Tagged: Toledo Walleye

Zack Torquato

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th year center Zack Torquato(15) re-signed for 2013/2014 with Wheeling Nailers for another chance to propel the ECHL club into the postseason after missing half of last season on the injured reserved list.

Originally a Detroit Red Wings‘ 6th round pick in the 2007 draft (#178 overall) he was never signed and became an unrestricted free agent but did play games in two seasons with minor league affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

He would later sign an AHL contract with Rockford IceHogs but spent most of his rookie season with their affiliate Toledo Walleye, where he put up some pretty good numbers scoring 11 goals and 33 assists in 54 games.

The 6′ 195 lbs. forward is no stranger to posting record marks, as he did with 62 assists in his over-age junior hockey season with Erie Otters.

He got off to a super-hot start with the Nailers posting 9 goals and 22 assists and a crazy 100 shots on net in 25 games and was loaned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins just before Christmas.

In 7 games already chipping away at the score sheet with a pair of goals and assists.

The 24-year old could net a contract in the higher league or if he’s sent back down, it’s not likely to be for a long time.

Original story: 1/5-14

He would stay up with the Penguins for another month skating 18 games with 2 goals, 5 assists and a +1 rating before being returned.

For 2013/2014 he finished up his 4th season in the ECHL setting new scoring highs (14-38-52) and putting in another point-per-game in 6 playoff match-ups.

Just prior to 2014/2015 starting he re-signed for another year with Wheeling Nailers.

Once again he netted a couple of recalls to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but evened out a bit with only a goal and an assists in 12 games.

In the lower league though, he once again struck for career bests of 19 goals, 40 assists and 59 points, then equal his postseason totals from a year ago.

The 26-year old has decided to stay put for a 5th campaign with the Nailers.

If he strikes on the score sheet quickly he will probably find himself recalled but could possibly go to a different AHL team to try his luck.

philippe-paradis

Syracuse Crunch center Philippe Paradis(63) was held pointless in 12 Calder Cup Playoff games until he finally erupted with a hat trick in the team’s Eastern Conference Finals‘ clinching 7-0 victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Originally a Carolina Hurricanes‘ 1st round pick in the 2009 draft (#29 overall) he was traded to Toronto Maple Leafs before he could ever take the ice for the team as a prospect.

He lasted only four games with Toronto Marlies, scoring a pair of assists before he changed hands quickly a second time, becoming property of Chicago Blackhawks.

He started with their minor league affiliate Rockford IceHogs much like he did the previous season on an ato after finishing up his last junior campaign in the QMJHL with PEI Rocket.

The 6’2″ 209 lbs. forward was signed to a three-year entry level contract and spent his rookie season in the AHL.

He continued to ply his trade in the league to start his sophomore run but when he was either playing too diminished a role or failing to put up the numbers found himself reassigned to Toledo Walleye of the ECHL for a short, five-game run tallying no points before being returned.

Once again trade bait and shuffled off to Tampa Bay Lightning‘s organization just before the deadline, he started up right away with their minor league affiliate and in 8 games leading up to the postseason contributed only an assist.

He’s still not seeing a lot of minutes on the ice but has been pretty much consistently in the lineup. Nothing like answering the bell at the right time to keep the parent club interested.

The 22-year year old has one year left on his deal after which he becomes an restricted free agent at the end of next season.

Original story: 6/2-13

He would post AHL career 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points in 56 games but that’s still far short of the marks he put up in his last three years of juniors.

Although maybe still short of what is expected it was enough to earn him another one-year look.

For 2014/2015 he increased goals scored to a still modest 8 and tied those 15 points from the previous campaign but was also a surprising nice +10 rating in just 34 games due to a late season injury that shortened his progress.

Entering his second restricted free agency, Tampa Bay has decided to continue watching the 24-year old possibly thinking he’s late to develop.

harrison-reed

6th year right wing Harrison Reed(19) has decided it’s time to go try his game overseas joining up with Eispiraten Crimmitschau of DEL2, the second tier pro hockey league in Germany.

