Central Hockey League | CollegeHockeyPlayers

02Sep

Dean Strong(23) Valpellice Bulldogs

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Entering his fifth pro season, small but sturdy right wing Dean Strong(23) will once again try his hand overseas.

He signed a one-year deal with Italy’s Valpellice Bulldogs for 2013/2014.

It’s his second stint playing hockey outside of North America, as the 5’8″ 190 lbs. forward spent his sophomore campaign successfully in Germany2 with Eispiraten Crimmitschau before he returned, joining Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL for the remainder of the regular and postseason run.

He put up point per game numbers and was re-signed to continue with K-Wings but started his third year with Chicago Wolves out of training camp on a pto before being sent back.

Later loaned to Lake Erie Monsters he found his spot and finished off the year with the team after being inked to an spc midway through. He re-upped for 2012/2013 but suffered and injury that derailed his progress.

He was reassigned for a very short time in the Central Hockey League with affiliate Denver Cutthroats but was quickly back with the Monsters to complete the season.

The 28-year old has played in 106 AHL games scoring 11 goals and 24 assists.

He will likely break out on a scoring spree once again in the lower tier league and will likely continue to move up over there as age and veteran status will start to factor in to any future signing.

17Aug

Thomas Heemskerk(33) Quad City Mallards

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3rd year undrafted goalie Thomas Heemskerk(33) was left unqualified by San Jose Sharks and became an unrestricted free agent after his three-year entry level contract was up.

He spent two years in their prospect system skating mostly for their ECHL affiliates Stockton Thunder and San Francisco Bulls with some sprinkles of ice time with Worcester Sharks. In 6 AHL games he posted a 1.97 GAA and .926 SV%.

The 6’1″ 190 lbs. net minder also received one recall to the NHL to serve as a back-up and practice with the team.

Although only appearing in a fraction of the games, his SV% was better than his junior hockey league best in 2009/2010 with Everett Silvertips. had a 91-58-19 record in four years of WHL with a 2.81 GAA and .910 SV%.

His marks in the ECHL were less good. In 63 contests his GAA was 3.19 and had a .899 SV%.

For 2013/2014, he almost surprisingly signs a one-year deal with Quad City Mallards of Central Hockey League.

The still very young 23-year old goaltender should score a recall or two in the upcoming season that might elevate him back up into a higher level of pro hockey.

28Jul

Gary Steffes(25) Bakersfield Condors

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4th year undrafted center Gary Steffes(25) has played under contract with Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League for all three years of his pro career.

He’s skated in 169 games scoring 61 goals and 68 assists but ran up an abysmal -26 plus/minus.

The 6’1″ 185 lbs. forward was called up by Lake Erie Monsters, where he appeared in 16 AHL games pocketing his first higher league tally and added 2 assists.

He also appeared in training camp with Oklahoma City Barons but was released before the start of the regular season.

For 2013/2014 he has signed a one-year deal to suit up for Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL.

The 26-year old is likely a shoe-in for another recalled especially if he can put up numbers in the higher double A league.

19Jul

Bryant Molle(3) Reading Royals

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Undrafted, 3rd year defenseman and consecutive, two-time minor league champ, Bryant Molle(3) re-signs for another year with Reading Royals, the team he won the Kelly Cup with last season.

He played 54 regular season ECHL games and added another 22 playoff games in 2012/2013.

The sizable 6’3″ 215 lbs. blue liner started his first full pro season in the Central Hockey League with Fort Wayne Komets and won the team’s last Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup before switching leagues.

He also appeared in a couple of games with his hometown Alaska Aces upon completing four years of college hockey at University Of Alaska-Fairbanks.

Although never the biggest point getter (2 goals and 19 assists overall), he maintains an outstanding, combined +48 rating over a pair of seasons.

At 26-years old, he’s probably just starting to hit his stride and build a mountain of confidence that may earn him a look from the higher league in the upcoming 2013/2014 campaign.

15Jul

Shawn Boutin(26) Stockton Thunder

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Undrafted, 3rd year defenseman Shawn Boutin(26) re-signs on for another season with Western Conference Champions, Stockton Thunder.

In 69 ECHL games last year he had 13 assists but no goals. He took care of that in the Kelly Cup Playoffs though by registering a pair of markers (keep that puck) and 6 assists in 23 postseason contests.

The 5’11” 195 lbs. blue liner started his pro career with Arizona Sundogs in Central Hockey League, skated 54 games in his rookie campaign and had 2 goals and 4 assists.

He played 5 seasons in juniors with Val d’Or Foreurs and was fairly steady in his point production in the mid-teens but seems to rack up too many on ice minus numbers that has followed him.

The 23-year old also does show an uptick in his playoff hockey, so if he can even out his plus/minus, he’ll be one good, well-rounded d-man. We wouldn’t be surprised if he scored an AHL training camp invite or call-up.

