Washington Capitals wasted no time signing 25-year old, group 4 unrestricted free agent Aaron Ness(55) to a nice one-year two-way deal.
He spent the entirety of 2014/2015 with Bridgeport Sound Tigers serving as team captain and putting up AHL career bests 8 goals, 37 assists for 45 points.
The previous year the somewhat small-ish 5’10” 187 lbs. blue liner skated in a season high 20 games with draft team New York Islanders, scored his first NHL goal and got a pair of assists.
As a rookie he played his first 9 games in the big league registering no points.
In his second recall this young season from the farm team, he received the nod for his 30th game and played 15 shifts for a moderate 8:49 ice time, had 2 breakups and left the 5-4 shootout loss with a +1 rating.
He may only be in for a little while as the top defenseman recovers but he starts with his new team making a good impression.
He’s off to a fast start on the score sheet with his first new minor league club Hershey Bears scoring 2 goals and 11 assists and a
Aaron Ness(27) New York Islanders
New York Islanders‘ rookie defenseman Aaron Ness(27) was a 2nd round pick in the 2008 draft (#40 overall). He got an unexpected emergency basis call-up from their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers and got to experience his first NHL action.
The game turned out to be an Islanders‘ 1-0 shootout win and he probably logged a bit more ice time (14:25 minutes) than he anticipated he’d get in his first game.
He skated in 13 games with the Sound Tigers at the end of last season after signing with the team and popped in his first professional goal and also served up a pair of helpers. In 46 games this season he’s got a couple of goals and 15 assists with a +6 plus/minus.
At 5’10” 170lbs. he’s not the biggest guy by no means but plays an aggressive, defensive style that has gotten him noticed.
