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Category: NHL

30Mar

Mark McNeill(28) Rockford IceHogs

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Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#18 overall) 2nd year center Mark McNeill(28) is on his way to new career highs in scoring with minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs.

He had 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in a full slate of 76 AHL games as a rookie and has already tied his goals mark and is only one off his helpers total in only 53 appearances so far.

Chosen as a replacement to appear in the 2015 All-Star game, he paced the Western Conference 14-12 win with a hat trick.

The pretty sturdily sized 6’2″ 218 lbs. power forward was basically a scoring machine in his last three seasons of junior hockey with Prince Albert Raiders scoring just over a point-per-game.

He led the team in scoring as team captain in his fourth and final year.

Signed through 2015/2016, he’s on a three-year entry level deal.

The 22-year old has yet to realize a recall on a parent club with so much depth and maybe would have scored the dream of an NHL early in the current campaign, if he hadn’t been downed by a blazing puck to the knee that had him sit for a stretch.

27Mar

Eric Selleck(25) Portland Pirates

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Portland Pirates‘ 5th year left wing Eric Selleck(25) plays an almost unassuming tough guy style.

He’s had 12 fighting majors in 63 AHL games but also has a career tying 6 goals and best 13 assists with a +3 rating and a likely to increase 164 penalty minutes.

At 6’2″ 220 lbs. he’s definitely big enough to hold his own against just about anyone but will probably not eclipse the 200+ minutes he put up in his first two seasons.

He had a battler 28 bouts as a rookie a personal best/worst 214 minutes in the box.

After a couple of seasons putting up points at SUNY-Oswego, Florida Panthers signed the unrestricted free agent to a 2-year entry level deal and extended it twice before trading him in a farm squad deal to St. Louis Blues.

He managed to get himself a single NHL recall from the Panthers and got tossed in his debut for instigating a fight that caused him to wobble off ice.

He would remain up with the team but waited over another month for his next appearance, in which he put up his first point, an assist.

Without a contract for 2014/2015, he signed a minor league contract and has found himself a not so bad possibly temporary home in Maine.

24Mar

Rocco Grimaldi(9) San Antonio Rampage

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Florida Panthers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#33 overall), tiny 5’6″ 160 lbs. rookie center Rocco Grimaldi(9) made hockey history when he skated a late morning tilt with minor league affiliate San Antonio Rampage and then was boarding a plane before the shootout end, so he could join the parent club for their night game in Los Angeles.

He plays an energized game and scored in his last NHL appearance with the big club before being sent back down.

As a skater that knows his size is a factor, he doesn’t let it stand in his way and has no problem answering questions with a sense of humor about being small, as he’s quite the scoring machine with 11 goals, 27 assists and a +11 rating in 55 AHL games.

He played three years as University Of Dakota winning the 2012 NCAA/WCHA Championship after two seasons in the USHL and US Development Program, where he put up some outstanding numbers showing scouts he could compete.

The still young 22-year old signed to an entry level deal through 2017 will always be proving his game but in all likelihood has the will-power to succeed at the highest level.

23Mar

Marcus Granlund(60) Calgary Flames

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Calgary Flames‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#45 overall) Finnish-born, 2nd year center Marcus Granlund(60) has been on a roller coaster ride between the parent club and farm team Adirondack Flames having been recalled and reassigned 8 times this season.

He puts up points with ease in the minors striking for 9 goals and 8 assists in 21 AHL games, and was equal to the task as a rookie with 25 tallies and 21 helpers in 52 contests.

The 5’11” 185 lbs. forward is a small-ish sized great skater with amazing stick handling abilities but could be stronger on the puck, which will likely improve as he does play with a good deal of gusto.

In 40 NHL games he has 5 goals and 9 assists with a -2 rating in the current campaign and is being pushed to continue to climb higher. Appearing in his first 7 games in late 2014, he got his first goal and 2 assists.

He is one of many European skaters that come to North American pro hockey after already skating two full seasons, 99 appearances in his home country’s top league SM-liiga with HIFK.

As a first year player he led the league in goals, assists and points with 15-19-34.

The 21-year old definitely has plenty of potential.

Signed through 2015/2016, he just needs to put it on display with more frequency in the show.

21Mar

Andre Burakovsky(15) Hershey Bears

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Washington Capitals‘ 1st round pick in the 2013 draft (#23 overall) Austria-born rookie center Andre’ Burakovsky(15) may be spending most of his playing time with affiliate Hershey Bears heading down the stretch towards the postseason.

Although he’s skated in 50 games with the parent club, scored his first NHL in his debut and has a very decent 9 goals and 13 assists with a +12 rating, he’s also been a healthy scratch on many occasions as he develops.

The fairly big 6’3″ 198 lbs. power forward may be mostly squeezed out of his spot with the big club but considering he doesn’t have to go through waivers and seems to excel once reinserted into the lineup is likely first on the list to go back up.

He already had one full season’s experience in Sweden’s tier two Allsvenskan with Malmo (where he played most of his junior hockey) and even played 10 games with the team in 2011/2012 as a 16/17-year old, when he signed his entry level deal that extends through 2017.

Although his contract was set, it was decided to send him to Erie Otters much against his will to make sure their prospect was ready.

Scoring 41 goals and 47 assists in 57 OHL games he easily proved he was too skilled to be playing at the junior level.

The 20-year old posted his first AHL goal, an overtime game-winner, in his 6th game to go along with his one assist but will need to continue to dig hard to prove he’s ready for prime time.

