NHL draft pick | CollegeHockeyPlayers

20Feb

Dwight King(21) Los Angeles Kings

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Los Angeles Kings‘ 4th round pick in the 2007 draft (#109 overall) forward Dwight King(21) got his first NHL goal on the same night as his roommate and teammate Jordan Nolan did. He even got another point, an assist on his friend’s tally, which proved to be the game-winner.

Both players were simultaneously recalled from their AHL team, Manchester Monarchs and have now appeared in four games with the parent club.

King had skated in 6 games for L.A. last season but didn’t register any points.

He’s in the final year of his entry level contract.

20Feb

Alex Stalock (32)

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379 days later, San Jose Sharks‘ 4th round pick in the 2005 draft (#112 overall), goalie Alex Stalock gets another AHL start in net for their affiliate Worcester Sharks.

On February 4, the back of his knee was accidentally stepped on by Manchester Monarchs‘ forward Dwight King and it caused that season to be scrapped and pretty much most of 2011/2012 to be shelved as well.

But pretty much on schedule he arrives back in Central MA after starting his rehab with their ECHL affiliate Stockton Thunder, where he went 5-1 with a 2.83 GAA and .914 SV%.

He’s ready to return to the team he’s lead for the past two seasons and get back on San Jose’s radar.

He won his debut 2-1 against what turned out to be an anemic Springfield Falcons‘ offense that managed only 16 shots, got their goal on a 5-on-3 power play and even had a penalty shot awarded to them.

He’s back!

19Feb

Josh Hennessy(9) Vaxjo Lakers

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Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2003 draft (#43 overall) forward Josh Hennessy(11) only spent one season in their system with Cleveland Barons before he was involved in a big trade that sent him to Ottawa Senators.

He stayed with the team for four seasons playing mostly in Binghamton and appeared in his only NHL games in each of those years (20 games, 1 goal, no assists).

Falling off their depth chart, he became an unrestricted free agent in 2010 and decided to sign with HC Lugano of the Swiss Elite League.

For the 2011/2012 season, he was offered the opportunity to come home (he’s originally from Brockton, MA) and signed a one-year, two-way deal with Boston Bruins.

He was recently recalled to the NHL for the first time in a couple of years and skated 7:54 in his first game (an unfortunate 4-2 loss) with 2 penalty minutes for roughing.

Look for him to get another chance as the Bruins continue to fight off the injury bug.

In 5 AHL seasons, he scored 20 or more goals per campaign. This year with Providence Bruins he has 15 goals and 15 assists in 49 games.

18Feb

Ty Wishart(6) New York Islanders

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Former 2006 1st round draft pick (#16 overall) defenseman Ty Wishart(6) finally got his first NHL call up by New York Islanders.

He appeared in 20 games with them last season after being acquired from Tampa Bay Lightning and put up a goal and 4 assists with a +5 plus/minus, which was no easy feat on what was a bottom feeding team.

He played a total of 17:16 and was even +/- and played some shorthanded time in the 5-1 loss against St. Louis Blues.

Currently in his fourth season, the sizable 6’4″ 218 lbs. 23-year old may be taking a bit more time to catch on as a full-time NHL-er and considering he’s hits restricted free agent status at the end of this year, he might be dangled as bait for shopping.

16Feb

Jeff Woywitka(2) New York Rangers

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9th year New York Rangers‘ defenseman Jeff Woywitka(2) has been in and out of the lineup and injured this season, seeing action in 26 games. He’s on the scoring sheet with a goal and 5 assists and a modest +2 plus/minus.

He was plucked off waivers from Montreal Canadiens early in the season and signed to fill the role as an alternate defenseman.

To start February, he was sent down to get some playing time in the AHL with Connecticut Whale on a conditioning stint. He appeared in 6 games and had three assists to help the team get back into the win column after going on a terrible losing skid.

