Toronto Marlies | CollegeHockeyPlayers

14Jul

Korbinian Holzer(5) Toronto Maple Leafs

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Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 4th round pick in the 2006 draft (#111 overall) German-born defenseman Korbinian Holzer(5) recently signed a 1-way contract to make the full-time jump to the big league.

Apparently they liked what they saw of him last year, although so far his only two NHL games came in his rookie year.

He put up AHL career highs in assists and points with Toronto Marlies.

Although he pocketed only one goal, he had 19 assists for 20 points and was a +7 plus/minus on a team that made it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals. In 2010/2011 he was a +10.

As a 19-year old he played three seasons in the DEL for DEG Metro Stars after a pair of campaigns in Germany2 (DEL2) but finally came over on a two-year entry level deal.

Now at 24-years old the big 6’3″ 206 lbs. d-man is looking to step it up.

03Jul

Ryan Hamilton(12) Toronto Maple Leafs

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Undrafted, 7th year center Ryan Hamilton(12) captained the AHL Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup Championship Final. They were beaten in 4 straight but to come as far as the team did and to get within four wins of lifting that trophy was a pretty outstanding accomplishment for the team.

Maple Leafs‘ brass likes this 27-year old vet because they re-signed him to another one-year, two way contract for a fourth season in the system. He even received his first NHL recall in 2012 and notched an assist.

He’s played a total of 365 regular season games in the minors scoring 99 goals and 85 assists (puck hog). He had career bests in 2011/2012 in goals, assists, points, games played.

He’s a fairly big frame at 6’2″ 219 lbs. and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fill the slot on the Leafs last occupied by Joey Crabb.

22May

Matt Lashoff(21) Toronto Marlies

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Former Boston Bruins‘ 1st round pick in the 2005 draft (#22 overall) defenseman Matt Lashoff(21) missed all but 9 regular season games in October with his team of the past two years, Toronto Marlies.

He scored a goal and added 4 assists in that short time frame before suffering an acl injury that required surgery and what looked like the remainder of 2011/2012 on the sidelines.

The 6th year blue liner thought differently and put a stake in the ice to make it back for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Goal achieved.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. d-man played his first game in 191 days in the Western Conference Semi-Finals but then sat out for the opening couple of contests of the Western Conference Finals before he got back into action for game 3.

In it he notched a pair of assists helping the Marlies claim a 2-1 series lead.

With play like that, he’s going to be tough to sit.

He has 74 NHL games experience (1 goals, 15 assists) with three different teams.

He’s only signed through this season, so it will be interesting to see if Toronto Maple Leafs can work out an offer to keep him around.

The 25-year old is also a fairly competent musician. You can listen to clips from some of his tunes on his reverbnation site. He’s also a fun guy to follow on Twitter @MattLashoff

12May

Mike Zigomanis(93) Toronto Marlies

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Everyone’s favorite 12th year vegan pro, Toronto Marlies‘ center Mike Zigomanis(93) got the OT winner in the series vs. Abbotsford Heat to lift them into the AHL Calder Cup Western Conference Finals for the second time in the team’s history.

He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season after spending the last two in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system. His last NHL appearance was eight games in 2009/2010.

The 6’0 200 lbs. forward has appeared in 197 NHL games scoring 21 goals and 19 assists.

Chances are probably pretty good that the Leafs will keep the 31-year veteran around for another year. He’s pretty much the consummate player to have on your team.

20Apr

Mark Fraser(29) Toronto Marlies

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6th year, 25-year old defenseman Mark Fraser(29) will definitely help Toronto Marlies in their quest for the Calder Cup.

He’s had quite the ride in the 2011/2012 season as he started the season with the team that selected him in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft (#84 overall), New Jersey Devils. In 5 years in their system, he’s skated 98 NHL games (3 goals, 5 assists) and has appeared in 233 AHL contests.

Never really considered a big point producer, he is however a big presence on the blue line at 6’3″ 220 lbs.

A trade in mid-December, saw him go to Anaheim Ducks but he didn’t appear in a game before being reassigned to Syracuse Crunch, where he played some mean, shutdown hockey and was a career high +13 plus/minus.

Only a couple of months later though, he was dished again in a minor league deal that has him playing in the AHL postseason for the first time in his pro career. He got himself an assist on the game-winning goal to boot.

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.

29Feb

Darryl Boyce(47) Columbus Blue Jackets

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Lost in the trade deadline shuffle: undrafted, 5th year center Darryl Boyce(47) didn’t survive going through waivers after being reassigned by Toronto Maple Leafs to their AHL affiliate Marlies, the only two pro teams he’s ever played for.

He was snapped up by Columbus Blue Jackets and skated in his 1st game with his new team on Tuesday night.

He had appeared in 64 NHL games with the Leafs 6 goals with 9 assists but goal scoring isn’t where he lives.

At 6′ 200 lbs. he’s not excessively large but he plays a big game out there and is a tireless agitator for all his opponents to have to deal with.

It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the change of scenery and where the Blue Jackets see him fitting into their lineup. Seeing him with Springfield Falcons before the end of the season wouldn’t surprise me.

He traded in his odd number 47 jersey he’d been wearing for 43, which is a bit of a thinker.

03Feb

Danny Richmond(7) Lake Erie Monsters

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Defenseman Danny Richmond(7) is one of those high draft picks (Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd round in 2003, #31 overall) that just have never quite lived up to expectations.

He was just traded out of Hershey, where he saw limited action, and just couldn’t find his spot on a fairly deep roster after signing a one-year, two-way deal with Washington Capitals in the offseason. This happened to be his 8th AHL team in six years.

The next chapter in his pro career takes him to Cleveland to skate for Lake Erie Monsters, as he was traded out of Chocolatetown. We’ll see if he’s able to gain any traction and maybe another look with Colorado Avalanche.

He has 49 games of NHL experience, registering 0 goals and 3 assists and a -12 plus/minus. He mostly has been less than accountable in his defensive zone.

23Jan

Christian Hanson(21) Hershey Bears

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Undrafted 3rd year center Christian Hanson(21) signed a one-year, two-way deal with Washington Capitals in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. He spent his first couple of seasons in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system and got his first NHL goal in 2009 fresh out of college.

In 42 NHL games he has 3 goals and 6 assists, all with the Leafs.

He spent most of his pro career with their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies and continues in 2011/2012 with Hershey Bears, where he’s put up 8 goals and 10 assists in 42 games this season.

He has yet to be called-up but with his rather large 6’4″ 228 lbs. frame, he probably deserves a look before his current contract expires.

He is the 25-year old son of Dave Hanson, who was made famous for his role as one of the brothers in the movie Slapshot.

22Jan

Mark Bell(18) Anaheim Ducks

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11 year veteran, former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round draft pick in 1998 (#8 overall), 31-year old center Mark Bell(18) received his first NHL call-up with his new team for the 2011/2012 season, Anaheim Ducks.

He now has 446 big league games to his credit, registering 87 goals and 95 assists to go along with 597 penalty minutes.

For the last couple of seasons he played in the Swiss-A League but signed a one-year, two-way contract to come back to North American pro hockey early in the offseason.

In 32 games with the Ducks‘ AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch he has 5 goals and 8 assists but is a kind of miserable -11 plus/minus.