Chicago Blackhawks | CollegeHockeyPlayers

27Nov

Adam Burish(37) Worcester Sharks

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San Jose Sharks‘ 9th year veteran center Adam Burish(37) has never been a prolific goal scorer through 378 NHL games he’s skated, 27 goals and 33 assists.

Returning healthy after suffering an injury that tossed all but 15 games to the sidelines last season, he’s off to a less than stellar start with only a goal, a pair of assists and a -6 rating in 20 contests.

His team is also suffering from sub par performances on more nights than not. As they say, there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ very deep 9th round pick in 2002 (#282 overall), the 6’1″ 191 lbs. forward has played most of his big league games with them, winning a Stanley Cup in 2010.

He does seem to gravitate towards winning as he was team captain for University Of Wisconsin when they won the 2006 NCAA Championship.

In between he had a two season stop posting career highs with Dallas Stars before signing a very decent 4-year agreement with the Sharks.

He’s in the third campaign of his one-way deal but not producing and with the team slumping he finds himself on the outs, reassigned to minor league affiliate Worcester Sharks.

It’s his first appearance in the AHL in 7 years.

In two games he has one assist.

The 31-year old could be a huge asset with the farm club or could easily find himself on the payoff end of a buyout after this season.

06Nov

Brad Winchester(15) Norfolk Admirals

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Sizable 6’5″ 230 lbs. left wing Brad Winchester(15) signed his first minor league contract to play professional hockey in his 12th year of service.

The 33-year old inked late for a one year AHL deal with Norfolk Admirals. He was also invited to Anaheim Ducks‘ training camp to start ’14/’15 but was among the first to be released, despite having a strong showing.

He actually spent 19 regular season and 3 postseason games with them a few seasons ago amongst the many teams he’s skated for.

Originally an Edmonton Oilers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2000 draft (#35 overall), he played his first four years in their system including his first two stints with a pair of farm club Roadrunners, first Toronto then Edmonton.

It wasn’t until his fourth season that he became a regular in the show.

He’s appeared in 390 NHL games (mostly through three years with St. Louis Blues) scoring 37 goals, 31 assists and a monster -42 rating.

His last pair of campaigns have been exclusively in the minors and he seems fairly comfortable assuming the role of assistant captain.

He’s quite the poiny scorer in the league too at 96 goals and 81 assists in 319 games but still haunted by a horrible -32 plus/minus.

It remains to be seen if those on ice accountability numbers will improve but he’s off to a hot start with a first time reversed 3 goals and 4 assists in 9 games and a +1.

27Oct

Scott Darling(33) Chicago Blackhawks

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Originally an Arizona Coyotes‘ 6th round pick in the 2007 draft (#153 overall) 5th year goaltender Scott Darling(33) took an unprecedented long journey to his first NHL game with Chicago Blackhawks, getting the 2-1 victory in the process.

The extra large 6’6″ 238 lbs. net minder was never signed after his selection from US junior hockey.

He advanced to play a couple of campaigns for University Of Maine Black Bears putting up decent stats but still found no takers.

Deciding to turn pro he signed his first contract with the now defunct Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL and continued in the league inking for his sophomore year with Mississippi Riverkings.

He received a couple of call-ups but didn’t fare too well, although he would get a one-year deal with Wheeling Nailers for the next season.

After a solid, short run in the ECHL, Milwaukee Admirals took a chance on the backstop for 2013/2014, where he put up outstanding numbers going 13-6 in 26 AHL games with a 2.00 GAA and .933 SV%.

The effort earned him his first NHL deal with the Blackhawks.

Coming off a strong training camp, he was reassigned to affiliate Rockford IceHogs.

In 2 contests he won both and 1.44 GAA and .948 SV%.

The close to Chicago native from Lemont, IL received a well-deserved nod to start between the pipes upon his first recall.

At just 25-years old, he has gone all the way from single A to the show.

15May

Pascal Pelletier(23) Utica Comets

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Undrafted 10th year center Pascal Pelletier(23) returned to North American hockey signing a one-year two-way deal with Vancouver Canucks for 2013/2014.

He spent the last three seasons in the Swiss elite league NLA, skating games for SCL Tigers, putting up close to point-per-game numbers.

The strong skating, stocky 5’11” 196 lbs. forward was reassigned to expansion team Utica Comets and set a new career high assists with 40 in 69 AHL games.

His 62 points were also second highest of his pro career.

He appeared in 3 games with the parent club but failed to hit the score sheet.

He’s played 16 total NHL games but has not registered a point.

03May

Kent Huskins(29) Utica Comets

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13-year veteran defenseman Kent Huskins(29) signed an AHL contract to join Utica Comets a month into the 2013/2014 season.

Possibly looking for a new NHL suitor after splitting less than 20 games the previous year with Detroit Red Wings then Philadelphia Flyers, it’s possible he saw a possible opening in the parent club to influence his decision to sign a minor league deal.

He appeared in 65 games with the expansion central New York club adding another 10 points to his league totals (473-33-101-134). He also owns a +33 rating.

The big 6’4″ 205 lbs. blue liner has also skated in 318 contests in the show putting up just 13 goals and 55 assists, but his stay-at-home style and strong defense of his own zone gives him a highly accountable +46 plus/minus.

