7th year defenseman Keith Aulie(44) attended Arizona Coyotes‘ 2015 training camp on an invite but was released after fracturing his wrist.
A month into the new season he signed a pto with new affiliate Springfield Falcons.
Although he looked like a decent fit with the mostly young team, he was cut after 7 games (1 goal, -6 rating).
He would next appear a month later on Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in host country Switzerland and win it.
This must have given him the impetus to try his game on the other side of the pond for the first time in his career.
He signed for the remainder of the season with HIFK of Finland top league Liiga.
The 26-year old has appeared in 167 NHL games with three different teams, won a gold medal at the World Juniors Chamionship in 2009 and the 2012 Calder Cup as a member of Norfolk Admirals.
With his extra large-sized 6’6″ 222 lbs. defensive frame he should be able to continue his game quite nicely in Europe.
Keith Aulie(3) Tampa Bay Lightning
Keith Aulie(3) is a monster of a 22-year old, 2nd year defenseman at 6’6″ 217 lbs.
He’s been in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system from the start of his pro career and played in 57 NHL games (2 goals and 2 assists).
With their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, he’s skated in 64 games (3 goals, 7 assists).
All of that ain’t so bad but in 2011/2012 with the two teams, he has only 3 assists and is a -10 plus/minus.
He must have slipped pretty low on their depth chart because they dumped him at the trading deadline for prospect forward Carter Ashton.
Could be that they just needed more up front than on the blue line.
He will debut with his new team Tampa Bay Lightning in the upcoming weekend. The team needs to make sure it has defense that takes up a lot of space with their goaltending worries, as they stumble and surge, pushing for a playoff spot.
He was originally a Calgary Flames‘ 4th round draft pick in 2007 (#116 overall) but played most of his rookie season with Abbotsford Heat.