Category: Profile

Greg-Carey2

Springfield Falcons‘ 2nd year left wing Greg Carey(12) is having an outstanding breakout season.

He’s already eclipsed scoring marks from his rookie campaign with 3 goals, 6 assists for 9 points and a +4 rating.

The 5’10” 204 lbs. undrafted forward looks much bigger than his stats might suggest and plays an all out checking style game, while always heading to the net for offensive chances.

Signed to a 1-year entry level deal by Arizona Coyotes he split time in his first campaign between then affiliate Portland Pirates and Atlanta Gladiators.

He was close to a point-per-game guy in the ECHL, picking up where he left off after four years of college hockey at St. Lawrence University.

Left unqualified going into 2015/2016, he was a training camp invite to Coyotes‘ camp and was on the list to be reassigned to new farm club Springfield, although he was an unrestricted free agent.

He signed a one-year AHL deal and although he had a bit of a bumpy start has found himself with opportunities that he’s answered and has performed well on the team’s first line.

The 25-year old may just play himself into a new big league contract but will have to keep pace.

Nathan-Oystrick-1024x682

10th year, veteran defenseman Nathan Oystrick(74) returned last season from a pair of years playing for HC Lev Praha putting up some decent numbers and was even an assistant captain in 2013/2014 with a deep playoff run that had him score 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in 22 KHL games.

Signing a month into the 2014/2015 campaign on a pto with Springfield Falcons, he only appeared in 12 AHL games before being released a few months later.

The 6′ 205 lbs. blue liner had some time to think about his next pro hockey pursuit and agreed quickly in the off-season to a one-year deal with Elmira Jackals and become the team captain/assistant coach.

He made a good decision and looks to be fitting in nicely with his new role.

It’s his first time in the ECHL and he already has a goal and 8 assists in 13 games.

At 32-years old he may decide to hang up the skates next season (after playing his 500th pro game) but our bet is he’s doing so well and likes it where he is, so he may stay and play at least one more year before heading behind the bench.

mike-little2

Undrafted 3rd year defenseman Mike Little(5) gets traded to Florida Everblades from Stockton Thunder right before the start of the 2013/2014 season.

In 134 ECHL games with the team he scored 18 goals and 57 assists with a +19 rating. He also has tallied another 9 assists in 31 postseason contests and skated in all 23 2013 Kelly Cup games against the ultimate champion Reading Royals, ironically the team he started his pro career with in 2011 after four years of college hockey at American International.

The change of scenery and switch to the Eastern Conference may continue to elevate the small 5’9″ but wide 195 lbs. blue liner defend his zone.

The soon-to-be 26 year old could be just starting to catch his stride. We expect to see career highs this season.

Original story: 9/8-13

In the 2013/2014 he would be limited to just 44 ECHL games with his new team but still put up 4 goals and 18 assist with a +10 rating.

He also appeared in his first three AHL games with Norfolk Admirals but didn’t register a point.

Re-signing for another full campaign with Florida Everblades for 2014/2015, he certainly popped the lid off his previous scoring totals with a new career high 13 goals, 41 assists and 54 points with a mammoth +46 rating, which tied him for the league lead.

He received three call-ups last season (2 with Charlotte Checkers and one for Springfield Falcons). He posted two assists with the latter squad in just 3 contests.

For his 5th pro season he’s elected to go a different route, signing for a year with Graz 99ers of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga.

There’s little doubt the soon-to-be 28-year old will excel mightily here.

New Jersey Devils‘ 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft (#84 overall) goaltender Scott Wedgewood(31) has already quietly played three years in the prospect system.

Originally he spent most of his rookie season with then ECHL affiliate Trenton Titans.

He played a mammoth 48 games posting a 20-22-3-2 record with a 3.22 GAA and .900 SV%, making 1329 saves in 2741 minutes covering the cage.

The 6’2″ 190 lbs. net minder had taken on a similar workload in his last two years of juniors in the OHL with Plymouth Whalers.

In his sophomore and 3rd years he played an equal amount 36 AHL games for Albany Devils with a record of 29-28 and a 2.56 GAA and .901 SV%. He also had 6 shutouts.

The soon-to-be 22-year old restricted free agent with his entry level deal expiring signed a two-year extension and may just see his first NHL call up in the forthcoming season.

