Detroit Red Wings | CollegeHockeyPlayers

17Dec

Tomas Jurco (28)

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Detroit Red Wings‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#35 overall), Slovakian-born wing Tomas Jurco(28) received his first NHL recall after his 100th regular season AHL game with minor league affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

He’s off to a blistering start in his sophomore season with 11 goals and 16 assists in 26 games with a +12 rating, which surpasses his rookie season helpers number and is only one point off last year’s total points in 74 contests.

The 6’2″ 193 lbs. forward skater a 16:45 ice time, including 1:27 on the power play with 1 shot on net and 2 hits in the team’s 3-0 loss.

He’s signed to a three-year entry level deal through 2015.

He was a key contributor to the Griffins’ 2013 Calder Cup Championship with 8 goals (most for a rookie) and 6 assists in 24 games.

In three years of QMJHL hockey he was a point per game player putting up 87-88-175 in 172 games and won a league title and Memorial Cup Trophy.

At only 20-years old this is a guy that is still awaiting his big breakout and it looks almost certain to happen soon.

27Nov

Mitch Callahan(15) Grand Rapid Griffins

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Detroit Red Wings‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#180 overall), 3rd year left wing Mitch Callahan(15) is picking up his game big with minor league affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins in the final year of his entry level deal.

In 19 AHL games he already has 8 goals, 4 assists and a smart +10 rating.

It’s almost as if he’s taking up where he left off in the 2013 postseason that ended with a Calder Cup Championship.

In 24 playoff contests he had 6 goals and 5 assists.

The 6′ 195 lbs. forward posted career highs last season with 11 goals, 9 assists and 20 points in 71 games. He looks to shatter that mark before the All-Star break.

Even though he didn’t exactly garner the highest selection spot in the draft, he did put up some impressive numbers in his final year of juniors before turning pro.

The 22-year old also won the WHL Championship with Kelowna Rockets as a rookie and placed 2nd in the subsequent Memorial Cup.

Almost ironically he made the team on a tryout, which would be even more amazing for him to eventually make his NHL debut. Plus, he was born and raised in California.

20Nov

Brenden Kichton (8)

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Double draft pick (most recently Winnipeg Jets‘ 7th round in the 2013 draft, #190overall) rookie defenseman Brenden Kichton(8) was making a huge splash on the back line in his last few years of juniors with Spokane Chiefs.

He managed 240 assists in 202 WHL games, good enough for most helpers in the league from 2010-2012 and lead all d-men in points those years as well.

It’s surprising his number slipped so far down in the most recent draft, especially considering his offensive explosion.

He was originally taken by New York Islanders in the 5th round of 2011 (#127 overall) but failed to work out a contract with the team.

The 6′ 190 lbs. blue liner was also invited to join Detroit Red Wings‘ prospect camp in 2010.

He was reassigned to Winnipeg‘s minor league affiliate St. John’s IceCaps to start his debut campaign and has continued to effectively head man the puck for scoring chances.

In 17 AHL games he has 2 goals and 9 assists with a +5 rating.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal, the 21-year old looks to have a bright future ahead of him and will likely realize his first NHL recall this season.

14Nov

Danny DeKeyser(55) Detroit Red Wings

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Detroit Red Wings‘ undrafted rookie defenseman Danny DeKeyser(55) had quite a 2012/2013.

He started the season in his third year of college hockey with Western Michigan University Broncos.

After completing their schedule, he signed a two-year entry level deal forgoing his final school campaign and joined the Red Wings to finish their lockout shortened schedule.

In 11 games he recorded his first point, an assist and appeared in a pair of playoff contests but was sidelined with a fractured thumb then moved on again.

The highly touted 6’3″ 190 lbs. blue liner was reassigned to continue his early development with minor league affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

He arrived just in time for the 2013 Calder Cup Finals‘ series vs. Syracuse Crunch.

In 6 AHL playoff games he put up another assist in the winning effort to help capture the Championship for the first time in team history.

The 23-year old started his official rookie season on the NHL opening night roster and has played in all 19 games so far, netting his first tally and picking up 5 assists with a +6 rating.

His contract is up at the end of the current season but he’ll likely score himself a nice sized extension, continue to look forward to improve his overall game and be one tough d-man to match up against.

08Nov

Adam Almquist(5) Detroit Red Wings

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2nd year Detroit Red Wings‘ 7th round pick in the 2010 draft (#210 overall), Swedish-born defenseman Adam Almquist(5) scores his first NHL recall from the minors. He scored his first big league goal in his second appearance.

He skated 50 shifts over the pair of appearances and average almost 17 minutes of playing time with 2 shots on net and a -1 rating.

The 5’11” 178 lbs. d-man won a 2013 Calder Cup with Grand Rapid Griffins in his rookie campaign. He also put up 3 goals and 7 assists in 21 playoff contests after scoring 10 goals and 21 assists in 68 games during the regular season. His combined +18 plus/minus for a smaller blue liner was also a nice stat.

He impressed pretty well in training camp and was in a group of last cuts to be reassigned.

