NHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

Category: NHL

16Jun

Bobby Raymond(9) Iserlohn Roosters

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After spending his 1st year of pro hockey playing in France, undrafted defenseman signed with the ECHL Florida Everblades in 2010/2011 to start his North American rookie campaign.

He skated in all 72 games with the ‘Blades and 4 postseason contests as well, scoring 9 goals and 26 assists, while going a big +26 plus/minus.

With his debut season completed, he received a bit of an unexpected call-up to join Binghamton Senators for the 2011 AHL Atlantic Division playoff series.

He played in 9 games through three more rounds leading up to the eventual Calder Cup win.

For the 2011/2012 season, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the B-Sens and started the year by raising the championship banner to the rafters of Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

The 5’10” 185 lbs. d-man split time between the two leagues, appearing in 38 AHL games and was eventually reassigned for the remainder of the season in late February to help the Everblades get into playoff position.

Well, two full seasons playing hockey in the top developmental leagues for the NHL and the 27-year old has captured both championships as Florida Everblades won their first ECHL Kelly Cup in the team’s 14-year existence by knocking off Las Vegas Wranglers.

Original story: 5/24-12

For the 2012/2013 season he would return to Florida Everblades but spent a majority of his time on loan to Charlotte Checkers and eventually ink an spc to finish out the year with the team, where he achieved a career high 4 goals and 14 assists in 44 AHL games.

He would next decide to go play across the pond for Iserlohn Roosters and found the bigger sheets of ice worked well for his game as he scored 7 goals and 20 assists.

He would switched allegiances in the league in the following season, signing with Adler Mannheim and won the DEL Championship.

For 2015/2016, the now 29-year old will spend his third year in the league and returns to Iserlohn Roosters.

15Jun

Philipp Grubauer(31) Washington Capitals

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Washington Capitals‘ 4th round pick in the 2010 draft (#112 overall), German-born goaltender Philipp Grubauer(31) has been stonewalling the offense in the ECHL through his first year and a half in the league.

He was the starter for South Carolina Stingrays in his rookie campaign going 23-13-5 in 43 appearances with a 2.22 GAA and .918 SV%.

The 6′ 180 lbs. net minder took up in his sophomore season where he left off posting a 19-5-1 record in 26 games and a 2.30 GAA and .912 SV% for Reading Royals before being recalled to split duties for Hershey Bears.

He’s off to an impressive start with a 2-2 mark and another solid 2.05 GAA and .926 SV%.

The 21-year old signed a 3-year entry level deal that keeps him in the system through 2015 and if it wasn’t for the logjam in the AHL net last season, he may have scored some playing time.

He recently was also cleared to attend the ECHL All-Star Game, where he was chosen as a starter and got the nod to kick off the festivities between the pipes. For now he’s having fun but could figure into the Capitals‘ long term plans pretty easily.

Original story: 1/24-13

In the 2013/2014 season he would be one of the few players each year to play a game in all three tops leagues: NHL, AHL and ECHL.

It would also signify the last time the net minder would see double A hockey as he would play 17 games with the Caps in 2013/2014 posting a 6-5-5 record with a 2.38 GAA and .925 SV%.

Even though he saw only one game with the parent club in 2014/2015, due to a veteran goalie signed in the off-season taking on most of the back-up role.

He would however be called on to start a first round Stanley Cup Playoff game getting the win, two firsts for a German-born backstop.

The only 23-year old signs a 2-year one-way extension but still may spend some time with the farm club to continue to hone his skills.

13Jun

Fredrik Claesson(3) Binghamton Senators

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Ottawa Senators‘ 5th round pick in the 2011 draft (#126 overall) Swedish-born defenseman Frederik Claesson(3) already had two seasons of professional play in the SHL with Djurgarden under his belt before committing to North American minor league hockey with affiliate Binghamton Senators.

The slightly bigger looking than 6′ 205 lbs. blue liner was never really a point producer throughout short playing career but since coming over this way to skate has seen his numbers on the uptick.

In his rookie campaign he put up a modest 3 goals and 8 assists with a +4 rating in 70 AHL games but this season is blowing the lid of those marks.

Through 48 contests, he may have put up less goals with 2, but has new career highs in assists (20), points (22) and holds onto a massive +28 plus/minus, currently good for third overall.

The only 21-year old is signed to a three-year entry level deal that runs through 2014/2015 and look for him to get his shot at cracking the NHL lineup or possibly get moved as the club has good depth at defense.

Original story 2/11-14

As his initial contract is set to run its course, Ottawa Senators re-up for another year with the blue liner that played in a career high 76 AHL games for affiliate Binghamton Senators and scored a new best 4 goals but managed only 15 assists (down 11 from last season).

Although he has yet to realize his first NHL call-up and maybe struggled a bit in his third campaign, the still young 22-year old should still compete for a roster spot out of training camp with the big club.