Derek-DeBlois

South Carolina Stingrays‘ undrafted rookie right wing Derek DeBlois(13) lit up the score sheet during the regular season and continues on an even better tear in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

He scored 21 goals and 24 assists with a +17 rating through 59 ECHL games in 2014/2015 and has added another 8 tallies and 10 helpers in only 17 postseason contests with a +11 plus/minus.

The 5’11” 180 lbs. forward had a good run in four years of college hockey at University Of Michigan but maxed out at 20 points during his final two campaigns.

He was also an NCAA/CCHA Regular Season Champ in 2011 and named assistant captain for his senior year.

His game really seems to have been elevated since turning pro.

He was invited to Worcester Sharks‘ training camp and was recalled for 4 AHL games late season scoring 1 goal.

The 24-year old should get another look from a top affiliate of an NHL team as he enters his sophomore season and may just help his current team to a title.

Bryan-Lerg

San Jose Sharks‘ 7th year veteran left wing Bryan Lerg(42) has accumulated 346 AHL games in his pro career but has been largely left out of the mix when it comes to the big league.

The small, listed at 5’10” 175 lbs. undrafted forward was originally signed to an entry level deal by Edmonton Oilers after a successful 4-year run with Michigan State University. He was assistant captain of their 2007 NCAA Championshipship as a junior.

After a couple of injury-marred seasons with affiliate Springfield Falcons he was left unqualified and headed off on an invite to Switzerland’s NLA but his time overseas lasted only a one contest for Geneve Servette before he returned signing a minor league contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

His time in Pennsylvania was fruitful as he produced career highs with 27 goals, 26 assists and 53 points in his 2nd campaign with the team.

Colorado Avalanche took notice and signed the unrestricted free agent to a one-year two-way deal, but he would spend all of his playing time with Lake Erie Monsters and served as captain to help their prospects in 2013/2014.

He would once again jump ship to explore other opportunities, signing for another one-year term with the Sharks.

Once again named captain he has helped lead the farm club Worcester Sharks in assists with a new best mark 28 and points; and helped solidify them as a tough to play against squad as they head towards the postseason for the first time in 5 years.

The 29-year old received his first shot at a game in the show, as the regular season wraps up and the parent club is out of the playoff picture and scored his first NHL goal, the game-winner in his debut.

There is every reason to believe he will be retained to stay where he is for another season as the team moves to its new home as San Jose Barracuda.

See related: 10/26-11

CT-Oilers2

Connecticut Oilers captured the second Eastern (Junior) Hockey League Championship.

Down in the best-of-5 series 2 games to 1 against reigning champs Northern Cyclones, they rallied back with two convincing victories.

Starting goalie Michael Tilford(1) stopped a monumental 64 of 65 chances in the deciding final contest and Phil Kreuser(10), who was set to be a healthy scratch but played, scored the game-winning goal.

The Oilers had to beat some tough competition sweeping an always tough Walpole Express team and regular season best Philadelphia Little Flyers, who lost only three games in regulation during the 2014/2015 campaign.

Their efforts earned them a very well-played and deserved title.

See related: 3/28-14

Evan McCarthyGoaltender Evan McCarthy(29) is back in between the pipes for a second season with Walpole Express of the Eastern Hockey League juniors, but for 2015/2016 he’s committed to Miami University (Ohio), where he’ll also grab himself a nice education.

The fairly big 6’3″ 180 lbs. net minder has yet to post outstanding numbers through a pair of years in US junior hockey (he played for a pair of NAHL teams as a rookie) but that all looks to change since he decided on his future intentions.

He’s already off to a quick start posting a 4-0-2 record with a 2.50 GAA and .938 SV% (all bests) and will likely blow right past his minutes played before the midpoint of the season.

He’ll be 21-years old when he starts his college career but that’s fairly typical in a goalie’s development.

Daniil KulikovAfter three seasons of tier 3 junior hockey in the US, Russian-born left wing Daniil Kulikov(43) will go back home to join MHK Spartak and play as a 21-year old before looking for a job in the pros.

He won the inaugural 2014 EHL Championship with Northern Cyclones last season.

At 6′ 170 lbs. he’s always been able to contribute on the score sheet wherever he was playing juniors.

He’ll have to up his game when he returns to surroundings he may be more familiar with but looking at his history and numbers there’s definitely a good possibility it can happen.

First he’ll have to get into skating some games with the team, which he has yet to do through 4 contests.