Tuscon Roadrunners‘ pto defenseman Brandon Estes(7) comes in after completing a 5th year at Union College Dutchmen, putting up college career bests 7 goals, 22 assists and 29 points in 37 NCAA Division 1 games.
The 6′ 175 lbs. blue liner played two virtually equal seasons of junior hockey, first in the NAHL, then USHL before heading to school.
He has a pair of assists in 5 AHL games with a +3 rating, so is off to kind of a booming start.
The 25 year old from Richardson, TX is setting himself for a good contract somewhere next season.
He signs a 1-year deal with division rivals Henderson Silver Knights for 2022/2023.
Mostly reassigned down to affiliate Savannah Ghost Pirates, he strikes for 9 goals and 15 assists in 62 games, while playing only 4 up with no points.
For 2023/2024, he re-signs to stay in GA with one of their newest ECHL teams.
He scores a new career best 25 assists and 32 points and will take these stats overseas, signing with Odense Bulldogs to play his hockey in Metal Ligaen 2024/2025, where he should do really well.
12th year, small 5’9″ 161 lbs. defenseman Chay Genoway(39) maybe wants to take the edge off playing for big squads in the KHL or SHL, as he’s been doing for the past 8 seasons.
For 2022/2023, he has signed with EC Salzburg of ICEHL and will definitely find some room to score big in Austria’s top hockey league.
In fact, in his 1st 2 games, the former University Of North Dakota Fighting Hawks already has a goal and an assist.
Undrafted, he signed an entry level deal with Minnesota Wild, yet only skated 1 NHL game at the end of his rookie season, coming away with an assist.
The 35-year old from Morden, MB is likely still just having too much fun playing the game to quit.
He posts 10 goals and 17 assists in 45 games, then adds another 8 points in 16 playoff matchups en route to the 2023 ICEHL Championship to earn himself another year on the now 36-year old’s contract.
At 37-years of age, he continues to contribute for a 2nd league title in a row and he is to be kept on in a Red Bulls‘ uniform for a 3rd straight year, 2024/2025 (and another championship).
Florida Panthers‘ undrafted center Henry Bowlby(21) leaves three years of Harvard University as he enters his senior season with zero hockey to play due to COVID considerations shelving it for the college in 2020/2021.
The decently sized 6’1″ 195 lbs. forward was assigned to affiliate Syracuse Crunch to start his career after signing a 2-year entry level deal that started right away.
In his AHL debut he potted his first pro goal and still has the one tally and no assists through 4 games with a +3 rating.
He’d always been a scorer in the teens at school, three times getting 8 assists and twice similar goal totals, so it will be interesting to see if a more open style opens up the scoring valve.
As a rookie, he scores 12 goals and 16 assists with a +14 rating and he is given a 1-year, 2-way deal to stay for 2022/2023.
We think he plays his way to an NHL recall.
He would score almost identical 2nd and 3rd frames for affiliate Charlotte Checkers, but was a group 6 unrestricted free agent at the end of his deal and was basically set free.
The Edina, MN next picks Colorado Eagles to play games, signing a minor league contract for 2023/2024.
After 7 games into his career with 1 goal and 2 assists in the north and he maybe gets a better offer to head to Sweden and signs with Rogle BK.
He should do well in the SHL.
Through 29 games, he scores 2 goals and 5 assists, then adds 2 points in 15 playoff matchups to be wanted back for 2024/2025 in a Rogle BK uniform.
American International College Yellowjackets‘ Finnish-born, senior center Julius Janhonen(11) heads home to Liiga to sign with HPK for 2024/2025.
The 6’1″ 185 lbs. forward played a college high 40 games and scored a best 19 assists and 24 points last season.
He did all his youth and junior hockey back home for the 25-year old and should do well upon returning.
9th year defenseman Davis Vandane(55) will head back to IceHL, where he was for most of 2021/2022, before leaving at the end to help Lowen Frankfort win the DEL2 Championship, scoring 3 goals and 7 assists in 12 games.
The big 6’4″ 207 lbs. blue liner was rewarded with a 1-year move up to DEL with the same club, where he would score 7 goals and 20 assists with a +11 rating in 56 games.
He decides not to stay and return to Austrian hockey for 2023/2024, signing with HC Bolzano Foxes.
From Yorkton, SK, the 31-year old played 3 WHL seasons for Spokane Chiefs and Prince Albert Raiders before heading to 2 sessions at University Of Calgary Dinos.
He’s got to be pretty happy with the way things have turned out.
It looks like he’s in a habit of jumping back-and-forth in between Germany and Austria and heads back to the former for 2024/2025 with Krefeld Pinguine.
Former University Of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks‘ senior captain, defenseman Joel Messner(49) decides to leave the ship for other waters for his 4th season.
He will skate in Austria’s IceHL for a seemingly favored by Americans’ club, HC Innsbruck.
The solid 6’2″ 200 lbs. d-man was mostly under deals with Providence Bruins, originally scouted by Boston Bruins and in their system for 48 AHL games, but was in a uniform mostly with affiliate Atlanta Gladiators.
In 86 ECHL games, he did alright with 14 goals and 41 assists.