Now that he has been recalled it will be interesting to see if he’ll be able to find his way back into a lineup that has settled very nicely for the Eastern Conference leaders.

He was originally a Philadelphia Flyers 1st round pick in the 2001 draft (#27 overall). He has played 277 NHL games, recording 9 goals and 55 assists.

16Feb

Stephane Veilleux(19) New Jersey Devils

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11-year left wing Stephane Veilleux(19) split to Liiga and NLA for a season but the stats suggest he was a little unhappy with the decision, so he returned to sign a one-year, two-way deal for 2011/2012 with New Jersey Devils that has seen him appear in 40 AHL games with Albany Devils.

He has 11 goals and 11 assists and +3 on the ice with them and plays like a team leader every game out there, which is why he wears an “A” on his jersey.

He has 439 NHL appearances to his credit and was originally a Minnesota Wild 3rd round pick in 2001 (#93 overall).

He played his first 8 seasons with the Wild and Houston Aeros.

As a Valentine’s gift, he received his 1st call-up and played a sparing 4:36 in the 4-1 win.

15Feb

Devante Smith-Pelly (34)

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Anaheim Ducks‘ 2010 2nd round draft pick (#42 overall), right wing Devante Smith-Pelly(34) was reassigned to minor league affiliate Syracuse Crunch for a brief conditioning stint after missing a month of game action due to a fractured foot he suffered while on loan to Team Canada for the IIHF World Junior Championship.

In 4 AHL games, the 6′ 211 lbs. 19-year old rookie only produced one assist.

In 26 NHL games he has 3 goals and a pair of assists but is a miserable -10 plus/minus.

He still looks a bit lost out there skating with the men but plays with enough fire that it shouldn’t take him long to get deep into the mix on a streaking team in the playoff hunt.

14Feb

Andrew Murray(44) Worcester Sharks

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Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 8th round pick in the 2001 draft (#242 overall), 30-year old center Andrew Murray(44) hasn’t played in an AHL game in almost four seasons. Recently he was reassigned by San Jose Sharks to Worcester to pick up some increased playing time as the parent club shifts some of their younger guys in the system through the lineup to see where they stand with them before the NHL trade deadline at the end of the month.

He’s been rightfully given the assistant captain nod on the Worcester team and got his first goal (an empty-netter) in the league since the 2007/2008 season where he split time with the Blue Jackets and Syracuse Crunch. He did it while wearing this pink jersey the whole team donned for “Pink In The Rink” to benefit the Cup Crusaders.

He has 220 NHL games to his credit, scoring 24 goals and 16 assists as mostly a fourth line contributor.

San Jose management says they fully intend to recall him but that won’t likely happen until around March 1.

13Feb

Jordan Nolan(44) Los Angeles Kings

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In his 2nd ever game, 2nd year center Jordan Nolan(44) popped in his first career NHL goal, the game-winner, in Los Angeles Kings‘ Sunday afternoon win. Welcome to the big league!

He was originally a 7th round pick in the 2009 draft (#186 overall) and this season in 40 AHL games with Manchester Monarchs has already reached career highs for goals, assists, points and penalty minutes in half the amount of time in his 2nd season with the team.

The 22-year old is a big kid at 6’3″ 227 lbs. but is still growing his game into that sized frame.

He comes from some pretty good hockey pedigree: his dad is Ted Nolan.

09Feb

Louis Leblanc(20) Montreal Canadiens

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Highly touted Montreal Canadiens‘ 1st round 2009 draft pick (#18 overall), 21-year old center Louis Leblanc(20) started the season with their AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs but was called up in November and then returned in early January only to be recalled again earlier this month.

He’s made the most of his NHL playing time, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists in 18 games.

In 25 games with the Bulldogs he has 9 goals and 8 assists.

Listed at 6′ 178 lbs. he doesn’t look all that big out there in whatever league he’s playing in. He is considered a sniper though and should become a valuable scoring asset once he grows into his pro game.