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Old 12-16-2015, 10:14 AM   #1
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Default 2016 college free agents

McKenzie has highlighted the cream of the crop.

http://www.tsn.ca/taking-stock-of-th...class-1.410105

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Most of the college teams are on their Christmas break, but NHL teams have, for the most part, identified the players worthy of their attention. It’s far from an exact science. One team’s top target is another team’s “are you kidding me?”
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That said, and bearing in mind this is far from a scientific poll, it would appear Minnesota State University junior defenceman Casey Nelson is generating more interest than most.

Nelson is a 23-year-old, 6-foot-2, 182-pound right-shot blueliner from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc.

“Decent size, good skater, moves the puck, definitely has a chance,” one NHL scout said.

Nelson has three goals and 12 points in 19 games played this season. He attended Philadelphia’s prospect camp last summer.
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University of North Dakota senior Drake Caggiula probably could have signed an NHL contract after last season – I wrote about him here – but the Toronto-area prospect (grew up in Pickering, moved to Whitby) opted to return for his final college season. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound, 21-year-old has 13 goals and 27 points in 19 games.
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University of New Hampshire sophomore winger Andrew Poturalski, a Buffalo-area product, has been on fire for the Wildcats this season, scoring 14 goals and 30 points in 15 games. He’s 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds. Scouts seem divided on whether he has that special quality – usually speed – that allows a smaller player to survive and thrive in the NHL, but he’s still getting lots of attention. Poturalski turns 22 on Jan. 14.
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The goalie most in the college UFA spotlight this season is Yale junior Alex Lyon, a 6-foot-1 Minnesotan who is 6-3-2 with a .932 save percentage in 11 games. It will be interesting to see if he opts to turn pro at season’s end. Since he’s already 24, if he were to stay at Yale and graduate, he’d be a 25-year-old free agent in 2017, which means he’d be too old to sign an entry-level contract in the NHL. Which is to suggest there are no compensation limitations once out of the entry-level phase.
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- University of North Dakota junior defenceman Troy Stecher from Richmond, B.C. At 5-11 and 191 pounds, with three goals and 13 points in 20 games, scouts are hoping the 21-year-old Stecher could develop like Jared Spurgeon.

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- Union college junior forward Mike Vecchione, who had 19 goals and 50 points in 39 games last season for the Dutchmen but is off to a slower start this season with five goals and 11 points in 14 games. Vecchione, who is 5-10, 195 and turns 23 in February, attended (his hometown) Boston’s summer prospect camp.
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Providence College senior forwards Nick Saracino and Brandon Tanev. Saracino is a 23-year-old, 5-foot-11, 185-pounder who has four goals and 17 points in 15 games. He had 14 goals and 38 point last season. Tanev, who turns 24 on New Year’s Eve, is the younger brother of Vancouver defenceman Chris Tanev. Tanev has five goals and 13 points in 15 games for the Friars.
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Providence College senior forwards Nick Saracino and Brandon Tanev. Saracino is a 23-year-old, 5-foot-11, 185-pounder who has four goals and 17 points in 15 games. He had 14 goals and 38 point last season. Tanev, who turns 24 on New Year’s Eve, is the younger brother of Vancouver defenceman Chris Tanev. Tanev has five goals and 13 points in 15 games for the Friars.
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Colgate senior forward Mike Borkowski, a 23-year-old, six-foot, 175-pound Ottawa native with seven goals and nine points in 17 games for the Red Raiders.
More coming up when I have time.
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Old 12-16-2015, 10:32 AM   #2
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The reports are that this class of UFAs is pretty weak.

The following prospects are the more interesting if they elect not sign with the teams

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One NHL scout cut to the chase on the biggest reason to be paying close attention to U.S. college hockey this season.

“We’re all watching the guys who aren’t free agents now but could be free agents by the summer,” he said. “They’re the big fish.”
The “guys” he’s talking about are, of course, Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, Providence’s Mark Jankowski and Boston University’s Matt Grzelcyk, amongst others. I wrote about them here three weeks ago.

