal and 4 assists in 15 playoff games with a +9 rating.
The now 26-year old has been a Vancouver Canucks‘ training camp invite and just might play himself into a real look next go round.
Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 10th year defenseman Jaime Sifers(26) played well enough under contract to then affiliate Springfield Falcons to earn himself a two-year, two-way deal heading into the 2015/2016 season.
He recorded a career high 19 assists with a best 131 shots on net and 81 penalty minutes.
The 5’11” 200 lbs. blue liner returned after three seasons overseas in DEL playing for Adler Mannheim, where he was their assistant captain in 2013/2014.
Undrafted, he was initially signed by Toronto Maple Leafs to a two-year entry level contract after four years at University Of Vermont.
He was resigned for another campaign, received his first NHL recall from Toronto Marlies and played 23 games in the big league grabbing his only two points, a pair of assists.
An unrestricted free agent going into his fourth season he signed with Minnesota Wild and made the team out of training camp but was up and down with Houston Aeros. managing to appear in 14 games with the parent club.
His next move would find him joining Atlanta Thrashers‘ organization but he spent the entire run with Chicago Wolves of the AHL.
The 32-year old has spent all of his playing time with new farm team Lake Erie Monsters and is off to a decent start with 2 goals, 4 assists and a +6 rating.
He could easily gain a look and will probably give them every reason to give it the nod.
Springfield Falcons‘ 2nd year left wing Greg Carey(12) is having an outstanding breakout season.
He’s already eclipsed scoring marks from his rookie campaign with 3 goals, 6 assists for 9 points and a +4 rating.
The 5’10” 204 lbs. undrafted forward looks much bigger than his stats might suggest and plays an all out checking style game, while always heading to the net for offensive chances.
Signed to a 1-year entry level deal by Arizona Coyotes he split time in his first campaign between then affiliate Portland Pirates and Atlanta Gladiators.
He was close to a point-per-game guy in the ECHL, picking up where he left off after four years of college hockey at St. Lawrence University.
Left unqualified going into 2015/2016, he was a training camp invite to Coyotes‘ camp and was on the list to be reassigned to new farm club Springfield, although he was an unrestricted free agent.
He signed a one-year AHL deal and although he had a bit of a bumpy start has found himself with opportunities that he’s answered and has performed well on the team’s first line.
The 25-year old may just play himself into a new big league contract but will have to keep pace.
8th year pro Dale Weise(23) has certainly made himself a bona fide NHL player since we’ve written.
It’s in there. We saw it.
At the start of 2011 when Vancouver Canucks claimed him off the waiver wire from draft team New York Rangers, where he spent three seasons, he played a full schedule of 68 big league games scoring 4 goals and 4 assists in mostly a 4th line role.
He would get extended twice and add to his assists by triple but traded to Montreal Canadiens and it started to gel.
In 17 games he had 3 goals and 1 assists with a +4 but then in the playoffs struck for 3 goals and 4 assists in 16 postseason match-ups with a +5.
The unrestricted free agent had extension written all over him and no time was wasted tying him up for two more years.
His workman like approach was starting to sprout offense and in 2014/2015 he rallied for 10 goals and 9 assists with a +21 rating.
At 27-years old in the final year of his current deal he’s off to his hottest start ever, emerging as a real power forward with a crazy 9 goals and 5 assists in 22 games with a +8.
He’s looking to burst his all-time numbers and pick himself up a great next contract.
Not bad for a bit of a deep 4th round draft pick, former Swift Current Broncos.
10th year, veteran defenseman Nathan Oystrick(74) returned last season from a pair of years playing for HC Lev Praha putting up some decent numbers and was even an assistant captain in 2013/2014 with a deep playoff run that had him score 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in 22 KHL games.
Signing a month into the 2014/2015 campaign on a pto with Springfield Falcons, he only appeared in 12 AHL games before being released a few months later.
The 6′ 205 lbs. blue liner had some time to think about his next pro hockey pursuit and agreed quickly in the off-season to a one-year deal with Elmira Jackals and become the team captain/assistant coach.
