NHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

03Feb

Ty Rattie(18) St. Louis Blues

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St. Louis Blues‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#32 overall) 2nd year right wing Ty Rattie(8) potted over 100 points in each of his last two seasons of juniors with Portland Winterhawks.

He won the 2012 WHL Championship with the team, went to the Finals 2011-2013, had the most playoff goals 2012-2013, most points in the 2013 postseason and named 2013 MVP.

The 6′ 192 lbs. forward continued his scoring trend as a rookie on reassignment with minor league affiliate Chicago Wolves getting most goals in the league at 31.

He looks to be on his way to another 30 goal season in the current campaign but could get slightly sidetracked as he scored his second career recall.

In a pair of games with the parent club he’s skated an average of 13 shifts for 9 minutes, had one hit, one breakup and even got in :54 of power play time but no points in two team wins.

The 21-year old could be looking at some extended time up with the injury bug bearing down on the Blues.

02Feb

Louis Domingue(35) Arizona Coyotes

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Here’s easily one of those stories that starts with “when there’s a knock on the door, you answer it”

Phoenix Coyotes‘ 5th round pick in the 2010 draft (#138 overall) 3rd year goalie Louis Domingue(35) was recalled to fill the open back up spot and he stepped right in.

The 6’3″ 210 lbs. net minder got pressed into 3rd period action to put out the fire that would become a 7-2 beating.

His play earned him the nod, probably on a coach’s hunch, to get the start in his hometown spot vs. Montreal Canadiens.

He stopped 18-20 shots, which turned out to be enough for a third period comeback to help him score his first big league win.

The 22-year old is one of those rare players to have pulled off the feat of appearing in games in three leagues, ECHL, AHL and NHL during one season.

Once again he’s splitting net minding duties for the farm team and putting up better numbers with a 8-4-1 record and a 2.40 GAA and .922 SV%.

On a two game reassignment to Gwinnett Gladiators he completely shut the door allowing only 2 goals with 1.01 GAA and .958 SV%.

In juniors he had the best save percentage of any other goaltender with a .912 mark for Quebec Remparts.

Signed through the end of 2015 he may have seen the last of the minors for the time being and may even start to compete for the number one job.

See related: 3/21-13

01Feb

David Wolf(45) Calgary Flames

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Calgary Flames‘ undrafted rookie left wing, the German-born David Wolf(45) already had 7 years of pro experience playing for teams in his home country, including 5 in the top league DEL, before signing his one-year deal.

He was reassigned to Adirondack Flames to start his first season in North America.

In 35 AHL games he’s posted 12 goals and 9 assists with a +8 rating and 4 fighting majors.

He’s tied for the team lead in scoring, 3rd overall in points and second for time in the sin bin.

The big 6’3″ 215 lbs. power forward never shies away from the rough stuff and was the most penalized player in 2011/2012.

His all around solid style and ability to connect with the score sheet earned him a recall from the parent club.

In his NHL debut he skated 16 even strength shifts for 7:27 of total ice time, was 50% on the face off dot, had 1 shot on net, 2 hits and one takeaway in a 4-2 come from behind victory.

The 25-year is getting a bit of a late start but may be at the right point of game maturation to stick.

31Jan

Barclay Goodrow(89) San Jose Sharks

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San Jose Sharks‘ undrafted rookie right wing Barclay Goodrow(89) put up almost a point-per-game in 5 seasons of development with North Bay Battalion and scored the most goals in last year’s OHL playoffs.

He managed to make the opening night roster on the big club but has yet to produce the kind of results he put up in junior hockey.

In 32 NHL games he has 3 goals and 6 assists with a -6 rating and has been a healthy scratch on numerous nights.

There’s little doubt the biggish 6’2″ 215 lbs. power forward is capable of connecting with the score sheet on a regular basis but might just need a season under his belt to start producing most frequently.

He was reassigned for a couple games to the farm team Worcester Sharks over the All-Star break to give him a wake up call and attempt to kick-start the wheels.

Although he fail to produce any points in 2 AHL games the message got through as he struck for a goal and an assist on his return.

The 21-year old is signed to a three-year entry level deal through 2017 but could be trade bait if the parent club needs some more immediate results.

30Jan

The AHL moves west

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At 3:30pm ET AHL president Dave Andrews announced the creation on a Pacific Division that will play in the Western Conference of the league starting 2015/2016.

The cities effectively losing teams are Oklahoma City Barons, which happened earlier this season, Norfolk Admirals, Glens Falls/Adirondack Flames after only one run, Worcester Sharks and rivals Manchester Monarchs.

Picking up teams will be soon to be former ECHL franchises Ontario (Los Angeles), Bakersfield (Edmonton) and Stockton (Calgary). San Diego (Anaheim) will be a new city for triple A hockey although did at one time have a Gulls, and San Jose‘s farm club will play out of the same building as the Sharks; and will likely be renamed.

It’s fairly well-thought that Manchester, Adirondack and Norfolk make announcement to join the double A league and there’s rumors racing around Worcester is exploring the options and would have the best chance at success by resurrecting the Ice Cats, while Oklahoma City may get back into the fold under their old successful Blazers‘ banner after a year on the sidelines.