12Jun

Johan Sundstrom(28) Frolunda

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After three seasons of mostly playing in the minors and restricted free agent status approaching Johan Sundstrom(28) has decided to return home to the team he started with Frolunda of the SHL, accepting a two-year deal.

His numbers in the AHL were diminishing after a fairly strong rookie season and may have already been in discussions of where his future with the team was going.

He did get his opportunity to play 11 games in the show late during 2013/2014 but only recorded one assist and although he was a late cut from his last training camp, he failed to impress enough on a deep pool of youngsters to earn another recall.

With his fairly large power forward sized build, the 22-year old seemed to want to play more of a scorers game than mixing it up in corners or front of the net and that probably troubled the higher ups.

12Jun

Jeff May(11) Ducs d’Angers

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8th year veteran defenseman Jeff May(11) returns to Ducs d’Angers of France’s Ligue Magnus, a team he skated with in the 2012/2013 season.

Originally a Detroit Red Wings‘ 5th round pick in the 2005 draft (#151 overall) he was never signed.

Instead he bounced around from signing an ato with Norfolk Admirals to start his rookie season 2008/2009, played three games, was released, got added to Las Vegas Wranglers‘ roster for 23 ECHL games, before being grabbed by Providence Bruins on a pto for another 11 AHL games but was again released before San Antonio Rampage would ink him to a minor league contract and to finish it off Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes stepped in at the end of his first year to offer him a 3-year entry level deal.

Not too shabby.

He would be reassigned to start his sophomore campaign in southern Texas and played 102 games with the Rampage over the next two seasons scoring 3 goals and 12 assists with a hurting -25 rating.

To start his fourth year he was immediately reassigned down the ladder back to Las Vegas, where he had a career year skating in 50 games, netting 7 goals, 20 assists and a +14 plus/minus on a team that made in all the way to the Kelly Cup Finals.

He even had a pair of goals, 5 helpers and a +2 rating in 19 postseason contests.

After his big league contract was up, he decided to head for his first journey of French pro hockey but would return to Nevada for a third time, where he was able to post a career high 11 goals, 14 assists and 25 points while serving as the team’s assistant captain.

For his strong showing he received a pair of call-ups to Texas Stars, then Hershey Bears.

He averaged 30 assists in four of his five WHL years with Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes.

For 2014/2015 he signed with Ontario Reign and had another strong season but seemed to once again excel nicely in the postseason with 7 assists in 19 games.

With his departure for the upcoming campaign it could be the last of North American hockey the 28-year old has seen.

12Jun

Louie Caporusso(11) Iserlohn Roosters

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3rd year left wing Louie Caporusso(11) signs a one-year contract with 2013 Kelly Cup Champions‘ Reading Royals for 2013/2014.

He was originally an Ottawa Senators‘ 3rd round pick in the 2007 draft (#90 overall) and played a couple of seasons with minor league affiliates Binghamton Senators and Elmira Jackals.

In 36 AHL games he scored a single goal with 5 assists, which isn’t that amazing but in 70 ECHL match-ups he’s a point-per-game guy at 35 goals and 42 assists with a +20 rating. He continued on that scoring tear in 6 playoff games, getting a pair of tallies and 6 helpers.

The small looking 5’10” 200 lbs. forward was also a sniper in four years of NCAA hockey at University Of Michigan posting 68 goals and 76 assists in 160 games with an outstanding +48 plus/minus.

At still only 24 years old the former Hobey Baker Award finalist will be added to an already deep talent pool and definitely help the Royals defend their title in the upcoming campaign.

Original story: 8/16-13

After attending a week of Worcester Sharks‘ training camp, he reported back to Reading to start the season and once again was putting up lots of points (7-21-28 in 24 games) before deciding halfway through to split overseas and skate the remainder of the campaign with Augsburger Panther of DEL, where he continued on a similar tear.

He resigned with the team for another year and although his production slipped slightly he was still connecting with the net on a regular basis finishing 2014/2015 with 15 goals, 23 assists in 47 games.

For his 5th pro season, he signs on with the enemy, agreeing to play for Iserlohn Roosters and at only 25-years old he’s probably still just getting started.

11Jun

Blake Parlett(7) Medvescak Zagreb

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Coming off a career year, which also saw him get traded from New York Rangers‘ prospect system with Connecticut Whale to Columbus Blue Jackets and their affiliate Springfield Falcons, 4th year, undrafted defenseman Blake Parlett(7) signs his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent to stay where he is for a full season within the ranks.

In 78 AHL games in 2012/2013, he scored 8 goals and 24 assists with a combined +9 rating.

The seemingly bigger looking than 6’1″ 205 lbs. blue liner started his pro career on a minor league contract with Connecticut but spent most of his rookie season in the ECHL with Greenville Road Warriors.