He’s coming off a season of career highs with Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. In 46 games he put up 21 goals and 24 assists. It was his first time hitting the 20/20 club. He also added another 9 tallies and 11 helpers in 23 Kelly Cup Playoff games getting the team all the way to the finals before falling.

Originally a Carolina Hurricanes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2006 draft (#93 overall), he signed a 3-year entry level deal and joined their then affiliate Albany River Rats for 119 games before being involved in a trade that made him property of Colorado Avalanche for the last season of his contract.

He joined Lake Erie Monsters for 2010/2011 but was also reassigned for about half the time to Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League.

The 6’1″ 192 lbs. forward plays with bigger size than his measurements might indicate but was never really able to connect in the AHL, where in 208 games he has 11 goals and 16 assists but is a terrible -39 overall.

For his first season as an unrestricted free agent he signed a contract to play with Toledo Walleye but also received a pair of call-ups to Houston Aeros and the familiar Lake Erie team. He would also rejoin them again last season for 14 contests.

The 25-year should be able to continue his domination on the score sheet, which may bring him back to North America or help continue his rise in Europe.

Original story: 8/1-13

After a year in the 2nd tier German league potting an astounding 40 goals and 50 assists in 54 games and another 27 points in 17 playoff contests, he was awarded forward of the year title for his efforts.

He decided to make the jump up to DEL signing with Straubing Tigers and came back down to earth with 25 points in 50 games.

For 2015/2016 he circles back to DEL2 inking for a season with Dresdner Eislowen.

At 27-years old now he very well could explode on the score sheet once again and look to move on to a different country’s top league.

Willie-Coetzee

5th year undrafted South African-born right wing Willie Coetzee(26) has already cycled through three different leagues and two countries in his first season out of contract with Detroit Red Wings.

He started in Austria on a tryout with Graz 99ers but after 12 games was released.

A week later he signed a one-year deal with Reading Royals and went right to work in a league he was already very familiar from his time on reassignment with Toledo Walleye.

In 9 ECHL games he caught fire quickly scoring 2 goals and 10 assists, which got the attention of the injury plagued Worcester Sharks, who signed him to an spc essentially keeping him for the season.

Once again, the not huge 5’10” 185 lbs. forward stepped in attacking the score sheet unlike he did while playing for Grand Rapids Griffins, although he did have an ok sophomore campaign getting 11 tallies and 11 helpers.

In 8 AHL games he’s blowing the lid off the pace of his previous marks, amassing 4 goals and 7 assists with a +6 rating.

However the switch was activated, the 24-year old that missed all of 2013/2014 with a knee injury has seemingly arrived.

Louis-Marc AubreyDetroit Red Wings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft (#81 overall) center Louis-Marc Aubry(22) has to be happy that his first pro season was on an entry level slide and the first year of his three-year entry level deal didn’t actually kick in until his second campaign 2012/2013, playing for minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins.

He won a Calder Cup with the team that season and even skated in 14 postseason match ups with one assist and a +3 rating.

In the middle of last year the 6’4″ 213 lbs. forward found himself on reassignment south, playing 19 games for Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.

He managed to assert himself right away, striking for 7 goals and 8 assists.

But there’s no time like the present for the still young 22-year old to start using that large frame in front of the net and hammering more shots at the opposing net minder.

His numbers have been diminishing, along with his ice time, so he needs to step it up in the AHL or his next deal could be of the one-year variety in the lower league.

Joey Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockton Thunder undrafted center Joey Martin(10) posted career highs for games played, assists and points in his third ECHL season.

He skated in 66 contests, scoring one less goal than he did as a rookie, with 21 tallies and a new record 45 helpers, 66 points; all team leading offensive totals.

