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29Sep

Jamie McBain(5) Los Angeles Kings

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6th year defenseman Jamie McBain(5) signed a one-year two-way contract with Los Angeles Kings after agreeing to a pto with affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

He played 6 AHL games with the farm club scoring a goal and adding three assists with a +3 rating before the parent club came calling to fill in some spots that needed coverage on their blue line.

Originally a Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft (#36 overall), the 6’2″ 205 lbs. d-man spent the first four years of his career with the team but unfortunately as time passed started to show declining returns.

After the 2012 lockout it definitely appears that he’d lost some of his step.

He managed to pick it up slightly last season after a trade to Buffalo Sabres but not enough for them to revisit extending the unrestricted free agent.

A training camp invite of Arizona Coyotes, they only really had a peak before releasing him.

There was a bit of a murmur that he was set to leave for the KHL but shortly thereafter he signed his tryout deal.

Injuries and a misfortune, along with a sliver of salary cap room, had him at the right place at the right now. Maybe it was a bit of mastery forsight too.

The still young-ish 26-year old will either have to step up his offensive numbers (25-67-92 in 276 NHL games) or start using some of that size to shut down the attackers.

It’s a coin flip to see how this one materializes. It really could become a great fit though.

Original story: 11/14-14

He appeared in 26 games with LA Kings scoring 3 goals and 6 assists with a +4 rating, making him accountable enough to keep around.

They wasted no time as free agency started re-signing him to a one-year, tw0-way extension.

Starting the season with a new contract, the 27-year old should be able to connect on the score sheet more often and continue to elevate his game.

19Aug

Stefan Chaput(21) Olimpija Ljubljana

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5th year center Stefan Chaput(21) hooks up with Hamilton Bulldogs for the 2012/2013 season on a one-year AHL contract.

He missed all but 11 games with Providence Bruins last year due to hip surgery, groin, upper body, you name it. Apparently healthy once again, he’ll look to regain some of that scoring spark he had when he first came to the P-Bruins in 2010 and from his “rookie” season in the Carolina Hurricanes‘ system with Albany River Rats.

The 6′ 192 lbs. forward was originally a Canes‘ 5th round pick in 2006 (#153 overall). He’s not an overly big player and doesn’t really play that style of game but given some room he can make things happen and the Bulldogs are counting on some of that magic to reappear. He has yet to appear in an NHL game.

Original story: 9/19-12

He would start his new season on reassignment down to Wheeling Nailers, where in 15 ECHL games he scored 3 goals and 6 assists before being recalled to spend the rest of the campaign with Hamilton.

Although not what he was able to achieve in his earlier career, he still was able to do ok with 5 goals and 12 assists in 48 games but was a woeful -12 plus/minus.

It was good enough to get him another contract for 2013/2014, but when he was once again to start the new year in the lower league he decided to split signing briefly with Cornwall River Kings of the LNAH.

He received another AHL look on a pto with Utica Comets but failed to connect in three games and was released.

His next step may have been one of his most important, as he agreed to terms halfway through the season to head overseas joining Ravensburg Towerstars of DEL2.

Seemed like the right move as he found that scoring touch connecting for 9 goals and 11 assists in 16 games and added another tally and 4 more helpers in 5 playoff match-ups.

For 2014/2015 he decided to stay put in Germany but switch allegiances inking a deal with rivals Dresdner Eislowen.

He would post career highs for his new squad notching 20 goals and 34 assists for 54 points in 43 games but came up a bit empty in a short postseason.

Heading into his 8th year, the now 27-year old has decided to move on to Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga to skate with Olimpija Ljubljana, where he may be a bit more challenged to keep up those scoring stats from last season but will be a good challenge.

17Aug

Cam Janssen(22) Nottingham Panthers

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Originally a New Jersey Devils‘ 4th round pick in the 2002 draft (#117 overall), 9th year right wing Cam Janssen(22) makes an appearance in an AHL game for the first time in 5 years.

Ironically it’s once again with a Devils‘ minor league affiliate and he comes full circle from where he started his career in the last lockout season 2004-2005, Albany. Then it was the River Rats and later became Lowell Devils before changing back to upper state NY with the horned moniker in tow.

In that rookie season, the 6′ 215 lbs. pugilist wrapped up an amazing 337 penalty minutes. He owned stock in that penalty box.

He continued that role and it landed him in the NHL full-time by 2008 with St. Louis Blues, although he did play 95 games with New Jersey.

The 28-year has been signed to a series of 1-year two-way deals on his second go round with the Devils and with this lockout history, he will have a hard time finding a spot on a lineup that has the elements he brings to the table but also can put some points up on the score sheet.

Regardless, he’s a fun player to watch and in his first minor league game in half a decade looked to be more interested in making plays and scoring goals in what turned into a blow out loss.

He’s skated 311 NHL in his pro career and honestly we doubt he’s done.

Original story: 2/3-13

Once the lockout thawed he would start the shortened 2013 season with 3 games for the parent club out of training camp playing very limited minutes before being sent to Albany.

For 2013/2014 he signed another short term deal with New Jersey Devils and begin the new year in the AHL but was quickly recalled and managed to split time between the two affiliated teams and even ended up scoring a career high 3 NHL goals before being returned down.

He must have made a good impression because he inked quickly at the conclusion of the season for his 8th campaign with the Devils and although he failed to skate in a big league game, when he was inserted into the lineup with the farm team he kept opponents honest with 9 fighting majors to his credit.

The recently turned 31-year old is entering his 12th pro season and has decided to try something new as he agrees for 2015/2016 with Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL.

With the announcement he’s already creating quite the stir overseas.

30Jul

Yannick Tifu(10) Reading Royals

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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.