03Jul

Tony DeHart(2) St. Charles Chill

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After a couple of seasons with the ECHL Stockton Thunder, including an appearance in the 2013 Kelly Cup Finals with the team, 3rd year defenseman Tony DeHart(2) is one of the first players to sign with the Central Hockey League expansion St. Charles Chill for the 2013/2014 season.

Originally a New York Islanders‘ fifth round pick in the 2010 draft (#125 overall), the 6’2″ 202 lbs. blue liner was never signed. Instead, he attended Montreal Canadiens‘ and AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs‘ training camps on an invite before being released.

He signed his first contract with Stockton as a rookie and inked an extension to return for his sophomore campaign, where he had career highs in goals, assists and points finishing the 2012/2013 season with 5-20-25 marks.

Not being so much of a stranger to putting up points, he notched 40 assists in his fourth year in juniors with Oshawa Generals and has continued to increased the number of pucks he’s put on net for scoring chances.

Joining the St. Charles‘ squad brings the 23-year old back to his home state of Missouri. He was born less than a half hour away from their home arena. u

Chances are he’ll look to impress and put up points in an effort to move back up the pro hockey ladder.

22Sep

Ryley Grantham(16) Allen Americans

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4th year right wing Ryley Grantham(16) was not qualified by Calgary Flames when his 3-year entry level deal was up. He was originally their 6th round pick in the 2008 draft (#168 overall).

In the final season of his contract, he was skating mostly with Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL before being reassigned in a minor swap with Chicago Express.

The 6’4″ 210 lbs. bruiser played 89 AHL games with Abbotsford Heat and put up a pretty hefty 163 penalty minutes in 67 games of his rookie season. He only minimally hit the scoresheet with a goal and 3 assists.

In an interesting lock out move, the 24-year old signed a contract to play in the Central Hockey League with Allen Americans for 2012/2013. While with them he should really look to pick up his offensive game; put more points than pims on the scoresheet.

15Jul

Jon Landry(7) New York Islanders

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It would be easy to have a case of mistaken identity in this roster move: defenseman Jon Landry(7), who last year played with Bridgeport Sound Tigers for 34 games on call-up and scored 2 goals and 18 assists, while going a +11 plus/minus is not to be confused with Jon (now) A. Landry, who played for Bridgeport in 2011 but didn’t skate last season.

This Jon Landry, like the other one though, was called up from the ECHL, where he was under contract with Colorado Eagles. The 6’3″ 220 lbs. d-man had 12 goals and 18 assists when unknowingly he left for good.

The couple seasons before that he played in the EIHL for a year and parts of one in Germany’s DEL. Mostly though, he was sort of hiding as an undrafted player in the Central Hockey League with Arizona Sundogs for his first 4 seasons since turning pro.

He did manage to win a President’s Cup Trophy as the top team in the league in his second campaign in.

Now the 29-year old seemingly out of nowhere signed his first one-year, two-way NHL contract with New York Islanders and will likely see more time in Bridgeport to continue to confuse everyone. Until he makes his NHL debut that is.

14May

Keith Aucoin(11) Washington Capitals

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Veteran AHL center Keith Aucoin(11) has played a whopping 673 regualar season games in the league throughout his amazing 11-year career run.

Despite appearing in only 43 games this season, he still ranked 5th in scoring with 70 points (11 goals, 59 assists).

On February 28, the 33-year old was recalled from Hershey Bears for the fourth time in a month by Washington Capitals and stayed in the NHL throughout their Stanley Cup Playoff run, which included a pair of 7-game series.

In his first 14 big league postseason contests ever he had a pair of assists but more importantly was utilized on the power play and provided a tough fourth line checking forward for the opposition to deal with.

The 5’8″ 171 lbs. forward (that plays with hockey stick that’s bigger than he is) has been in the Caps‘ system for the last 4 seasons and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but we expect him to be re-upped for at least one more year.

02May

Mike Vernace(48) Connecticut Whale

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6th year defenseman Mike Vernace(48) has been on quite the ride through the AHL this season as he was traded twice and is currently playing for his third team in the 2011/2012 season.

Ironically all three teams he skated for are still in the postseason.

He started the year with Norfolk Admirals, the team he’d been with for the entirety of 2010/2011 and even got into 10 games with the parent club Tampa Bay Lightning.

From there he was dished to Florida Panthers but skated only with San Antonio Rampage.

That relationship lasted only 22 games before he was once again passed along to New York Rangers in a trade deadline deal and reassigned to Connecticut Whale, where he’ll play his former team, the Admirals in the AHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in a best-of-seven series.

Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 7th round pick in the 2004 draft (#201 overall), the 6’ 216 lbs. blue liner has only appeared in 22 NHL games throughout his playing career.

It’s a bit doubtful that he’ll crack New York Rangers‘ lineup next fall or if they’ll even sign him up for another year, as he’ll be a UFA at the conclusion of the playoff run.

We still think he’s got plenty of pop to crack a big league lineup.