NHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

31May

Rhett Rakhshani(10) Linkoping

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Rhett Rakhshani(10) is in the second year of his 3-year entry level contract with New York Islanders after being selected in the 4th round of the 2006 draft (#100 overall).

He suffered a concussion in NHL preseason action that derailed the start of the 2011/2012 season but has responded nicely since rejoining Bridgeport Sound Tigers‘ lineup. In 27 games he has 9 goals and 16 assists with a remarkable +18 plus/minus (tied for 6th in the league).

Recently recalled, he has played 5 games with the Islanders averaging roughly 10 minutes of ice time per night but in 7 appearances between the last two seasons he has yet to register a point.

He looks to be on the block for reassignment to the AHL.

Original entry 2/12-12.

The now 27-year old will lace up the skates for his third SHL team, initially leaving North American pro hockey in 2012 to join HV71.

After connecting for 14 goals and 25 assists in 52 games he left to skate for Vaxjo Lakers, where he posted almost identical numbers from his first campaign overseas.

His stats dipped to half the offense production during the regular season in his second year with the Lakers but he exploded in the playoffs with 8 goals and 4 assists helping them win the 2015 SHL Championship.

For 2015/2016 he moves on to sign with Linkoping

30May

Anton Blidh (64)

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Boston Bruins‘ 6th round pick in the 2013 draft (#180 overall) Swedish-born left wing Anton Blidh(64) has played the last pair of seasons professionally in the SHL with Frolunda for all of last year and split 2013/2014 with Karlskrona in tier 2 Allsvenskan.

In 83 combined games he’s scored 6 goals and 6 assists in the two leagues.

He played his entire juniors career in Sweden.

The 6’1″ 192 lbs. forward that plays with a ton of spunk has decided now is the time to try his hand at North American hockey signing his three-year entry level deal.

The thinking seems to be that he will start with affiliate Providence Bruins but this 20-year skates with enough fire that he may give the parent club something to consider out of training camp.

He’s been in two early summer development camps and has definitely garnered attention for his style of play.

The 20-year is a bit of a deep selection but could surprise early.

30May

Francis Lemieux(20) Frisk Asker

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After 6 years of trying but seeing diminishing totals in the AHL to scoring outstanding numbers in the ECHL, Francis Lemieux(20), last seen in North America playing for Connecticut Whale, will try his hand at German 2nd tier league DEL2, as he signed on to play with Heilbronner Falken.

He moved on after only one season to play in Austria for the next couple campaigns before joining Ajoie of the NLB but will move countries once again to skate for Frisk Asker in Norway in 2015/2016.

It will be his 11th pro year.

Original story date: 7/22-11

28May

Jordan Szwarz (10)

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Arizona Coyotes‘ 4th round pick in 2009 draft (#97 overall) right wing Jordan Szwarz(10) signed a 2-year 2-way contract when his entry level deal was expiring at the end of 2013/2014.

He skated in his first 23 NHL games during the next season scoring his first three goals with no assists and a -6 rating as a mostly fourth line energy player.

The 5’11” 200 lbs. forward was only recalled once late in 2014/2015 and appeared in 9 games adding another tally to his totals.

He is considered a team leader that plays a hard checking, energetic style.

He was named captain in his final year of juniors with Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, took on the role of assistant captain in his sophomore year with affiliate Portland Pirates and led them in his third campaign.

The 24-year old has always had decent campaigns in the AHL scoring 35 goals and 54 assists in 191 games with a +11 rating and seems to be on the cusp of his first full year up with the big club.

19May

Erik Burgdoerfer (32)

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Heading into his 6th season, undrafted defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer(32) re-signed for a second stint with Hershey Bears.

The 6’1″ 209 lbs. mostly stay-at-home, hard-hitting blue liner spent all but three early season games in the AHL skating 58 games, scoring a goal and 6 assists with a +8 rating and got another helper in 10 Calder Cup Playoff contests.

He started his pro career playing four years in the ECHL with Bakersfield Condors elevating his game with each campaign.

In 2013/2014 he scored a high 11 goals and 22 points and appeared in 16 Kelly Cup Playoff match-ups, adding another tally and 5 assists.

At 26-years old he played 4 seasons at RPI and could be a bit of a late bloomer but he’s easily always been a tough force to play against and will likely take his game to the next level as he plants his feet in Chocolatetown.

He was also a Washington Capitals‘ training camp invite and should easily get another look by the parent club.

It’s also worth noting he played under Bears‘ coach Troy Mann in his one season revitalizing the Condors.

14May

Chris Mueller (19)

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New York Rangers‘ undrafted 7th year right wing Chris Mueller(19) is clutch in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

He scored the game-winning goal shorthanded in overtime to give minor league affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack the 3-2 series lead and has an incredible 3 game-tying tallies to send postseason contests into an extra session.

The not exactly huge 5’11” 210 lbs. veteran forward also had an OT victory score when he won the 2014 Championship with Texas Stars and so far has a team leading 5 goals and 4 assists in 11 AHL playoff games.

