NHL draft pick | CollegeHockeyPlayers

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.

23Dec

Pierre-Marc Bouchard(96) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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Former Minnesota Wild 1st round pick in the 2002 draft (#8 overall) veteran left wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard(96) is spending his first time in the AHL since the lockout season of 2004/2005, when he skated with minor league affiliate Houston Aeros.

A veteran of 12 seasons he’s skated 593 NHL games scoring a very tidy 110 goals and 246 assists with an overall +6 rating.

Standing at a mid-sized 5’10” with a small 175 lbs. frame, he’s a quick moving forward with great instincts but has also been injury-prone in the last few years and missed 2009/2010 altogether.

In the four previous seasons though, he was averaging almost 60 points a campaign with over 40 assists.

Reassigned to minor league affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers by New York Islanders, his first team other after a phenomenal 11 seasons with the Wild, he’s already put up a goal and 3 assists in 4 games.

The 29-year old is a great stabilizing presence for what is a young squad in the parent club’s prospect system.

He’s likely to reach the 600 game mark in the show but may need to wait another season.

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.

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.

15Dec

Justin Peters(35) Carolina Hurricanes

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Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2004 draft (#38 overall) 8th year goaltender Justin Peters is finding his footing and looks to potentially take over the number one job in net.

In 16 NHL games this season he has a 6-8 record but his 2.23 GAA and .925 SV% always gives his team a chance to win.

He’s played 63 total games serving mostly as back-up net minder with appearances in each of the last 5 seasons.

The 6’1″ 210 lbs. goalie has played in 214 AHL games sporting a nifty 2.64 GAA and .912 SV%. He is on the record books with Charlotte Checkers for best in both categories in a single season, most shutouts in a year and overall and has appeared in two All-Star Games receiving best net minder for his play in the 2013 skills competition.

He was re-signed to a two-year contract extension with 2013/2014 as a one-way deal. It will be tough to reassign the player without losing him on waivers.

The 27-year old will likely be staying put with the only team he’s dressed for.

11Dec

Brandon Kozun(15) Manchester Monarchs

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Los Angeles Kings‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#179 overall), right wing Brandon Kozun(15) signed a qualifying offer to stay put in the prospect system for another year.

The small 5’8″ 162 lbs., smart playing-making forward has skated in 246 AHL games with affiliate Manchester Monarchs scoring a handy 75 goals and 95 assists with a +19 rating.

In four seasons of junior hockey in the WHL with Calgary Hitmen he absolutely tore up the score sheet with over 100 points in each of his last two years putting him at a 1.24 points-per-game and won the league title in 2010. His plus/minus was completely through the roof at a +103.

He also finished that campaign, both regular season and playoffs as the league’s assist and point leader and added CHL Top Scorer Award to the mix.

The 23-year has yet to realize his first NHL action and his smaller size may affect that possibility on a team that has a history of recalling bigger players.

See related: 3/5-11

09Dec

Greg McKegg(39) Toronto Marlies

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Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft (#62 overall) center Greg McKegg(9) enters his sophomore season seemingly ready to outdistance his rookie year scoring with minor league affiliate Toronto Marlies by a nice distance.

In 18 AHL games he has 5 goals and 5 assist, which puts him on pace for a 20-20 campaign.

He had 8 goals and 15 assists in 61 games with a +4 rating in his first season. He added another 3 goals and 3 assists in 9 Calder Cup Playoff match-ups.

The 21-year old is signed for a 3-year entry level deal that runs through the end of 2015.

He put up very amazing stats in 4 years of OHL junior hockey, mostly with Erie Otters but last with London Knights, where he won the league championship. He has 125 goals and 145 assists in 262 games.

The 6′ 191 lbs. forward may just be starting to find his space in the pros.

07Dec

Rostislav Klesla(20) Portland Pirates

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13th year former Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 1st round draft pick in the 2000 draft (#4 overall), Czech Republic-born defenseman Rostislav Klesla(20) finds himself reassigned to the AHL for the first time in his pro career.

Signed to a lucrative four year deal extension that ends at the conclusion of the 2013/2014 season, he was the last remaining player with the team since they were introduced to the league in 2000/2001 but was traded to Phoenix Coyotes during the first year of his new contract.

Never a big contributor on the score sheet, the big 6’3″ 215 lbs. blue liner failed to gel in the system and was waived then quickly recalled (maybe with hope a deal was in place to send him elsewhere) but never manifested and he was sent down again, joining minor league affiliate Portland Pirates.

In three games he’s recorded an assist.

The 31-year old has appeared in 649 NHL games scoring 48 goals and 110 assists with a -44 rating. Most of his plus/minus downfall was within the first couple of seasons with the expansion team.

In all likelihood, he’ll make the move towards playing out the final years of his pro career in a league like the KHL.

06Dec

Tobias Rieder(9) Portland Pirates

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Originally an Edmonton Oilers‘ 4th round pick in the 2011 draft (#114 overall) German-born right wing Tobias Rieder(9) was traded in a prospects’ deal to Phoenix Coyotes and quickly signed to a 3-year entry level contract.

He starts his pro career on reassignment to AHL affiliate Portland Pirates, where he’s making things happen in short order on the score sheet with 6 goals and a pair of assists in 11 games. He got sidelined with a lower body injury suffered in the debut but also scored his first two tallies.

The not so huge 5’11” 190 lbs. forward is always squarely in the middle of the play and usually comes out on the other end with a puck and a scoring chance.

At only 20-years old, he’s already played one campaign professionally in the Germany2 league for his hometown EV Landshut and did pretty well scoring 10 goals, 13 assists in 45 games as a teenager.

After that he left for three years of junior hockey in the OHL with Kitchener Rangers and amassed 231 points in 205 regular season and playoff games.

There’s little doubt he is a player that can make the jump up to the NHL. It’s just a matter of being given an opening, which looks likely to happen for him as a rookie.

05Dec

Reid Boucher(14) New Jersey Devils

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New Jersey Devils‘ 4th round pick in the 2011 draft (#99 overall) left wing Reid Boucher(14) has been an impact player at 5’11” 195 lbs. ever since turning pro for the end of the 2012/2013 regular season with minor league affiliate Albany Devils.

He managed to skate in 11 AHL games and put together 3 goals and a pair of assists in his debut.

To start his rookie season he’s already struck for 10 goals and 8 assists in only 21 match-ups with a +4 rating.

The 20-year old only played a couple of campaigns in the OHL with Sarnia Sting; he scored 62 goals and 33 assists in 68 games last season, but already had two years in American junior USHL under his belt to give him a start.

He is American-born: Lansing, MI.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal, it would be easy to see him make the jump permanently into the NHL quickly. He possesses that kind of determination out there.

His efforts have earned him a first recall from the farm team on 12/4. He made his debut skating 19 shifts for 12:30 of ice time, including :57 on the power play no less. That was likely earned as he had his first point, an assist in the game and subsequently was chosen as the first shooter in the shootout and scored.

He was also credited with 2 shots and ended the 4-3 shootout loss a +2 plus/minus.

We see a bright future.