02Jun

Harrison Reed(19) Dresdner Eislowen

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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.

02Jun

Jerome Samson(17) EHC Munchen

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In his 5th season with Carolina Hurricanes, undrafted wing Jerome Samson(17) received his first call up to the NHL of 2011/2012 and promptly put the puck in the net. It was the first big league goal of his career.

The team is struggling again this season and need someone that will give them point production. He’s played 32 games and has just 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) but at age 24, he may be just starting to hit his stride.

With Charlotte Checkers, he leads the team in goals with 15 and adds 12 assists for a respectable 27 points in 37 AHL games.

He is in the final year of the two-year extension he signed in 2010.

He wears the inverse of his AHL numbers in the NHL.

Original story: 1/14-12

7/20-12: Signs a one-year, two way contract to stay with Carolina Hurricanes.

For 2013/2014 he leaves to ink another one-year deal with Winnipeg Jets but spends the entire season with affiliate St. John’s IceCaps reaching his second highest totals in the minors.

Once again he looks for an opportunity to play in the NHL and agrees to terms with Tampa Bay Lightning but is very slow to start with their farm club Syracuse Crunch and asks to be released.

He eventually is put on unconditional waivers and heads overseas joining Biel of the NLA in Switzerland.

Now 27-years old he’ll stay across the pond with EHC Munchen of the German elite DEL and will in all likelihood regain that scoring touch.

11Feb

Scott Clemmensen(40) Albany Devils

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New Jersey Devils‘ veteran goalie Scott Clemmensen(40) has been in the system for 8 of his 14 pro years serving as their primary back-up and has played games with all three of their affiliates, Albany River Rats, Lowell Devils and current Albany Devils‘ teams.

In the few NHL seasons where he was either called on to be the starter or at least co-starter between the pipes, he performed pretty well, especially through 40 games on his second tour of duty in the Garden State 2008/2009, when Martin Brodeur went down with his first big injury.

The 6’2″ 200 lbs. net minder posted a 25-13-1-2 record with a career best 2.39 GAA and .917 SV%. He also had two shutouts.

Based on his performance the unrestricted free agent decided to search for a #1 spot and landed a three-year deal with Florida Panthers. He would spend the next five seasons down south.

In 120 games he went 40-39-18-3 and kept decent numbers through his first three years but with less playing time his numbers suffered.

Almost ironically his only really good year in the AHL was one campaign with Toronto Maple Leafs on reassignment to Toronto Marlies.

He is likely to finish out his one-year deal in the minors with the occasional call-up due to injury.

No doubt he’ll be looking to get that 5000th save (he’s at 4931) to go along with the more than 1000 minutes played, and a 200 game mark wouldn’t suck either.

It’s been quite a career for the 37-year old, former 8th round pick in the 1997 draft (#215 overall), 2001 NCAA Champ with Boston College Eagles.

15Mar

Tyson Strachan(5) Hershey Bears

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Big 6’3″ 225 lbs. 7th year defenseman Tyson Strachan(5) has been signed to an NHL contract and played in big league games since his sophomore campaign.

He is currently under a one-year two-way deal with Washington Capitals and has one assist but has mostly been on reassignment with farm club Hershey Bears, where he serves as an assistant captain.

He’s never been exactly the biggest point production d-man scoring only one goal and 13 helpers in 132 big league contests.

His point totals are better in the minors.

This season in 49 AHL games he has a pair of markers with 15 assists, which could easily ascend to a career high by the end of 2013/2014.

He also has a remarkable +13 rating.

Through 264 games he’s potted 15 goals and 70 assists.

Originally a Carolina Hurricanes‘ 5th round pick in the 2003 draft (#137 overall).

He signed his first entry level deal with St. Louis Blues after attending Ohio State University and played in their organization for 4 years before moving on to Florida Panthers for a couple of seasons.

No doubt the 29-year old is an asset to any team he joins and will likely continue where he is or score another big league contract elsewhere, unless he decides to move his game overseas for more money.

18Dec

Dan DaSilva(22) Worcester Sharks

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Undrafted 9th year right wing Dan DaSilva(22) was leading the ECHL in total point with 7 goals and 19 assists through 14 games, when he was called up and signed to a pto to help a struggling, young Worcester Sharks‘ club find their identity.

Although the 6’1″ 195 lbs. forward has only a pair of assists, it’s the intangibles he brings along with leading by example that has the team playing better hockey and back in the hunt posting a 5-3-1 record since his arrival.

His return to the minor league club he spent three seasons from 2008-2011 with before leaving for a campaign overseas that never quite seem to fit too well happens after concluding a successful run on loan to Houston Aeros in 2012/2013.

The 28-year old was recently signed to an AHL contract in hopes his veteran presence will continue to gel with the squad and get them into a playoff position.

See related: 11/18-10, 1/25-11, 9/2-11

15Dec

Justin Peters(35) Carolina Hurricanes

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Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2004 draft (#38 overall) 8th year goaltender Justin Peters is finding his footing and looks to potentially take over the number one job in net.

In 16 NHL games this season he has a 6-8 record but his 2.23 GAA and .925 SV% always gives his team a chance to win.

He’s played 63 total games serving mostly as back-up net minder with appearances in each of the last 5 seasons.

The 6’1″ 210 lbs. goalie has played in 214 AHL games sporting a nifty 2.64 GAA and .912 SV%. He is on the record books with Charlotte Checkers for best in both categories in a single season, most shutouts in a year and overall and has appeared in two All-Star Games receiving best net minder for his play in the 2013 skills competition.

He was re-signed to a two-year contract extension with 2013/2014 as a one-way deal. It will be tough to reassign the player without losing him on waivers.

The 27-year old will likely be staying put with the only team he’s dressed for.

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