For anyone concerned about signing AHL d-men, don't worry, there are a lot of holes to fill.
Here's every defenceman who played for Abbotsford last season (number of games played):
- Chad Billins (65)
- John Ramage (50)
- Tyler Wotherspoon (48)
- Braden Lamb (44)
- Dean Arsene (42)
- Chris Breen (41)
- Kane Lafranchise (34)
- Derek Smith (32)
- Mark Cundari (32)
- Shane O'Brien (31)
- Drew MacKenzie (17)
- Zachery Davies (14)
- Brett Kulak (6)
- James Martin (2)
- Patrick Sieloff (2)
Billins, Breen, Smith, O'Brien, and Martin were all on Flames contracts and won't be back.
Arsene announced his retirement after the Heat's season ended. Lafranchise, MacKenzie, and Davies spent a lot of time last season in Alaska. I'm not sure what Lamb's status is. He could be back, or they'll sign another AHL guy to replace him.
That leaves, Ramage, Wotherspoon, Cundari, Kulak, and Sieloff who will likely return and be under an NHL contract, plus Culkin will be joining the team.
There's a very good chance that Wotherspoon will spend most, if not all, of the season in Calgary. This leaves five guys under contract for the Adirondack blue line, Cundari is the only one who's an AHL veteran. Ramage will be in his second pro season, and the rest will be rookies.
Acolatse has three seasons in the AHL, so he'll bring some semi-veteran presence to the lineup. He'll also be able to be a call-up if the injuries pile up in Calgary and they don't want to bring up one of the rookies.