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13Oct

Mathieu Perreault(24) Anaheim Ducks

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After his first 5 pro seasons with Washington Capitals‘ organization, center Mathieu Perreault(24) was traded to Anaheim Ducks to help make space and fit its roster under the salary cap.

He started in the team’s system with minor league affiliate Hershey Bears and won consecutive Calder Cup Championships in 2009 and 2010.

The somewhat small-ish 5’10” 185 lbs. forward showed a knack for the net. In 166 AHL games he scored 38 goals and 97 assists in regular season play and added another 12 tallies and 21 helpers in 51 postseason contests. He also has an outrageous combined +62 rating.

He appeared in a decent amount of NHL games in his 2nd and 3rd seasons but became a regular in the league in the last two years.

His totals in the show are also good at 35 goals and 40 assists in 163 games and is a highly accountable +20 plus/minus.

The 25-year old was absolutely outstanding in three years of junior hockey with Acadie-Bathurst Titan putting together 93 goals and 195 assists in 194 games with an almost nutty +81 on ice.

Since the trade to the Ducks, he’s storming out of the gate in 2013/2014 with a pair of goals and 3 assists in 4 games and a +3.

06Oct

Nolan Yonkman(3) Norfolk Admirals

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13th year veteran defenseman Nolan Yonkman(3) continues his streak of NHL contracts, signing a one-year two-way contract with Anaheim Ducks for 2013/2014.

He was originally a Washington Capitals‘ 2nd round pick in the 1999 draft (#37 overall) and will start the season in the AHL with affiliate Norfolk Admirals.

The absolutely huge 6’6″ 247 lbs. blue liner has 601 minor league games to his credit scoring 16 goals and 63 assists. He also unfortunately also possesses a -31 rating. The -28 plus/minus last season didn’t help those numbers any.

His totals in the show of 74 games with a goal and 8 assists are modest but he’s skated in the big league a half dozen of his career years. 38 of those appearance were in one season, ’05/’06 with the Caps.

The 32-year old has been named team captain 5 times in the last six campaigns and it would be no surprise to see his “A” turn into a “C” because he definitely plays like a leader out there.

10Aug

Dustin Stevenson(9) WBS Penguins

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Undrafted 4th year giant-sized defenseman Dustin Stevenson(9) signs a 1-year deal to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 2013/2014.

After his 3-year entry level contract with Washington Capitals was up, he was not qualified for the upcoming season and became an unrestricted free agent.

The 6’5″ 220 lbs. d-man was always in the parent club’s training camp and released to AHL‘s Hershey Bears but never found a roster spot and reassigned double A affiliates.

He has skated in 200 ECHL contests (3 goals, 26 assists) in his first two years with South Carolina Stingrays and won a Kelly Cup Championship last season with Reading Royals.

His game has never been about scoring. He’s seen as more of a steady, shutdown blue liner that’s tough to play against.

The soon-to-be 24-year old did however connect for a goal and 8 assists in 22 playoff match-ups with a +17 rating. He also put up big points in 3 seasons of Saskatchewan junior hockey, so it’s possible those offensive abilities have been kick started and will blossom in his new environment.

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

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.

16May

Mattias Sjogren(26) Linköping

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The two-year Washington Capitals‘ experiment to bring over dynamic Swedish center Mattias Sjogren(26) is over as he signs a 2-year deal to return to his home country and play for Linkoping in Elitserien.

He will be entering his 9th season, having played in the pro ranks since he was 17-years old.

In 2011/2012, he started the season in Hershey but asked to return to Sweden and signed on with Färjestad, when things weren’t adding up.

Although the now 25-year old recorded AHL highs in games played, goals, assists and points with affiliate Hershey Bears, he went out with a concussion and at other times was able to crack the lineup on a more regular basis.

He’s listed at 6’3″ 219 lbs. but seemed to play more of a European skating style game over digging deep in the corners or fighting for position in front of the net with his power forward size.

Chances of him returning to North America with another nice contract are slim but easily life has to be pretty good for the still young player to be skating in Sweden’s elite league (SEL).

13May

Jake Schmidt(5) Washington Capitals

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Washington Capitals‘ undrafted defenseman Nate Schmidt(5) recently signed a 2-year entry level deal leaving his final year at University Of Minnesota behind and was reassigned to minor league affiliate Hershey Bears to start his pro career and hopefully help them into the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Objective achieved, as he jumped right in playing through virtually every situation, contributing a goal and 3 assists in 8 AHL regular season games. He added another pair of helpers in 5 postseason games before his team was eliminated in a fifth and decisive game of the Quarterfinals.

He was a heck of a set-up player through his last two seasons in college hockey, so no doubt the parent club will look for him to continue that trend.

The very solid 5’11” 199 lbs. blue liner was recalled to join the “black aces” practice squad as the Capitals begin their quest for the Stanley Cup.

At only 21-years old, he still has time and room to further fill out his frame and may get a long look in upcoming training camps.

His contract already kicked in for 2012/2013, so his official rookie campaign will actually be the second of his deal and he’ll become a restricted free agent at the end of next season.

11May

Tom Wilson(10) Washington Capitals

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Washington Capitals‘ 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (#16 overall), right wing Tom Wilson(10) enjoyed his third and final season in juniors as assistant captain with Plymouth Whalers.

He scored highs in goals (23), assists (35) and points (58), more than doubling the numbers he put up the previous year and achieved a similar effect in the postseason striking for 9 goals and 8 assists in 13 games to help take his team to the OHL Western Conference Finals before falling.

The still only 19-year old 6’4″ 210 lbs. big body has no problem using his size advantage out there and bets are on that he’ll transition to the pro ranks with ease.

He was signed to a three-year entry level deal soon after he was drafted but without a season to start in the big league was reassigned back to juniors. He appeared in the Capitals brief training camp when the lockout thawed but was once again sent down.

He made his AHL debut with minor league affiliate Hershey Bears for the 2013 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where he broke the ice with his first goal. But the Bears‘ fortunes were ended when they lost in the deciding game 5 of the series.

It was a given that he would continue his 2012/2013 playing time to at the very least participate as a member of Washington’s practice squad for their Stanley Cup playoff push, but when injury sidelined one of their top forwards he was recalled to join the team and play his first NHL game.

He skated 8 shifts for 6:24 of total ice time, registering one shot, one takeaway and dishing out 4 hits in the 2-1 OT win.

With the appearance, the young forward appeared in three leagues in one season.

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.

18Apr

Michael Latta (15)

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2nd year center Michael Latta(15) was originally a Nashville Predators‘ 3rd round pick in the 2009 draft (#72 overall) and spent all of his first season and a half with their minor league affiliate Milwaukee Admirals racking up some fairly impressive numbers.

He scored 14 goals and 14 assists in 51 games in his rookie campaign and although his production hitting the back of the net went down to 9 in his sophomore season his helpers total almost doubled to 26.

The 5’11” 209 lbs. forward also saw a marked increase in penalty minutes going from 100 to 184.

He also put up triple digits in pims the last two seasons of juniors with Guelph Storm.

Recently involved in a trade that brought him to Washington Capitals‘ organization for the final year of his three-year NHL entry level deal, he was reassigned to their AHL team Hershey Bears.

In 6 games he has one assist and has spent 12 minutes in the box.

He’s also has a -5 rating, a first in the negative column for the 25-year old.

His style of play is very tenacious, in-your-face and there seems to be little doubt that he will be able to impact the scoresheet as he fits in with team chemistry.

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