2nd year USNTDP center captain Rutger McGroarty(2) is readying himself with some solid stats to commit to University Of Michigan Wolverines for 2022/2023.
The 6’1″ 205 lbs. power forward has put-up point-per-game numbers this season.
It’s an easy call to say this 17-year old is going to be selected high in the draft with no reservations.
He was selected at #14 in 2022 by Winnipeg Jets, but as he started gaining ground at college, last season posting 36 assists in 36 games, he was indicting he would never sign with his draft club.
His wish is granted as Pittsburgh Penguins step in to offer the yet unsigned protege a new avenue and sign him to a 3-year entry level deal, leaving 2 years of school on the table.
He debuts on opening night, skating 16 shifts for 10:12 of ice with 1 shot and 2 hits and his feet are wet in a 6-3 victory.
In his 5th game, he pops in a 1st NHL goal and an assist for a multi-point effort, plus he skated almost a team best 18:28.
Ohio State University Buckeyes‘ junior defenseman Damien Carfagna(93) is undrafted and signs a 2-year NHL entry level deal with Edmonton Oilers after scoring a college best 7 goals and 21 assists with a +16 rating.
The 5’11” 168 lbs. blue liner came over after a freshman year at University Of New Hampshire Wildcats.
He did 2 seasons of junior hockey before school and won the USHL Clark Cup Championship in his 2nd.
From Wood Ridge, NJ, the 22-year old may report to the affiliate to start, but he is going.
13rd year left wing Jason Zucker(16) signed a 1-year deal with Buffalo Sabres for 2024/2025 after a similar contract last season with Arizona Coyotes that yielded some ok results on a far from playoff team.
The always looked smaller than 5’11” 192 lbs. forward has 3 times scored 20+ goals and once 30+ and had an exact same ratio in assists.
From Newport Beach, CA, he did only 2 sessions at University Of Denver Pioneers, as he ran up 45 and 46 points to quickly move on.
He made all the right moves, playing his way through the USNTDP on up.
On a decent scoring team, his point production escalates to 18 goals and 26 assists to net him a new 2-year deal to stick in a Sabres‘ jersey and help out with the younger guys for a nice $4.75AAV.
Almost unreal, 18th year center Jon Matsumoto(11) will do a 2nd DEL2 season with Krefeld Pinguine after scoring 10 goals and 13 assists in 30 games last season.
He had previously played 9 years in the upper German league, DEL and twice won the Championship back-to-back with EHC Munchen.
The 5’11” 185 lbs. forward was a Philadelphia Flyers‘ 3rd round pick in the 2006 NHL draft (#79 overall) and spent his 1st 3 years with the team after leaving Bowling Green University Falcons with a year on the table.
From Ottawa, ON, the 37-year old may hit 20 years as a pro barely blinking.
Exploding for point-per-game numbers in the current frame (20-30-50), he is signed to stay a 3rd year to hopefully build a new championship for the Pinguine,.
12th year right wing Steve Moses(12) returned to the 1st place he skated after graduating University Of New Hampshire Wildcats, Liiga to play for HPK last season.
He skated 2 seasons with long-time club Jokerit in the league, then moved onto the KHL with them, offering up mostly good results in 6 different campaigns with the team.
The 33-year old from Leominster, MA is headed to a new place for 2023/2024, signing a 1-year deal with HC Kometa Brno of Czechia Extraliga, which should work out well for him.
He gets himself 20 goals and 13 assists in 52 games, so does pretty well in the league, but instead of returning, opts to sign to a rival, inking with BK Mlada Boleslav for 2024/2025.
After 21 games with 9 goals and 3 assists, he is asked to return for 2025/2026 and accepts.
Montreal Canadiens‘ 7th round pick in the 2014 draft (#207 overall), 4th year center Jake Evans(71) gets a new 3-year deal to continue his progress with the Le-Bleu-Blanc-Rogue.
He skated a career high 47 NHL games last seasons, scoring 3 goals and 10 assists with a +2 rating to earn his new $1.7M AAV deal .
The former University Of Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward was a big scorer as senior team captain (46 points in 40 games) and also reached the 40-point mark as a junior.
He was also a point-per-game player in two years of juniors for St. Michael’s Buzzers and won the 2013 OJHL Championship in his first campaign there.
The 25-year old hopes to be just getting started.
This season he is flirting with career high numbers and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current session, so the only team he’s ever suited up for offers him 4-years at $2.8M AAV to stay and he will continue to wear the Canadiens‘ colors.
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.
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.