20Mar

Andrew Campbell(45) Arizona Coyotes

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Arizona Coyotes‘ 7th year defenseman Andrew Campbell(45) is finding his place in the NHL.

He’s been up with the parent club for 22 games and looks to be holding his spot.

The former Los Angeles Kings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2008 draft (#74 overall) was in the prospect system for the previous six seasons skating 414 regular season games and 35 more in the playoffs with AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

Never one to excel on putting the puck in the net or feeding the man for a goal, he’s always there to play an absolutely in your face, bruising style without taking many penalty minutes, the 6’4″ 208 lbs. blue liner has also been a plus player at +26.

He got into three games with the Kings last year during the final year of his 2-year extension but as an unrestricted free agent he went looking for more time; and found it.

Although the now 27-year old still doesn’t connect on the score sheet with only one assist, he plays a good 20+ minutes a game for a team that struggles to win, survive.

Set to become unrestricted once again, it is probably a good bet the former Portland Pirates‘ assistant captain will agree on another year to continue the rebuild.

19Mar

Matt Dumba(55) Minnesota Wild

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Minnesota Wild 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (#7 overall) defenseman Matt Dumba(55) has been on a wild ride to start his pro career but is starting to settle nicely now.

He started in 2013 with then affiliate Houston Aeros skating in three regular season contests and 5 in the playoffs.

The very tough, hard hitting 6′ 189 lbs. d-man with the rocket blast from the point made his NHL debut out of training camp and played 13 games on the roster until he was reassigned to join the Canadian National Team at the WJC, then subsequently sent back for his final year of junior hockey with Portland Winterhawks.

Once again he made the squad to start 2014/2015 but his game was a bit slow to materialize, so he was sent down to farm team Iowa Wild, where he spent the next six weeks skating hard, proving his abilities were ready to step up.

He was recalled but returned to the minors once again for a shorter stint.

In 20 AHL appearances he ended up getting 5 goals and 9 assists with a +2 rating and 39 shots on net and that was probably the last time he’ll be on the bus heading to games.

17Mar

Corey Potter(28) Calgary Flames

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Almost a month after his 2nd recall from affiliate Adirondack Flames, Calgary Flames‘ 9th year defenseman Corey Potter(28) finally got into a couple of games to extend his streak of big league appearances to seven seasons in a row.

In 125 NHL big league contests, for two seasons with Edmonton Oilers he appeared in games only at the highest level and has skated the bulk of his games with the Canadian club (111).

Otherwise, he’s had a few nods here and there: from draft team (4th round in 2003, #122 overall) New York Rangers over a couple of seasons, 1 with Pittsburgh Penguins and most recently 3 looks from Boston Bruins after being grabbed off waivers.

The 6’3″ 205 lbs. has played 352 AHL games scoring a modest 28 goals and 125 assists but is an absolute mammoth of on ice accountability with an overall +97 rating.

At 31-years old he still has some more seasons left in the tank but it’s a bit of a wonder if he gets another major contract or plays out his time in the minors mentoring prospects and heads into coaching when it’s time to finally hang up the skates.

See related: 3/28-11

14Mar

Nic Dowd(26) Manchester Monarchs

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Los Angeles Kings‘ 7th round pick in the 2009 draft rookie center Nic Dowd(26) was selected after his well-played 1st year of US junior hockey in the NAHL with Wenatchee Wild.

He virtually mirrored his debut performance in his next season of USHL with Indiana Ice before heading off to St. Cloud State University.

It took the 6’2″ 196 lbs. forward a couple of years to pick up the pace but by his last two campaigns, serving as team captain as a senior, he was back up to point-per-game production.

For his efforts he was named a Hobey Baker Award finalist.

Upon completion of his college playing days, he signed a one-year entry level deal and was assigned immediately to join affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

In 7 AHL games he posted three assists and added his first pro goal in 4 postseason contests.

After a strong showing in training camp he was one of the final cuts to be sent down and got right to work. Through 58 games he has 5 goals and a healthy 23 helpers.

The 24-year old from the unlikely hockey home of Huntsville, AL leads his team in rookie scoring with 28 points and assists.

He still awaits his first NHL recall but his tenacious playing style and good size probably put him in line sooner than later.

12Mar

Charles Hudon(10) Hamilton Bulldogs

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Montreal Canadiens‘ 5th round pick in the 2012 draft (#122 overall) small-ish, first year center Charles Hudon(10) is an absolute f&ing rocket on skates.

The 5’10” 184 lbs. forward leads AHL rookie scoring with 51 points and his 37 assists are first with a +11 rating.

The former junior hockey 1st round selection was a scoring machine through four years of QMJHL mostly with Chicoutimi Sangueneens averaging 1.16 points per appearance (104-169-273) in 235 games.

He leads Hamilton Bulldogs with his point totals and helpers too.

In 2013 at the end of his playoff run, right before he inked a three-year entry level deal, signed an ato to join their minor league affiliate for the rest of the regular season.

He managed to play in 9 games and got his first pro goal and a couple of assists.

The next season he would be in the parent club’s training camps but when released it was ultimately decided that one more season in juniors would help the youngster continue to develop.

Even though he’s yet to realize an NHL recall he can’t be far off and this is one spark plug that should be able to contribute right away.

The still only 20-year old was his team’s representative at the 2015 AHL All-Star Game and only had a hat trick and an assist to help lead the Western Conference to a 14-12 win and nabbed co-mvp of the game.

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