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AHLers Make Their NHL Debut

By Melissa Kania

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John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Sixty-five players from the AHL have made their NHL debuts this season, and that number is expected to rise to 66 players as Rochester Americans defenseman Mark Pysyk is expected to make his debut with the Buffalo Sabres this evening. Chicago is the only team in the NHL that has not had any AHL players make their debut this season.

The Syracuse Crunch have seen a league-high six players make their NHL debuts this season. Cory Conacher, Alex Killorn, Richard Panik, Ondrej Palat, Radko Gudas and Tyler Johnson have all made the transition from AHL to NHL, if only for a game or two, this year.

Johnson and Palat both made their debuts on March 16 and both scored their first NHL goals that evening, marking the first time in Tampa Bay Lightning team history that two players scored their first goals on the same night.

Conacher has 21 points (7-14) in 28 games, leading all NHL rookies in points scoring this season. Killorn has 11 points (4-7) in 18 games since his call-up, while Palat has a goal and two assists in seven games since joining the Lightning. Panik has one goal in nine games, and Gudas is pointless in his first three NHL games.

The Houston Aeros have had five players make their NHL debuts this season, starting with center Mikael Granlund, who has a goal and five assists in 19 games with the Minnesota Wild.

Jonas Brodin has a goal and three assists in 24 games, while Charlie Coyle has four points (2-2) in 16 games. Johan Larsson has played in one game with the Wild, while goaltender Darcy Kuemper has appeared in four games this season and has a 2.22 GAA and .924 save percentage.

Four Albany Devils players have made their NHL debuts with New Jersey, including Matt Anderson and Keith Kinkaid. Jeff Frazee and Harri Pesonen have also played in their first NHL games for the team.

Anderson has recorded one assist in two games, while Pesonen has played in one game, going pointless in that match. Kinkaid appeared in his first NHL game on March 5, 2013 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, allowing one goal on 13 shots faced, while Frazee stopped all three shots faced in his NHL debut in March 9, 2013.

The Florida Panthers have seen four AHLers make their NHL debut this season. Michael Caruso, Drew Shore, Quinton Howden and Jon Rheault have all played their first NHL games with the Panthers this year. Shore has two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 27 games, good for sixth on the team in points scoring. Rheault has gone pointless in five games, while Caruso has no points in two games. Howden made his NHL debut on January 26.

See below for the full list of all 65 – now 66 – AHL players who have made their NHL debut as of March 17, 2013.

ANAHEIM DUCKS

  • Sami Vatanen
  • Emerson Etem
  • Viktor Fasth

BOSTON BRUINS

  • Ryan Spooner
  • Jamie Tardiff

BUFFALO SABRES

  • Brian Flynn
  • Mark Pysyk (3/17/13)

CALGARY FLAMES

  • Ben Street

CAROLINA HURRICANES

  • Chris Terry
  • Michael Jordan

COLORADO AVALANCHE

  • Mike Sgarbossa
  • Patrick Bordeleau

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

  • Sean Collins
  • Jonathan Audy-Marchessault

DALLAS STARS

  • Jamie Oleksiak
  • Antoine Roussel
  • Cristopher Nilstorp

DETROIT RED WINGS

  • Petr Mrazek
  • Brian Lashoff

EDMONTON OILERS

  • Mark Arcobello
  • Justin Schultz

FLORIDA PANTHERS

  • Jon Rheault
  • Quinton Howden
  • Drew Shore
  • Michael Caruso

LOS ANGELES KINGS

  • Tyler Toffoli

MINNESOTA WILD

  • Johan Larsson
  • Darcy Kuemper
  • Charlie Coyle
  • Jonas Brodin
  • Mikael Granlund

MONTREAL CANADIENS

  • Jarred Tinordi
  • Greg Pateryn
  • Brendan Gallagher

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

  • Victor Bartley

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

  • Harri Pesonen
  • Jeff Frazee
  • Keith Kinkaid
  • Matt Anderson

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

  • Thomas Hickey

NEW YORK RANGERS

  • Christian Thomas
  • JT Miller

OTTAWA SENATORS

  • David Dziurzynski
  • Eric Gryba
  • Derek Grant

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

  • Tye McGinn

PHOENIX COYOTES

  • Chris Brown

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

  • Beau Bennett

SAN JOSE SHARKS

  • Nick Petrecki
  • Matt Irwin

ST. LOUIS BLUES

  • Jake Allen

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

  • Tyler Johnson
  • Radko Gudas
  • Ondrej Palat
  • Richard Panik
  • Alex Killorn
  • Cory Conacher

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

  • Leo Komarov
  • Mike Kostka

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

  • Steve Pinizzotto
  • Jordan Schroeder

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

  • Cameron Schilling
  • Steve Oleksy
  • Philipp Grubauer

WINNIPEG JETS

  • Anthony Peluso
  • Zach Redmond
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