Tampa Bay Lightning | CollegeHockeyPlayers

29Apr

Dustin Tokarski(34) & Martin Jones(31)

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Norfolk Admirals‘ 3rd year goalie Dustin Tokarski(34) and Manchester Monarchs‘ 2nd year net minder Martin Jones(31) exchange handshakes at the conclusion of their AHL Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Jones sat his first playoff game of the series but was the goaltender on record for the previous three contests, including a Monarchs‘ 5-2 win in game 2, the Admirals‘ 1st loss after 29 straight victories that started back on February 10. Almost appears like Tokarski is giving him a nod with the shake for that win.

The 22-year old Tokarski has one more year left on his 3-year entry level contract. It’s very possible that the 5’11” 198 lbs. backstop could compete for the starter job with Tampa Bay Lightning next season. He showed flashes of brilliance in 5 games in 2011/2012, despite only one win.

13Apr

Mark Barberio(8) Norfolk Admirals

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Tampa Bay Lightning 6th round pick in the 2008 draft (#156 overall), 2nd year defenseman Mark Barberio(8) is having himself another career year with their AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals.

He leads all defenseman in the league with 47 assists, tied for 2nd in plus/minus (+25) and overall points (60). In his first campaign he established a new record for points, assists and points among rookie defenseman.

He was recently named winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the outstanding blue liner for the 2011/2012 season and also picked as a 1st team AHL All-Star.

One surprising note in all that is good so far in his pro career, the 22-year old has yet to receive an NHL recall despite all the success.

It’s seemingly the one thing that has eluded the 6’1″ 200 lbs. d-man.

He’s in the 2nd year of his 3-year entry level deal.

09Mar

Dustin Tokarski(34) Tampa Bay Lightning

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3rd year Tampa Bay Lightning 5th round pick in 2008 (#122 overall) goaltender Dustin Tokarski(34) got a bit of a surprise when they decided to start him in his 1st NHL call up of the season. It was the first time he’d started a game.

He’s deserved it with his impressive play in net for the very good AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals. He has 27 wins against 11 losses and a 2.34 GAA and .905 SV%. He also has 4 shutouts.

While not the biggest guy in the crease at 5’11” 195 lbs. he plays the angles well and looks to be blossoming into a bona fide big league goalie and at this point the Lightning could use one of those as they inch closer to a playoff spot.

He has one more year on his 3-year entry level deal, which included a first year slide.

01Mar

Keith Aulie(3) Tampa Bay Lightning

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Keith Aulie(3) is a monster of a 22-year old, 2nd year defenseman at 6’6″ 217 lbs.

He’s been in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system from the start of his pro career and played in 57 NHL games (2 goals and 2 assists).

With their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, he’s skated in 64 games (3 goals, 7 assists).

All of that ain’t so bad but in 2011/2012 with the two teams, he has only 3 assists and is a -10 plus/minus.

He must have slipped pretty low on their depth chart because they dumped him at the trading deadline for prospect forward Carter Ashton.

Could be that they just needed more up front than on the blue line.

He will debut with his new team Tampa Bay Lightning in the upcoming weekend. The team needs to make sure it has defense that takes up a lot of space with their goaltending worries, as they stumble and surge, pushing for a playoff spot.

He was originally a Calgary Flames‘ 4th round draft pick in 2007 (#116 overall) but played most of his rookie season with Abbotsford Heat.

21Feb

Jon Kalinski(40) Hershey Bears

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4th year Philadelphia Flyers‘ 6th round pick in the 2007 draft (#152 overall) left wing Jon Kalinski(40) was the pawn that got moved by the team to the Tampa Bay Lightning to pick up defenseman Pavel Kubina.

He has appeared in 22 NHL games scoring 1 goal and 4 assists but it’s been almost two full seasons now since his last recall.

At 6’1″ 180 lbs., the 24-year old doesn’t exactly play a big man’s role out on the ice but maybe he’s going to be a bit of a late bloomer and will mesh well with the team in Norfolk to help kickstart his playing career away from the Flyers‘ system for the first time since turning pro.

