Vincent LoVerde(5) Manchester Monarchs

Undrafted 2nd year defenseman Vincent LoVerde(5) had an unassumingly terrific sophomore season playing most of the campaign on a pair of pto’s with Manchester Monarchs.

He started 2012/2013 with Ontario Reign, the team he’d spent his entire rookie season playing for in the ECHL.

After an invite to Chicago Wolves‘ training camp he returned to the Reign roster, where he re-signed in the summer and was quick to produce, resulting in his first recall.

Through 51 AHL games he scored a pair of goals and added 11 assists, while posting a monster +17 on a team that fought tooth and nail for a Calder Cup playoff berth.

Look for him to score another invite to a triple A camp, if not sign a deal in the offseason to join a team for the entirety of 2013/2014.

 

 

 

Nicolas Deslauriers(4) Manchester Monarchs

Los Angeles Kings‘ 3rd round pick in the 2009 draft (#84 overall), 2nd year defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers(4) had career bests in the 2012/2013 season scoring 4 goals and 19 assists with AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

His point production uptick carried over into the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, where he struck for a pair of goals and assists in 4 games; good enough to make him the team’s leading scorer after a first round postseason exit.

The 6’1″ 230 lbs. blue liner plays a rough and tumble, physical style that doesn’t always end him up with time in the penalty box, but he’s also unafraid to drop the mitts when call upon and also may have opened up a little extra room on the ice for his offensive game to flourish.

In four years of junior hockey he was able to put up points on the score sheet on a fairly regular basis, especially in his last two seasons.

Signed to a three-year entry level deal that extends through 2013/2014, the 22-year old has found his footing at the right time and could be on track for his first NHL call-up next season if he continues on this pace, but for now would be happy to join the “black aces” practice squad as the parent club competes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hunter Bishop(11) Manchester Monarchs

Undrafted, 2nd year left wing Hunter Bishop(11) signed with South Carolina Stingrays to begin 2012/2013 after an injury put him on the sidelines for all of the previous season.

It just so happened to be the final year of his 2-year entry level deal with Montreal Canadiens. He became an unrestricted free agent at the end of the contract.

He put up great numbers: 2 goals and 3 assists in 9 games with minor league affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs, when he joined the team after leaving his college career at Ohio State University on the shelf. Come Calder Cup Playoff time though, he was unable to duplicate the success scoring only one assist in 12 contests.

The 6′ 196 lbs. forward started his rookie season on the injured reserve list and was reassigned to Wheeling Nailers, when he was ready to return and duplicated his output on an ato in higher league just six months earlier.

He was recalled and stuck in the AHL through the entire campaign but was limited to only 4 goals and 4 assists in 34 games.

The 25-year old struck stats gold again in the ECHL with the Stingrays hitting the back of the net on 24 occasions and offering up 25 helpers in 48 games. He finished the season as their leading scorer with a +13 rating.

He received a brief pair of call-ups to Lake Erie Monsters and Rochester Americans but was held scoreless.

It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that he found another home in the AHL with Manchester Monarchs. He has been with the club for 21 games on a pto putting up 3 goals and 2 assists (another 5 point mark).

He meshes well with team chemistry and will likely play out the regular season, or return home to Alaska as his lower league team was bounced from the playoff picture in the first round.

He is likely to be on an AHL roster out of training camp in 2013/2014.

Ian O’Connor(24) Manchester Monarchs

Undrafted 2nd year left wing Ian O’Connor(24) signed to rejoin Reading Royals for his sophomore season, the team he skated with at the end of his college career and was then traded to late in last year’s campaign.

He was called up on a two occasions in his rookie season to play a couple of games with Worcester Sharks but was unable to connect on the scoresheet. He actually attended their training camp in his first year.

In 122 ECHL games he has 37 goals and 27 assists.

The 6′ 203 lbs. forward is currently signed to a pto with Manchester Monarchs, where in 12 games he notched his first AHL goal.

As a 16-year old he played four seasons with New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, not even 30 minutes up the road from where he was born in Londonderry. So the recall is a sort of homecoming for the now 25-year old pro.

 

 

Andreas Lilja(6) Adirondack Phantoms

Philadelphia Flyers‘ 13th year Swedish defenseman Andreas Lilja(6) is having a bit of a tough time finding a spot on the big club’s roster this lockout shortened season and has found himself reassigned to their farm team, Adirondack Phantoms on more than one occasion.

He’s played only a single NHL game thus far but has appeared in 11 AHL games and has three helpers.

The 37-year old has appeared through a smattering of loans to minor league clubs in the last few years but hasn’t spent significant time in the league since his rookie campaign with Lowell Lock Monsters in 2000/2001.

He was originally a Los Angeles Kings‘ 2nd round pick (#54 overall) in 2000 that already had 4+ years pro experience in SEL.

The sizable 6’3″ 220 lbs. blue liner has played an outstanding 577 NHL games scoring 16 goals and 77 assists with an overall +32 rating. He was also a member of the 2008 Detroit Red Wings’ Stanley Cup Championship team.

He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current season and it would be no surprise to see him sign with his 6th team for at least one more run.

 

 

David Dziurzynski(22) Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators look to be tearing a page from Los Angeles Kings‘ playbook on how to win a Stanley Cup with their recent pair of forwards recalls, plus one defenseman.