This move was 100% inevitable and can easily make fiscal sense. Those west coast teams draw fairly well with their fan base of hockey lovers.

On the plus side for Eastern Conference folks, chances are Utica, Rochester, Charlotte, Hamilton and even possible Toronto enter in their rivalry picture.

The big news is the top level of minor league hockey in California has arrived.

29Jan

Ryan Murphy(7) Carolina Hurricanes

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Carolina Hurricanes‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#12 overall) defenseman Ryan Murphy(7) has made the at least 2.5 hour commute between Raleigh and minor league affiliate Charlotte Checkers so many times in his short 2-year pro career that he must be feeling like a bit of a yo-yo.

The not so big 5’11” 185 lbs. blue liner definitely has shown an ability to put up points on the scoreboard.

He was virtually a point per game performer in 4 years of OHL with Kitchener Rangers and his 17 assists in 22 AHL games nears his 19 helper mark set last season.

That is unless he stays rooted with the parent club, where he has 5 assists in 17 NHL games, only slightly off the 2 goals and 10 assists in 48 contests he put up as a rookie.

The 21-year old is signed through 2016 on a three-year entry level deal and knows he has to work his tail off to stay put.

He was recently sent back down to the farm team so he could appear in the All-Star Game.

He helped the Western Conference to a 14-12 victory with 3 assists and a +5 rating and then immediately was recalled.

28Jan

Connor Carrick(25) Hershey Bears

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Washington Capitals‘ 5th round pick in the 2012 draft (#137 overall) defenseman Connor Carrick(25) is having himself an outstanding sophomore season on reassignment with affiliate Hershey Bears.

Even though he split time with the parent club and was injured for a good amount of time in his rookie year, his totals are still well beyond what he looked to post in 2013/2014.

In 40 AHL games he has 6 goals and 21 assists but is a lowly -13 rating on a good team. His play was good enough for a replacement nod at the All-Star Game.

The not huge 5’11” 185 lbs. blue liner started with a few games in the NHL before being reassigned to the farm club but was recalled once he was ready to go again after recovering from an injury that sidelined him for a significant time.

Up with the big club he appeared in 34 games scoring his first goal and adding 5 assists but was a -9 plus/minus.

The 20-year old took a bit of an unlikely, quick route to turning pro. Upon being selected after his second season in the USHL he went on to only one campaign with Plymouth Whalers of the OHL before signing his 3-year entry level deal through 2016.

He’ll definitely have to continue to play excellent hockey in the minors and take his game to the next level when he gets back up with the big club to achieve what is projected of the deep draft selection.

27Jan

Andrew Crescenzi(21) Manchester Monarchs

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Undrafted 3rd year, large but low-scoring center Andrew Crescenzi(21) was involved in a mid-season deal that sent him from Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system to Los Angeles Kings, where they like their forwards big.

Skating in only 14 AHL games with Manchester Monarchs, he found himself to be a healthy scratch on more occasions than he likely considered.

The 6’5″ 208 lbs. pivot enters his contract season and has to be thinking it’s high time to make an impression.

Although it’s a modest boost, in 31 games he’s already tied his 2 goal mark and has new career highs with 3 assists and 5 points with half the regular season remaining.

He’s also firing the puck on net with much more frequency and is asserting his size into play.

The only 22-year old was hardly a hefty scorer in three years in the OHL with Kitchener Rangers but did put up almost a point-per-game in his final campaign before turning pro.

He’ll have to connect with the score sheet with more frequency to be given a qualifying offer to stay in the system but it’s still a long climb for the big man.

26Jan

Yanni Gourde(37) Syracuse Crunch

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Undrafted 3rd year left wing Yanni Gourde(37) is poised to set new career highs in all scoring categories this season.

He’s already eclipsed his goals total from last year with 15 in 41 AHL games with Syracuse Crunch, while holding a +14 rating.

It’s very likely that the small 5’9″ 168 lbs. forward will also reach new bests for points and assists in his first full year as a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect.

He was signed to a two-year two-way entry level contract after putting up point-per-game numbers on a pto with Worcester Sharks after being loaned from Kalamazoo Wings.

He had 15 goals and 19 assists in 30 ECHL at the time of his recall.

Looking for an NHL deal, it didn’t materialize with their parent club San Jose Sharks, so he smartly went elsewhere and found it.

25Jan

Shawn Szydlowski (27)

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4th year undrafted right wing Shawn Szydlowski(27) is having a career season in his second campaign with Fort Wayne Komets, his first under contract with the team.

He has 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 35 ECHL games with a +19 rating.

His totals are good enough for 5th overall points in the league but possibly the most tell-tale stat about his sudden surge is his 117 shots on net, which is only three off his totals from last year.

The 6′ 208 lbs. forward was originally under a 3-year entry level deal with Buffalo Sabres but after his rookie year with Rochester Americans was mostly reassigned down.

He has always put up respectable numbers but it was in the 2014 Kelly Cup Playoffs where he really started to shine getting 6 goals and 5 assists in 11 games with a +4 plus/minus.

Not being offered a qualifying offer to spend another year under NHL contract, he decided to stay in Indiana and is really starting to take off.

His play got notice from Binghamton Senators, who signed him to a pto.

In 3 AHL he failed to register a point but was played somewhat sparingly.