Tagged: defenseman

19Sep

Johnny Boychuk(55) Boston / Providence Bruins

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One-time Providence Bruins‘ defenseman, Johnny Boychuk(55) is the first player to step on the TD Garden ice for Group B at the 2nd day of training camp.

He was originally drafted by Colorado Avalanche in the 2nd round of the 2002 draft (#61 overall). He only suited up for one game with them before being traded to Boston in 2008.

He played for four seasons with AHL affiliates of Colorado in Hershey, Lowell, Albany and Lake Erie before making his way to the NHL full-time a couple of seasons ago.

There’s no sign that he’ll ever go back.

11Sep

Zack Fitzgerald (14)

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Hamilton Bulldogs inked grizzly 7th year veteran defenseman Zack Fitzgerald(14) to an AHL contract for 2011/2012.

He led the league in penalty minutes with 311 in ’09/’10.

He’ll no doubt be called upon to protect some of the younger prospects in the Canadiens‘ system.

In the 2007/2008 season he did get a 1 game wink in an NHL game when he was signed by the Canucks for a couple of seasons.

The last two years he’s been signed with Carolina Hurricanes.

Fitzgerald was a 3rd round pick in 2003 (#88 overall) by St. Louis and played for two years with their minor league affiliates in Peoria and Alaska.

11Sep

Andrew Bodnarchuk (2)

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andrew-bonardchuk

Boston Bruins‘ 2006 5th round pick (#128 overall) defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk(2) re-signed for a fourth season with the organization.

He played 5 NHL games in the 2009/2010 season registering no points, but mostly fallen too far down the depth chart to return unless he shows some surprises in training camp.

The small-ish (graciously listed at 5’11”) has thus far really only shown little with affiliate Providence Bruins in over 200 games played in three years.

He’ll likely skate the full season in the AHL again and with some work will continue to chip in more points.

Last year he had a career high of 16 (1 goal, 15 assists).

03Sep

Benn Olson(38) Bridgeport Sound Tigers / New York Islanders

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4th year agitator defenseman Benn Olson(36) was in New York Islanders‘ rookie camp this summer and will also be with the team during training camp.

He signed a one-way AHL deal with Bridgeport Sound Tigers for 2011/2012 season after playing 17 games for the team last year picking up 3 points and 78 pims.

Undrafted, he’s fairly large at 6’4″ 215lbs and could be viewed as sort of a poor man’s Chris Pronger.

01Sep

Dylan Yeo(29) Ontario Reign / Hershey Bears

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Defenseman Dylan Yeo(29) signed a deal with Ontario Reign for the 2011/2012 season, his 5th pro year.

For the past two seasons he was under a two-way contract with Hershey Bears. Last year’s 27 games with the team on call-up from South Carolina Stingrays were career highs for games played and points (1 goal, 5 assists). He started his pro career with Manitoba Moose/Victoria Salmon Kings spending two years with them.

By joining the Reign, it’s likely he sees a possible opening in Manchester to fill.

01Sep

Bobby Sanguinetti(6) Carolina Hurricanes

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bobby-sanguinetti

4th year defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti(6) knows its time to step up in his 2nd season with Carolina Hurricanes‘ organization.

He was New York Rangers‘ 2006 1st round selection (#21 overall) but unceremoniously dished to the Hurricanes for a couple of draft picks in 2010.

He missed most of last season with an injury but came back early, which impressed them enough to re-sign him. He has plenty to prove considering all the hype surrounding him coming out of juniors.

19Aug

Tyler Eckford(7) Phoenix Coyotes / Albany Devils

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New Jersey didn’t qualify 4th year defenseman Tyler Eckford(7), who they drafted in 2004, round7  #217 overall. Free to go, Phoenix signed him to a 1-year, 2-way contract soon after free agency started.

He could play some more games in the NHL (he has 7 to his credit, 1 assist), but Portland Pirates are already using him as their lead image on their website, so he’ll likely be seeing more time in the AHL Eastern Conference for a third straight season. He’s appeared in 170 games with Albany and Lowell Devils, who played just an hour and a half down the highway from the Pirates.

13Aug

Andre Benoit(61) Spartak Moscow / Binghamton Senators

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Binghamton Senators‘ Andre Benoit(61) is one of the best defensive agitators I saw play in the AHL postseason and helped his team to the ultimate prize, the Calder Cup, while having clearly his best season of offensive numbers.

He even played in his first NHL games in his 6 year pro career last season;  8 with Ottawa. He registered 1 point, an assist.

He’s traveling overseas again next season joining Spartak Moscow of the KHL. He spent ’07/’08 in Finland and ’08/’09 in Sweden and the last two seasons in the AHL with Hamilton (2005-2007, 2009-2010) and Binghamton.

The knock on him must be that he’s two small to be a top six guy. I’ll miss seeing him in the AHL Eastern Conference but think he’ll be back to North America quite possilby on a one-way NHL deal.