In 247 AHL games (regular season and playoffs) with Adirondack/Philadelphia Phantoms he has 37 goals and 52 assists and a shaky -15 plus/minus.

9/17-12: The great underachiever signs a one-year AHL contract with the former enemy Hershey Bears for 2012/2013.

18Feb

Ty Wishart(6) New York Islanders

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Former 2006 1st round draft pick (#16 overall) defenseman Ty Wishart(6) finally got his first NHL call up by New York Islanders.

He appeared in 20 games with them last season after being acquired from Tampa Bay Lightning and put up a goal and 4 assists with a +5 plus/minus, which was no easy feat on what was a bottom feeding team.

He played a total of 17:16 and was even +/- and played some shorthanded time in the 5-1 loss against St. Louis Blues.

Currently in his fourth season, the sizable 6’4″ 218 lbs. 23-year old may be taking a bit more time to catch on as a full-time NHL-er and considering he’s hits restricted free agent status at the end of this year, he might be dangled as bait for shopping.

16Feb

Stephane Veilleux(19) New Jersey Devils

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11-year left wing Stephane Veilleux(19) split to Liiga and NLA for a season but the stats suggest he was a little unhappy with the decision, so he returned to sign a one-year, two-way deal for 2011/2012 with New Jersey Devils that has seen him appear in 40 AHL games with Albany Devils.

He has 11 goals and 11 assists and +3 on the ice with them and plays like a team leader every game out there, which is why he wears an “A” on his jersey.

He has 439 NHL appearances to his credit and was originally a Minnesota Wild 3rd round pick in 2001 (#93 overall).

He played his first 8 seasons with the Wild and Houston Aeros.

As a Valentine’s gift, he received his 1st call-up and played a sparing 4:36 in the 4-1 win.

09Feb

Evan Oberg(27) Tampa Bay Lightning

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With a rash of injuries Tampa Bay Lightning has been suffering through this season, call-ups from their AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals are plentiful, but no one player has seen more time in airports and on airplanes so far than 3rd year, undrafted defenseman Evan Oberg(27).

It honestly seems like he’s been recalled a dozen times in the first half of the season, but in actuality it’s more like 7 or 8 times. He’s played a whopping 1:21 minutes in the one NHL game he did skate in.

Seeing that this is the last season of his 3-year entry level deal he originally signed with Vancouver Canucks, some insiders are looking at him as potential trade bait. He was picked up this season in a minor league deal with Florida Panthers that brought the Lightning a pair of defensive prospects for their system.

He only skated in 5 games in the big league with no points to his credit and has already been returned once again to the minors with no appearance.

25Jan

Mike Angelidis(10) Tampa Bay Lightning

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6th year, undrafted left wing Mike Angelidis(10) scored his 1st NHL goal in his 1st NHL game on his 1st shot on net. He only played a 4:01 of ice time through 7 shifts (the goal came during his 2nd time out there) in Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Monday night 4-2 win.

After four seasons to start his pro career in Carolina Hurricanes‘ system, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Lightning last year and re-signed with the team for the 2011/2012 season. He was named captain of Norfolk Admirals at the start of the year.

He’s on pace to set career highs in goals and assists in the AHL, if he can continue along the pace he started in the first half of the season.

25Jan

Marc-Antoine Pouliot(23) Phoenix Coyotes

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Former Edmonton Oilers‘ 1st round pick in 2003 (#22) and former Rimouski Oceanic linemate of Sidney Crosby, forward Marc-Antoine Pouliot(23) got an early New Year’s gift with a recall by the new NHL team he signed with as a free agent in the offseason, Phoenix Coyotes.

In 9 games he has a pair of assists and is a -3 plus/minus.

He skated in 168 NHL games with the Oilers to start his career and had 21 goals and 32 assists. In three games last season with Tampa Bay Lightning he had no points.

In the AHL he’s basically a point per game player but just has yet to be able to translate that to the higher league.

For Portland Pirates he has four goals and 12 assists in 25 games and is a +4 player.

In his 7 pro seasons he’s played more games in the NHL 4 times to 3 in the AHL.