One name I didn’t mention then, but probably should have is Boston College freshman winger Miles Wood.

NHL scouts and college coaches rave about Miles Wood’s “pro-style” complete game and Top 6 potential.

Wood is the son of former NHL forward Randy Wood and was drafted out of Noble and Greenough prep school by the New Jersey Devils in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2013 draft.

Unlike Vesey, Jankowski, Grzelcyk et al, Wood can’t be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but if he decided to return to Boston College for his sophomore season next year, he could use the CBA to be UFA in the summer of 2017. New Jersey’s minimum four-year hold on Woods’ rights included two years of prep school hockey and, potentially, only two years of college hockey, if the player decided he wanted to pursue free agency. If Wood decided to stay in school for four years, the Devils would hold his rights until graduation.
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Old 12-16-2015, 11:51 AM   #3
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Miles Wood would be a steal.
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Old 12-20-2015, 01:31 AM   #4
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C'mon Janko just sign on the dotted line...... seriously what's taking so long?!
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Old 12-20-2015, 02:00 AM   #5
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He can't sign until he's done college hockey...
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Old 12-20-2015, 02:16 AM   #6
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The Flames specifically asked him to stay in college this year so he could continue to get bigger in the weight room. Otherwise he would have already signed. My concern with him not signing a contract is at 0.
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Old 12-20-2015, 08:12 AM   #7
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He can't sign until he's done college hockey...
Technically he can sign right this very minute, leave College and go pro, nothing is stopping him. But yes, if he wants to finish his senior year, which the Flames wanted him to do, he can't sign until after their last game.
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Old 01-03-2016, 01:41 PM   #8
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One guy that has caught my eye is

6'4'' 216lbs RW Brandon Denham 23 years old Senior.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=97080

He is over a point per game this season.

Attended Flames development camp in 2014. And is good friends and trains in the offseason with Jankowski.

He has attended Jets and Penguins camps in 2015.

Big forward physical forward that is responsible defensively.
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Old 01-23-2016, 08:03 AM   #9
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As many as a dozen teams interested in Brandon Tanev. Given our depth on lw, can't see us being one of them.

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2016/01/22/...-nhl-interest/
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Old 01-23-2016, 12:19 PM   #10
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As many as a dozen teams interested in Brandon Tanev. Given our depth on lw,
Meh, better to have to much depth then not enough... that being said a 24yo senior averaging less then a PPG doesn't sound like something to burn a reserve list slot on.
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Old 01-23-2016, 01:39 PM   #11
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Another name to keep an eye on is defenceman Chris Dienes.

He has attended Flames development camp twice in a row and was identified as one of the best free agent standouts this past July. He still has 1 year of college eligibility left.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=99595


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Of that tryout group, receiving glowing reviews were players like Ryan Lomberg, who had been invited after the brass had seen him playing for Youngtson of the USHL, Tyson Baillie from the Kelowna Rockets (Treliving declared he’ll be joining them in Penticton for the Young Stars tournament), and Chris Dienes out of Western Michigan.
http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...ment-camp-ends

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"I thought the camp went really well. I thought I played really well," said Dienes, who will be a junior at Western this season. "My fitness testing was good. There are some areas I still need to work on, but overall I thought it went pretty well."
The feedback Dienes received was positive. At the very least he's got the Flames' attention as a player to watch and evaluate going forward.
"They said they really love my game," said Dienes. "They're going to continue to watch me. (They said to) keep working on my overall development and hopefully something comes out of it."
Former Lake Superior State head coach Frank Anzalone, now a scout for Calgary, was the person who got Dienes his first invitation to the Flames' camp last summer. Then midway through this season he received an offer from the team's general manager, Brad Treliving, to return again. Dienes had an offer to attend Toronto's development camp, but Dienes opted to head west.
"I liked Calgary," he said. "They've been really good to me and I just thought I'd go back since I enjoyed the camp the first time and I thought I did well. I thought, since they extended another invite I'd be loyal and go back to them."
http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/l...5a06eca68.html

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Old 01-28-2016, 07:12 PM   #12
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More on Brandon Tanev

http://www.providencejournal.com/spo...nto-nhls-radar

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Brandon Tanev is fast, faster, fastest. Speed is what sets the Providence College left wing apart from his peers.