After a good showing in first campaign, he was signed to a two-year entry level deal by the Rangers.

The 24-year old has yet to receive his first NHL call-up but he’s likely in line for a skate up in the big league if he continues to make a difference, connect for point in the upcoming season.

See related: 3/21-11

Original story: 7/22-13

Just like that the d-man gets dished from the Blue Jackets‘ system to Boston Bruins‘ minor league team Providence Bruins but left unsigned and was quick to pick up a contract as an unrestricted free agent with Florida Panthers for 2014/2015.

He played exclusively for their farm club San Antonio Rampage recording a career high 9 AHL goals and plus 9 rating with second best 26 points and tied for 67 games.

The 26-year old picks up his game and will move it to Russian for at least a season in the KHL with Medvescak Zagreb.

09Jun

Trevor van Riemsdyk(57) Chicago Blackhawks

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Chicago Blackhawks‘ undrafted rookie defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk(57) started his pro career in the NHL but was sidelined a month into it when a puck was shot off his knee cap sending him to the side lines for 3 months.

In 18 games he only notched one assist but had an even rating skating an average of 14 minutes a night.

He can definitely put up points, especially assists as he did in three years at University Of New Hampshire but looks like he needs to find his offensive game first on the next level.

The 6’2″ 188 lbs. first year blue liner took an interesting road pre-college hockey skating for two seasons as 18/19-year old in third tier juniors EHL with New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, where he won back-to-back championships and tallied more than a point per game.

When returning from injure reserved, he was sent to minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs to get his game on, but late in the campaign hurt his wrist once again forcing him to the sidelines for their Calder Cup Playoff run.

He scored three assists in 8 AHL games with a +2 rating before going down for a second time.

Working hard on his recovery, he was finally ready to be recalled to possibly be inserted into the lineup for the Stanley Cup Finals.

The soon-to-be 24-year old has played a pair of games with no points and a -1 plus/minus skating limited shifts/minutes.

He’s signed for a 2-year entry level deal and you can pretty much bet on him spending his first full season in the show (unless he gets injured yet again).

09Jun

Austin Madaisky(5) Springfield Falcons

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Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 5th round pick in the 2010 draft (#124 overall) defenseman Austin Madaisky(5) definitely ate lots of Wheaties in the off season.

In 15 AHL games with affiliate Springfield Falcons he’s already tied a career high 4 goals in a single season and blown a huge hole in his previous assist mark (at 4) recently adding a 10th helper to his totals with a +4 rating.

This puts him on par to equal some pretty impressive numbers he posted in his final campaign of juniors in the WHL as an assistant captain with Kamloops Blazers. He had 37 assists in 2011/2012 and 20 in each of his previous two years.

All of this is perfect timing as the decently sized 6’2″ 205 lbs. blue liner is in the last season of his 3-year entry level deal and set to become a restricted free agent.

Original story: 11/16-14

With his status moving towards rfa, the parent club wasted little time to make sure he was signed for another year with a two-way deal.

Makes sense as he blew the lid off his previous scoring totals recording 12 goals and 23 assists in a career high 53 AHL games before losing the remainder of the season to injury. He led all blue liner points in the league before going down.

Despite all the lost time he still managed to lead the Falcons‘ defense in goals, assists and points for 2014/2015.

If the 23-year old can stay healthy, the deep draft selection may just find himself spending a significant amount of time in the NHL.

He’s easily in line for the opportunity.

08Jun

Brad Hunt(29) Edmonton Oilers

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Undrafted, soon-to-be 2nd year defenseman Brad Hunt(2) receives a 2-year 2-way entry level deal from Edmonton Oilers after a solid rookie year on an AHL contract with Chicago Wolves.

He’s small at just 5’9″ 188 lbs. but the blue liner connected for 4 goals and 29 assists in 65 games and added another goal and 3 assists in 5 playoff contests. He also played in the 2013 AHL All-Star Game and got a goal on his only shot on net to help the Western Conference to a 7-6 victory.

He first appeared in 14 games with the Wolves on an ato after completing his college career at Bemidji State University, where he showed the ability to put up points. He got his 1st pro goal and 4 assists.

The 24-year old will be in training camp and likely start the 2013/2014 campaign with their minor league affiliate Oklahoma City Barons but with continued good play should be on the short list for a call-up, look.

Original story: 7/8-13

Since inking his first major contract, he has continued to perform better with each season and received a longer stint from the parent club in 2014/2015 playing 11 NHL games and scoring his first goal (to go along with a pair of assists). He has appeared in 14 total big league contests.

Now 26-years old, scored a career high 19 AHL goals and 51 points, then added another 3 tallies and 7 helpers in 10 postseason matchups with Oklahoma City Barons in the campaign that just finished.

With a freshly signed one-year extension he should get a longer look from the Oilers.

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