Category: NHL

03Jul

Tony DeHart(2) St. Charles Chill

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After a couple of seasons with the ECHL Stockton Thunder, including an appearance in the 2013 Kelly Cup Finals with the team, 3rd year defenseman Tony DeHart(2) is one of the first players to sign with the Central Hockey League expansion St. Charles Chill for the 2013/2014 season.

Originally a New York Islanders‘ fifth round pick in the 2010 draft (#125 overall), the 6’2″ 202 lbs. blue liner was never signed. Instead, he attended Montreal Canadiens‘ and AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs‘ training camps on an invite before being released.

He signed his first contract with Stockton as a rookie and inked an extension to return for his sophomore campaign, where he had career highs in goals, assists and points finishing the 2012/2013 season with 5-20-25 marks.

Not being so much of a stranger to putting up points, he notched 40 assists in his fourth year in juniors with Oshawa Generals and has continued to increased the number of pucks he’s put on net for scoring chances.

Joining the St. Charles‘ squad brings the 23-year old back to his home state of Missouri. He was born less than a half hour away from their home arena. u

Chances are he’ll look to impress and put up points in an effort to move back up the pro hockey ladder.

Tony DeHart

30Jun

Andrew Ference(21) Edmonton Oilers

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34-year old, 14-year veteran defenseman Andrew Ference(21) will be finding a new pro hockey home for 2013/2014 as his current team (for another couple of weeks) Boston Bruins has lots of youngsters moving up the ranks and no cap room to re-sign the small but unassumingly strong blue liner.

He was with Boston for seven seasons, starting in 2007, traded from Calgary Flames, and won a Stanley Cup with the team in 2011.

The 5’10” 194 lbs. blue liner was originally a deep Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 8th round pick in the 1997 draft (#208 overall) and spent four years in their system, including 88 in the AHL with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

He made $2.25M for his last 3-year deal and should be due a raise to upwards of $3.5-$4. for the next few seasons.

Andrew Ference

27Jun

Philippe Dupuis(19) Hamburg Freezers

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Heading into his eighth pro year, unrestricted free agent center/right wing Philippe Dupuis(19) will take his game to Germany joining Hamburg Freezers of DEL for the 2013/2014 season.

He was last spotted with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but only appeared in 34 games scoring a pair of goals with 9 assists and a -7 plus/minus. He was signed by Pittsburgh Penguins for a 1-year, two-way deal and did appear in their shortened training camp before getting waived.

The previous season he was playing on a similar contract with Toronto Maple Leafs but unfortunately put up a goose egg in 30 games.  His luck was far better with their minor league affiliate Toronto Marlies, where he put up 15 goals and 16 assists in 34 games with a +12 rating and did even better going all the way to the 2012 Calder Cup Finals. In 17 postseason games he had 4 goals and 10 assists with a +6.

In 2010/2011, the 6′ 196 lbs. forward skated almost the complete season in the NHL with Colorado Avalanche. He appeared in 74 games registering 6 goals and 11 assists.

He was originally a Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 4th round pick in the 2003 draft (#104 overall), spending a couple of seasons in their prospect system and even spent time in the ECHL with Dayton Bombers and went on a nice Kelly Cup run with the team.

It won’t be a surprise to see him become a point per game guy overseas, which he basically was throughout juniors.

Philippe Dupuis

26Jun

Joakim Andersson(18) Detroit Red Wings

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Detroit Red Wings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2007 draft (#88 overall), Swedish-born center Joakim Andersson(18) has been given a qualifying offer to stay in the team’s prospect system for a fourth season.

He originally signed a 3-year entry level deal that is up as of July 1 and is coming off a career year in the system, playing 38 NHL games, scoring 3 goals and 5 assists during the shortened lockout season and adding another tally and 5 helpers in 14 playoff games.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward was reassigned to their minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins as soon as they were eliminated, rejoining a team the 24-year old had already skated in 189 AHL games with, including 36 to start 2012/2013. He had 10 goals and 17 assists in his most recent campaign and 38 goals and 63 assists total.

As a Griffin once again, he put up another 3 goals and 5 assists on the way to a Calder Cup Championship ring.

Might very well be the last the lower league sees of this guy.

Joakim Andersson

24Jun

Andy Andreoff(12) Manchester Monarchs

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andy-andreoff

Tough as nails Los Angeles Kings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft (#80 overall), left wing Andy Andreoff(12) had a good rookie season with 13 goals and 13 assists in 69 games for AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

He also accrued a healthy 111 penalty minutes and at 6’1″ 217 lbs. was always a hard-nosed customer when challenged.

