Dallas Stars‘ 6th year defenseman Connor Carrick(5) is getting a huge opportunity with his new club as injuries early in the season forced them to acquire him from Toronto Maple Leafs, as he was preparing to be reassigned to the minors on a one-way deal for the first time in a couple campaigns.
The 5’11” 192 lbs. forward has played in the NHL exclusively since the 2016/2017 season but has been in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch on more occasions than he would like.
In 176 games he has 10 goals and 24 assists.
The Washington Capitals‘ deep draft pick is off to a nice start grabbing a goal and 3 assists in 9 contests, looking to secure his spot on the roster moving forward.
At 24-years old the former USNTDP and Plymouth Whalers‘ player is on a one-year deal set to become a restricted free agent for the last time in his pro career but could be staying put as he looks to be elevating his game to the next level but first has to almost ironically shake off an injury sustained.
Philadelphia Flyers‘ 4th round pick in the 2014 draft (#105 overall), Russian-born center Mikhail Vorobyev(15) started the new campaign on the opening roster and skated 7 NHL games gaining his first goal in his 2nd appearance and an assists in his debut but was reassigned to affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms after failing to strike for more.
Back with the farm team, in 5 AHL games he affected the score sheet in his 2nd game back with an assist, then had a multi-point (1 goal and an assist) recently.
Washington Capitals‘ 2nd round pick in the 2015 draft (#57 overall) 6th year Swiss-born defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler(34) scores a first NHL recall early in the session.
The big 6’3″ 208 lbs. blue liner has only 2 assists in 14 AHL games this season but he’s considered a strong skater that makes good decisions with the puck.
He skated 15 shifts for 12:13 minutes with one shot, three hits, two breakups and three giveaways in a tough team loss.
Starting his pro career after playing all of his junior hockey in his home country with GC Kusnacht Lions of NLB before being pulled up to ZSC Lions.
He would play a dominant amount of games in the higher league before being signed after he was selected and loaned back for two more years of seasoning.
Under a three year entry level deal, he had a pair of entry level slides and would come over after finishing up 2016/2017 in the NLA.
As a rookie, he played 75 games with Hershey Bears scoring 6 goals and 6 assists with a -20 rating on a non-playoff club.
The still super-young 21-year old has one-year left on his contract but looks to be on a short list of players being groomed to assume a roll in the big league.
Boston Bruins‘ 2nd round pick in the 2015 draft (#45 overall) Swedish-born center Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson(23) gains an NHL recall, a first in a couple seasons and skates 16 shifts for 11:19 total ice with one hit, one giveaway and went 67% in the face-off circle on a big 5-1 victory.
His only other game in the big league came in 2016/2017 after leaving Boston University following two years at the college but spent the entirety of his actual rookie campaign in the minors with affiliate Providence Bruins.
The 6’1″ 185 lbs. forward scored a healthy 15 goals and 17 assists with a +3 rating in 58 AHL games in his first year.
He has a goal and 3 assists in 9 games in the current session.
Always a great skater with almost innate scoring abilities through juniors in his home country, he then came over to play for Omaha Lancers of the USHL, where he was more than a point-per-game player in his second and final year before heading off to school.
The just turned 22-year old is in the final year of his entry level deal but should grab at least a one or two-year extension to stay put.
6th year defenseman Brenden Kichton(28) found himself facing a 2nd group 6 unrestricted free agency after a one-year deal with Carolina Hurricanes that saw him spend 63 AHL games with affiliate Charlotte Checkers putting up his 5th 20+ assist campaign.
Instead of trying to seek out another big league deal that would likely have him adding to his 335 minor league games, he has decided to head off to Liiga signing with SaiPa that will likely see him continue his scoring prowess.
The 26-year old may have found a good landing spot but also could play his way up to higher leagues overseas with strong showings.
6th year defenseman Harrison Ruopp(2) signs a one-year deal with Manchester Storm after taking most of 2017/2018 off from pro hockey, while playing 14 games with his local to home Saskatchewan’s QVHL senior hockey club Balgonie Bisons.
Originally an Arizona Coyotes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft (#84 overall), he was traded to Pittsburgh Penguins, where he agreed to a three-year entry level deal after 4 seasons with Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL.
The sturdy 6’2″ 205lbs. blue liner split most of his time in the prospect system skating for affiliates Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Wheeling Nailers but played many more ECHL games than in the AHL.
As his contract expired he wasn’t given a qualifying offer to stay and agreed to terms with Allen Americans as 2016/2017 was getting underway.
The 25-year old will likely continue to stir things up for his new team in the United Kingdom and may have found a good place to continue his pro hockey career.
6th year head coach Jeremy Colliton finds himself as the new man in charge of once again slumping Chicago Blackhawks in a bold move that makes him the youngest coach in the NHL at 33-years old.
He was just getting his Rockford Icehogs‘ squad set for a good start in his 2nd year as head coach of the affiliate.
In his first season, he was able to get the team a winning record and back into the playoff hunt taking them all the way to the AHL Western Conference Finals for a first time.
His first foray in coaching came as he was just started overseas with a contract for Allsvenskan‘s Mora IK.
After only 3 games played he was named interim head coach and continued for the next three seasons.
Not sure if we know who the former Prince Alberts Raiders got into the coaching bug but he seems like a natural behind the bench, also considering his 57 game big league experience (3 goals, 3 assists).
12th year defenseman Kyle Cumiskey(3) accepted a training camp invite from Toronto Marlies and made the team but due to an abundance of blue liners already signed was released.
He moved on to sign with their ECHL affiliate Newfoundland Growlers, his first foray into the lower league, to continue to play the game he loves.
The smallish d-man did not play at all in 2017/2018 due to nagging injury problems but has decided to give it another go for the new season.
Loaned up to Providence Bruins, the 32-year old signed a new deal to continue with them and has been excelling nicely in the higher league.
4th year Manchester Monarchs‘ center Ryan Kujawinski(94) plows into Newfoundland Growlers‘ goaltender Michael Garteig(34) and would eventually remove his mask with the inertia of seeing the play through.
The fairly big 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward was originally a New Jersey Devils‘ 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft (#73 overall) and maybe a little uneventfully in their prospect system.
He would eventually get traded in a minor deal to Arizona Coyotes but two months later in what just seemed to be a contract swap to Columbus Blue Jackets, finishing of a largely uneventful restricted free agency contract season with Cleveland Monsters.
No qualifying offer was obviously extended rendering the former Kingston Frontenacs‘ player an unrestricted free agent.
The 23-year old signed to join the ECHL club to see if he can start to make a difference.
In 9 games he has a goal and 5 assists but does seem destined to start marking up the scoresheet more regularly, when he decided to move on signing with Orli Znojmo of EBEL for the remainder of 2018/2019.
