What's Old is Young Again

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On the heels of recent re-signings of goalie Devan Dubnyk and Colin McDonald, both 1-year deals, the Edmonton Oilers have just announced the return of defenceman Bryan Young to the fold as well.

I should say that the Springfield Falcons have made the announcement, as usual the Oilers haven't gotten around to it quite yet. Here is the release from Springfield.

It should be noted that this is strictly a minor-league deal so it will not count against the 50-contract limit the Oilers have been consistently up against in recent years.

Young was originally a 5th round draft pick back in 2004 and was known throughout the OHL as one of the most feared open ice hitters in the junior loop. That trait has not followed him to the AHL though. I'm told that while he does deliver the occasional body blast to an unsuspecting opponent, those incidents are few and far between.

While he's always been known as a defensive defenceman, it's been described to me that he has struggled at the pro level to adjust to bigger, stronger and faster opponents. "He's always backing up" is how one person in the know put it. Perhaps with another year of experience under his belt that will change and if so, he's a decent signing for the farm although at this point he's a depth guy at best. He's been past on the depth chart by a lot of Oiler prospects and his upside is probably now considered to be "a good career minor leaguer".

Random Signing Notes: Interesting to see that the Vancouver Canucks have signed Kellan Tochkin of the Everett Silvertips to an entry level contract. Tochkin went undrafted in 2009 despite winning the WHL rookie scoring race in 2008-09 with 74 points in 72 games. I was surprised that no one chose him in Montreal last June. Taking a flyer on a guy who may be small and not the fastest guy but can obviously produce... doesn't sound like a bad gamble with a late round pick to me...

According to CapGeek.com the Calgary Flames have signed 3 players to entry level deals including Greg Nemisz of the Windsor Spitfires. This wasn't a player I really liked much in his draft year but I do now after getting to see him play at the Memorial Cup. He's big and can score, at least at the OHL level but I think he'll be a good Flame too. Also getting inked were blueliners T.J. Brodie (4th round 2008) and Keith Seabrook who was originally drafted by Washington and played for the Calgary Hitmen...

Former San Jose 1st round pick Lukas Kaspar has been signed by the Philadelphia Flyers. Kaspar has spent the last 4 seasons in the AHL and has put up decent numbers with a career high 44 points last year in Worcester. He managed to dress for 16 NHL games with the Sharks...