Tagged: Lake Erie Monsters

03Jul

Jason Bacashihua (35)

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jason-bacashihua

In his 10th season, veteran goaltender Jason Bacashihua(35) was originally a 1st round draft pick in 2001 for Dallas Stars (#26 overall) but they never played a game in net for them.

After a couple of not so successful seasons with their AHL team, Utah Grizzlies he was traded to St. Louis Blues and tended goal for Worcester IceCats for a season and Peoria Rivermen before getting his chance in the NHL.

He didn’t exactly step up at the opportunity and his stock dropped causing him to get traded to Colorado Avalanche for a bag of rocks.

Two calendars years later he signs a one-year deal with the always fantastic Hershey Bears and posted his first winning record since 2005/2006.

From here he starts his vagabond journey signing another deal and a great year for him later with Colorado. He backstops their AHL affiliate Lake Erie Monsters with a winning record and career highs in GAA 2.29 and SV% .917 and he’s on a roll at 28-years old.

He signed another one-year deal with Philadelphia Flyers but has and probably will only play with Adirondack Phantoms in the AHL. But once again, he’s winning more games than losing with decent GAA and SV%.

Original story: 1/24-12

After three seasons tending net in DEL for Straubing Tigers playing 137 games with a 2.80 GAA and a .911 SV% the soon-to-be 33 year old has decided to switch things up and moves on to Slovak Extraliga joining HC Banska Bystrica for 2015/2016.

It will be his 14th professional season.

03Jul

Chad Costello(13) Allen Americans

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chad-costello

4th year pro, undrafted forward Chad Costello(38) was lighting up the ECHL with Colorado Eagles before Springfield Falcons called him up to the AHL.

At the time of his promotion, he led the league in scoring with 16 goals and 32 assists in 30 games.

In four games, signed to a pto with the Falcons playing limited ice time, he failed to register any points before being released.

He wasted no time picking up where he left off in the lower league, as he exploded for a hat trick and added an assist in his first game back with the Eagles.

Despite missing a couple weeks of play, he still leads the ECHL in scoring by eight points.

He’s not exactly the biggest guy out there at 5’9″ 170 lbs but has worked hard and earned his way up through the ranks. He started as a rookie in the ill-fated IHL before moving on to a couple of seasons in the Central Hockey League and this season at age 25 to the ECHL for 2011/2012.

Original story: 1/13-12

Heading into his 8th season after finishing off an unreal first year with Allen Americans that saw him claim his first ECHL scoring title with a mind-boggling 125 points, including a fifth all-time 84 assists and tied for league second 41 goals with a +43 rating, he will stay put and look to win another title.

He was also named to the first team All-Star squad and won the 2015 Championship. He wound up scoring 9 goals and 19 assists in 25 postseason contests and fired an absolutely crazy 234 shots on net in a complete 72-game schedule.

This all came after an injury-plagued 2013/2014 that saw him play in only 14 games first for St. Charles Chill, then Ontario Reign.

He stayed on for two stints with Colorado Eagles but was recalled and signed by Bridgeport Sound Tigers for most of his second campaign only rejoining the team for its short playoff bid.

His totals of 3 tallies and 9 helpers in 21 AHL games showed he could compete in the higher level of hockey. He also got his first 4 assists on recall with Worcester Sharks in late 2011/2012.

At 28-years old he’s likely not going to be slowing down his scoring touch any time soon but it remains to be seen if he will score another recall considering his veteran status.

We could easily see him finishing out his career in a few years over in Europe and still putting up big numbers.

19Jun

Brandon Yip (18)

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | 1 Comment

Brandon-Yip

5th year right wing Brandon Yip(32) appeared in his first NHL game of the 2013/2014 with his new team, Phoenix Coyotes.

The unrestricted free agent signed a one-year, two-way deal after spending a season and a half with Nashville Predators.

He was originally a Colorado Avalanche 8th round pick in the 2004 draft (#239 overall) and inked a one-year entry level deal and extended for another two seasons.

After posting no points in 10 games he was dispatched to their minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters but never made it before getting claimed off waivers by the Predators.

The 6’1″ 198 lbs. forward was able to pick up his scoring pace but still fell short of the even modest numbers he notched in his first two campaigns.

