(Video) First NHL Goal: Long, strange trip to NHL pays off as Hodgman scores in first NHL game

by Ken McKenna
on
Justin Hodgman - Arizona Coyotes

Photo: Arizona Coyotes rookie forward Justin Hodgman displays the puck he fired into the net for his first NHL goal in the Coyotes win over the Florida Panthers (courtesy of Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)

 

Arizona Coyotes forward Justin Hodgman has spent the past several years competing in seemingly every hockey league and hockey-playing country trying to achieve his goal of competing in the top hockey league, the NHL. The 26-year-old finally got that chance on Saturday night, and he didn’t waste it as he netted his first NHL goal in the Coyotes’ 2-1 overtime win over the Florida Panthers. Read more»

2013 Rookie Tournament: Hobbs hoping to catch on with Senators’ organization

by Jason Menard
on

Danny Hobbs - UMass-Amherst

Photo: Former New York Rangers draftee and UMass-Amherst grad Danny Hobbs (#23) is looking to catch on with the hometown Ottawa Senators organization after spending a season playing in the ECHL (Justine Hunt/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

 

Rookie tournaments are generally a place for firsts, from first-rounders to a variety of young players getting their initial taste of professional-level competition. But for some, including 24-year-old Danny Hobbs, they can also represent second chances.

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Brown making the most of his first pro season

by Justin Felisko
on

Adam Brown - Colorado Eagles

Photo: Colorado Eagles goaltender Adam Brown turned in a mostly solid junior career with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets before turning pro in 2012-13 (courtesy of Terry Sanford/Pro Hockey News)

When he was 12 years old, Adam Brown would constantly pick the brain of former Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Ron Tugnutt. The aspiring goalie and son of then-Blue Jackets assistant coach Newell Brown would mimic how to strap on his pads the same way the 1986 fourth round draft pick of the Quebec Nordiques did.

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2013 ECHL All-Star Game: All-Stars use five-goal outburst to down Eagles, 7-3

by Justin Felisko
on

Ryan Zapolski - ECHL All-Stars

Photo: South Carolina Stingrays' goaltender Ryan Zapolski played shutout hockey during his ECHL All-Star Game stint, helping to lead the ECHL All-Stars to a victory over the Colorado Eagles and earning himself the MVP award (courtesy of Hector Acevedo)

The ECHL All-Stars showed off their talent Wednesday night, tying an ECHL All-Star Game record by scoring five unanswered second period goals to defeat the 2013 ECHL All-Star Game host Colorado Eagles 7-3 at the Budweiser Events Center In Loveland, CO.

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2013 ECHL All-Star Game: Coetzee working his way back to AHL

by Justin Felisko
on

Willie Coetzee - Detroit Red Wings

Photo: Toledo Walleye forward Willie Coetzee, shown here playing in a preseason game for the Detroit Red Wings, is trying to climb back up the ladder in that NHL team's organization (courtesy of Abelimages/Getty Images)

Willie Coetzee refuses to use this year’s earlier NHL lockout as an excuse for currently playing for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. There is a reason why the Detroit Red Wings decided to keep the 5'10”, 180-pound forward in the ECHL instead of letting him build off of his 2010 campaign (11 goals, 11 assists) with the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids, MI.

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