2012-13 AHL Players of the Week

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Syracuse Crunch left wing Cory Conacher has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 14, 2012.

Conacher, the most valuable player and outstanding rookie in the AHL last season, led all skaters with five points over the opening weekend of 2012-13, netting two goals and three assists.

Conacher began his second professional season on Friday night by registering a three-point third period, picking up a goal and two assists to help the Crunch rally from a 4-1 deficit and earn a point in a 6-5 shootout loss at Rochester. The next night, Conacher scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and also chipped in an assist as Syracuse defeated Hershey, 4-3.

As a rookie in 2011-12, Conacher led the American Hockey League with 39 goals and ranked second with 80 points in the regular season, then added two goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 18 playoff games to help Norfolk to a Calder Cup championship. The 22-year-old native of Burlington, Ont., signed with Tampa Bay on Mar. 1, 2012, and now has 45 goals and 46 assists for 91 points in 84 career AHL games with Syracuse, Norfolk, Milwaukee and Rochester.

In recognition of his achievement, Conacher will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Crunch home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Oklahoma City Barons defenseman Justin Schultz has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 21, 2012.

The rookie defenseman tallied three goals, an assist and a plus-6 rating in two games last week.

Schultz was named the game’s first star in the Barons’ home opener on Friday night, scoring two shorthanded goals, assisting on the game-winning goal, recording six shots and compiling a plus-5 rating in Oklahoma City’s 5-2 victory over San Antonio. The next night, Schultz scored again and earned second-star honors in a 5-3 loss to Lake Erie.

Schultz, 22, signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, 2012, after three seasons at the University of Wisconsin. Schultz was twice named the WCHA’s Defensive Player of the Year and was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. The native of West Kelowna, B.C., leads all AHL blueliners with four goals and is second with six points through four games with Oklahoma City this season.

In recognition of his achievement, Schultz will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Barons home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Charlotte Checkers goaltender Dan Ellis has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 28, 2012.

Ellis was perfect in two appearances last week as the Checkers continued their season-opening road trip and held onto the best record in the Western Conference.

On Friday night in Grand Rapids, Ellis came on in relief early in the second period and stopped all 15 shots he faced in 38:51 of work, holding down the fort as Charlotte erased a 4-1 deficit and rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Griffins. Then on Saturday, Ellis got the start and made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season, backstopping the Checkers to a 4-0 win in Peoria.

Charlotte, which is beginning the 2012-13 season with nine consecutive road games, sits atop the Western Conference with a league-high 13 points (6-1-0-1).

Ellis, who signed a tryout with Charlotte on Sept. 24, 2012, is 3-0-1 in four appearances for the Checkers. He ranks second in the AHL with a 1.07 goals-against average and first with a .967 save percentage, allowing just four goals on 120 shots to date. The native of Saskatoon, Sask., returned to the AHL this fall after spending the last five seasons in the National Hockey League, where he led the league in save percentage in 2007-08 and shows a record of 72-57-15 with 12 shutouts in 165 games with Dallas, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Anaheim. Originally a second-round draft choice by Dallas in 2000, Ellis is 64-67-3 with 10 shutouts in 144 career AHL appearances.

In recognition of his achievement, Ellis will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Checkers home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Rockford IceHogs right wing Kyle Beach has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 4, 2012.

Beach tallied three goals and two assists for five points in two games for the IceHogs last week. On Friday night, he scored twice in Rockford’s 6-3 loss to Chicago. Then on Saturday, he notched a goal and two assists for his first career three-point game as the IceHogs rallied for a 6-3 victory over Lake Erie.

A first-round draft choice (11th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008, Beach recorded five points on the weekend after picking up just one point (1-0-1) in six games to start the season. The third-year pro, who was limited by injury to 19 games last season, now has 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points in 104 career AHL contests, all with Rockford.

Beach, a 22-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C., was the Western Hockey League’s rookie of the year in 2006-07 and led the WHL in goals with 52 in 2009-10. He tallied 16 goals, 20 assists and 163 penalty minutes as a rookie with the IceHogs in 2010-11.

