Nikita Filatov(24) CSKA Moscow

Instead of accepting his reassignment back to the AHL to play with Binghamton Senators (15 games, 7 goals, 5 assists), Ottawa Senators‘ recent acquisition, 1st round pick in 2008 by Columbus (#6 overall) winger Nikita Filatov(24) has once again asked to be returned to his Russian team CSKA Moscow to play instead of going to the lower league in North America.

He was granted his request and in 2 games he’s scored 0 points, has 2 penalty minutes and is a -3 plus/minus.

We think the move is foolish for 21-year old and he just needs to put on more muscle to help him with all that skill he has and staying close to the big club would have done him much better. But we’ll see…

Jarod Palmer(19) Minnesota Wild

In his 6th NHL game, undrafted 2nd year Minnesota Wild center Jarod Palmer(19) scored his first goal in his team’s win over Edmonton Oilers. He also suffered an upper body injury, which will sideline him for at least one upcoming game.

At the time of his recall he had 4 goals to go along with 6 assists and a +8 plus/minus in 26 games with their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros.

In his rookie season, he put up 9 goals and 19 assists in 65 regular season games and another 3 goals and 2 assists in 24 Calder Cup playoff games.

He was originally signed by the Wild to a one-year, two-way deal in 2010 and received a qualifying offer to keep him in the fold for 2011/2012.

 

 

Patrice Cormier(28) Winnepeg Jets

Center Patrice Cormier(28) was originally a New Jersey Devils‘ 2nd round pick in the 2008 draft (#54 overall) but before he could play a game with them he was involved in the blockbuster trade that would send Ilya Kovalchuk out of Atlanta for the first time in his pro career.

He’s most infamously known for putting a vicious elbow check to an opposing player while playing in his last season of juniors. The hit got him suspended for the remainder of the season.

As a rookie, he played 21 games for Atlanta Thrashers registering one goal and one assist. He also skated in 11 games with their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves picking up 2  goals and 3 assists.

After 28 games with St. John’s IceCaps (9 goals, 4 assists), he received his first recall by Winnipeg Jets. His gritty play could find him a home with the team for the remainder of the season.

JT Wyman(15) Tampa Bay Lightning

Give that man the puck (or two).

Signed by Tampa Bay Lightning on the first day of free agency to a one-year two-way deal, right wing JT Wyman(15) not only scored his first NHL goal but also got a helper in the same game against the team that drafted him.

Originally a Montreal Canadiens‘ 4th round pick in the 2004 draft (#100 overall), he played 3 years in their system, mostly with Hamilton Bulldogs but skated in 3 NHL games with them, registering 0 points.

In 29 AHL games with Norfolk Admirals this season he has 6 goals and 6 assists in 29 games and on a good team is a +10 plus/minus.

 

Tim Conboy(38) Binghamton Senators

It took 139 games for Binghamton Senators‘ defenseman Tim Conboy(38) to put the puck in the net but he finally got the monkey off his back the night after Christmas with one, his first since 2009 when he was playing with Albany River Rats.

He was in Carolina Hurricanes‘ prospect system for four seasons and played 59 NHL games with them (0 goals, 6 assists).

From there he signed to one-year, two-way deals, last season with Buffalo Sabres and this year with Ottawa Senators, which has him assigned to their AHL affiliate.

Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 7th round pick in the 2002 draft (#217 overall), he’s a fairly big guy at 6’2″ 210 lbs. but more importantly he’s the type of player that gets under other guy’s skin and causes penalties to happen. He also spends a good amount of time in the box. Last season in 70 games he had 233 pims.

Joe Piskula(43) Calgary Flames

5th year, undrafted Calgary Flames‘ defenseman Joe Piskula(43) spent three seasons in the L.A. Kings‘ prospect system but skated only 5 NHL games with the team in the same year he completed his college hockey career.

He then played exclusively with the Kings‘ AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs on an entry level contract but failed to appear in another NHL game with them.

In the next season he signed a one-year AHL deal with Abbotsford Heat and played 71 games.

For the next couple seasons, he scored himself a bit of an unlikely contract with Calgary through 2013.

He’s was called up at the beginning of December and has played in 5 games but registered no points and is a disappointing -5 plus/minus. More importantly though, they won 4 of the 5 games he skated in.

 

 

Cody Bass(26) Springfield Falcons

Tough break for Columbus Blue Jackets‘ offseason signing, forward Cody Bass(26), who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that will require surgery in practice with the team’s AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons.

He was signed to a one-year, two-way deal and skated in 14 NHL games this season before being reassigned. In 10 games with the Falcons, he had a pair of goals and 4 assists.

In 2010/2011 he won the Calder Cup with Binghamton Senators and was always a feisty team leader. It’s the 2nd time an injury has caused him to opt out of a season.

He was originally an Ottawa Senators‘ 4th round pick in the 2005 draft (#95 overall).

 

Jack Combs(11) Colorado Eagles

In his 3rd pro season, undrafted wing Jack Combs(11) has been tearing up the scoring sheet pretty much regardless of what AA league he’s playing in.

At the time of his call up to the AHL by Worcester Sharks he lead the ECHL in scoring (17 goals 20 assists in 23 games) with Colorado Eagles. He scored on his first shift with the team and has struck for 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games.

No doubt, if he continues on this pace, he will remain with the team for the foreseeable future.

In 6 previous AHL games over the last couple of years, he never tallied a goal and only had one assist.

He finished 2nd in scoring and first in goals with 40 for Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League in 2010/2011 and 10th overall in the league.

9/19-12: Maybe in a bit of a surprising move, the 24-year old re-signs to start 2012/2013 with Colorado Eagles of the ECHL. He completed last season under contract with the AHL Sharks scoring 16 goals and 14 assists in 50 games. The one downside was a pretty poor -9 plus/minus.

Tom Sestito(21) Philadelphia Flyers

Left wing Tom Sestito(21) was originally chosen by Columbus Blue Jackets in the 3rd round of the 2006 draft (#85 overall) and played in their system for almost 4 seasons. Appearing in 13 NHL games he put up 2 goals and 2 assists before getting traded to Philadelphia Flyers and was assigned to their AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms where he finished off the year.

In the offseason he signed a one-year, two-way deal. He received his first call-up to the Flyers and skated in three games with no points but 15 penalty minutes.

He’s not exactly known for his scoring touch but at 6’5″ 228 lbs. it would be nice to utilize him as a power forward in front of the net to go along with his fighting skills. In 24 AHL games he has 8 goals and 6 assists.

 

Riley Nash(20) Charlotte Checkers

It looked like second year Carolina Hurricanes‘ center Riley Nash(20) had his first NHL goal in the first shift of his second game ever but later it was deemed he never touched the puck on it’s way into the net, so he settled for his first point in the big league, an assist.

Originally a 1st round pick by Edmonton Oilers in the 2007 draft (#21 overall), he was traded to the Hurricanes before ever playing in a game for them.

He lasted a couple of games in his debut recall and put up a point while averaging 10 minutes of ice time before being reassigned to their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers. In 31 games he has 2 goals and 7 assists but is a dreadful -8 plus/minus.

He wears the same #20 in both leagues.