He’s very close to eclipsing his point mark of 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 19 games from last season’s title run.

The 29-year old always puts up good numbers in the regular season and plays a smart game. He also won the 2007 NCAA Championship when he was with Michigan State University, so is a two-time champ.

He started 2014/2015 with the farm team but was recalled by the parent club and had a goal and an assist in 7 games before being reassigned.

He’s skated in 53 NHL games but has failed to stick, although seems like he could do well if given the opportunity as a 3rd or 4th line energy guy with the experience in his game that’s come through age.

12May

Niklas Svedberg(72) Salavat Yulaev UFA

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Undrafted, Swedish-born rookie goaltender Niklas Svedberg(1) signed a 2-year entry level deal with Boston Bruins that takes him through 2014 with the organization.

He was inked to a contract to join the team after posting phenomenal numbers through successive seasons in his home country’s top league, SHL.

The 23-year old was invited to participate in the Boston’s prospect camp this past summer and excelled there as well.

At 6’1″ 176 lbs., he isn’t exactly the biggest guy between the pipes but moves very neatly and always seems to be in the right position to make the save when called upon.

He’s off to a heck of a start in Providence compiling a 12-5 record through 19 appearances with a 2.50 GAA and .919 SV%, which is helping keep his team in the running for top spot in the AHL Atlantic Division.

The Swede is definitely a bright light for the Bruins‘ future in net.

Original story: 1/2-13.

On June 23, 2014 he signed a one-year, one-way contract to become the backup net minder for the Bruins.

He filled that role through the 2014/2015 season but the 25-year old only played in 17 of a possible 82 game schedule on an unbalanced team that failed to make the playoffs.

His record of 7-5-1 with a 2.33 GAA and .918 SV% were decent marks but at the conclusion of the regular season it didn’t turn out as the restricted free agent expected so he’s decided to pursue his game elsewhere signing a deal with Salavat Yulaev UFA of the KHL.

29Apr

Christian Dvorak (18)

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Arizona Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft (#58 overall) center Christian Dvorak(18) wasted little time signing his three-year entry level deal after one full season of juniors with London Knights.

It was his second campaign but he was sidelined for the latter half of his first year after tearing an ACL.

The 6′ 190 lbs. forward returned ready to go, was named assistant captain and managed to connect for 41 goals and 68 assists for 109 points in 66 OHL games with a +33 rating.

After inking his contract, he was reassigned to start his pro career with affiliate Portland Pirates.

He got right to work scoring his first AHL goal and added an assist in his second game before readying for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The 19-year old has lots of speed and abilities to find the open spots on the ice for scoring chances and isn’t afraid to crash the net and mix it up in the corners.

He has a good chance of making the parent club out of training camp for his official 2015/2016 rookie season.

13Apr

Ryan Martindale(8) Syracuse Crunch

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Florida Panthers‘ fourth year center Ryan Martindale(8) found himself shuffled for a second year in a row from one minor league club to another. What changed this year though was when he arrived at Syracuse Crunch on loan from Panthers‘ affiliate San Antonio Rampage he exploded into a goal scoring machine.

He had 8 goals and 5 assists in 45 AHL games to start but when he switched squads he got as many tallies and one better helper in only 17 contests, almost a third less games since heading to the Eastern Conference. His 16 goals and 27 points are new career highs.

Originally an Edmonton Oilers‘ 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft (#61 overall), he played 2.5 years in their system with Oklahoma City Barons but was unable to live up to what he’d accomplished in his final three years of juniors with Oshawa Generals of the OHL. where there was a 20+ goal season, a 30+ and 2 straight campaigns with 40+ assists and almost 50 in his final run.

The 6’3″ 208 lbs. forward plays with a lot of jam and fires the puck on the net at least a couple of times each game but stays out of the penalty box. He’s mostly been a minus player but surprise he’s currently a +5.

The 24-year old is set enter his second restricted free agency but is still under contract to Florida. It would be easy to think they may pay some renewed interest now that he’s come to life.

12Apr

John Ramage (49)

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Calgary Flames‘ 4th round pick in the 2010 draft (#103 overall) 2nd year defenseman John Ramage(49) was rewarded for his career year with affiliate Adirondack Flames, where he put up a career high 3 goals and 11 assists after only getting a single assist in 50 AHL games as a rookie.

The two-time former captain of University Of Wisconsin had his best college points mark as a senior, when the Badgers won the 2013 NCAA/WCHA Championship.

The 6′ 200 lbs. blue liner is definitely considered more of a stay at home style with good accountability.

In his NHL debut he skated 25 shifts for 18:10 total ice with a somewhat surprising 4 shots on net, 2 hits, 1 play breakup and went only a -1 in a 5-1 drubbing.

The 24-year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season but will join the parents club practice squad for the playoffs and almost assuredly be qualified to stay.

His dad is Rob Ramage, who was the 1979 1st pick in the draft and played 18 years, 1044 games and won the 1989 Stanley Cup with Calgary, so this one has come full circle. Although he was selected by Colorado Rockies.