JYP left wing C.J. Smith(49) quickly signs up for a 1-year extension after 1 goal and 4 assists through 5 games looks like a lock for him to score goals in Liiga after starting the season late with the team.
After 3 years at UMASS-Lowell Riverhawks, the 5’11” 183 lbs. forward signed an NHL entry level deal as an unrestricted free agent with Buffalo Sabres and stayed in their system for 4 years.
The 29-year old from Des Moines, IA is said to be coming back from surgery due to an injury, so this is a nice landing spot for him to re-stake his game.
He comes away with 8 goals and 12 assists in 33 games, which gains interest from Barys Astana of the KHL for 2024/2025.
So much for the tryout in Germany, as he will head home under contract to Charlotte Checkers, where he should do well and help.
Carolina Hurricanes‘ rookie center Jack Drury(72) scores a first recall for his debut and pots a first NHL goal in the process to help the win.
Who had those odds?
The 5’11” 174 lbs. forward skated 23 shifts for 16:05 of ice time with 4 shots, 2 hits, 2 blocks and 2 penalty minutes, leaving the contest with +1 rating.
He’ll easily always where his former school, Harvard University Crimson on his sleeve.
As a rookie, playing in the AHL for affiliate Chicago Wolves, he wins himself a 2022 Calder Cup Championship with very good numbers.
He would split duties for just 1 more frame before becoming full-time in the show, where 8 goals and 19 assists in 74 games with a +4 rating, then adding another 5 points in 11 playoff matchups with a +7.
The restricted free agent picks himself up a nice 2-year deal to stay in a Hurricanes‘ sweater, moving forward through at least 2025/2026.
In an epic deal, he is traded to Colorado Avalanche, where in his debut, he scores a 1st goal with the team.
7th year left wing Anders Bjork(10) signs an AHL deal with Rockford Icehogs for 2023/2024, you have to wonder if it’s under the radar of Chicago Blackhawks, who obtained him close to the trade deadline last season and he came through with a tidy 2 goals and 6 assists in 13 NHL games with a +4 rating.
The former Boston Bruins‘ 5th round pick in the 2014 draft (#146 overall) has skated 225 games in the big league.
He was with them for 3.5 years before getting traded to Buffalo Sabres, where he stayed for roughly 2 years, but was bumped down for most of last campaign.
The 3-year University Of Notre Dame Fighting Irish from Mequon, WI scored of 21 goals and 31 assists in 39 games as a junior left 1 year on the table, but where he is could even return online to finish up.
He’s still just 27-years old.
Unrestricted free agent, he late signs with Milwaukee Admirals, where he definitely should start helping them.
8th year left wing Frank Vatrano(77) looks to potentially eclipse the 24 goal mark he achieved in his 1st full season for Florida Panthers after coming over from initial, local to home East Longmeadow, MA team, Boston Bruins, where he got his start after 2 seasons at UMass Minutemen.
He played 2 seasons of USNTDP before hitting college.
The 28-year old signed a 3-year deal with Anaheim Ducks worth 3.650M AAV heading into 2022/2023 as an unrestricted free agent.
Last season, his 2nd with new team, he scores a career high by a mile 37 goals and 23 assists and this season he’s making pace with 12 goals and 13 assists in 39 games to earn himself another 3-year extension to stay on a Ducks.
14th year goaltender John Muse(40) does the easy thing and re-signs with Worcester Railers for 2024/2025 after a pretty solid season on a non-playoff team.
The 5’11” 185 lbs. has 184 games of AHL experience and 130 in the ECHL with winning records in both leagues.
He did 4 seasons at Boston College Eagles for the East Falmouth, MA native.
The 36-year old also played 4 campaigns overseas, so has definitely been around quite a bit in his pro hockey tour.
He wins a 5th game in dramatic fashion and that is all for the long-term net minder, as he accepts a job to coach a Chinese national team.
Northeastern University Huskies‘ junior center captain Justin Hryckowian(49) takes a college best 30 assists and 43 points in 32 games with a +24 rating to a 2-year entry level deal with Dallas Stars.
Undrafted, the 5’10” 194 lbs. forward from L’lle Bizard, QC came down for a senior year at high school before heading off to 2 USHL years of junior hockey.
The 23-year old will likely report to affiliate Texas Stars to get started, but could warrant a look up in the show.