He also managed to tie his AHL scoring mark in 2013/2014 with a pair of goals on loan to affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers; and his 2 assists for 4 points with a +3 rating in 9 games were new personal bests.

He’s skated in higher league games in each of his years.

The 5’10” 174 lbs. forward is now once again lighting up the postseason score sheet and will undoubtedly eclipse his former totals as in just 2 games he has already evened up with his 5 points, including a new best 4 assists.

Akim Aliu1

5th year right wing Akim Aliu(78) is a bit of an enigma.

Originally a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#56 overall), the rough and tough forward has only played in 7 NHL games while under contract with Calgary Flames, who picked up the last year of his entry level contract, then qualified him for another season.

In his first pair of big league games he notched a pair of goals and an assist but through his next five contests in last year’s lockout shortened season he failed to connect with the score sheet.

The 6’4″ 225 lbs. power forward spent most of his time with farm club Abbotsford Heat, where in 84 games he’s collected a sparse 14 goals and 11 assists with an unsettling -20 rating.

Through 214 AHL contests his point totals are surprisingly low.

It’s fairly well documented that the still young 24-year old has temper and attitude problems, which probably has a lot to do with his limited success.

He started the current campaign on a try-out contract with Hamilton Bulldogs but was released after 14 games.

Picked up a month later by a struggling Hartford Wolf Pack, in a pair of appearances he scored his first tally with the team, has one fight and unloaded 5 shots on net.

He seems to fit with the team pretty well but without a sizable increase of offense production, it seems unlikely he’ll be given an spc to stay through the regular season.

ben-youds1

3rd year undrafted defenseman Ben Youds(2) is looking to best his AHL rookie season career highs in a big way, as long as he can stick with a tough Providence Bruins‘ roster to crack.

Signed to a minor league contract with Rockford IceHogs, he had 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points as a rookie in the 2011/2012 season.

He was re-signed but ended up splitting time with ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye for most of his sophomore campaign. His numbers in the lower league were pretty stellar at 17 goals and 27 assists with a +11 rating in 43 games.

The 5’11” 180 lbs. d-man was an invite to Boston Bruins‘ training camp but reassigned to the farm club, where he signed a one-year deal in the off-season.

In 15 games with the P-Bruins he has a goal and 8 assists with a +5 plus/minus, already matching his point totals from last season in just 23 games.

cody-lamplUndrafted 5th year Idaho-born defenseman Cody Lampl(32) pulls a go figure move to begin the 2013/2014 season.

Under contract for another campaign with Toledo Walleye of the ECHL after a successful run, reaching a career high 6 goals and tying his point total of 15, he looked to build on the success and was invited to join St. John’s IceCaps‘ training camp.

One thing leads to another and by early October he finds himself on the an AHL roster.

In 8 games, the 5’11” 183 lbs. blue liner has yet to hit the score sheet with a -2 rating but definitely doesn’t look a bit out of place.

He has 214 ECHL games, first for a pair of seasons with hometown team Idaho Steelheads and then he moved slightly more east for a year with Utah Grizzlies.

To his credit he’s scored 8 goals and 49 assists with a +9 plus/minus.

The 27-year old played four years at Colorado College after three seasons in the USHL en route to turning pro.

However this story ends up it’s already a good one.

Brian Lashoff

4th year, undrafted defenseman Brian Lashoff(32) split 2012/2013 up with the big club, Detroit Red Wings and their farm team.

He appeared in 31 NHL games post lockout and all three playoff contests before being reassigned to help Grand Rapids Griffins capture their first Calder Cup Championship.

With his 3-year entry level deal expiring, the sturdy 6’3″ 213 lbs. blue liner was signed for another 3-year extension to continue with the team through the 2015/2016 season.

He sticks with the parent club to begin 2013/2014 and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. In 7 games he has one assist.

He’s never been a big point-getter but is looked to for steady play and leadership abilities he brings at only 23-years old.

He was team captain of Kingston Frontenacs in his final two campaigns of junior hockey.