Phoenix Coyotes | CollegeHockeyPlayers

13Mar

Darian Dziurzynski(26) Arizona Coyotes

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Phoenix Coyotes have officially signed their 5th round pick in the 2011 draft (#141 overall), rookie left wing Darian Dziurzynski(26) to a two-year entry level contract after his feisty play for minor league affiliate Portland Pirates.

He was initially reassigned at the start of the season but signed to an AHL contract only.

In 43 games he has 6 goals and 4 assists with 69 penalty minutes and a -5 rating.

The 6’1″ 204 lbs. forward is a pesky presence on the ice. He seems smaller than that but that’s probably because he’s crouched, skating towards the play so much when he’s out there.

It would be easy to see the soon-to-be 22 year old score some NHL ice time as a fourth line energy skater.

His brother is David, who has appeared his first 10 big league games with Ottawa Senators this season.

06Mar

Chris Brown (11)

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#36 overall), rookie center Chris Brown(11) received his first NHL recall and skated 9 shifts for 6:52 total ice time in the shootout win before being returned to minor league affiliate Portland Pirates, where he scored a goal in his first game back (also a shootout victory).

In 52 AHL games he has 19 goals and 12 assists with a -8 rating on a team that looks destined to push its’ winning record into the postseason.

The 6’2″ 207 lbs. skater has the attributes of a power forward and plays the style but maybe needs to infuse a tad more grit in his game to make a bigger, lasting impact.

In three college seasons he put up good numbers, deciding to drop his final season and signed a three-year entry level deal that keeps him with the Desert Dogs through 2015.

Not bad for a player born and raised deep in the heart of Texas.

He becomes only the fifth player in history from the state to don an NHL sweater.

27Feb

Bryan Helmer(40) Springfield Falcons

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20th year, undrafted veteran defenseman Bryan Helmer(40) signed a contract to play with Springfield Falcons very late in the game, maybe waiting to see how the NHL lockout would unravel before making his move.

He has played an absolutely head-popping 1104 AHL games through 19 seasons and counting. He needs 1200 to catch the number two guy, so he may finally retire at 40-years old as the bronze medalist in the category. He has gold in the Calder Cup Playoff games played though with 158 and three Championship rings to his credit; two in 2009 and 2010 as captain of Hershey Bears and back in 1995 with Albany River Rats, his second year pro.

The solid 6’1″ 209 lbs. d-man has always been thought of as a good two-way player that isn’t afraid to jump up into the offensive action. He does have a pretty impressive 129 goals and 434 assists.

He’s played 146 NHL games (mostly from 1998 – 2004) with four different teams and as recently as 2009 with Washington Capitals. He has a modest 8 goals and 18 assists.

He’s like the ultimate team guy no doubt and we’d love to see him back somewhere for his 21st pro season.

05Feb

Jeff Taffe(20) Hershey Bears

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Hershey Bears‘ 11th year, veteran center was originally a St. Louis Blues‘ 1st round pick in the 2000 draft (#30 overall) but was traded before ever playing with the team.

He signed his first AHL only contract since the last lockout in 2004/2005, when he was a member of Utah Grizzlies for a partial campaign.

Despite only appearing in 180 NHL games, the almost 31-year old forward has managed appearances in each of his pro years. He has 21 goals and 25 assists to his credit, skating with 6 different teams.

In the minors though, he’s amassed a hearty 533 games, scoring 185 goals with 244 helpers.

At 6’3″ 209 lbs. he’s always a big presence to contend with in front of the net and is the consummate team guy.

What the future holds for him is anyone’s guess but with 9 strikes and 29 assists in 43 contests, he leads the Bears . in scoring.

He’s good to have around if a team needs some points and has five 20 goal seasons and 8 years of 20+ assists (with one year where he hit the 50 mark).

He was selected to appear in the 2013 AHL All-Star Game when a teammate was on call-up.

01Jan

Kevin Porter(12) Rochester Americans

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5th year, unrestricted free agent center Kevin Porter(12) signed a two-year deal with Buffalo Sabres in early July. In its first season, the deal is a two-way contract but for the second year it pays him NHL money even if he’s put on waivers and reassigned to their AHL affiliate, Rochester Americans.

Due to the lockout in the big league, the 6″ 190 lbs. forward was loaned to the Amerks to start his first campaign with the organization, his first time playing in the league since late-ish 2010. He was named team captain at the beginning of the season.

The 26-year old won the Hobey Baker Award in 2008 for being the best player in college hockey and was originally a Phoenix Coyotes‘ 4th round in the 2004 draft (#119 overall).

He spent his rookie season splitting time between the Coyotes and San Antonio Rampage before being dished at the trade deadline to Colorado Avalanche, where he had a career 2010/2011 run before seeing his ice time all but evaporate, limiting his games played to just 35 the following year.