The 28-year old has already been reassigned and recalled 6 times in the early going and skated in his first AHL games since 2009 with the parent club’s farm team Portland Pirates.

In 2 appearances he has a quick 2 assists to his credit.

Original story: 10/23-13

After a pair of games with Phoenix, he was reassigned back to the farm team and spent the entire season in the minors scoring 14 goals and 20 assists with a -22 rating.

Heading into 2014/2015 he was an invite to Anaheim Ducks‘ training camp but released and inked a contract with affiliate Norfolk Admirals, where he skated 31 games getting 3 goals, 9 assists and a -11 rating.

He was reassigned for the first time in his pro career down to Utah Grizzlies and stuck around for 7 ECHL games before seeking to be released from his contract.

Within a couple of days he signed with Adler Mannheim, finished out the regular season and skated the entire playoffs of 14 games recording 4 assists to help the team to a DEL Championship.

They liked what they saw, because the 30-year old will be back for more in 2015/2016, his 7th year pro.

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10Jun

Barry Goers(41) WBS Penguins

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Barry-Goers

Wheeling Nailers‘ 4th year undrafted mini-defenseman Barry Goers(41) was recalled by affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on seven occasions, putting in an accountable effort when called upon.

The 5’9″ 175 lbs. (minimum weight any player is 9/10 times given) was finally given an AHL contract within the last month of the regular season and with one more appearance in the postseason will outplay his previous high from his rookie year with Las Vegas Wranglers.

Almost ironically he’s scored as many points in the current Calder Cup Playoffs, a pair of assists, as he did in the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The 27-year old veteran blue liner could easily sign another ECHL contract for 2014/2015 and follow a similar path of call-ups but he may also grab a roster spot out of training camp or earlier in the off-season.

He’s easily earned it.

Original story: 6/1-14

Not wanting to wait until someone else could sign him Wilkes Barre/Scranton stepped back in offering a one-year contract.

Playing in his first full AHL season he recorded modest career highs with 2 goals, 7 assists and 9 points in 51 games, then added another 2 helpers in 8 Calder Cup Playoff contests.

The soon-to-be 29-year old was definitely consistent enough to score the extension with the Penguins.

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02Jun

Harrison Reed(19) Dresdner Eislowen

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harrison-reed

6th year right wing Harrison Reed(19) has decided it’s time to go try his game overseas joining up with Eispiraten Crimmitschau of DEL2, the second tier pro hockey league in Germany.

He’s coming off a season of career highs with Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. In 46 games he put up 21 goals and 24 assists. It was his first time hitting the 20/20 club. He also added another 9 tallies and 11 helpers in 23 Kelly Cup Playoff games getting the team all the way to the finals before falling.

Originally a Carolina Hurricanes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2006 draft (#93 overall), he signed a 3-year entry level deal and joined their then affiliate Albany River Rats for 119 games before being involved in a trade that made him property of Colorado Avalanche for the last season of his contract.

He joined Lake Erie Monsters for 2010/2011 but was also reassigned for about half the time to Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League.

The 6’1″ 192 lbs. forward plays with bigger size than his measurements might indicate but was never really able to connect in the AHL, where in 208 games he has 11 goals and 16 assists but is a terrible -39 overall.

For his first season as an unrestricted free agent he signed a contract to play with Toledo Walleye but also received a pair of call-ups to Houston Aeros and the familiar Lake Erie team. He would also rejoin them again last season for 14 contests.

The 25-year should be able to continue his domination on the score sheet, which may bring him back to North America or help continue his rise in Europe.

Original story: 8/1-13

After a year in the 2nd tier German league potting an astounding 40 goals and 50 assists in 54 games and another 27 points in 17 playoff contests, he was awarded forward of the year title for his efforts.

He decided to make the jump up to DEL signing with Straubing Tigers and came back down to earth with 25 points in 50 games.

For 2015/2016 he circles back to DEL2 inking for a season with Dresdner Eislowen.

At 27-years old now he very well could explode on the score sheet once again and look to move on to a different country’s top league.

05Jan

Borna Rendulic(71) Colorado Avalanche

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Philadelphia Flyers v Colorado AvalancheColorado Avalanche‘ undrafted Croatian-born rookie right wing Borna Rendulic(71) became the first player from his country ever to sign a big league contract, play in a game and get an NHL goal in only his fourth appearance.

