2013 Kelly Cup | CollegeHockeyPlayers

Tagged: 2013 Kelly Cup

30Sep

Mike Little(5) Graz 99ers

Posted in Profile | Leave a comment

Undrafted 3rd year defenseman Mike Little(5) gets traded to Florida Everblades from Stockton Thunder right before the start of the 2013/2014 season.

In 134 ECHL games with the team he scored 18 goals and 57 assists with a +19 rating. He also has tallied another 9 assists in 31 postseason contests and skated in all 23 2013 Kelly Cup games against the ultimate champion Reading Royals, ironically the team he started his pro career with in 2011 after four years of college hockey at American International.

The change of scenery and switch to the Eastern Conference may continue to elevate the small 5’9″ but wide 195 lbs. blue liner defend his zone.

The soon-to-be 26 year old could be just starting to catch his stride. We expect to see career highs this season.

Original story: 9/8-13

In the 2013/2014 he would be limited to just 44 ECHL games with his new team but still put up 4 goals and 18 assist with a +10 rating.

He also appeared in his first three AHL games with Norfolk Admirals but didn’t register a point.

Re-signing for another full campaign with Florida Everblades for 2014/2015, he certainly popped the lid off his previous scoring totals with a new career high 13 goals, 41 assists and 54 points with a mammoth +46 rating, which tied him for the league lead.

He received three call-ups last season (2 with Charlotte Checkers and one for Springfield Falcons). He posted two assists with the latter squad in just 3 contests.

For his 5th pro season he’s elected to go a different route, signing for a year with Graz 99ers of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga.

There’s little doubt the soon-to-be 28-year old will excel mightily here.

13Sep

Collin Bowman(10) Colorado Eagles

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

Undrafted 2nd year defenseman Collin Bowman(20) had a strong rookie season with home state team Colorado Eagles.

In 69 ECHL games he scored 11 goals and 23 assists (tied for first in points), while adding another pair of tallies and 3 helpers in 6 Kelly Cup Playoff contests. He also had over 100 penalty minutes in his first year.

Traded in the off-season to San Francisco Bulls, the 6’3″ 215 lbs. blue liner quickly signed a 2-way AHL contract with Worcester Sharks and appeared in their training camp before being reassigned back down to start his sophomore campaign.

He didn’t exactly put up the same kind of numbers with his offensively challenged new squad and recently had his playing rights swapped (with the blessing from the parent club) to Bakersfield Condors.

The younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes’ Drayson Bowman has skated 3 times with his new team and although he’s only bolstered his 2nd year totals by an assist, he has been a part of a pair of victories and one shootout loss on their current 4-game unbeaten streak.

Given the opportunity in the higher league, the 22-year old has all the qualities of becoming an impact player as he continues to develop.

He was a member of the 2009 WHL Championship Kelowna Rockets.

Original story: 1/20-14

His sophomore season with Bakersfield would end with point totals slightly under his first campaign but in extended postseason play he scored a pair of goals and added 5 assists in 16 games through to the Western Conference Finals before an exit.

For 2014/2015, he decided to go back to a familiar place, returning to Colorado.

In 20 less regular season games (48) than his initial two seasons he achieved new high marks for goals with 15 goals and 38 points and for a blue liner had a monstrous +28 rating. He would also raise his fight total to 6 after no battles the previous year and 5 in 2012/2013.

The low game total was only because he was loaned to Iowa Wild for the last two months and would appear in 21 AHL games getting 2 tallies, 6 helpers and remarkably kept his game at a 0 plus/minus on the last place squad.

As the 24-year old enters his 4th season he’ll keep it close to home and skate his third year with Colorado Eagles.

It would be a surprise to see the All-Star d-man play the full tilt in the ECHL without another extended call-up.

09Aug

C.J. Stretch (12)

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

Undrafted 5th year center C.J. Stretch(12) was a late signing for Bridgeport Sound Tigers after attending New York Islanders‘ training camp on a tryout.

He spent last season under contract with Oklahoma City Barons after playing well for the team on loan late in the campaign from Ontario Reign, where he spent the first three years of his pro career.

Upon his recall, he was having a career year, ultimately playing in 60 ECHL games with 28 goals, 34 assists and 62 points, all high marks.

The 6′ 192 lbs. forward would be returned to skate in 4 Kelly Cup contests, adding 5 more tallies to his totals.

He had contributed nicely while up as well, getting 5 goals and 3 assists in 17 AHL games.

Once his lower league club was knocked out of the playoffs, he was again summoned to join the Calder Cup push and went right to work, playing in another 17 games, improving his numbers by one with 5 goals and 4 assists in the playoffs.

The 25-year old started 2014/2015 as a healthy scratch but found his spot in the lineup as of game 2, recorded 3 assists and has been a bit of a spark plug ever since.

He’s on pace to shatter last season’s total with 5 goals and 12 assists in 22 games and could be in line for his first NHL contract, if he can keep it up.

