Tagged: Charlotte Checkers

John Muse (40)

John Muse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd year, undrafted goaltender John Muse(40) was selected as the AHL player of the week after posting a pair of perfect games with Charlotte Checkers on loan from Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL.

Irony of ironies, he was signed to a contract with the Checkers for his rookie season after four years at Boston College, where he won 2008 and 2010 NCAA Championships.

The 5’11” 175 lbs. net minder also played more than half his first campaign with Florida Everblades, ultimately helping lead the team to a Kelly Cup Championship.

He was also named Playoff MVP for his outstanding 1.78 GAA and .939 SV% over 13 games to the title.

Carolina Hurricanes took notice and signed him to a 1-year entry level deal but the impending lockout basically derailed any promise of him guarding the cage in the show despite being recalled on one occasion.

In his sophomore season, he spent even more time in Charlotte and Florida but wasn’t retained before ultimately moving on.

Now coming full circle (albeit a small one) he is back where he started, but there could be too many stacked pads for him to steal the starter job or even ride the pine until his next opportunity.

Oh, did we mention the East Falmouth, MA-born native was in Providence Bruins‘ training camp on an invite?

We are still lead to believe that with continued good play the 25-year old with once again find himself signed to an NHL contract.

6th year defenseman Derek Joslin(36) has just seen his pro career come full circle.

He is back with the team he started with, Worcester Sharks, when the parent clubs swapped minor league defensemen in a late season move that saw Vancouver Canucks return him to the AHL Eastern Conference from Chicago Wolves.

He is still signed with the Canucks but set to become a restricted free agent.

The 26-year old inked a one-year, two-way deal early in free agency with the team after Carolina Hurricanes bought out the final season of his 1-way contract.

He has 114 NHL contests to his credit with 4 goals and 12 assists and spent the entire last two seasons in the league, skating games in the show since 2008-2009 season.

The solid as a rock blue liner has yet to score a recall in the lockout shortened 2013 campaign but now that appears doubtful.

In 262 career AHL games, he’s scored 29 times and added 84 assists but currently sitting at a sort of dismal overall -16 plus/minus.

The 6’1″ 210 lbs. d-man was originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 5th round pick in the 2005 draft (#149 overall).

Derek Joslin

Carolina Hurricanes‘ 4th round pick in the 2008 draft (#105 overall), Czech-born defenseman Michal Jordan(29) received his first NHL recall.

He is in the final season of his three-year entry level deal and in 48 AHL games this season with Charlotte Checkers he has connected for a career high 6 goals and 15 points, which also puts him on pace to put up a best in that scoring category as well.

While listed at a moderate 6’1″ 195 lbs. he looks a lot bigger than those numbers. There’s little doubt his game is all about muscle and punishing opponents and he’s relatively effective in that role without getting himself into penalty trouble. He’s also a tidy +11 plus/minus on a team that knows how to win games.

In his debut the 22-year old skated 17 shifts for 12:18 total ice time and had one shot on net in a decisive 3-1 victory. He could stick around or at the very least be given a contract extension at the end of the season to see where it goes after a taste of the show.

He should really play in Chicago though.

Michal Jordan

8th year, former New York Rangers‘ 1st round pick in the 2003 draft (#12 overall), gigantic right winger Hugh Jessiman(19) signed a one-year, two-way deal with Ottawa Senators for the 2012/2013 season.

He (and every other eligible player) was reassigned to their AHL affiliate Binghamton Senators to start the new campaign.

The 6’5″ 233 lbs. mammoth has only ever skated in a pair of NHL games a couple of seasons ago with Florida Panthers.

He’s played 455 AHL regular season games with 7 different teams and last season posted a career high 27 goals and 44 points with Lake Erie Monsters and Abbotsford Heat.

By all accounts he should be a power forward that is impossible to move from the front of the net and a consistent 20+ goals, 20+ helpers forward.

In 25 games so far this season the 28-year old has 6 goals and 4 assists.

Hugh Jessiman

Carolina Hurricanes‘ 6th round pick in the 2007 draft (#162 overall), defenseman Brett Bellemore(34) is in the last season of his two-year contract extension. The 24-year old is set to become a restricted free agent once again but chances are good that he’ll be re-signed for at least another campaign to help keep Charlotte Checkers‘ teammates well-protected.