He played 4 more games in the league for Jacksonville Icemen to start 2020/2021 and got a goal and 2 assists.
We think the 27-year old Winnipeg native will like it in his new hockey home but if he does really well will move up.
He played for HKM Zvolen of Slovak Extraliga last season, putting up 4 goals and 9 assists in 50 games with a +7 rating, then added another 6 points in 17 playoff matchups.
For 2023/2024, he will head back to Austria, where he had very good luck and agrees to terms with Pustertal/Val Pusteria.
He grabs some decent points, but the -18 is a problem, then performs really well in 13 playoff games to get a want from rivals, Fehervar AV19 for 2024/2025.
Rookie left wing Austin Albrecht(11) did make a quick appearance last year for 1 ECHL game with Wichita Thunder, but everything was pretty much up in the air, especially for newer players in 2020/2021.
For 2021/2022, he branches out entirely, heading to Germany3 on a try-out that easily turned into a 1-year deal with Hochstadter EC, where he’s connected for 3 goals and 6 assists in just 6 games.
The 6′ 196 lbs. forward committed to his first school UMass Minutemen after a 2nd season of point-per-game production numbers for Wichita Wildcats of the NAHL.
He would then be drafted to the USHL by Sioux Falls Stampede and he maybe didn’t have the year he did previous but 10 goals and 35 assists in 57 games was definitely ok.
The Flemington, NJ native had a decent rookie run in Western Mass, but decided he would continue school down the road at American International College Yellow Jackets, where he did slightly better in Atlantic Hockey play.
It would be interesting to see where the 25-year old is able to land next, if he continues to put up big numbers in Germany’s tier 3 pro league.
After 8 games, he is wooed to join Manchester Storm of the EIHL and accepts.
He would return and work his way up from the SPHL to loans up to Maine Mariners, where he connected and was re-signed for a full campaign.
Doing well with a career best 16 assists and 21 points, he finds himself dealt to Tulsa Oilers.
He wouldn’t come away with any points in 7 games, but spies an opportunity and no stranger to hockey overseas, heads off to Australia for part of the summer to play in the AIHL for Melbourne Ice, where he should see his numbers climb.
9th year center Cody Kunyk(37) returns to Karpat after a year away in the KHL that actually grabbed hold scoring come playoff time for Barys Nur-Sultan.
The undrafted 5’11” 194 lbs. forward has skated 5 seasons in Liiga, Finland’s top hockey and tossed off a league best 39 assists in 2019/2020.
He signed a 1-year entry level deal as an unrestricted free agent with Tampa Bay Lightning upon graduating University Of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks with 20+ goals and assists as a senior and even played 1 NHL game fresh out of school.
The Sherwood Park, AB native skated the AHL his rookie season for affiliate Syracuse Crunch, but left for Denmark’s Metal Ligaen in the next session, running up decent points for Gentofte Stars.
At 32-years old, he still seems to be connecting and is wanted for what he brings, so there’s little reason to put down the skates.
He would move along after a 5th strong year playing Finnish hockey to Germany and signed with Lowen Frankfort in 2023/2024, where he would come away with a pro best 17 goals and some decent point totals, but signs with rivals Augsburger Panther for 2024/2025 and should have continued success.
Brown University‘s 2nd year Finnish-born defenseman Samuli Niinisaari(7) leaves college for hockey season to head back home and play in tier 3 league Suomi-sarja for Kotkan Titaanit and already has a nice 3 goals and 10 assists in 17 regular season games and has added another pair of helpers in the playoffs.
The 6’1″ 194 lbs. blue liner took spent most of his early game in his home country but did stretch out for one campaign of juniors in Saskatoon and then agreed to a year with Lincoln Stars of the USHL before making the college commitment.
It would be surprising to not see the 22-year old return to school as soon as the coast is clear.
He does return for the 2021/2022, recording a new best 11 assists and 12 points, then appeared in 30 games last season with 8 helpers to his credit.
For his senior year, he has decided to go for some new frozen waters, enters the transfer portal and comes out a member of the 2023/2024 UMass Minutemen.
He ups his challenge to take on Hockey East.
Through 27 games, he takes up his scoring to 3 goals and 9 assists with a +2 rating for possibly his best college frame.
He takes it back home to sign a 1+ year deal with Saipa and will skate his games in Liiga for 2024/2025.
5th year center Scott Pooley(12) trades in a 1st good season overseas for Lukko, scoring 18 goals and 16 assists in 55 Liiga games for a new experience with HockeyAllsvenskan, signing for 2022/2023 to IF Bjorkloven.
The 6’2″ 201 lbs. forward has signed 3 times with Toronto Marlies and played 63 AHL games, while being reassigned down to the ECHL Newfoundland Growlers, where he was a point-per-game player and helped them win the 2019 Kellly Cup.
He had 34 points in 36 NCAA Division 1 games as a senior at Holy Cross College Crusaders and 20+ points each previous frame.
The 28-year old from Granger, IN was never much of a point getter in 2 years of junior, one north in the AJHL, but definitely figured out how to connect at the higher levels.
He would spend 2 years scoring for his tier 2 Swedish hockey team and decides to trade it in for a contract with rivals AIK for 2024/2025.