6’3″ 204 lbs. 3rd year, undrafted left wing David Dziurzynski(22) gets summoned from minor league affiliate Binghamton Senators along with other big guy Derek Grant to infuse some size and energy up front and hopefully match the magic as they push towards the postseason seemingly much like the Kings did when they called up a pair of large frames that became assets in their Cup run. The injury bug and some slow starting forwards also likely influenced the decision to bring up the duo at this point in the season. They are also not the only team using this same strategy.

In the final season of his 3-year entry level deal, he hasn’t put up numbers that scream to the parent club that they need to bring this player up now, but some of the intangibles look to be in the right place: increased penalty minutes, good on ice rating and it also helps that he looks to be having a career year in the assists category, so maybe his stars are aligning.

In his first 2 NHL games, the 23-year old skated an average of 15 shifts and 11:30 of ice time. He took 3 shots in the pair of contests and was a -1 in a winning and losing effort. His minutes increased from his first game to his second and now it’s just a question of will this logic work a second time.

See related: 6/12

Tyler Toffoli(26) Manchester Monarchs

Los Angeles Kings‘ 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft (#47 overall) rookie center Tyler Toffoli(26) has yet to realize an NHL call-up quite yet but it has to be imminent, unless all the players on the parent club perform well and stay healthy. He was one of the last skaters to be reassigned to start the shortened season.

He’s 2nd in scoring for AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs with 35 points, leading the team with 21 goals and a +15 plus/minus. He was also selected to play in the 2013 AHL All-Star Game and collected a goal and an assist in the heart-breaking Eastern Conference loss.

The 6’1″ 194 lbs. forward had three outstanding final three years of junior hockey and even led the highly competitive OHL in scoring for 2010/2011.

He’s signed to a three-year entry level deal that keeps him with the Kings through the 2015 season.

There’s little doubt that the 20-year old is going to blossom into a full-time NHL player but he’ll have to continue to excel on the farm and wait for his turn to prove he can step it up.

Colton Yellow Horn(17) Manchester Monarchs

5th year, undrafted left wing Colton Yellow Horn(17) took a good season and a half to settle where he was going to play to start his pro career after a highly successful run in the WHL with Tri-City Americans, which he left as the leading goal scorer in his final year.

He headed for Austria but lasted less than a dozen games before returning to North America, signing with Elmira Jackals. He finished out his rookie season and started his sophomore campaign with the team but was traded to Stockton Thunder after only two games.

His time with the Thunder only last a couple more games than he did overseas and he was off to the Central Hockey League to try his hands with Allen Americans.

The small 5’9″ but wide 190 lbs. forward played for another two years with Allen leading them in scoring with 88 points in 2010/2011 and was a combined +24 plus/minus.

Having basically accomplished everything he could in the lower double A league, the 25-year old stepped up and signed a one year deal with Ontario Reign of the ECHL.

In 48 games, he currently sits atop the scoring leaders with 58 points (36 goals and 22 assists) but that will have to wait as he received his first AHL call-up and signed a pto with Manchester Monarchs.

In his debut, he notched an assist in a 3-2 losing effort but more importantly looks like he can play in the league and have an impact at this level.

He may be pint-sized in relation to other players but he’s wide like Sergei Samsonov was during his lengthy playing career.

Scott Parse(20) Albany Devils

Albany Devils‘ 6th year right wing Scott Parse(20) has somehow sat most of the team’s 44 games so far this season. He signed a one-year AHL deal as the 2012/2013 season was approaching.

In 13 games he has a low-end 1 goal and 2 assists, -7 rating, so he definitely needs to step it up. The 28-year old has recently been reinserted into the lineup.

He spent the first 5 years of his pro career in the Los Angeles Kings‘ prospect system. The 5’11″ 188 lbs. forward was originally a Kings‘ 6th round pick in the 2004 draft (#174 overall).

He’s skated in 73 NHL games and has 14 goals and 16 assists, which are pretty decent numbers.

In his career year 2009/2010 he skated 59 games and scored 11 goals and 13 assists while going a +13 plus/minus. The effort earned him a 2-year extension.

Unfortunately from here injury problems settled in for his next couple of campaigns.

Ironically when he did play in early 2010, the first year of his new contract, he got a goal and 3 assists in 5 games. It would have easily put him on pace for a career year on the scoresheet.

The next season wasn’t much better; he only appeared in 9 games.

As an unrestricted free agent going into a year when the NHL was a wish away, he decided to get back to work and rejoined a league he has over 100 games experience in.

 

Anthony Stewart(21) Manchester Monarchs

Former Florida Panthers‘ 1st round pick in the 2003 draft (#25 overall), right wing Anthony Stewart(21) was one of the NHL signed players to head overseas during the lockout. He somewhat ironically inked with Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL and scored 6 goals and 5 assists in 19 games.

He has played 262 (27 goals and 44 assists) NHL games with the Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and Carolina Hurricanes. The latter team dished him and his $1M contract to Los Angeles Kings in favor of a tough guy.

With little space in their front line, the Kings reassigned the 6’2″ 230 lbs. winger to their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs, a league he hadn’t been in since 2010, but has 42 goals and 56 assists in throughout his 8-year pro career

In 3 games, he posted a goal and two fighting majors but appears a bit disinterested out there, although that could just be his style of play.

At 28-years old it’s a bit of a wonder where the power forward will land next.