NHL | CollegeHockeyPlayers

11Dec

Patrick Wellar(33) Hershey Bears

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9th year veteran defenseman has skated in his last five seasons with Hershey Bears or their ECHL affiliate.

He was originally a Washington Capitals‘ 3rd round pick in the 2002 draft (#77 overall) but didn’t start playing within their organization until 2009. He has yet to sign an NHL contract with any team.

The 29-year old d-man won the Kelly Cup with South Carolina Stingrays in 2009 and Calder Cup in 2010 with Hershey as he split time during both seasons playing games for each team.

He’s a big presence out on the ice at 6’3″ 231 lbs. but could utilize all his size a bit more effectively knocking down opposing players that dare to stand around in front of his net putting condiments on their sandwich as they wait for scoring chances.

For the first time in a couple of seasons he was sent down to skate 18 games with new affiliate Reading Royals before recently getting called back up.

It would be little surprise to see him get his name on the Kelly Cup a second time, as the Royals have the kind of team that could very well go the distance.

He’s played a career 282 AHL regular and postseason contests and 360 in the ECHL.

10Dec

Zac Rinaldo(26) Adirondack Phantoms

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Philadelphia Flyers‘ 6th round pick in the 2008 draft (#178 overall), 3rd year center Zac Rinaldo(26) played his first NHL games with the team in the playoffs of his rookie season.

He was called up from minor league affiliate Adirondack Phantoms to participate in practices and somewhat unexpectedly earned the nod to appear in some postseason action.

The 5’11” 180 lbs. pugilist “fought” his way onto the Flyers‘ opening night roster to start his sophomore season and ended the year skating in 66 games earning his first pair of NHL goals and adding 7 assists to his point total.

He was first in penalty minutes on the Flyers and Phantoms in his two campaigns with the teams and 2nd overall in both leagues.

In 22 AHL games so far in 2012/2013, the last season of his three-year entry level deal, he has two goals and two assists but has turned a bit of a new leaf as he’s only registered 66 pims.

The 22-year old will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Look for him to score himself a qualifying offer to stick with the organization.

09Dec

Brian Flynn (10)

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Buffalo Sabres‘ undrafted rookie right wing Brian Flynn(10) signed a very conservative one-year entry level contract with the team following an NCAA college career that saw him as basically a point per game player.

Starting on reassignment with their affiliate Rochester Americans, while the NHL goes on prolonged lunch break, the 6’1″ 185 lbs. forward is continuing in the pro ranks where he left off. In 20 AHL games he’s well in front of all first year players with 9 goals and 8 assists and is 3rd overall in team scoring, ahead of a roster that is stacked with proven talent. His totals also put him in the top 10 of rookie point totals thus far.

If he stays on this pace, the Sabres would be wise to extend his contract for at least a couple more seasons as he’ll probably fill out that still undersized frame and looks to become a nice power forward pick-up with plenty of scoring punch.

08Dec

Jakob Silfverberg(33) Binghamton Senators

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Ottawa Senators‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#39 overall), Swedish-born right wing Jakob Silfverberg(33) is leading their AHL affiliate Binghamton in scoring through the first quarter of the 2012/2013 season with 6 goals and 8 assists in 19 games played. He’s also a +3 plus/minus on a team that is climbing to the top of league standings after a so-so start.

Signed to a 3-year entry level contract the 6′ 197 lbs. forward would have competed for and likely played in the NHL for his rookie season, if the lockout didn’t derail that possibility.

The 22-year old has always connected on the scoresheet in his home country and is continuing that trend in the North American pro ranks.

07Dec

Dmitry Orlov(28) Hershey Bears

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Washington Capitals‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#55 overall), Russian-born defenseman Dmitry Orlov(28) had every reason to believe the first 15 games he spent last season with their affiliate Hershey Bears would be his last in the minors.

In 60 NHL games in what turned into his rookie campaign he scored 3 goals and added another 16 assists and was reliable in his own zone, ending 2011/2012 with a +1 plus/minus.

At 6′ 205 lbs., he is a sturdy frame with offensive upsides that are already pretty well-developed for his young age.

With the NHL lockout in full effect, the 21-year is back in Chocolatetown guarding the blue line at the Giant Center.

He picks up where he left off on the scoresheet with a goal and 8 assists in 18 games. In 52 AHL games over three seasons he has 7 goals and 20 assists.

He’s signed with the club through 2014. 2-year extension city is written all over this one.

06Dec

Kelsey Wilson(11) Nottingham Panthers

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After starting 2012/2013 on a training camp invite from Providence Bruins, undrafted 7th year veteran left wing Kelsey Wilson(11) was released by the team before the regular season got underway.

From there he bounced from coast-to-coast in the ECHL with San Francisco Bulls then Trenton Titans, his first appearances in the league, before finally settling on a contract overseas to join Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL.

He’s skated in 395 total AHL games (mostly with Milwaukee Admirals), while signed to a somewhat undocumented 3-year entry level deal with Nashville Predators. After his contract was up he left North American hockey for a year to play in Austria, where he won the Erste Band Liga with EC Salzburg.

