Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 3rd year left wing Sonny Milano(22) pots his first NHL goal in his 8th game.
He is still only on the 2nd year of his entry level deal, as he was able to skate with affiliate Cleveland Monsters on a slide in his first campaign due to his young age, and even helped them win the 2016 Calder Cup Championship scoring 4 goals and 4 assists in 17 playoff appearances.
The 6′ 195 lbs. forward plays with speed and has great hands for play-making, which he put on full display last season in a career high 63 AHL games.
He was the team’s leading scorer with 47 points getting 18 goals and 29 assists.
At still only 21-years old with three years of pro experience under his belt, he was able to crack the parent club’s opening night roster and with this tally will likely not be looking back.
Las Vegas Golden Knights‘ 7th year right wing Paul Thompson(15) wasted little time agreeing to a new one-year two-way deal on the opening day of unrestricted free agency.
He played a career high 21 NHL games last season with Florida Panthers recording 3 assists with a -4 rating, while grabbing his third straight 20+ assists campaign and a tidy 42 points in 51 AHL games for affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds.
Almost a bit ironically the 6′ 200 lbs. power forward style player put up his thus far best scoring totals in 2014/2015 while under his only minor league agreement with Albany Devils.
His played impressed the parent club New Jersey Devils and he was rewarded with a two-year contract but was only retained for a year before he got traded for draft picks after getting in his first three big league games, 0 points.
The former top scorer at University Of New Hampshire will likely become assistant captain for farm club Chicago Wolves, but could also see some more time in the show.
It’s a big year for the 28-year old to prove he’s got what it takes to stick.
Los Angeles Kings‘ 5th year center Nick Shore gets re-upped with a 1-year one-way contract by his draft team after playing a career high 70 NHL games scoring a new best 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points.
He was coming off a two-year extension, where 2016/2017 was under similar terms.
The forward spent only one full season in the minors as a rookie but split his second campaign between affiliates helping Manchester Monarchs with a team leading 14 assists win the 2015 AHL Calder Cup Championship.
The soon-to-be 25-year old should be able to continue to increase his scoring totals as he has throughout his pro career.
New York Rangers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2015 draft (#41 overall) rookie left wing Ryan Gropp(11) gets on the board quick with a first unassisted AHL goal for affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack on opening night of the 2017/2018 season.
The fairly big 6’2″ 194 lbs. power style forward scored big in his last campaign of juniors (35-49-84, +25) with Seattle Thunderbirds that culminated in a 2017 WHL Championship, where he exploded for another 7 goals and 12 assists in 16 playoff games to the title.
The 21-year old signed a three-year entry level deal, so he’s off to a good start and should become an exciting player to watch develop.
Florida Panthers‘ 6th round pick in the 2011 draft (#156 overall) defenseman Ed Wittchow(6) gets rewarded for a strong 2nd training camp with a one-year entry level deal for 2017/2018.
The sizable 6’4″ 215 lbs. blue liner signed a minor league deal as a rookie coming out of four years at University Of Wisconsin.
He played 38 AHL games under contract with Springfield Thunderbirds scoring 2 goals and 2 assists but was also reassigned further down to start the season with Manchester Monarchs for 14 ECHL contests, where he netted one tally and 8 assists while maintaining a nice +9 rating.
The 24-year old will likely see increases in his game and likely stick with the farm team for the full campaign.
16th year veteran center Jason Jaffray(15) signs on for a third season with EHC Red Bull Muenchen after a pair of 39 point seasons with a combined +43 rating and back-to-back DEL Championships.
He is currently riding probably the best period of hockey in his pro career that includes a slew of scoring records for a legendary Manitoba Moose squad, four years as captain with St. John IceCaps that saw them bow out only in the 2014 Calder Cup Finals and 551 AHL games to his credit with 448 points (179 goals, 269 assists).
Boston Bruins‘ 1st round pick in the 2015 draft (#14 overall) 2nd year left wing Jake DeBrusk(74) is getting his crack at the big boys’ lineup to open 2017/2018.
Making full use of his 14:05 of ice time he answers with his first NHL goal and added an assist for good measure in a 4-3 win.
The 6′ 183 lbs. hard working forward also left the game with a +2, had 4 shots on net, one takeaway and even spent 2:22 on the power play.
That’s an impressive debut for the one-time high scoring Swift Current Broncos‘ member.
As a first year pro he skated the full season with affiliate Providence Bruins‘ leading all rookies in scoring and was 2nd overall on the team.
He comes from some serious hockey loins as his dad is Louie DeBrusk and he doesn’t mind at all to take a selfie with a fan.
8th year defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka(23) was not issued a qualifying by Ottawa Senators after a trade deadline deal sent him there from Calgary Flames, where he ended up after another deal with draft squad Dallas Stars.
He was basically on a one-way contract, so based on numbers may have been in for at least a modest pay bump on his two-year deal that was originally signed by Dallas.
The fairly good-sized blue liner was thus an unrestricted free agent and signed a pto to join Washington Capitals‘ training camp but that did last too long before he was released.
With 150 NHL games mostly over the last two season, he next takes his experience to the KHL signing for the remainder of the calendar with HK Sochi.
The 26-year old may just find a better sheet of ice to fit his needs in Russia but ultimately heading back home to finish out in Liiga wouldn’t suck either.
4th year right wing Brian Ferlin(19) signs for 2017/2018 with Edmonton Oilers on the opening day of unrestricted group 6 free agency.
Originally a Boston Bruins’ draft pick he was in the system for three campaigns but has been injured for most of the last two.
He only played 2 AHL games last year.
The decently-sized 25-year old forward is definitely getting another chance, where his former GM resides and may just get an opportunity to add to the 7 games of NHL experience he has.
Even if he skates with affiliate Bakersfield Condors, we’re sure just playing is going to be a step in the right direction.
New York Rangers‘ 4th round pick in the 2017 draft (#123 overall) defenseman Brandon Crawley(6) signs his 3-year entry deal after a strong first training camp and continued hard work with affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack, where he may find himself playing his rookie season.
The 6’1″ 205 lbs. blue liner skated three campaigns as a member of London Knights and won both the 2016 OHL Championship and Memorial Cup as a sophomore player.
It’s possible he starts in the minors but could be sent back to finish out a fourth and final year of juniors.
The 20-year looks to have a bright future unfolding.