Original story: 12/8-14

Just shy of a few months later he would return to the more playoff bound Oklahoma City Barons and finish the 2014/2015 campaign with 10 goals, a new career high 27 assists and 37 points in the AHL.

He would only add another two helpers in 9 postseason match-ups.

Entering his 6th pro season the 26-year old heads overseas on a one-year deal with Starbulls Rosenheim of DEL2.

He should almost easily be a point-per-game guy in this league as he was in his third stint of ECHL action.

05Aug

Nikita Kashirsky(5) Greenville Road Warriors

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

5th year undrafted Russian-born left wing Nikita Kashirsky(5) re-signs for another run with Reading Royals after being an integral part of the 2013 Kelly Cup Championship team.

In 41 ECHL games last season he struck for 17 goals and 27 assists with a +11 rating and didn’t stop there as he appeared in all 22 playoff contests connecting for another 5 tallies and 15 helpers with a +12 plus/minus. His 15 assists in the postseason were tied for the league lead.

Skating most of his pro career with a few different ECHL clubs, he’s managed to put up 161 points (66 + 95) in 191 games and win two Kelly Cup Championships (2009 South Carolina Stingrays).

He received 3 AHL call-ups in his first two seasons with Springfield Falcons, Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears but the 6′ 196 lbs. forward has been unable to score himself a permanent gig for a higher club despite his very able point production in the lower league.

The 28-year old has maybe a bit surprisingly played almost all his hockey in North America except for one game in the KHL.

Original story: 7/23-13

For 2013/2014 he actually left to explore new territory signing a one-year deal with Dundee Stars of the EIHL.

In 51 games he would duplicate what he was basically doing all along, being a point-per-game player connecting for 23 goals and 33 assists.

Following up that performance he decided to return to the his comfort zone, inking for the year with Wichita Thunder.

Although he maybe didn’t reach the scoring heights of previous campaigns he still managed a quite healthy 16 goals and 23 assists in 64 games on a team that failed to make the postseason.

Now 30-years old (which seems a bit crazy) he has agreed to skate 2015/2016 with Greenville Road Warriors, marking his 6th stint in the ECHL.

30Jul

Yannick Tifu(10) Reading Royals

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

8th year, undrafted veteran center Yannick Tifu(10) captured his first Kelly Cup Championship as team captain with Reading Royals after 400 regular and 57 postseason ECHL games.

He was only ever close to grabbing a title back in 2007, when he was a first year player in the league and went to the Finals with Dayton Bombers.

The 28-year old forward has spent 7 seasons with 7 different ECHL teams and scored over 500 points (170 goals and 342 assists) with an astonishing +62 rating. He was the leading scorer in the 2013 playoffs with 25 points.

Although he has appeared in 81 AHL contests, he’s never had any luck sticking despite putting up decent numbers with 9 goals and 23 assists and signing a one-year deal with Binghamton Senators in 2010.

He ended up skating most of that season with their affiliate, Elmira Jackals.

He’s not the biggest skater at 5’11” 203 lbs. but easily effective enough to get the job done quite well.

Chances are he’ll re-sign for a third season in Reading but it could also be time for him to earn some better money by moving his game to some European ice.

Original story: 5/28-13

After winning the ECHL title he went on to re-sign with Reading Royals to resume as team captain.

He didn’t have as stellar a season and for the first time playing in the league failed to be a point-per-game guy and was a quick exit with the team from the playoffs.

Quite possibly he felt that was an indicator, so he signed for the first time in his pro career to play hockey in another country.

Not quite sure why he chose France but he once again upped his average and had plenty of success with Les Ducs d’Angers scoring 14 goals and 21 assists in 26 games and added another 7 points (3-4) in 10 playoff contests.

For his 11th season, he will turn 31-years old when it starts, he returns to North America signing for 2015/2016 with Brampton Beast.

We’ll see how he fares on the score sheet with this still developing 2nd year group. You can just about bet he’ll be pegged to captain the young squad though.

And you know you’ve had a long career when 5 of the teams you’ve played for don’t exist anymore.

23Jun

Andrew Clark (11)

Posted in AHL | Leave a comment

A couple of months into his rookie year as he was continuing to put up more than point-per-game numbers (14-21-35 in 31 contests) he was loaned to Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

He adjusted fairly quickly in the higher league and stayed almost until the end of the regular season, when he was released to join Stockton for their 2014 Kelly Cup Playoff push.

In the AHL he managed 7 goals and 12 assists in 35 games on a team that struggled to get wins.

For 2014/2015 he made a somewhat unexpected move signing for a year with Esbjerg Energy of Denmark’s Metal Ligaen.

His 25 goals and 50 assists for 75 points in a full schedule of 36 games were easily league bests.

Now 27-years old he easily moves up a level agreeing for 2015/2016 with Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the tier two NLB Swiss hockey, where he’ll almost assuredly continue to be a big scoring threat.

