Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
That is their shot.
A number of names acquainted to AHL followers will attend NHL coaching camps on skilled tryout offers. No contract, no guarantees. Simply a chance. For NHL groups, these veterans are there to bolster competitors internally, add roster depth, and maybe play themselves into the group’s plans for 2024-25.
Here’s a take a look at a few of these gamers:
Adam Erne – New York Rangers
The 29-year-old ahead is a Connecticut native who has performed 379 NHL video games and has 91 factors (41 targets, 50 assists) with Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Edmonton.
Final season was divided between the Oilers and Bakersfield. He had two factors (one aim, one help) in 24 video games with the Oilers whereas additionally chipping in 12 factors (six targets, six assists) in 36 contests for the Condors.
Erne spent his first three professional seasons in Syracuse, serving to the Crunch attain the Calder Cup Finals in 2017.
Dylan Ferguson – Vancouver Canucks
Ferguson is again in North America to strive his hand in web with the Canucks.
Ferguson, who turns 26 on Friday, spent final season within the Kontinental Hockey League with Dinamo Minsk. He has made 29 appearances within the AHL in spot responsibility with Chicago, Henderson, Toronto and Belleville, and has NHL expertise with Vegas and Ottawa as properly.
Rocco Grimaldi – Carolina Hurricanes
Coming off a career-best 36-goal season with the Chicago Wolves, Rocco Grimaldi can be in Carolina’s coaching camp on a PTO. He was voted a Second Crew AHL All-Star and took part in his second profession AHL All-Star Basic.
Grimaldi has racked up 175 targets and 195 assists for 370 factors in 433 profession AHL video games, together with 30 targets and 37 assists in 203 NHL contests.
Grimaldi can be joined in Hurricanes camp by Skyler Brind’Amour, who recorded three targets and 5 assists in 54 video games as a rookie with the Charlotte Checkers final season.
Michael Hutchinson – New Jersey Devils
Hutchinson isn’t any stranger to coming in and profitable a job. A robust exhibiting in camp final season earned him a spot with Grand Rapids, and finally an NHL cope with Detroit. He ended up taking part in 32 video games for the Griffins in a productive partnership with first-round decide Sebastian Cossa.
Proprietor of 120 profession AHL wins, Hutchinson was voted a Second Crew AHL All-Star in 2017-18 and appeared within the 2018 AHL All-Star Basic, and he backstopped St. John’s to the Calder Cup Finals in 2014. He has additionally performed 154 video games within the NHL with Winnipeg, Florida, Toronto, Colorado, Columbus and Detroit.
Boris Katchouk – Anaheim Geese
A 2016 second-round draft decide, Katchouk has spent a lot of the previous three seasons within the NHL with Tampa Bay, Chicago and Ottawa, skating in a career-high 59 NHL video games in 2023-24. He additionally returned to the AHL final season for a six-game stint with Rockford, ending up with 5 factors (three targets, two assists).
Katchouk spent three full seasons with Syracuse earlier than making his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2021; in 164 video games for the Crunch, he had 99 factors (46 targets, 53 assists).
Matt Luff – Florida Panthers
Luff has lengthy been an efficient two-way ahead on the AHL stage with Ontario, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids. His 2023-24 season was restricted by harm to 26 video games with the Griffins, however he nonetheless ended up churning out 18 factors (10 targets, eight assists).
In 106 NHL video games with Los Angeles, Nashville and Detroit, he has 27 factors (15 targets, 12 assists).
With a number of summer time signings of gamers on NHL two-way and AHL offers, the Panthers have been aggressive about stocking up their organizational depth. Luff is the newest addition who can present competitors at coaching camp for the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.
Mark Pysyk – Anaheim Geese
Pysyk, who missed the complete 2022-23 season attributable to harm, attended camp with Pittsburgh final fall earlier than touchdown a PTO with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and later signing with the Calgary Flames. He completed with 4 assists in 37 AHL video games between the Penguins and Calgary Wranglers. It was the Alberta native’s first motion within the AHL since he was a Buffalo prospect with Rochester in 2015-16.
Pysyk has performed 521 NHL video games with the Sabres, Florida and Dallas and has 104 factors (28 targets, 76 assists).
Jakub Vrana – Washington Capitals
Vrana has come full circle with this month’s return to the Capitals, who chosen him thirteenth general within the 2014 NHL Draft.
Now 28, Vrana helped Hershey to the Calder Cup Finals as a rookie in 2016 and gained a Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018 earlier than an April 2021 deal despatched him to Detroit. Final season, Vrana produced 36 factors (16 targets, 20 assists) in 42 video games for the Springfield Thunderbirds together with six factors in 21 video games for the St. Louis Blues.
Vrana has performed a complete of 367 video games within the NHL and has 209 factors (110 targets, 99 assists).
Andy Welinski and Jakub Zboril – New Jersey Devils
The Devils haven’t been hesitant about extending tryout affords, significantly so as to add assist to their blue line.
Welinski heads to coaching camp with New Jersey after taking part in 35 video games between Iowa and Charlotte in 2023-24. Over eight professional seasons, he has 152 factors (42 targets, 110 assists) in 319 profession AHL video games and was chosen to the 2018 AHL All-Star Basic. The previous third-round decide additionally has 46 NHL video games to his identify.
Zboril, who was chosen within the first spherical of the 2015 NHL Draft by Boston, is coming off a visit to the AHL’s Japanese Convention Finals with Cleveland. He confirmed properly with the Monsters after Columbus acquired him on the NHL commerce deadline, and totaled 13 assists in 46 video games between Cleveland and Windfall.
Zboril has performed 76 video games within the NHL with Boston.
On the American Hockey League beat for twenty years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally at the moment covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is an everyday contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.