Category: Featured

Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 2nd year center Anthony Angello(57) earns a 1st big league recall after tying his 16 goals he put up as a rookie with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a much less 48 AHL (65 last season) games.

The absolutely huge 6’5″ but not so heavy 210 lbs. forward is not exactly skating big minutes, roughly 6 per outing but does have a 1st NHL goal in his 5th game.

He’s played 8 now and has a bunch of shots, hits, blocks and even a couple of penalties.

The  22-year old former 3-year Cornell University member, who scored 10+ goals in each campaign and 13 assists as a freshman and junior, is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the current session.

Chances are he’s be slid a one-year extension to keep pushing forward progress.

Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd year center Morgan Geekie(43) makes his big league debut after putting up a new career high 22 goals in 55 AHL games for affiliate Charlotte Checkers.

In his debut he pots a first 2 NHL goals and an assist with a +3 rating in a 6-2 win.

He also had 2 shots, 1 hit, 4 block shots, 1 takeaway and 2 penalty minutes in 17 shifts for 10:22 total ice time.

The 21-year old is still another season away from a first restricted free agency but it’s looking good for the 3rd round pick to re-up before he even gets there.

Nurnberg Ice Tigers‘ 8th year right wing Chris Brown(11) re-ups for another two seasons keeping him in Germany’s top league through at least 2022.

He’s for a third time in his pro career produced 21 assists (twice here and 2013/2014 AHL) to go along with 12 goals heading into the upcoming DEL Playoffs.

The 29-year old needs to continue to play well but can relax a little as the contract is signed.

Montreal Canadiens‘ 6th year Swedish-born defenseman Gustav Olofsson(23) has twice lost full campaigns to shoulder injuries.

When the big 6’3″ 200 lbs. blue liner has been in the lineup for affiliate Laval Rocket he has been pretty sturdy scoring a goal and 12 assists  through 54 AHL games with a +1 rating.

He’s also appeared in 3 NHL games without registering a point and went a -4, which maybe doesn’t get him an immediate invite to return.

Currently playing under a two-way contract, he was signed for 2-years on a one-way deal with draft club Minnesota Wild (round 2, 2013, #46 overall) and played his only entire frame in the big league last season.

The 25-year old is set to become a restricted free agent for a 2nd time after the current frame but should be ok to keep in the system for at least another look.

Undrafted 3rd year right wing Alexis D’Aoust(23) was recently traded from Manitoba Moose, where he was spending most of his time with affiliate Jacksonville Icemen (13-13-26) to a playoff lease with Charlotte Checkers.

In his debut with his new club he had an assist and was a +2 rating in a 6-3 win.

The 6′ 200 lbs. forward put up big numbers as a fourth year skater for Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL notching 44 goals and 54 assists, so definitely has it in him to put up the stats.

He also played a fifth campaign with the club.

His numbers in the ECHL this season are career numbers.

The 23-year old could easily start striking in North Carolina and pick up a deal for the rest of this and next but if not might explore what’s overseas for him to achieve.

Nashville Predators‘ 6th year right wing Rocco Grimaldi(23) gets re-upped for two more seasons after skating in a career high 62 NHL games way, out pacing earlier totals with 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points and a +10 rating.

He now has 165 games played in the big league and at 27-years old, the small pivot could be finding his footing on the scoreboard as he did in the AHL, at University Of North Dakota and as part of the USNTDP team.

Montreal Canadiens‘ 9th year net minder Keith Kincaid(35) was recently reassigned from affiliate Laval Rocket to Eastern Conference rival Charlotte Checkers.

The very decently-sized goalie is on a one-year one-way contract after playing a career high 41 NHL games in the previous frame with his only other real contract club New Jersey Devils.

He was dished to Columbus Blue Jackets late last season but didn’t play with them or their farm team to finish out the 2018/2019 frame.

It’s tough to think what’s next for the 30-year old backstop but life could have him look overseas for another opportunity before it’s time to reconsider heading back to college to finish for what’s next.

Ottawa Senators‘ rookie center Josh Norris(37) gets his first crack at the big league after putting up a team leading 30 goals and 58 points in 52 AHL games for affiliate Belleville Senators.

Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 1st round pick in the 2017 draft (#19 overall) his rights were dished in a trade before he was set to embark on his 2nd campaign at University Of Michigan.

After notching 10 goals and 9 assists in 17 NCAA games, he decided to turn pro.

The very stable 6’2″ 192 lbs. forward had a lot of success with the USNTDP club before entering college.

In his first 3 NHL games he skated 20+ shifts per appearance and topped off at 20:51 total ice in his last game with 9 shots on net, 3 hits, 1 shot block, 1 takeaway and was just above 60% on the face off dot in a pair of wins and a loss.

The 20-year old still has another two years on his entry level deal and is already starting to show up nicely.