He made a good decision and looks to be fitting in nicely with his new role.
It’s his first time in the ECHL and he already has a goal and 8 assists in 13 games.
At 32-years old he may decide to hang up the skates next season (after playing his 500th pro game) but our bet is he’s doing so well and likes it where he is, so he may stay and play at least one more year before heading behind the bench.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 5th year Slovakian-born right wing Richard Panik(18) played 76 games in the NHL after being scooped on waivers from Tampa Bay Lightning.
He ended up scoring career highs 11 goals and 6 assists but was a last minute cut heading into the current season.
Back in the minors with affiliate Toronto Marlies he has been playing his game, lighting the lamp with consistency (4 goals, 12 assists in 16 AHL games with a +5 rating and 33 shots on net).
The 24-year old is on a one-way deal this season worth just under a million dollars but will need to get some playing time in the big league to score another similar deal.
For now he can only continue to impress on the farm as he waits for a call.
Philadelphia Flyers‘ 9th year defenseman Andrew McDonald(47) is another veteran player that’s become victim of the salary cap and little room for error in the big league.
Acquired from New York Islanders at the 2014 trade deadline he was signed to a 6-year contract extension as the post-season started.
The 6’1″ 190 lbs. blue liner has always been reasonably accountable in the d-zone but recorded 20 assists in only two seasons and has never really has been able to put the puck in the net.
A former Isles‘ 6th round pick in the 2006 draft (#160 overall) he had two 40+ assist campaigns with Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL but has never really come close to that mark as a pro.
With lots expected from him last year, he was far off the mark with 2 goals and 10 assists in 58 NHL games on a non-playoff team.
The 29-year old was on the parent club’s roster to start 2015/2016 but didn’t make it into the lineup.
He was placed on waivers and cleared to be reassigned to affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
It’s his first visit to the minors in 5 years since spending 21 games with Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2009/2010.
Not changing up his game in any way, he’s actually doing very well. In 17 AHL games he has a goal and 8 assists with a +5 rating and is very involved in all situations.
With another 4 years at $5AAV on the books, it’s very likely that he gets bought out of his contract and will be free to explore whatever opportunities for his 10th year.
Arizona Coyotes‘ 9th year center Dustin Jeffrey(21) only failed to make an NHL appearance last season and has even earned at least a point in all but one year, and he only made a one game in his second year with first contract team and one he stuck with for 6 campaigns, Pittsburgh Penguins.
In his one game look so far he recorded an assist and was a +2 in a 4-3 overtime win.
The very decent sized, capable of handling his ground 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward had 19 shifts for 14:12 total ice, was 57% effective in the face off circle and even saw 3:17 of power play time.
He’s off to maybe his best ever start scoring 7 goals and 11 assists, good for 5th in the league with new AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons.
With the minutes the 27-year old put in with the parent club on his brief visit, he’ll likely be back up as soon as any of the regulars falls to injury (or slips up).
He was also signed to a one-year two-way deal on the opening day of 2015 free agency, so they wanted him.
Tampa Bay Lightning 7th round pick in the 2013 draft (#186 overall) 6th year Swiss-born right wing Joel Vermin(47) picks up his first NHL recall and looks to be staying for a spell.
After a quick start with farm team Syracuse Crunch (3 goals, 7 assists in 12 AHL games with a +2 plus/minus), he already looking to eclipse marks set in his rookie year in North America, where he connected for 12 tallies and 21 helpers.
In 2 games with the parent club he skated 15 shifts for 11:18 of total ice time with 1 assist (on the game-winning goal in his 2nd appearance), 1 shot on net, 2 hits, 1 giveaway, 2 minutes of power play time and a +1 rating. Both games were also victories.
The not exactly huge 5’11” 192 lbs. forward skated 5 seasons in his country’s top league for hometown team Bern racking up some decent numbers (31 goals, 50 assists in 177 games with a +32) and won the 2013 NLA Championship.
At 23-years old he signed a three-year entry level deal that makes him a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign and looks to be in line for a nice extension to continue.