In recognition of his achievement, Beach will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming IceHogs home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Springfield Falcons goaltender Curtis McElhinney has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 11, 2012.

McElhinney was perfect in two starts last week, stopping all 55 shots he faced for his third and fourth shutouts of the season and helping the Falcons lay claim the best record in the AHL.

On Friday night vs. Connecticut, McElhinney made 20 saves as Springfield recorded a 2-0 victory over the Whale, and on Sunday he turned aside 35 shots to backstop the Falcons to a 5-0 win over Norfolk. Springfield, now a league-best 8-1-0-2 (.818) on the season, has recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since posting three in a row from Jan. 21-26, 1996, and McElhinney’s four shutouts are already just one off the single-season team record of five, set by Manny Legace in 1995-96.

McElhinney, who has allowed two goals or fewer in nine of his 10 starts for Springfield this season, is 8-1-1 with a 1.29 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage, leading the league in wins and shutouts (four). Now in his eighth professional season, McElhinney has a record of 82-63-6 with 17 shutouts in 166 career AHL games, and he was a Second Team AHL All-Star after going 35-17-1 (2.13, .917, 7 SO) with Omaha in 2006-07. The native of London, Ont., has appeared in 69 NHL games with Calgary, Anaheim, Ottawa and Phoenix, and was acquired by Columbus from the Coyotes on Feb. 22, 2012.

In recognition of his achievement, McElhinney will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Falcons home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Toronto Marlies center Nazem Kadri has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 18, 2012.

Kadri tallied eight points (one goal, seven assists) and a plus-3 rating in four games last week, sparking the Marlies to a 3-1-0-0 record.

After picking up an assist in a 6-5 overtime win at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Kadri tallied two helpers in Friday’s 6-3 loss at Hamilton. In Saturday’s nationally televised rematch with the Bulldogs, Kadri tied a franchise record with four assists – including three on the power play – and was named the game’s first star in a 6-1 Toronto victory. And on Sunday, he scored a goal to help the Marlies to a 5-0 win over division-leading Abbotsford.

Kadri, who had totaled just three assists in his first nine games of the season, now has 11 points in his last five games, taking over the team lead with 12 assists and tying for first on the club with 14 points for the season. A third-year pro from London, Ont., the 22-year-old Kadri has 37 goals and 58 assists for 95 points in 106 career AHL games with the Marlies. He also has eight goals and 11 assists in 51 NHL games with the parent Maple Leafs, who selected him in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

In recognition of his achievement, Kadri will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Marlies home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Oklahoma City Barons left wing Taylor Hall has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 25, 2012.

Hall notched nine points (one goal, eight assists) and a plus-6 rating in three games last week as the Barons began a seven-game road stretch with three straight victories.

On Wednesday night at Texas, Hall scored the game-winning goal and tallied two assists as the Barons rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Stars, 6-4. On Saturday in Charlotte, he notched three assists and set up the game-winner as Oklahoma City staged a third-period comeback and defeated the Checkers, 4-2. And in Sunday’s rematch, Hall assisted on the game-winning goal again, highlighting another three-assist performance in the Barons’ 7-2 win over Charlotte.

Hall, who joined the Barons on Oct. 30 after completing his recovery from shoulder surgery, has 11 points in his last four games and shows four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 10 total games with Oklahoma City this season. The first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the third-year pro and 21-year-old native of Calgary, Alta., has notched 49 goals and 46 assists for 95 points in 126 National Hockey League games with Edmonton.

In recognition of his achievement, Hall will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Barons home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Worcester Sharks center Tim Kennedy has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 2, 2012.

Kennedy scored five goals (plus one shootout goal) and posted a plus-5 rating in three road games to help the Sharks regain first place in the AHL's Atlantic Division.

On Friday night in Portland, Kennedy notched his first multi-goal game of the season, scoring twice in a 4-3 loss to the Pirates. He came back with two more goals on Saturday night in Bridgeport, and also scored in the shootout to help clinch the Sharks' 4-3 win over the Sound Tigers. And on Sunday in Providence, Kennedy scored the game-tying goal in regulation as Worcester went on to a 3-2 shootout win over the Bruins.

