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30Jul

Joel Champagne(24) Braehead Clan

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In somewhat of an interesting pro hockey move, third year center Joel Champagne(24) signs to play with Braehead Clan of the EIHL for 2013/2014.

He won the Kelly Cup Championship last season with Reading Royals, playing pretty much all of the regular season and playoff games on reassignment from Hershey Bears. Technically he was signed to an AHL contract last season but never recalled. His ECHL numbers were decent: 18+31=49 points and then put up another 3 goals and 5 assists in 21 postseason match ups.

The 6’4″ 217 lbs. XL forward was originally a Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 5th round pick in the 2008 draft (#129 overall) but signed his first deal with Milwaukee Admirals. He had 6 goals and 6 assists in 55 games with a +4 rating. He also played a 6 games with their affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones and put up 5 goals and 3 assists.

It’s maybe just that the 23-year has yet to find his place to show his abilities but as a more than a point per game player in his final three years of juniors in the QMJHL, he’s definitely shown the ability to connect and should be able to light the lamp like crazy in the English pro league.

19Jul

Bryant Molle(3) Reading Royals

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Undrafted, 3rd year defenseman and consecutive, two-time minor league champ, Bryant Molle(3) re-signs for another year with Reading Royals, the team he won the Kelly Cup with last season.

He played 54 regular season ECHL games and added another 22 playoff games in 2012/2013.

The sizable 6’3″ 215 lbs. blue liner started his first full pro season in the Central Hockey League with Fort Wayne Komets and won the team’s last Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup before switching leagues.

He also appeared in a couple of games with his hometown Alaska Aces upon completing four years of college hockey at University Of Alaska-Fairbanks.

Although never the biggest point getter (2 goals and 19 assists overall), he maintains an outstanding, combined +48 rating over a pair of seasons.

At 26-years old, he’s probably just starting to hit his stride and build a mountain of confidence that may earn him a look from the higher league in the upcoming 2013/2014 campaign.

05Jul

Will Acton(14) Edmonton Oilers

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After a couple of seasons with Toronto Marlies in the AHL, 3rd year undrafted, unrestricted free agent left wing Will Acton(14) signs his first NHL contract with Edmonton Oilers.

He follows his former coach, Dallas Eakins and dad, new assistant coach Keith Acton west to Alberta, agreeing to a two-year, two-way deal that will almost certainly see him play with their top notch minor league affiliate Oklahoma City Barons.

The 25-year played almost an identical amount of games in each of his two seasons in Ontario and showed an uptick on the score sheet in 2012/2013 with 8 goals and 11 assists. He was able to take that even further in the postseason scoring 4 goals and 2 assists in 9 playoff games.

At 6’2″ 190 lbs. he has a big enough frame to be considered a power forward and with the move and new challenge will likely pay dividends.

05Jun

Riley Gill(30) Reading Royals

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3rd year undrafted goaltender Riley Gill(30) is likely used to being bounced around from team-to-team in his thus far short pro career.

By our count, he’s worn a minor league sweater for 8 different teams and played in games for 7.

He started with Kalamazoo Wings right after finishing up four years at University Of Michigan. He played a few regular season games and then appeared in four more in the playoffs, almost getting them past the opening round.

After that impressive performance, he was given a one-year deal.

The 6’1″ 211 lbs. net minder was recalled twice to the AHL and got in between the pipes for one game with Worcester Sharks and a pair with Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Both outings were less than impressive.

He signed an extension to continue with the K-Wings and spent virtually the entire year with the team, helping them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, but found himself without a contract for 2012/2013 as the NHL lockout was trickling down talent and few doors were open for the 28-year old.

Utah Grizzlies invited him to their training camp but he failed to catch on and ultimately dropped down, signing on to play with Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL.

As just about anyone would have predicted, he excelled in the lower league with most wins and shutouts before leaving the team a month prior to the end of the season. His play earned him Goaltender Of The Year honors.

He was recalled to join Reading Royals, where he stepped right into action, posting a 10-3-1 record with a 1.28 GAA and .952 SV% to go along with three shutouts in 14 games played.

He would continue the stellar play into the playoffs, where he would snatch the starting goalie spot in short order as he showed no signs of slowing down putting up a 13-3 record with a 1.91 GAA and .930 SV%, while adding another 4 shutouts.

For his efforts, he was named Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP as winning goaltender for the 2013 Championship team.

There’s a push to have him under contract for the 2013/2014 with parent club Washington Capitals but it remains to be seen if what materializes next for the journeyman backstop.

See related: 12/4-10

29May

Tyler Bunz(30) Stockton Thunder

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Edmonton Oilers‘ 5th round pick in the 2010 draft (#121 overall) rookie goaltender Tyler Bunz(30) stepped in for ECHL affiliate Stockton Thunder in the Kelly Cup Finals,when an injury took out the starter and helped extend the series to at least a fifth game before bowing out to the eventual winners, Reading Royals.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal he started his first season in AHL training camp with Oklahoma City Barons before being sent down to gain playing time with the glut of backstop prospects in the system. He also appeared in a couple Oilers‘ camps.

He appeared in 37 games posting a 16-16-2-2 record with a 3.35 GAA and .886 SV%. He also had one shutout. In one AHL game with OKC he didn’t fair nearly as well.