He’s signed to a three-year entry level deal but that included a season he only played in 3 AHL games after finishing up his final run in the SHL, so this is the last of his initial contract. He already has 7 assists in 10 games with the Griffins.

The 22-year old will almost certainly get qualified, if not be offered a 2-year extension to stay in the system.

15Oct

Brian Lashoff(32) Detroit Red Wings

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4th year, undrafted defenseman Brian Lashoff(32) split 2012/2013 up with the big club, Detroit Red Wings and their farm team.

He appeared in 31 NHL games post lockout and all three playoff contests before being reassigned to help Grand Rapids Griffins capture their first Calder Cup Championship.

With his 3-year entry level deal expiring, the sturdy 6’3″ 213 lbs. blue liner was signed for another 3-year extension to continue with the team through the 2015/2016 season.

He sticks with the parent club to begin 2013/2014 and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. In 7 games he has one assist.

He’s never been a big point-getter but is looked to for steady play and leadership abilities he brings at only 23-years old.

He was team captain of Kingston Frontenacs in his final two campaigns of junior hockey.

12Oct

Luke Glendening(41) Detroit Red Wings

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2nd year right wing/center Luke Glendening(33) signed a one-year, two-way entry level deal with Detroit Red Wings just after free agency started.

The undrafted forward had an outstanding rookie season on an AHL contract with minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins and then took it up another notch in the playoffs striking for 6 goals and 10 assists in 22 games on the way to the 2013 Calder Cup Championship.

It wasn’t exactly a breeze for the 24-year old forward though as he was reassigned to start 2012/2013 in the ECHL with Toledo Walleye, where he detonated the score sheet with 14 goals and 7 assists in 27 games before being recalled permanently a couple of months into the campaign.

His unrelenting work ethic continued to impress the parent club that was closely watching his early strides and inked him quickly before any other suitors could step in.

The 5’11” 195 lbs. sophomore skater earns his first NHL recall after a quick start with their farm club, putting up a pair of assists in the opening two contests.

He was captain of his college hockey squad at University Of Michigan and won an NCAA title two seasons ago. He also was chosen as the best defensive-minded forward, which is primarily his style but he’s quickly adding goal scorer to that depth chart.

03Aug

Julien Cayer(12) Reading Royals

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2nd year center Julien Cayer(12) re-signs with Reading Royals for 2013/2014 after winning the Kelly Cup with the team in his rookie season.

In 49 ECHL games he had 3 goals and 6 assists with a +10 rating. He also skated in 6 playoff contests with one helper.

At 6’4″ 207 lbs. he’s definitely got a big frame, power forward size but is still waiting to really connect on the score sheet.

Through four years of college hockey at Clarkson University he posted 14 goals and 19 assists in 104 games, which seems a bit low for the big man.

He was originally a Detroit Red Wings‘ 5th round draft pick in 2008 (#151 overall) but never inked a deal, subsequently becoming a free agent.

No doubt more improvements to his scoring game will be expect in the upcoming campaign.

29Jul

Tom McCollum(30) Grand Rapids Griffins

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Detroit Red Wings‘ 1st round pick in the 2008 draft (#30 overall) goaltender Tom McCollum(30) signs a one-year AHL deal to continue with Grand Rapids Griffins, the team he won the Calder Cup Championship with last season.

Heading into his 5th season, after much bandying about, he was ultimately given a qualified offer as a restricted free agent by the parent club for the upcoming campaign, but is staying put in the minors hoping to regain the form he had in junior hockey with Guelph Storm to become such a high selection.

He showed promise last season posting his first winning record at 18-11 in 31 starts on what obviously was a great team but the suits had to be looking at his overall performance to want to keep him around for another shot.

The big 6’3″ 219 lbs. net minder has appeared in 113 regular season games with the Griffins, 42 with ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye but only one disastrous NHL contest, despite being recalled on a half a dozen or more occasions to serve as back-up.

At this point the still very young 23-year old goalie may need to catch the attention of another club to grab another big league contract.

Even though he had a winning record and better numbers than any of his previous years pro, he’s fallen low on the Red Wings‘ depth chart and will need to prove himself big.

26Jun

Joakim Andersson(18) Detroit Red Wings

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Detroit Red Wings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2007 draft (#88 overall), Swedish-born center Joakim Andersson(18) has been given a qualifying offer to stay in the team’s prospect system for a fourth season.

He originally signed a 3-year entry level deal that is up as of July 1 and is coming off a career year in the system, playing 38 NHL games, scoring 3 goals and 5 assists during the shortened lockout season and adding another tally and 5 helpers in 14 playoff games.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. forward was reassigned to their minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins as soon as they were eliminated, rejoining a team the 24-year old had already skated in 189 AHL games with, including 36 to start 2012/2013. He had 10 goals and 17 assists in his most recent campaign and 38 goals and 63 assists total.

As a Griffin once again, he put up another 3 goals and 5 assists on the way to a Calder Cup Championship ring.

Might very well be the last the lower league sees of this guy.