Rockford IceHogs | CollegeHockeyPlayers

07Mar

Mathieu Brisebois(25) Rockford IceHogs

Posted in AHL, NHL | 1 Comment

Undrafted rookie defenseman Mathieu Brisebois(25) undergoes an address change in his first pro season.

He was traded from Phoenix Coyotes‘ prospect system on reassignment to affiliate Portland Pirates to Chicago Blackhawks‘ farm club Rockford IceHogs.

The somewhat undersized 5’11” 190 lbs. blue liner played in 28 AHL games picking up a goal and three assists with a -5 on a cellar dwelling team but was also a healthy scratch on more than a few occasions.

In his fourth year of QMJHL with Rouyn-Noranda Huskies he led the league in goals, assists and points by a d-man and continued on a similar tear in the playoffs.

The 21-year old signed a three-year entry level deal that keeps him under contract through 2015/2016.

It will be interesting to see if he can parlay his junior hockey finish into producing on the score sheet at the next level.

10Feb

Jack Skille(10)

Posted in AHL | Leave a comment

7th year, former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2005 draft (#7 overall) right wing Jack Skille(15) played exclusively in the NHL for the last three seasons, mostly with Florida Panthers after a trade in late 2011.

In that time he skated in 148 games and scored a somewhat underwhelming 15 goals and 26 assists.

At 6’1″ 216 lbs. he’s definitely got power forward size and plays a bit of a laid back version of that style but definitely can get to the net.

As an unrestricted free agent he signed a one-year two-way contract with Columbus Blue Jackets in the off-season and has split time with minor league affiliate Springfield Falcons pretty evenly.

In 12 games with a parent club he has 4 goals and is a +2. In the AHL he’s basically at a point-per-game with 4 strikes and 6 helpers in 11 contests.

Really tough to say where the 26-year old goes next but you have to wonder if he wouldn’t have a breakout year on a wing with some other explosive forwards.

26Dec

Kyle Beach (14)

Posted in AHL, NHL | Leave a comment

Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2008 draft (#11 overall), 4th year right wing Kyle Beach(14) finally saw his time expire in the team’s prospect system.

Unable to secure an NHL recall while playing with minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs, he was still qualified for another season after his three-year entry deal was up.

The fairly big 6’3″ 210 lbs. player definitely has power forward size but seems to have a bit of unwillingness to use it where he is for anything more than getting it skirmishes with opponents.

In 175 AHL games he has 41 goals and 36 assists with 4 of those tallies coming in 7 contests in the current campaign.

He was a point-per-game guy though four WHL seasons, while always putting up close to 200 penalty minutes each year. He also concluded his junior hockey career with a +51 rating.

Traded to New York Rangers‘ organization and reassigned to their farm club, Hartford Wolf Pack, he has only notched one assist in 7 contests.

The still super-young 23-year old is only under contract through the end of the season and it’s possible his game will pick up to where it needs to be with the change of scenery, but he’s going to have to connect soon or his ice time may dry up.

22Dec

Akim Aliu(78) Hartford Wolf Pack

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | Leave a comment

5th year right wing Akim Aliu(78) is a bit of an enigma.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#56 overall), the rough and tough forward has only played in 7 NHL games while under contract with Calgary Flames, who picked up the last year of his entry level contract, then qualified him for another season.

In his first pair of big league games he notched a pair of goals and an assist but through his next five contests in last year’s lockout shortened season he failed to connect with the score sheet.

The 6’4″ 225 lbs. power forward spent most of his time with farm club Abbotsford Heat, where in 84 games he’s collected a sparse 14 goals and 11 assists with an unsettling -20 rating.

Through 214 AHL contests his point totals are surprisingly low.

It’s fairly well documented that the still young 24-year old has temper and attitude problems, which probably has a lot to do with his limited success.

He started the current campaign on a try-out contract with Hamilton Bulldogs but was released after 14 games.

Picked up a month later by a struggling Hartford Wolf Pack, in a pair of appearances he scored his first tally with the team, has one fight and unloaded 5 shots on net.

He seems to fit with the team pretty well but without a sizable increase of offense production, it seems unlikely he’ll be given an spc to stay through the regular season.

13Dec

Ben Youds(2) Providence Bruins

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | Leave a comment

3rd year undrafted defenseman Ben Youds(2) is looking to best his AHL rookie season career highs in a big way, as long as he can stick with a tough Providence Bruins‘ roster to crack.

Signed to a minor league contract with Rockford IceHogs, he had 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points as a rookie in the 2011/2012 season.

He was re-signed but ended up splitting time with ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye for most of his sophomore campaign. His numbers in the lower league were pretty stellar at 17 goals and 27 assists with a +11 rating in 43 games.

The 5’11” 180 lbs. d-man was an invite to Boston Bruins‘ training camp but reassigned to the farm club, where he signed a one-year deal in the off-season.

In 15 games with the P-Bruins he has a goal and 8 assists with a +5 plus/minus, already matching his point totals from last season in just 23 games.