02Jun

Harrison Reed(19) Dresdner Eislowen

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

6th year right wing Harrison Reed(19) has decided it’s time to go try his game overseas joining up with Eispiraten Crimmitschau of DEL2, the second tier pro hockey league in Germany.

He’s coming off a season of career highs with Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. In 46 games he put up 21 goals and 24 assists. It was his first time hitting the 20/20 club. He also added another 9 tallies and 11 helpers in 23 Kelly Cup Playoff games getting the team all the way to the finals before falling.

Originally a Carolina Hurricanes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2006 draft (#93 overall), he signed a 3-year entry level deal and joined their then affiliate Albany River Rats for 119 games before being involved in a trade that made him property of Colorado Avalanche for the last season of his contract.

He joined Lake Erie Monsters for 2010/2011 but was also reassigned for about half the time to Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League.

The 6’1″ 192 lbs. forward plays with bigger size than his measurements might indicate but was never really able to connect in the AHL, where in 208 games he has 11 goals and 16 assists but is a terrible -39 overall.

For his first season as an unrestricted free agent he signed a contract to play with Toledo Walleye but also received a pair of call-ups to Houston Aeros and the familiar Lake Erie team. He would also rejoin them again last season for 14 contests.

The 25-year should be able to continue his domination on the score sheet, which may bring him back to North America or help continue his rise in Europe.

Original story: 8/1-13

After a year in the 2nd tier German league potting an astounding 40 goals and 50 assists in 54 games and another 27 points in 17 playoff contests, he was awarded forward of the year title for his efforts.

He decided to make the jump up to DEL signing with Straubing Tigers and came back down to earth with 25 points in 50 games.

For 2015/2016 he circles back to DEL2 inking for a season with Dresdner Eislowen.

At 27-years old now he very well could explode on the score sheet once again and look to move on to a different country’s top league.

11Jan

Mike Cornell(4) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

Undrafted rookie defenseman Mike Cornell(4) spent five seasons in the Eastern (Junior) Hockey League starting as a high school age player before skating four years at University Of Maine. where he served as team captain in his final campaign.

He signed an ato out of college with Florida Everblades and appeared in 6 games dishing 4 helpers and also played in 13 Kelly Cup Playoff games, where he recorded 5 assists with a +8 rating through a pair of rounds before getting eliminated.

The not exactly huge out there 5’11” 190 lbs d-man plays a very physical game guarding the zone with his life pretty much.

To begin his first year pro he re-signed with the Everblades scoring his first goal and adding 5 assists in 12 ECHL games. He also owned a tidy +10 plus/minus.

Only a month into the season Bridgeport Sound Tigers came a-calling and signed him to a pto.

He fit right in to the team’s style pretty much from the get-go and before you know it he’s 26 AHL games in and inked an spc to stay.

The late starting 25-year old has two goals and 5 assists with a -5 on a young squad that struggles at times.

He also has a coach that’s been telling him to shoot the puck, because he’s already put 47 shots on net and that’s definitely added to his ability to connect on the score sheet.

This one gets a #nicesurprise.

28Oct

Cody Lampl(32) Saint John’s IceCaps

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

Undrafted 5th year Idaho-born defenseman Cody Lampl(32) pulls a go figure move to begin the 2013/2014 season.

Under contract for another campaign with Toledo Walleye of the ECHL after a successful run, reaching a career high 6 goals and tying his point total of 15, he looked to build on the success and was invited to join St. John’s IceCaps‘ training camp.

One thing leads to another and by early October he finds himself on the an AHL roster.

In 8 games, the 5’11” 183 lbs. blue liner has yet to hit the score sheet with a -2 rating but definitely doesn’t look a bit out of place.

He has 214 ECHL games, first for a pair of seasons with hometown team Idaho Steelheads and then he moved slightly more east for a year with Utah Grizzlies.

To his credit he’s scored 8 goals and 49 assists with a +9 plus/minus.

The 27-year old played four years at Colorado College after three seasons in the USHL en route to turning pro.

However this story ends up it’s already a good one.

03Oct

Gabriel Levesque(12) Quad City Mallards

Posted in AHL, ECHL | Leave a comment

3rd year undrafted center Gabriel Levesque(12) decides to switch up his hockey landscape, leaving Stockton Thunder to join the lower Central Hockey League Quad City Mallards for the 2013/2014 season.

The very small but speedy forward with good hands skated in the ECHL for his first two campaigns registering 18 goals and 42 assists in 94 games.

He also suited up for another 27 Kelly Cup Playoff games with the team going all the way to the Finals last season.

At only 5’7″ 160 lbs. there’s no doubt he could be viewed as a bit of a punching bag out there but has proven he can strike gold on the score sheet.

In four years of QMJHL he lit the lamp for almost a point per game production and in his last season was the league’s assist leader putting up 70 helpers and 38 goals through 68 games.

He started his pro career on an invite to Worcester Sharks‘ training camp but was quickly sent down.

There’s little doubt the 23-year old will put up big numbers and likely either transition back to a higher level of play or look overseas to continue his quest.

« Older posts