Tanev — who famously scored the winning goal for the Friars in the national championship game against Boston University in April — can fly. His wheels and the way he uses them are the reasons he is drawing NHL attention these days.

The buzz appears to get louder with each passing weekend. In talking with scouts at PC games, one of the first names that comes up is Tanev, who is a free agent. Friar coach Nate Leaman is getting calls from NHL front offices. Media heavyweights, first Bob McKenzie and then Darren Dreger, are dropping his name.

Tanev is the fastest player I’ve seen in either Hockey East or the ECAC in several years. He was the fastest skater at last July’s Boston Bruins development camp. And he’s faster than anyone currently playing for the Providence Bruins.

"I don’t know if there’s going to be a guy anywhere that’s as fast as him. His speed changes games," says Leaman.

And that’s not all. While Tanev isn't a prolific scorer and has average size at 6 feet and 170 pounds, he has "a high-end motor," according to Leaman. "I haven’t coached a player that can skate like him and has the motor he has. That’s what makes him special. He’s got the combination of the two."

Says P-Bruin Noel Acciari, a former linemate of Tanev at PC, "He just brings a different type of speed to the game. He’s fun to play with, fun to watch. He hits, he gets in on the puck. His energy is unbelievable out there.

"He’s like that off the ice, too. He’s a ball of energy all the time. He’s a fun guy to be around."

With the NHL seemingly getting faster every season, bottom-six players with the ability to swarm the offensive zone, throw a few hits and provide an energy boost are in demand. Tanev does all that for the fourth-ranked Friars.

He is expected to have multiple NHL offers once his PC season ends in the spring. His adviser is Wade Arnott of Newport Sports Management, which represents the likes of Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban.
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Old 01-28-2016, 08:06 PM   #13
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Could be a Paul Byron... hope we get him.
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Old 01-29-2016, 04:11 AM   #14
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It seems like the Flames have been inviting some pretty good prospects to the development camps in the past couple of years.

Hopefully they are getting on the good side of the potential prospects, just in case they need to be convinced to sign.
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Old 01-29-2016, 05:19 AM   #15
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Any time you can sign college UFA's, it's like getting a free draft pick. If they turn out, that's awesome. If not at least they're decent AHL guys like Brady Lamb.
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Old 01-29-2016, 08:53 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by sureLoss View Post
Another name to keep an eye on is defenceman Chris Dienes.

He has attended Flames development camp twice in a row and was identified as one of the best free agent standouts this past July. He still has 1 year of college eligibility left.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=99595



http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...ment-camp-ends


http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/l...5a06eca68.html
Worth mentioning Dienes was Kenney Morrisons D partner last season.

Maybe I'll try and find some Bronco fans online and ask how they stack up against each other.

Danny Dekeyser came from the program as well so for small program the are doing a good job developing defencemen.
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Old 03-02-2016, 05:43 PM   #17
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15 teams interested in goalie Alex Lyon, Canucks named as one of those teams.

@NEWS1130Sports
The #Canucks are 1 of 15 teams in the NHL showing interest in 23 year old Yale goalie Alex Lyon, 1 of the best goalies in NCAA.
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Old 03-02-2016, 05:45 PM   #18
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^^Agostino was his team mate a couple seasons ago.

Sick numbers that's for sure.
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Old 03-02-2016, 11:23 PM   #19
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Interesting the Canucks are in on Lyon with Demko finishing his second year of college and IMO ready to make the jump to pro.
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Old 03-02-2016, 11:45 PM   #20
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Hopefully he does better than the last hot shot NCAA goalie free agent.

Matt O'Connor has shown he is simply not a pro quality hockey player. I hate to rag on him but he probably will never earn a dime playing hockey after this contract.

His numbers are by FAR the worst in the entire AHL.
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