And he does.
Recalled due to injury and his scoring streak in the minors, he waits, but eventually makes his big league debut before the end of the new year.
He skates 9 shifts for 5:50 ice time in his NHL debut, has 1 hit and 1 giveaway in a 5-1 win. Nice start.
13th year left wing Jerry D’Amigo(74) stays in DEL for a 2nd straight season, but leaves an alright frame with Düsseldorfer EG to sign with rivals Loewen Frankfort for 2022/2023.
He briefly returned home for a season, signing with Orlando Solar Bears after his 1st pair of years in Germany’s top league, which followed a some ok frames in Liiga, where he split time with a couple teams.
The 5’11” 201 lbs., originally a 2009 Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 6th round NHL draft pick (#158 overall) is bit streaky scoring, but did manage 10+ goals 4 times in the AHL and once hit 20 with 6 seasons of 10+ assists to go along with.
At 31-years old, the Binghamton, NY native, who only did 1 year at RPI Engineers, lightly up Atlantic Hockey, is likely pretty happy to still be signing good contracts.
After 4 seasons in Germany and 2 in Finland, it’s time to come back and sign with a team that has some sunny weather going for it year round, agreeing to terms with Jacksonville Icemen for the rest of 2023/2024.
He has a decent season, leading in the ECHL, but is ready for more adventures overseas and signs with a 3rd new league, the tough to play Slovak Extraliga, signing with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas.
12th year net minder Joe Cannata(35) switches up 4 seasons in Sweden, 3 with IK Oskarshamn of the SHL, loading some decent enough stats, but will go for something new and tend net in 2023/2024 for Lowen Frankfort of DEL.
Originally a Vancouver Canucks‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#173 overall), the 6’1″ 201 lbs. goalie was in the system for 4 years.
He would next bounce to Washington Capitals, then eventually Colorado Avalanche, where he would play shutdown for affiliate Colorado Eagles, going 21-5-2 with a 2.22 GAA and .931 SV% in the regular season, then backstopping a 2018 Kelly Cup Championship.
In his 1st year overseas, he basically won all the league awards in HockeyAllsvenskan.
The 33-year old, former Merrimack College Warriors from nearby Wakefield, MA probably has a little smile on his face how his hockey is still going.
He does ok for himself in a German net, but has decided to return to playing hockey much closer to home, signing a 1-year ECHL deal with Norfolk Admirals.
After 5 games in net and things maybe not going quite as well as he may have wanted, he decides he is heading back overseas and signs with Villacher SV in IceHL.
Defenseman Matt Irwin(52) will skate his 14th season for Vancouver Canucks.
He is signed to a 2-way deal, so potentially could be sent to play for affiliate Abbotsford Canucks, which could be ok at this point in his career.
In the last 7 years, he has skated 4 AHL games with the rest in the NHL.
The 35-year old has skated a handy 461 games in the big league, so this season could reach a milestone.
At the very least, for the 1st time, the former 2-year UMass Minutemen d-man, is skating closer to his Victoria, BC home this upcoming frame.
After a full season in the minors, doing very well with the farm club, he has yet to announce a new move in addition to his retirement from playing.
He had quite the successful run and was in the dressing room, when I got married at center ice of a Worcester Sharks‘ 2011 game.
UMass-Lowell Riverhawks‘ Latvian-born, graduate goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals(39) signs a 1st pro deal with Milwaukee Admirals for 2023/2024, but has joined the club for the Calder Cup playoff push, although not likely to see action.
The 6’2″ 196 lbs. net minder had a 12-9-2 record with a 2.05 GAA and .924 SV%, including 2 shutouts.
He was better than any previous season he played at University Of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, but did have 1 outstanding run through the NAHL juniors with Shreveport Mudbugs.
The 24-year old should be a standout performer as a rookie.
Parent club, Nashville Predators step in as the season is wrapping up and sign him for the current frame to an NHL contract, in a move we can only feel has implications for next season moving forward.
He is mostly sent to play in the ECHL for his rookie season and he decides to move back closer to home, signing with HK Dukla Trencin of Slovak Extraliga, where we think he re-finds his game.
After 5 games, he will switch things up and move on to Finland’s top hockey, Liiga signing with SaiPa for 2024/2025.
We do think it gels for him here.