He inked a two-year entry level deal after first having participated in pro games as a youngster in his native land and Austria before moving up to the top ranks of Finland’s SM-liiga, doing decently in two seasons with HPK.

He played a lot of his junior hockey in the country before getting a contract with a team so was on their radar but he continues to train a home and still participates in all their tournament play.

At 6’3″ 199 lbs. the forward obviously dominates play in these games.

After his first parent club development and training camps, he started his pro career in North American on reassignment to affiliate Lake Erie Monsters.

There he has 4 goals and 4 assists in 26 AHL games, which isn’t exactly amazing but they must be seeing something right in his skating because he was initially recalled for three games with no points and then called back for another look where he potted his first.

He does use that large frame to play a thumping style and does throw the puck at the net on at least a couple of occasions each contest.

Regardless of how long this lasts and hopefully it will for a long while, the 22-year old has already made hockey history.

24Nov

Andrew Agozinno(32) Lake Erie Monsters

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Andrew AgozzinoColorado Avalanche 3rd year undrafted left wing was signed to a 2-year entry level deal after being on the radar under contract with minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters for his rookie season.

Despite putting up stellar numbers in juniors, the small 5’9″ 187 lbs. forward went roughly undetected by clubs potentially because of his size but only they really know.

He continued his scoreboard success leading his AHL squad in points, assists and plus/minus in his first year.

He basically ran duplicate numbers in his sophomore run but was a fairly terrible -12 on a struggling team.

The 23-year old is in the final year of his big league contract and set to become a restricted free agent.

Well, once again he came out of the gate lighting the lamp in his third campaign with the farm club (3 goals, 5 assists in 14 games).

Good enough to earn him a recall for a game in the show.

He skated 14 shifts for 9:45 of total ice time and got his first NHL point with an assist on the first goal in the 4-3 shootout victory.

He also put up one shot and was a +1 rating.

Despite his good play and the team win he was sent back down as the injured healed well enough to play.

No doubt he’ll earn another shot.

See related: 1/25-13

02Nov

Kenny Ryan(25) Lake Erie Monsters

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Kenny Ryan4th year unrestricted free agent right wing Kenny Ryan(25) was offered a training camp invite via Colorado Avalanche but was released pretty early in the running.

He wound up reporting to their minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters‘ camp and earned his way onto their opening night roster, so at the very least he’s signed to a pto (for now).

The former Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#50 overall) skated three years in their system but never seemed to materialize.

Through 125 AHL games, he scored a not so dynamic 15 goals and 23 assists with their minor league affiliate Toronto Marlies.

In 23 Calder Cup Playoff games the 6′ 200 lbs. forward added a goal and four helpers with a promising +5 rating.

He certainly comes from a place where he’s been a winner and able to put the puck in the net on a regular basis playing a pair of seasons with Windsor Spitfires of the OHL and capturing both the OHL Championship and Memorial Cup in the same year ’09/’10, and before that two years in the NAHL development with U.S. National Team.

The 23-year old is off to a career year start posting 3 goals and 2 assists with a +3 plus/minus is 8 games.

With stats that good, he may just play himself into another NHL contract.

26Mar

Gabriel Beaupre(47) Lake Erie Monsters

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Gabriel Beaupre2

Colorado Avalanche 6th round pick in the 2011 draft (#153 overall), 2nd year defenseman Gabriel Beaupre(47) is mostly a rugged, stay-at-home player but has modestly elevated his point production in his sophomore campaign.

He has AHL career high games played (53), goals (3) and points (7), while being tied at his 4 assist mark from his rookie season with the farm team, Lake Erie Monsters.

The 6’2″ 200 lbs. blue liner started his fifth year of juniors with Val-d’Or Foreurs returning as an assistant captain for a third season.

He left to attend pro training camps and was eventually passed along to Central Hockey League affiliate Denver Cutthroats to start his pro career.

Upon being recalled a couple of months later, he never looked back and with continued good, gritty play is eyeing an opportunity with the big club.

The still only 21-year old is only in the first year of his three-year entry level deal as he wasn’t actually signed by the parent club until near the end of 2012/2013.

He still has time to develop before he makes his NHL debut but that could happen sooner than later too.