Norfolk Admirals | CollegeHockeyPlayers

16Jul

Eric Neilson(29) Syracuse Crunch

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8th year right wing Eric Neilson(29) is known mostly for not shying away from any on ice situation and it certainly serves a much needed role on any team. In 47 games last season he scored one goal and was assessed 74 minutes in the penalty box, a surprising career low.

For the 2012/2013 he signed a one-year standard AHL contract with Syracuse Crunch, which essentially keeps him in the same system that he spent last season with, the Calder Cup winning Norfolk Admirals. He did not appear in a playoff game though.

Still at 6’1 201 lbs., the almost 28-year old forward is one of those players that’s better to have on your team than have to play against.

He was originally a Los Angeles Kings‘ 5th round pick in the 2004 draft (#143 overall) but really didn’t spend any time with the team but rather played a few seasons in the ECHL before moving up a notch.

He was also one of the guys on that 2005 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL champion team with Sidney Crosby.

13Jul

Martin St. Pierre(39) Rockford IceHogs

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9th year veteran center Martin St. Pierre(39) heads back to Rockford IceHogs for the 2012/2013 season. He signed a one-year AHL contract to rejoin the team for another season.

The 5’9″ 187 lbs. forward led Springfield Falcons in scoring last year, as he has with any of the 4 other league teams he skated with, including the IceHogs in ’07/’08.

Undrafted, the almost 29-year old has always been an effective spark plug for whatever AHL club he’s played with, averaging over a point-per-game. In 440 regular season contests he’s rung up 125 goals and set up another 344 for a total of 469 points.

He’s also played in 38 NHL games with three different teams and struck for 3 goals and 5 assists.

Rockford may get the help they need from him to get back into the playoff picture.

24Jun

Michel Ouellet(28) Boston Bruins

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10th year veteran right wing Michel Ouellet(28) was traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, where he won the Calder Cup Championship last season with AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals, to Boston Bruins in a draft day deal.

If signed, he’ll most likely be reassigned to Providence to start 2012/2013.

The former Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 4th round pick in the 2000 draft (#124) has 190 games of NHL experience 52 goals and 68 assists.

In the AHL he has 105 goals and 131 assists in 330 regular and postseason games.

No doubt the 30-year old, 6’1″ 210 lbs. forward will bring some much needed size to the P-Bruins‘ lineup but they are certainly going to need him to regain that scoring touch to help them get back into the playoffs for the first time in a few seasons.

He could also pull some effective 4th line duties for the big club if injuries occur.

22Jun

Jean-Philippe Cote (24)

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Entering his 10th pro season, defenseman Jean-Phillipe Cote(24) becomes the first signing for Tampa Bay Lightning‘s brand new AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch after winning the Calder Cup, his second, with Norfolk Admirals last season.

He inked a two-year minor league deal that will keep him in the system through 2014.

The 6’2″ 210 lbs. 30-year old started the year playing 10 games with Ontario Reign of the ECHL (his first appearance in the league) before signing a pto with the Admirals in mid-November that was bumped up to a standard player contract a month later.

Originally a Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 9th round pick in the 2000 draft (#265 overall), the big blue liner has appeared in 8 NHL games with Montreal Canadiens and won his first Calder Cup with Hamilton Bulldogs in 2007.

He spent his first 5 seasons with the team skating in 354 games with the team.

He may not be the most prolific scoring d-man but he’s accountable force out there and even put up career highs last season for assists (12), points (15) and plus/minus (+26) and postseason games played, so he’s a good guy to have on any team.

11Jun

Tyler Johnson(25) Norfolk Admirals

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Undrafted Norfolk Admirals‘ rookie center Tyler Johnson(25) finished his first pro year with some impressive numbers.

In 75 AHL games he scored 31 goals and 37 assists, while going a +17 plus/minus for the Calder Cup Championship.

Limited to 14 postseason contests due to a lower body injury, he was still a point-per-game player with 6 goals and 8 assists, including 2 strikes in the series-clinching finale.

He was voted Reebok/AHL Player Of The Month for March, as the Admirals were en route to a 28-game unbeaten streak.

He put up 22 points in 12 games. The speedy forward was also named to the AHL All-Rookie Team.

The 5’9″ 175 lbs. 21-year old signed a 3-year entry level contract with Tampa Bay Lightning.

No doubt he’ll continue turning heads as he enters his second season.

10Jun

Michael Kostka(21) Norfolk Admirals

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Unlikely hero award: undrafted, 4th year Norfolk Admirals‘ defenseman Michael Kostka(21) scored both the game 3 and game 4 Calder Cup Championship series’ winning goals, which certainly makes it an odd AHL playoff stat I’m sure.