It took him 5 years of trolling with farm teams before he received his first opportunity to play at the highest level but from there he spent six straight seasons on top.

Not bad for a player that was originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 6th round pick in the 1998 draft (#156 overall).

The almost 35-year old could either stay put or try his hand elsewhere but is probably happy earning a decent payday playing pro hockey.

He won a Stanley Cup Championship in 2007 as a member of Anaheim Ducks.

07Mar

Mathieu Brisebois(25) Rockford IceHogs

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Undrafted rookie defenseman Mathieu Brisebois(25) undergoes an address change in his first pro season.

He was traded from Phoenix Coyotes‘ prospect system on reassignment to affiliate Portland Pirates to Chicago Blackhawks‘ farm club Rockford IceHogs.

The somewhat undersized 5’11” 190 lbs. blue liner played in 28 AHL games picking up a goal and three assists with a -5 on a cellar dwelling team but was also a healthy scratch on more than a few occasions.

In his fourth year of QMJHL with Rouyn-Noranda Huskies he led the league in goals, assists and points by a d-man and continued on a similar tear in the playoffs.

The 21-year old signed a three-year entry level deal that keeps him under contract through 2015/2016.

It will be interesting to see if he can parlay his junior hockey finish into producing on the score sheet at the next level.

10Feb

Jack Skille(10)

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7th year, former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2005 draft (#7 overall) right wing Jack Skille(15) played exclusively in the NHL for the last three seasons, mostly with Florida Panthers after a trade in late 2011.

In that time he skated in 148 games and scored a somewhat underwhelming 15 goals and 26 assists.

At 6’1″ 216 lbs. he’s definitely got power forward size and plays a bit of a laid back version of that style but definitely can get to the net.

As an unrestricted free agent he signed a one-year two-way contract with Columbus Blue Jackets in the off-season and has split time with minor league affiliate Springfield Falcons pretty evenly.

In 12 games with a parent club he has 4 goals and is a +2. In the AHL he’s basically at a point-per-game with 4 strikes and 6 helpers in 11 contests.

Really tough to say where the 26-year old goes next but you have to wonder if he wouldn’t have a breakout year on a wing with some other explosive forwards.

26Dec

Kyle Beach (14)

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Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2008 draft (#11 overall), 4th year right wing Kyle Beach(14) finally saw his time expire in the team’s prospect system.

Unable to secure an NHL recall while playing with minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs, he was still qualified for another season after his three-year entry deal was up.

The fairly big 6’3″ 210 lbs. player definitely has power forward size but seems to have a bit of unwillingness to use it where he is for anything more than getting it skirmishes with opponents.

In 175 AHL games he has 41 goals and 36 assists with 4 of those tallies coming in 7 contests in the current campaign.

He was a point-per-game guy though four WHL seasons, while always putting up close to 200 penalty minutes each year. He also concluded his junior hockey career with a +51 rating.

Traded to New York Rangers‘ organization and reassigned to their farm club, Hartford Wolf Pack, he has only notched one assist in 7 contests.

The still super-young 23-year old is only under contract through the end of the season and it’s possible his game will pick up to where it needs to be with the change of scenery, but he’s going to have to connect soon or his ice time may dry up.

22Dec

Akim Aliu(78) Hartford Wolf Pack

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5th year right wing Akim Aliu(78) is a bit of an enigma.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#56 overall), the rough and tough forward has only played in 7 NHL games while under contract with Calgary Flames, who picked up the last year of his entry level contract, then qualified him for another season.

In his first pair of big league games he notched a pair of goals and an assist but through his next five contests in last year’s lockout shortened season he failed to connect with the score sheet.

The 6’4″ 225 lbs. power forward spent most of his time with farm club Abbotsford Heat, where in 84 games he’s collected a sparse 14 goals and 11 assists with an unsettling -20 rating.

Through 214 AHL contests his point totals are surprisingly low.

It’s fairly well documented that the still young 24-year old has temper and attitude problems, which probably has a lot to do with his limited success.

He started the current campaign on a try-out contract with Hamilton Bulldogs but was released after 14 games.

Picked up a month later by a struggling Hartford Wolf Pack, in a pair of appearances he scored his first tally with the team, has one fight and unloaded 5 shots on net.

He seems to fit with the team pretty well but without a sizable increase of offense production, it seems unlikely he’ll be given an spc to stay through the regular season.

29Oct

Andrew Ebbett (25)

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8th year undrafted left wing Andrew Ebbett(25) wasted no time in free agency signing a one-year, two-way deal to join Pittsburgh Penguins‘ system for a season.

In 8 AHL games with minor league affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he already has a tidy 2 goals and 5 assists. He’s pretty much a point per game guy in the league at 78 goals and 165 assists in 254 games, now skating with his 6th team. He also owns a remarkable +32 rating.

He’s less prolific in the NHL scoring 25 tallies and 39 helpers in 191 games under contracts with 7 different teams but also has an accountable +3 plus/minus.

The small 5’9″ 174 lbs. forward is looked to for bursts of energy he brings to the table and that kind of spark plug often results in wins.

It will be interesting to see where the 30-year old ends up next but he can almost assuredly expect a recall to the parent club before the seasons out, which would give him NHL appearances in his last 7 seasons.