In 21 games for Worcester this season, Kennedy is tied for third in the AHL in scoring with 23 points and tied for fifth with 11 goals. He finished the week riding a six-game scoring streak (6-5-11).

A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Kennedy is in his fifth professional season after originally being drafted by Washington in 2005. He was an AHL All-Rookie Team selection in 2008-09 when he notched 67 points in 73 games for Portland, and has registered 179 points (54 goals, 125 assists) in 214 career AHL games. Kennedy has also appeared in 112 career NHL games with Buffalo and Florida, totaling 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points.

In recognition of his achievement, Kennedy will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Sharks home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that San Antonio Rampage goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 9, 2012.

Markstrom helped the Rampage to a perfect week by making four starts in net and winning them all, allowing just seven goals on 137 shots (4-0-0, 1.75, .949).

San Antonio began the week paying a visit to the league-leading Abbotsford Heat, and rode Markstrom’s heroics to a sweep. Outshot by a combined 70-31 in the two games, the Rampage saw Markstrom make 32 saves – including all 15 in the third period and overtime – in a 3-2 victory on Tuesday, before he posted his first shutout of the season with a 36-save effort in a 4-0 win the next night. Back home to face the potent Oklahoma City Barons, Markstrom turned aside 26 shots as San Antonio rallied for a 4-3 win on Saturday, and finished with 36 saves in Sunday’s 3-2 Rampage victory.

Markstrom, who has now won six consecutive starts, has improved to 8-6-1 on the season with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. A second-round draft pick (31st overall) by Florida in 2008, Markstrom owns a career record of 41-38-3 with three shutouts in 84 AHL appearances. The 22-year-old native of Gavle, Sweden, earned his first NHL victory on Oct. 22, 2011, vs. the New York Islanders, and has played eight career games in the NHL with the Panthers.

In recognition of his achievement, Markstrom will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Rampage home game.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Albany Devils right wing Bobby Butler has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 16, 2012.

In three games on the week, Butler scored six goals and tallied one assist for seven points and posted a plus-5 rating for the Devils.

On Wednesday night vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Butler tied franchise records with four goals and five points, was a plus-5 and took a game-high six shots on goal as the Devils defeated the Penguins, 6-3; he scored once in the first period, twice in the second – including the game-winning shorthanded goal – and once more in the third. On Friday, Butler scored again as Albany erased three separate one-goal deficits and defeated Connecticut, 4-3, for its fifth consecutive victory. And on Saturday, Butler scored the Devils’ lone goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to Providence.

Butler, who has 10 points during his current six-game scoring streak, has registered 10 goals and five assists for 15 points in 22 contests on the season for Albany, leading the team in goals, power-play goals (three) and game-winning goals (three). The 25-year-old Butler was MVP of the 2011 AHL All-Star Game and was a Calder Cup champion as a rookie with Binghamton in 2010-11, and spent the entire 2011-12 season in the National Hockey League with Ottawa, totaling six goals and 10 assists in 56 games. A native of Marlborough, Mass., Butler signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils on Aug. 9, 2012.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Lake Erie Monsters left wing David van der Gulik has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 23, 2012.

In three games on the week, van der Gulik scored three goals and tallied four assists for seven points to go along with a plus-5 rating for the Monsters.

Last Wednesday night vs. Toronto, van der Gulik recorded three assists in regulation as Lake Erie rallied from a two-goal deficit, then scored in overtime to give the Monsters a 4-3 victory over the Marlies. On Thursday, his power-play goal opened the scoring in a Lake Erie 4-3 win over Houston. And on Saturday, van der Gulik had a goal and an assist to help the Monsters to a 5-2 victory over the Aeros.

Van der Gulik entered the Christmas break with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 29 games for Lake Erie this season, his seventh professional campaign. Originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2002, van der Gulik has totaled 103 goals and 141 assists for 244 points, as well as a cumulative plus-78 rating, in 414 AHL games with Omaha, Quad City, Abbotsford and Lake Erie. The native of Abbotsford, B.C., has also appeared in 37 career National Hockey League games with Calgary and Colorado, notching two goals and nine assists.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Rochester Americans defenseman T.J. Brennan has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 30, 2012.