He’s rarely among the leaders on the team in penalty minutes but his 6’4″ 210 lbs. presence is enough to keep opponents from making any stupid moves. In 29 contests his pims are showing a bit of an uptick, considering he is one of two big men on the current roster. The towering blue liner could end his 4th full season with a career high in the category.

He has never been all that active on the scoresheet through 29o AHL regular and postseason contests, scoring only 6 goals and 30 assists. With 5 helpers already this season, he could reach another career best for assists.

He’s also a +9 plus/minus, which is another high mark, so far in the first third of the season on a squad that looks good to compete for the Calder Cup.

Brett Bellemore

Undrafted 2nd year center Scott Pitt(44) won the ECHL Kelly Cup in rookie season with Florida Everblades, the team he joined fresh out of college at the end of the year before.

The 6′ 175 lbs. forward was a bit of a scoring machine popping in 22 goals and 36 assists in 63 games.

Going into the 2012/2013 season, he signed a deal with Greenville Road Warriors that led to a training camp invite from Connecticut Whale.

He actually played in their opening game but was released from his pto soon afterwards and sent back down.

In 10 games with the Road Warriors he’s at it again tallying 3 goals and 7 assists already.

What the 24-year lacks in overall size he definitely makes up for in the speed and getting into those open spaces on the ice department.

He played 6 games on recall with Charlotte Checkers last season, scoring 0 points but regardless of that expect him to get another crack at the Whale lineup as soon as the injury bug starts biting.

 

julien-brouillette

Undrafted 5th year defenseman Julien Brouillette(29) started his pro career in the ECHL but has played the last two seasons exclusively with AHL teams.

He had career highs for games played, goals, assists, points and penalty minutes (74-7-14-21-24) last season in the league with Hershey Bears, who he was signed with for the season.

The small-ish 5’11” 185 lbs. blue liner re-upped with the club for 2012/2013 but was a healthy scratch for the first contest and reassigned to their new ECHL affiliate Reading Royals midweek for a game to get in some playing time.

He was inserted into the lineup for their second road contest and scored his first of the new campaign but sat for the home opener the next night.

The soon-to-be 26-year old will likely always be the type of player that needs to earn his spot.

 

matthew-pistilli1

Undrafted right wing Matthew Pistilli(36) had himself a nice 3-year entry level deal with Carolina Hurricanes that expired at the end of the 2012 season.

He split most of his time between minor league teams but played almost the full tilt (73 games) in the AHL last campaign scoring a career high 12 goals, 13 assists and 25 points with a less than great -12 rating.

He had 17 goals and 18 assists in 39 games on reassignment with Florida Everblades then added another 3 tallies and 7 helpers in 13 postseason contests.

Entering his 4th pro season, the 6’2″ 219 lbs., should-be power forward signed a contract to skate with South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL.

First things first though, he scored an invite to join new affiliate Providence Bruins training camp.

No doubt, the almost 24-year old should be on the short list for a recall, if a player gets injured.

chris-terry

Carolina Hurricanes‘ 5th round pick in the 2007 draft (#132 overall) left wing Chris Terry(25) gets the nod for another two seasons to continue his development in the team’s prospect system.

In 2011/2012 he had an AHL career high in 43 assists with Charlotte Checkers.

His 59 points led the team in scoring; he was second by a point the year before.

Through 234 regular season games he has 67 goals and 103 assists, which is pretty good for the 5’10” 195 lbs. forward.

He was outstanding in the Checkers‘ surge to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 with 6 goals and 3 assists in 15 contests.

The 23-year old has yet to appear in an NHL contest but an appearance should be right around the corner, especially if he continues on his scoring run in the minors.

Heading into his 7th pro season former Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 3rd round pick in the 2004 draft (#90) Justin Pogge(1) splits for Renon/Ritten of the Italian Serie A league after 254 regular season AHL games.

The big 6’3″ 21o lbs. backstop has almost quietly always had a winning record and put up decent numbers for whatever minor league team he’s played with.

Last season with Portland Pirates he posted a 14-13 record with a .890 SV% and a 3.07 GAA, which was a bit higher than his average play in the league.

In 7 NHL games, all with Toronto Maple Leafs, he didn’t fare so well. He had an amazing season in his last of juniors.

He’s still only 26-years old and probably has a good amount of juice left in the container. A couple good years overseas and we may see him again.