11Oct

Aaron Johnson(44) New York Rangers

Posted in AHL, NHL | 1 Comment

11th year defenseman Aaron Johnson(44) signs a 1-year, 1-way contract with New York Rangers, his 7th NHL team.

He was made their affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack team captain to start the season and there could be similar thoughts like what Nashville Predators did when signing him to a one-year deal, ship him to their minor league affiliate, Milwaukee Admirals for the season. But the parent club’s slow out of the gate and may need to switch things up even further, which would open the door for the 30-year defenseman to get some more games in the show on his stat sheet.

He’s played 297 big league games scoring 17 times with 45 assists and a nifty little +1 rating.

In the AHL his numbers are sort of phantomly similar with 26 goals and 86 helpers but he has a -5 plus/minus.

The former Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 3rd round pick in the 2001 draft (#85 overall) still has some left in the tank.

A couple of seasons ago, back with the team that drafted him, he put up a career tying 3 goals and a high mark 13 assists.

We think it’s likely he gets to the 300 NHL game club this season.

06May

Derek Nesbitt(16) WBS Penguins

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | Leave a comment

8th year undrafted right wing Derek Nesbitt(16) is one of those players that has consistently worked hard for every break he’s ever received playing pro hockey.

He joined his ninth team, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to help them with their AHL Calder Cup playoffs push. He was traded from Peoria Rivermen, who was out of postseason contention.

The 6′ 185 lbs. forward started his career in the ECHL for a couple of seasons and won a Kelly Cup Championship in his sophomore campaign with Idaho Steelheads. He also put up 81 points in 66 games and another 6 goals and 12 assists in 22 playoff contests that breakout year.

It also set him up to move up to the higher league on a more permanent basis. In 211 ECHL games he has 86 goals and 154 assists.

He signed his only NHL deal with Phoenix Coyotes, a one-year two-way deal, a couple of seasons later.

He has spent most of his playing time in the AHL for the past 6 seasons, where he also has some pretty impressive numbers with 92 goals and 111 assists in 320 games.

The 31-year old is an unrestricted free agent pretty much like he’s always been, heading in 2013/2014 and is coming off his third straight 40+ point year and one where he tallied a career best 26 goals.

28Apr

Peter LeBlanc(18) Hershey Bears

Posted in AHL, ECHL, NHL | 1 Comment

Hershey Bears‘ third year center Peter LeBlanc(18) had an assist hat trick to help his team with the 5-4 overtime win giving them a 2-0 series lead in the best of five AHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

This effort followed up a pair of helpers he had in game 1 and the points currently tie him for the league lead.

He was originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 7th round pick in the 2006 draft (#186 overall) but only signed an NHL contract, a one-year entry level deal, at the start of his third pro season and is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of this campaign.

He spent all of his time with their minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs putting up a little more than a point in every other appearance for 40 goals and 56 assists in 164 games. He was signed consecutive AHL deals and even started his rookie season in the ECHL with Toledo Walleye for 22 games until permanently recalled.

The 5’11” forward may be not be the biggest guy on the ice but has power forward weight at 200 lbs.

With his breakout early playoff performance (his first time in the postseason), chances are good Washington Capitals will re-up with him for another year and who knows he may even get a look for a few games in the show.

14Apr

Adam Clendening(2) Rockford IceHogs

Posted in AHL, NHL | 1 Comment

Chicago Blackhawks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft (#36 overall) rookie defenseman Adam Clendening(2) was chosen to the 2012-2013 AHL Second All-Star Team for his impressive play in the quickly wrapping up season.

In 71 games with their minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs he has 8 goals and 36 assists with a +14 rating and quarterbacks the power play. He also leads the league in assists by a d-man and is top five in scoring for the position.

The 5’11” 187 lbs. blue liner left two years of college at Boston University on the shelf to turn pro signing a three-year entry level deal.

He was also picked to represent at the 2013 AHL All-Star Game.

The 20-year old definitely plays a much bigger game than his size may indicate and can be an offensive threat without becoming liability in his own zone.

He has yet to make an appearance in an NHL game but that time will certainly come. First he has his sights set on scoring a Calder Cup appearance with his team that sits just inside the bubble of a berth.

23Feb

Evan Brophey (20)

Posted in AHL | Leave a comment

6th year right wing Evan Brophey(20) was an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2012 and with no offers and the NHL lockout looming had to find a home for the new season.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft (#68 overall), he only appeared in one big league game with the team in 4 years and 3 last season with Colorado Avalanche. He has yet to convert for any points.

The 6’1″ 203 lbs. forward isn’t exactly a prolific scoring in the minors but in 407 regular season games he does have 67 goals and 94 assists.

Last season with Lake Erie Monsters, he matched a career high for points (39) and pocketed a best 18 goals, which led the squad in scoring.

Just as the 2012/2013 season started the 26-year old signed a pto with Portland Pirates. He was recently bumped up to an spc after 37 games (5 goals, 10 assists) to finish out the 2012/2013 campaign with them.

Even though he’s not exactly lighting it up as prolifically as he did last year, he’s still a gritty, invaluable player for the Pirates to have in the fold as they push towards the postseason.