San Antonio Rampage | CollegeHockeyPlayers

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.

13Feb

Drew Shore(36) Florida Panthers

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Florida Panthers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#44 overall), rookie center Drew Shore(36) is getting his opportunity to impress in both the minors with affiliate San Antonio Rampage and up in the show with the big club.

He notched his first NHL goal (not the prettiest of shots that’s ever made it inside the net) in his 10th game to go with the three helpers he already has.

For a player listed at 6’3″ 200 lbs., he deceptively looks a bit smaller than credited for and has the quick hands of a smaller-sized forward.

In 41 AHL games he’s scored 10 goals and 20 assists with a +4 rating on a team that is challenged to string together wins.

He was named to the lineup for the 2013 AHL All-Star Game and netted a goal and an assist to help the Western Conference to a 7-6 victory.

The 22-year old, who left his last year of college hockey to turn pro after a point per game production, is signed through 2015 and looks to already be paying dividends for the scouts that found him.

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.

27Jan

Anthony Stewart(21) Manchester Monarchs

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Former Florida Panthers‘ 1st round pick in the 2003 draft (#25 overall), right wing Anthony Stewart(21) was one of the NHL signed players to head overseas during the lockout. He somewhat ironically inked with Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL and scored 6 goals and 5 assists in 19 games.

He has played 262 (27 goals and 44 assists) NHL games with the Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and Carolina Hurricanes. The latter team dished him and his $1M contract to Los Angeles Kings in favor of a tough guy.

With little space in their front line, the Kings reassigned the 6’2″ 230 lbs. winger to their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs, a league he hadn’t been in since 2010, but has 42 goals and 56 assists in throughout his 8-year pro career

In 3 games, he posted a goal and two fighting majors but appears a bit disinterested out there, although that could just be his style of play.

At 28-years old it’s a bit of a wonder where the power forward will land next.

20Jan

Brian Sutherby(14) Lake Erie Monsters

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12th year former Washington Capitals‘ 1st round pick in the 2000 draft (#26 overall) center Brian Sutherby(14) started the season on a pto with St. John’s IceCaps but was released after being a healthy scratch from the first two games.

Two and a half months later, the 30-year forward signs a standard player contract with Lake Erie Monsters.

A veteran of 460 NHL games with Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars and the Capitals, he’s quite literally under-scored where he should be with only 41 goals and 49 assists.

An unrestricted free agent last season, he signed a minor league deal with San Antonio Rampage but failed to produce as they would have liked and was released. He spent the rest of the year sidelined with back ailments. In 85 AHL games he’s scored 13 goals and 31 assists.

At 6’2″ 209 lbs. he’s built like a power forward and skates like one.

Despite having no points in 5 games with the Monsters, he really seems to fit into this team pretty well, making sure that if he has yet to quite hit the scoresheet yet, he’s still a big pest to play against.

11Jan

Mark Mitera(17) Reading Royals

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Anaheim Ducks‘ former 1st round pick in the 2006 draft (#19 overall) defenseman Mark Mitera(17) must have been doing his own workouts with a wait and see attitude before finally signing with ECHL Reading Royals for the remainder of the 2012/2013. He did have a tryout agreement with St. John’s IceCaps that fizzled.

His three year entry level deal was up at the end of last season. He finished with 75 games for Hamilton Bulldogs after being traded to parent club Montreal Canadiens early at the start of free agency in 2011.

At 6’3″ 213 lbs. he figured to be a bruising blue liner that simply beat his opponents into submission once he turned pro after four big years playing college hockey but that has yet to be realized.

Signing with the affiliate of AHL Hershey Bears could be a smart move for the 25-year old as chances are reasonable that he’ll receive a call-up with them, or he’ll sign a pto elsewhere as soon as post-lockout hockey begins to unfold and settle.

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.

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.

07Nov

Bracken Kearns(16) Worcester Sharks

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8th year undrafted veteran center Bracken Kearns(16) signed a 1-year, two-way deal with San Jose Sharks just as free agency started in the offseason.

The 6′ 195 lbs. forward was coming off one of his best all around seasons in the AHL with San Antonio Rampage, where he posted a career high 22 goals and 52 points in 69 games and added another 7 points in 10 postseason contests.

He also played in his first 5 NHL games on a couple of recalls by Florida Panthers but failed to register a point in roughly 7 minutes of playing time a night.

The 31-year old brings a gritty style game to the table and can definitely connect on the scoresheet. He also knows that it takes hard work on the ice to achieve his goals having come up from over 100 games in the ECHL in his first couple pro seasons to make his mark felt in the higher level of play.

In just 10 games with Worcester Sharks to start 2012/2013 he already has 3 goals and 5 assists, roughly putting him on pace for another record setting season.

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.