He managed just 7 goals in 52 games during the regular season, yet in 18 postseason contests he had 6 goals and 6 assists, good enough for first in scoring among defenseman in the playoffs.

When Tampa Bay Lightning traded for him back in December, they definitely saw some point-scoring potential from the 26-year d-man.

He put up 16 goals and 39 assists in 80 games with Rochester Americans in 2010/2011, which led the team but were picking him up mostly for some added depth in their own zone.

Signed to a one-year, two-way deal by Florida Panthers, he was a bit surprisingly one of the last roster cuts before being reassigned to their AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage.

Originally on a 2-year entry level deal out of college with Buffalo Sabres, the 6’1″ 210 lbs. blue liner will in all likelihood be rewarded with at least a two-year extension to stay in the system and a taste of some NHL playing time can’t be far behind.

05Jun

Brandon Segal(26) Norfolk Admirals

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9th year Norfolk Admirals‘ veteran right wing Brandon Segal(26) is the perfect old school presence the team needs on the ice and in the locker room to help stabilize the mostly young group of players as they continue their push for a first Calder Cup Championship in 12 AHL seasons.

He was obtained in a minor league deal back in February for his second stint with the organization. He skated in 91 games with them just a couple of year ago from 2008 – 2009.

The soon to be 29-year old has played in 454 regular and postseason games including a trip to the finals with the other Admirals, Milwaukee in 2006.

He has appeared in 102 NHL games (11 goals, 11 assists) with 4 different teams including making his first appearance and most recent with the same team, Tampa Bay Lightning. In 12 games with the Bolts he’s yet to tally on the scoresheet.

Originally a 4th round pick by Nashville Predators in the 2002 draft (#102 overall), it’s unclear at the moment what will be next for the as of July 1 soon to be unrestricted free agent.

29May

Philip-Michael Devos(88) Norfolk Admirals

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Undrafted Norfolk Admirals‘ rookie center Philip-Michael Devos(88) season couldn’t have had it much better with either of the two leagues he skated in 2011/2012.

Upon receiving his second recall from the ECHL Florida Everblades on the day after Christmas, he never looked or went back down.

Signed in the offseason to a 2-year, two-way AHL contract with the Admirals, the 5’11” 185 lbs. forward would have maybe suffered a bit of a pay cut playing in the lower league, but he would have been skating with a Kelly Cup Championship team.

In 22 ECHL games he scored 6 goals and 14 assists. Up in the A, he had 7 goals and 17 assists through 52 contests and has a goal and an assist in 8 Calder Cup appearances.

With four more in the W column, he will have earned himself a spot on a Calder Cup Championship team, so this once explosive scorer from juniors really had quite a first year playing pro.

26May

Kevin Quick(4) Florida Everblades

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4th year defenseman Kevin Quick(4) signed an AHL 2-way contract with Norfolk Admirals in the offseason after spending most of the first 3 seasons of his career with the team signed to an entry level deal with Tampa Bay Lightning.

He appeared in 6 NHL games in his rookie year registering an assist. The blue liner also skated 18 ECHL games in that season.

In 2011/2012, the 24-year old spent most of his time with Florida Everblades and eventually won the Kelly Cup with the team.

He did skate 14 games with the Admirals and now that the lower league has reached its’ conclusion, he will likely rejoin them for the Calder Cup Finals, where he can be used pretty effectively in case one of the players goes down with injury.

22May

Matt Lashoff(21) Toronto Marlies

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Former Boston Bruins‘ 1st round pick in the 2005 draft (#22 overall) defenseman Matt Lashoff(21) missed all but 9 regular season games in October with his team of the past two years, Toronto Marlies.

He scored a goal and added 4 assists in that short time frame before suffering an acl injury that required surgery and what looked like the remainder of 2011/2012 on the sidelines.

The 6th year blue liner thought differently and put a stake in the ice to make it back for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Goal achieved.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. d-man played his first game in 191 days in the Western Conference Semi-Finals but then sat out for the opening couple of contests of the Western Conference Finals before he got back into action for game 3.

In it he notched a pair of assists helping the Marlies claim a 2-1 series lead.

With play like that, he’s going to be tough to sit.

He has 74 NHL games experience (1 goals, 15 assists) with three different teams.

He’s only signed through this season, so it will be interesting to see if Toronto Maple Leafs can work out an offer to keep him around.

The 25-year old is also a fairly competent musician. You can listen to clips from some of his tunes on his reverbnation site. He’s also a fun guy to follow on Twitter @MattLashoff