The 6’1″ 198 lbs. net minder was very impressive in his last two campaigns in junior hockey with Medicine Hat Tigers. He won more games than any other goalie in his team’s history and was named WHL best in his final year.

Even with the accolades, he may be assigned for another season in Stockton to continue bringing up his game.

The 21-year old may be off to a bit of a slow start in his pro career but that could all change in a hurry.

21May

Alex Berry(29) Reading Royals

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3rd year right wing Alex Berry(29) is stepping up the effort for Reading Royals in the 2013 Kelly Cup Playoffs, his second postseason run with the team. He was part of the disastrous meltdown that bounced them out of the Eastern Conference Finals after going up 3-0 in the series.

In 18 games, he has struck for 7 goals and 4 assists, including the game-winner that has the Royals up 2-0 in the Finals. But even more than marking up the score sheet nicely he’s looked to for leadership in the locker room and on the ice and plays exactly that kind of style.

Signed to a one-year contract with Hershey Bears, he was recalled and reassigned 7 times during 2012/2013.

In 19 AHL games he had a pair of goals and 2 assists; and 6 tallies and 10 helpers in 29 ECHL games.

He also spent 21 games on the injured reserved late in the campaign but that was nothing compared to breaking his arm so badly in Portland Pirates‘ training camp in 2011 that it required two seperate surgeries in order for him to make a comeback.

Originally a Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 5th round pick in the 2005 draft (#153 overall), he signed a two-year entry level deal that saw him play in 55 games with minor league affiliate Toronto Marlies before being traded before his sophomore season to Tampa Bay Lightning.

The big 6’3″ 209 lbs. forward did fairly well for their affiliate Norfolk Admirals but was not retained for another campaign by the parent club and became an unrestricted free agent heading into 2011/2012.

He’s has 157 AHL games to his credit and looks to be making a good argument for a one-year extension.

09May

Philipp Grubauer(31) & Niklas Svedberg(1)

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2nd year Hershey Bears‘ goalies Philipp Grubauer(31) congratulates opposing Providence Bruins‘ rookie net minder Niklas Svedberg(1) on their 3 games to 2 come from behind AHL Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals‘ victory.

Both backstops were coming off great AHL seasons with Svedberg taking home the 2012/2013 Baz Bastien Outstanding Goaltender Award, while Grubauer had the rare distinction of tending net in three different leagues throughout the season, also suiting up for a pair of NHL games with the parent club Washington Capitals and 26 for ECHL affiliate Reading Royals.

11Apr

Mark Owuya(1) Reading Royals

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Undrafted, 2nd year Swedish goaltender Mark Owuya(1) is in the final season of his 2-year entry level contract he signed with Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011.

He has played virtually an identical amount of games in both the AHL with minor league affiliate Toronto Marlies and ECHL affiliate Reading Royals. He was also in net for a half dozen games on reassignment with Las Vegas Wranglers this season.

At least in his sophomore campaign he didn’t spend as much time on the bus as he did in his rookie year, when he was recalled and sent down on 10 different occasions.

He was only reassigned half that much this season.

How a goalie is to get into any kind of a groove with that sort of schedule is a wonder but he’s the pro with the contract, so he adapts.

At 6’2″ 198 lbs. he certainly takes up a good part of the net and has a fairly smooth, somewhat unorthodox style that he makes work.

The 23-year old could easily slide back and play in the Swedish Elite League, Elitserien, where he was coming off back-to-back great seasons for Djurgarden and also won the league’s best SV%.

We’ll see.

29Mar

Ian O’Connor(24) Manchester Monarchs

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Undrafted 2nd year left wing Ian O’Connor(24) signed to rejoin Reading Royals for his sophomore season, the team he skated with at the end of his college career and was then traded to late in last year’s campaign.

He was called up on a two occasions in his rookie season to play a couple of games with Worcester Sharks but was unable to connect on the scoresheet. He actually attended their training camp in his first year.

In 122 ECHL games he has 37 goals and 27 assists.

The 6′ 203 lbs. forward is currently signed to a pto with Manchester Monarchs, where in 12 games he notched his first AHL goal.

As a 16-year old he played four seasons with New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, not even 30 minutes up the road from where he was born in Londonderry. So the recall is a sort of homecoming for the now 25-year old pro.

01Mar

Dallas Jackson(2) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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3rd year undrafted defenseman Dallas Jackson(2) just upped his pto to an spc with Bridgeport Sound Tigers, keeping him with the team through the remainder of the 2012/2013 season.

Although his numbers (two assists in 11 games) aren’t exactly stellar, he’s a fairly big presence in the defensive zone and with a -1 rating and only two penalty minutes shows accountability when he’s on the ice.

His numbers in juniors and in the last year and a half with Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL suggest that he can be an offensive-minded threat.

From 2011-2012, the 6’2″ 200 lbs. blue liner had 14 goals and 30 assists. He skated 9 games with them in his rookie campaign but registered zero points.

The 23-year old also played 3 games with the Sound Tigers last season and notched a +2 plus/minus in his short stint.

If he can continue to play impressively, there may be a full-time roster spot for him somewhere in the AHL next season.

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