Phoenix Coyotes | CollegeHockeyPlayers

16Jan

James Melindy(4) Portland Pirates

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft (#88 overall) defenseman James Melindy(4) spent the start of his rookie season on the injured reserve list with minor league affiliate Portland Pirates.

Finally healthy enough at the turn of the new year he made it back into the lineup and through 14 AHL games he has his first pro marker but a -8 rating on a team that struggles at times.

At 6’3″ 187 lbs. he’s a pretty big, mostly stay-at-home style blue liner but he did show some offensive upside in his last couple campaigns of junior hockey with Moncton Wildcats before deciding to turn pro after his third year.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal through 2016, the recently just turned 20-year old is probably viewed by the parent club as a work in progress despite his pretty high selection but looks to have the ability to break out sooner than later and could get an NHL look as soon as next season.

20Dec

Brendan Shinnimin (16)

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 2nd year undrafted center Brendan Shinnimin(16) is sort of quietly putting up decent scoring numbers for minor league affiliate Portland Pirates.

Through 24 AHL games he has 4 goals and 8 assists.

In his rookie season he scored a handy 12 tallies and added 21 helpers in 74 contests.

He was also an unfortunate -18 plus/minus.

At 5’10” 185 lbs., he’s not necessarily the biggest looking guy out there but has shown the ability to connect with decent consistency on the score sheet.

In his final WHL campaign with Tri-City Americans, he put up a league high 134 points (58 goals, 76 assists).

He finished his junior hockey career scoring 131 goals and 201 assists in 267 games with a monstrous +85 rating.

The 22-year old is signed to a three-year entry level deal through 2015.

If he can stay active on the score sheet, he’s bound to earn himself an NHL recall.

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.

17Nov

Connor Murphy(28) Phoenix Coyotes

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#30 overall) defenseman Connor Murphy(28) received his first recall only 10 games into his rookie year with minor league affiliate Portland Pirates.

He had yet to produce a goal but did have 5 assists and a +3 rating on a team that was off to a shaky start.

The 6’3″ 190 lbs. never exactly put up big numbers in two campaigns of OHL junior hockey with Sarnia Sting or earlier in his development but possesses all the intangibles that made him a top prospect for the Coyotes.

He was quickly signed to a three year entry level deal that only officially kicked in at the start of this season.

In his NHL debut he scored his first big league goal, the eventual game-winner, skated 29 shifts for 22:32 total ice time (including 1:53 on the penalty kill), had one shot on net, 5 hits and ended the game with a +1. He was somewhat unceremoniously returned to the AHL on the next day to continue his upward progress.

The 20-year old wore number 5, which his dad Gord Murphy wore throughout his pro career.

10Nov

Oscar Lindberg (16)

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New York Rangers‘ Swedish-born rookie center Oscar Lindberg(16) has come to this side of the pond and wasted no time establishing himself as a scoring presence with AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack.

In 13 games he has 3 goals and 6 assists.

The 22-year old forward has already skated in 178 games through four years of pro play in his home country SHL with Skellefteå AIK and managed to light it up last season scoring 17 goals and 25 assists, win the league championship and was even named the playoffs MVP.

Originally a Phoenix Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft (#57 overall), he was traded to the Blueshirts before ever skating a game.

The 6’1″ 195 lbs. forward is signed to a three-year entry level deal through 2015, was a spark plug in preseason and looks to be making a statement that he belongs in the NHL sooner than later.

29Oct

Andrew Ebbett (25)

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8th year undrafted left wing Andrew Ebbett(25) wasted no time in free agency signing a one-year, two-way deal to join Pittsburgh Penguins‘ system for a season.

In 8 AHL games with minor league affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he already has a tidy 2 goals and 5 assists. He’s pretty much a point per game guy in the league at 78 goals and 165 assists in 254 games, now skating with his 6th team. He also owns a remarkable +32 rating.

He’s less prolific in the NHL scoring 25 tallies and 39 helpers in 191 games under contracts with 7 different teams but also has an accountable +3 plus/minus.

The small 5’9″ 174 lbs. forward is looked to for bursts of energy he brings to the table and that kind of spark plug often results in wins.

It will be interesting to see where the 30-year old ends up next but he can almost assuredly expect a recall to the parent club before the seasons out, which would give him NHL appearances in his last 7 seasons.

19Oct

Greg Coburn(2) Las Vegas Wranglers

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Undrafted, 25-year old rookie defense Greg Coburn(2) starts his career with Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL after attending both rookie and training camp with Phoenix Coyotes, then being sent to their minor league affiliate Portland Pirates for their camp.

He scored his first goal in his pro debut.

The 6′ 174 lbs. d-man played four years at Union College and had a best 8 goals, 20 assists and 28 points in his final season at school.

He could find himself recalled by an AHL team on a pto and might even ending up doing well enough to stick.

18Oct

Keven Veilleux(19) Gwinnett Gladiators

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5th year center Keven Veilleux(19) begins the 2013/2014 season in the ECHL with Gwinnett Gladiators on reassignment from the parent club (although not under contract) after attending both parent clubs, Phoenix Coyotes and Portland Pirates‘ training camps on invites.

The big 6’5″ 224 lbs. forward was originally a Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#51 overall) and signed to a three-year entry level deal but never skated with the team.

He was reassigned to their farm club, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he suffered season ending injuries on two occasions and only played one full campaign with them.

In that year he played like the power forward he’s projected to become, scoring 12 goals and 24 assists with 122 penalty minutes in 66 AHL games.

The still only 24-year old forward inked an NHL extension for another season but was sent further down the prospect chain to their double A affiliate Wheeling Nailers, where he continued to pick up his scoring pace but was also involved in a racial tirade that got his pro career in a lot of hot water.

It’s very probable that towering offensive presence will see more time in the higher league on a pto but where it goes from there is anyone’s guess, unless he steps it up.

06Oct

Nolan Yonkman(3) Norfolk Admirals

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13th year veteran defenseman Nolan Yonkman(3) continues his streak of NHL contracts, signing a one-year two-way contract with Anaheim Ducks for 2013/2014.

He was originally a Washington Capitals‘ 2nd round pick in the 1999 draft (#37 overall) and will start the season in the AHL with affiliate Norfolk Admirals.

The absolutely huge 6’6″ 247 lbs. blue liner has 601 minor league games to his credit scoring 16 goals and 63 assists. He also unfortunately also possesses a -31 rating. The -28 plus/minus last season didn’t help those numbers any.

His totals in the show of 74 games with a goal and 8 assists are modest but he’s skated in the big league a half dozen of his career years. 38 of those appearance were in one season, ’05/’06 with the Caps.

The 32-year old has been named team captain 5 times in the last six campaigns and it would be no surprise to see his “A” turn into a “C” because he definitely plays like a leader out there.

05Oct

Lucas Lessio(38) Phoenix Coyotes

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#56 overall) left wing Lucas Lessio(38) makes his NHL debut to start his rookie season.

He signed an ato to join their minor league affiliate Portland Pirates to start his pro career after three years in the OHL with Oshawa Generals.

In 5 AHL games he scored his first goal and assist and added another pair of helpers in 3 playoff contests.

The 6’1″ 206 lbs. forward was basically a point-per-game player in juniors racking up 80 goals and 70 assists in 167 games.

He’s signed to a 3-year entry level deal that keeps him with the team through the 2015/2016 season.

At only 20-years old he’s projected to become a top six, power forward in the league.