He also seemed to take his game to the next level come playoff hockey time, as he has connected for a pair of goals and three assists in 8 postseason contests over a couple of Calder Cup Playoff rounds.

The 22-year old signed a three-year entry level deal that kicked in while he was still playing in juniors with Oshawa Generals and is set to become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2013/2014 campaign.

He has yet to receive his first official NHL recall but joined the parent club as part of the “black aces” practice squad for the last couple of playoff runs, including the Kings’ 2012 Stanley Cup win.

Bets are on that he scores that recall in the upcoming season.

22Jun

Brodie Reid (51)

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Undrafted, third year right wing Brodie Reid(51) signs to a one-year contract extension with San Jose Sharks for 2013/2014.

He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent after initially playing under a two-year entry level deal.

Despite being sidelined for half of last season with injuries, he still scored 10 goals and 11 assists in 34 AHL games with affiliate Worcester Sharks.

That amount almost eclipsed his rookie year totals of 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 66 contests.

At 6’2 195 lbs. he doesn’t exactly have huge power forward size but always plays that style of a game and gives it 110% on the ice.

If he can stay healthy there’s no reason to believe the 23-year old can’t put up 20/20 numbers.

With those kind of numbers, he’d be a shoe in for his first NHL recall.

See related: 11/6-11

Brodie Reid

19Jun

Tomas Tatar(27) Grand Rapids Griffins

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tomas-tatar

Detroit Red Wings‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#60 overall), Slovakian-born left wing Tomas Tatar(27) was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player in the 2013 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs for his part in Grand Rapid Griffins‘ championship win.

His 16 goals were a postseason best and he finished tied for second in scoring with 21 points.

He started the lockout season back home with SHK 37 Piestany until he was returned to the AHL to keep him closer to the parent club.

He pocketed a swift 5 goals and 5 assists before he returned.

Within the first couple of weeks of the NHL reconvening the small-ish 5’10” 185 lbs. forward was recalled and playing consistently in the show.

In 18 games in the shortened season, he proved his abilities to compete with 4 goals and 3 assists before being sent back down.

He was recalled and reassigned numerous times as a rookie but never appeared in a game until his sophomore season, when he notched a first big league goal in 9 appearances.

The still only 22-year old with four years of North American pro hockey playing experience has another campaign left on his 3-year entry level deal (two seasons of slides due to his young age) and will likely find himself with a full-time role in the show for 2013/2014.

18Jun

Andrej Sustr (2)

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Andre-Sustra2

6’8″ 225 lbs. Czech Republic-born, undrafted defensive tower Andrej Sustr(2) signed a two-year entry level deal with Tampa Bay Lightning that included the remainder of 2012/2013 after deciding to turn pro at the conclusion of his third season at University Of Nebraska-Omaha.

He appeared in a pair of NHL games without registering a point while skating an average of 10 minutes in each contest and had a couple of shots of goal and a +1 rating before being reassigned to their AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch to finish off the regular season.

In 8 games, he scored his first 2 pro goals and added an assist.

The 22-year old has skated in all 17 Calder Cup Playoff games with the team, adding another goal and 5 assists to his totals while going a rock steady +9 plus/minus and showing a willingness to fire pucks on the net and mix it up when the situation calls for it.

With a bit more grit he will easily develop into a feared blue liner much like another extremely large, former countryman. Very possibly this could be his only stop in the minors.

16Jun

Josh Lunden(42) St. John’s IceCaps

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Third year, undrafted left wing Josh Lunden(42) spent most of last season, first in training camp, then on a pair of pto’s with St. John’s IceCaps. In 31 games, he notched 8 goals and 10 assists playing mostly energy line roles.

In his sophomore campaign he was recalled for AHL games by three different times.

He has been signed for the last two seasons with Las Vegas Wranglers. He also appeared with the team during his rookie season, reassigned while under a one-year entry level contract with Phoenix Coyotes.

The 6’2″ 202 lbs. forward also participated in their 2010 training camp.

In 79 ECHL games he’s pocketed a nifty 33 goals and 36 helpers.

The 27-year old earned a well-deserved one-year contract with the IceCaps for 2013/2014, where he should be able to continue to step up his game.

Josh Lunden1