In the AHL, he’s always been a nearly point-per-game player and this season is no different, as he’s scored 9 times with 14 assists in 31 games.

He’ll have to find a role with a team to step up permanently and could very well do it.

23Dec

Chris Conner(14) Portland Pirates

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Diminutive, undrafted 7th year right wing Chris Conner(14) has played NHL games with three different teams through the first six seasons of his pro career. The 5’7″ 180 lbs. forward has skated in 147 games with Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings‘ last season amassing a total of 17 goals and 26 assists.

He has also appeared in 297 AHL games scoring 88 goals and 147 assists in regular season action.

For the 2012/2013 season, the free agent signed a one-year, two-way deal with Phoenix Coyotes and has been reassigned to their affiliate Portland Pirates. Through 23 games with the team, he’s definitely been a leader on and off the ice, is on pace to put up career highs in all categories and has helped the club into solo possession of 1st place in the Atlantic Division through the Christmas break.

With the NHL lockout in effect, the 29-year old could have found himself a bit of a home for at least another campaign and should get continued big league looks from the parent club once they start playing hockey again.

03Dec

Oliver Ekman-Larsson(23)

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 1st round pick in the 2009 (#6 overall), Swedish-born defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson(23) is in the final season of his three year entry level deal.

He played the full 82-game slate last season in the NHL picking up career highs in goals, assists and points (13-19-32) and added another goal and three assists in an outstanding playoff effort.

In his rookie season he did ride the plane a bit on the up and down reassignments between the Coyotes and then affiliate San Antonio Rampage but started his first campaign in the show and did fairly well in 63 combined games in both leagues.

At 6’2″ 190 lbs. he doesn’t seem like the biggest threat out there physically but is unafraid to throw his body around when needed, although he’s definitely looked at as more of a scoring, puck-moving blue liner that can fire it into the back of the net as good as he can sending that first pass up the ice to rushing forwards or feeding a skater in the offensive zone for a goal.

In 13 AHL games with Portland Pirates on reassignment as the NHL continues to figure out how to move forward, he’s easily a point per game player with 5 goals and 8 assists, and is a nice +5 plus/minus.

He’s still only 21-years old and it should be a no-brainer for Phoenix to extend his contract for at least a couple more seasons.

27Nov

Mark Visentin(29) Portland Pirates

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 1st round pick in the 2010 draft (#27 overall), goalie Mark Visentin(29) was a force in net in his last two seasons in juniors. Of his many accomplishments: he posted a 2011/2012 league best 1.99 GAA in 42 games and had 10 shutouts, establishing a new OHL record. The netminder also helped his team to the playoff finals, which was the furthest Niagara IceDogs had ever been in the postseason and even scored a goal for himself. Ironically it was the previous season he was named goaltender of the year.

The 20-year old has appeared in a few Desert Dogs‘ prospect camps and was in-line to participate another NHL training camp until everything was put on hold.

He, along with every other eligible player, was reassigned to start his pro career in the AHL with their affiliate Portland Pirates.

The young 6’2″ 205 lbs. goaltender has struggled a bit out of the gate in the minors but seems like a very centered personality that should ultimately help the farm team excel as the season wears on.

25Oct

Evan Bloodoff (25)

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Phoenix Coyotes‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#157 overall) left wing Evan Bloodoff(25) never signed a deal with the team but upon being reassigned to their affiliate Portland Pirates out of training camp inked a two-year AHL contract that started in 2011/2012.

In 48 games last year, he hit the scoresheet for 6 goals a pair of assists, while going a shaky -10 plus/minus.

The 5’11” 205 lbs. forward was also a healthy scratch for way more games that he would have liked to have been in the stands for.

He skated in only one game so far for the Pirates in 2012/2013 and has been reassigned for the first time in his short pro career to get some more playing time in the ECHL with their affiliate Gwinnett Gladiators.

He should get some quality ice time down there which should help his game.

11Oct

Brett MacLean(39) Phoenix Coyotes

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This one is a real heartbreaker.

Phoenix Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#32 overall) left wing Brett MacLean(39) is forced to retire from pro hockey at 23-years old after sudden cardiac arrest that occurred during an offseason pick up game with friends in Owen Sound.

He was nothing short of a force on the AHL scoring sheet (264 games, 99 goals and 104 assists) and setting himself up for more of a permanent spot in the NHL.

The 6’2″ 197 lbs. forward skated in 13 games with the Coyotes a couple of seasons ago, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist, and had 5 appearances when he was briefly picked up on waivers by Winnipeg Jets before being re-scooped by Phoenix and reassigned to their new AHL affiliate Portland Pirates last season, where he notched his fourth straight 20+ goal season with 25.

Great story announcing the news on the AHL site. Ironically this is a player that played the game with all heart and was starting to realize the dream after a lot of hard work in the minors.