In three games on the week, Brennan recorded one goal and five assists for six points for the Americans.

On Wednesday night, Brennan had five points in a wild 7-6 overtime victory over Lake Erie, tying an AHL season high and establishing a new personal best. All four of Brennan’s assists on the night came on game-tying goals, erasing deficits of 1-0, 2-1, 5-4 and 6-5. He also scored a power-play goal in the first period, his third point of that stanza. On Friday, Brennan registered another assist to help Rochester to a 4-1 win over Lake Erie in Buffalo, and on Saturday, Brennan took a game-high six shots on goal in the Amerks’ 2-1 loss to Binghamton.

Brennan, a second-round draft choice (31st overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, finished the week ranking second among all AHL defensemen with 12 goals and 29 points (tied) in 30 games for Rochester this season. The 23-year-old native of Willingboro, N.J., has 49 goals and 72 assists for 121 points in 219 career AHL games with Rochester and Portland, and also shows one goal in 11 NHL contests with the Sabres.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Portland Pirates goaltender Mark Visentin has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6, 2013.

Visentin faced 89 shots over two games on the week and allowed only two goals, helping to keep the Pirates in first place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

On Wednesday night vs. Providence, Visentin stopped 48 shots – including all 34 he faced over the final two periods – in a 2-1 win over the Bruins. The 48 saves were the most by a Pirates goaltender in a single game since Maxime Ouellet’s 49-save effort vs. Saint John on Jan. 12, 2003.

Then on Saturday, Visentin turned aside 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win over Bridgeport, extending his personal winning streak to five games.

For the week, Visentin was 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .978 save percentage in his two starts.

Visentin, a first-round draft pick (27th overall) by Phoenix in 2010, stands at 8-6-1 in 16 appearances for Portland this season, with a 2.58 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage and one shutout. The 20-year-old rookie from Hamilton, Ont., played four junior seasons at Niagara in the Ontario Hockey League and was the OHL’s goaltender of the year in 2010-11. He also won silver (2011) and bronze (2012) medals with Canada at the World Junior Championships.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Rockford IceHogs left wing Brandon Saad has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 13, 2013.

Saad tallied six points in three games, including two game-winning goals, as Rockford kept pace in the wild Western Conference playoff picture.

After being held off the scoresheet but sharing the team lead with four shots on goal in a 6-3 loss to Grand Rapids on Wednesday night, Saad came back with four points in Friday’s rematch with the Griffins, recording a goal and three assists to help Rockford to a 5-2 win. Then on Saturday in Milwaukee, Saad assisted on the tying goal late in regulation before scoring 52 seconds into overtime to give the IceHogs a 2-1 victory.

A second-round draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011, Saad has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 31 games for the IceHogs this season, his first as a professional. The 20-year-old native of Pittsburgh, Pa., was a First Team All-Star in the Ontario Hockey League in 2011-12, tallying 76 points in 44 games for Saginaw, and made his National Hockey League debut with the Blackhawks, appearing in two regular-season and two playoff games last season. Saad spent the 2009-10 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-18 team and represented the United States at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Grand Rapids Griffins center Joakim Andersson has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 20, 2013.

Andersson tallied two goals (both game-winners) and five assists for seven points in two games last week for the Midwest Division-leading Griffins.

Returning to the lineup after missing the previous eight games due to injury, Andersson assisted on a pair of goals before breaking a 3-3 tie with 8:32 left in regulation to propel Grand Rapids to a 5-3 win at Charlotte on Thursday night. Then on Saturday, Andersson set a career high with four points with a goal and three assists in the Griffins’ 11-6 victory in Rockford.

A third-round draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2007, Andersson has 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 30 games for the Griffins this season. The 23-year-old native of Munkedal, Sweden, has appeared in 183 AHL games with Grand Rapids, totaling 38 goals and 60 assists for 98 points, as well as five games in the NHL with Detroit.