Upon returning he accepted his qualifying offer to rejoin the Preds‘ organization and was once again reassigned to their affiliate, Milwaukee. But his point production seemed to have ticked down a notch until the postseason, where he struck for almost a point-per-game.

In 2011/2012, the feisty 6’1″ 209 lbs. forward played the full campaign with eventual Calder Cup finalists Toronto Marlies although he appeared in only one playoff game.

At 26-years old, he’s likely still got plenty left in the tank and will probably do well with his abilities in the English pro league but will need to find it from within if he wants to climb back up the ranks in North America.

05Dec

Zach Redmond (24)

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St. John’s IceCaps‘ sophomore defenseman Zach Redmond(24) is in the final year of his 2-year entry level deal with parent club Winnipeg Jets.

He was originally an Atlanta Thrashers‘ 7th round pick in the 2008 draft (#184 overall).

The 24-year old is on pace to have a career year for goals scored, having already potted 6 in 22 games.

He finished his rookie season with 8 tallies and 23 assists, which he doesn’t look to beat with only 3 helpers so far in 2012/2013.

There’s always room for him to come alive moving the puck though.

Another area he looks to post a career high is in penalty minutes.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. d-man has 28 at this early point in the season.

He was only tagged for 33 pims in 72 games in 2011/2012, so he’s increasing the aggressive effort.

He becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the regular season but look for the Jets to qualify him for another shot.

04Dec

Riku Helenius(31) Syracuse Crunch

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Tampa Bay Lightning 1st round pick in the 2006 draft (#15 overall), Finnish goaltender Riku Helenius(31) has already had quite the ride through North American pro leagues and Europe in his 5-year playing career.

In his rookie campaign he saw 7 minutes of NHL game action, 25 appearances in the AHL with then affiliate Norfolk Admirals and 11 contests with three different ECHL teams.

Entering his sophomore season he started with Norfolk but after a dozen games was reassigned to the top league in Sweden, where he stayed through the next year while still under he 3-year entry level contract.

For 2011/2012 the decision was made for him to join JYP Jyvaskyla in his home country’s SM-liiga, where he won the National Championship with the team and posted his most impressive numbers yet over the course of the regular season and in the playoffs.

The now 24-year old, 6’3″ 211 lbs. netminder was wooed back to the United States to compete for a job in the show. But due to the NHL lockout the first season of that 2-year deal (the 2nd is a one-way contract) may be spent entirely with the Lightning‘s new minor league affiliate, Syracuse Crunch. The same team that won the 2012 Calder Cup as Norfolk Admirals.

In 8 AHL starts, he’s off to an ok start with a 5-2 record on a very good team but has a not so great 3.04 GAA and .878 SV%. He may heat up as the 2012/2013 rolls on but he’s already mixed it up in a goalie fight early in his time back.

03Dec

Oliver Ekman-Larsson(23)

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 1st round pick in the 2009 (#6 overall), Swedish-born defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson(23) is in the final season of his three year entry level deal.

He played the full 82-game slate last season in the NHL picking up career highs in goals, assists and points (13-19-32) and added another goal and three assists in an outstanding playoff effort.

In his rookie season he did ride the plane a bit on the up and down reassignments between the Coyotes and then affiliate San Antonio Rampage but started his first campaign in the show and did fairly well in 63 combined games in both leagues.

At 6’2″ 190 lbs. he doesn’t seem like the biggest threat out there physically but is unafraid to throw his body around when needed, although he’s definitely looked at as more of a scoring, puck-moving blue liner that can fire it into the back of the net as good as he can sending that first pass up the ice to rushing forwards or feeding a skater in the offensive zone for a goal.

In 13 AHL games with Portland Pirates on reassignment as the NHL continues to figure out how to move forward, he’s easily a point per game player with 5 goals and 8 assists, and is a nice +5 plus/minus.

He’s still only 21-years old and it should be a no-brainer for Phoenix to extend his contract for at least a couple more seasons.

02Dec

Brett Connolly(28) Syracuse Crunch

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Tampa Bay Lightning 1st round pick in the 2010 draft (#6 overall), right wing Brett Connolly(28) skated the entirety of his rookie campaign as a 19-year old in the NHL. He picked up 4 goals and 11 assists in 68 games but was a bit of a lowly -9 plus/minus.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal that extends through 2014, the 6’2 200 lbs. forward finds himself playing his first games in the minors with new affiliate Syracuse Crunch, which adds even more depth to the team that won the Calder Cup Championship (as Norfolk Admirals) last season.

He’s off to a quick start, already racking up 7 goals and 10 assists in 18 contests, while the Crunch continue the pace that brought them to the top of the league and see them tied for first place in the Eastern Conference.

There’s little doubt of his tough playing style that opens up room for scoring chances, which he’ll bury 9 times out of 10, and on the farm he’s a bit of a skater on another level and has the disposition that is more mature than his years on earth.