Key Returnees:
F Dwight Helminen (32 goals)
F Jarkko Immonen (30)
(MLN FAB50 Hockey 2006 No. 36)
G Al Montoya
(MLN FAB50 Hockey 2006 No. 4)
RW Greg Moore
C Brandon Dubinsky

Key Newcomers:
D Martin Richter

* Pick up players from Colorado in swap with Lowell of Affiliation after New Jersey Devils purchase Lowell club.

Former Ranger prospect D Martin Richter returns to Hartford after four years in Europe. The WolfPack are putting a premium on developing prospects for the Broadway Blueshirts, who, with the successes of youngsters Henrik Lundqvist and Petr Prucha, are finally starting to get "it". Goaltender Al Montoya (See: "Viva Montoya! Cubano Hockey? SI!"SZ 12.01.05) had a shot at staying up this summer but he's baaack, at least for a while. Dubinsky, 19, a big bodied center with soft hands, could have a big year.

Key Returnees:
C Petr Vrana
RW Barry Tallackson
G Frank Doyle

Key Newcomers:
G Jordan Parise
C Justin Papineau

* A late pre-season purchase of the LockMonsters by the New Jersey Devils brought swift affiliation and name changes.

New farm club, same old ways for the Devils, who were notoriously bad stewards of the operation in Albany for most of the last decade. At least with Parise, the brother of New Jersey star forward Zach Parise (MLN FAB50 Hockey 2005 No. 5) on hand, Doyle won't have to face as much rubber as he did last year. Still, it could be a long year in Lowell.

Key Returnees:
Lauri Tukonen
(MLN FAB50 Hockey 2006)
RW Konstantin Pushkarev
C Petr Kanko

Key Newcomers:
G Jason LaBarbera
D Brendan Buckley (with Peoria last year)

LaBarbera, a former AHL MVP with Hartford is back in the league after spending last year in the Show with LA. Ironic that Buckley, once reviled in Manchester for having put Yanick Lehoux out with a serious knee injury with a clean hit a couple years back, is now a Monarch, and team captain to boot. Look for Tukonen to develop into a strong NHL prospect.

Key Returnees:
RW Pierre Parenteau
C Zenon Konopka
D Bruno St. Jacques
C Geoff Peters

Key Newcomers:
RW Drew Miller
LW Bjorn Melin
RW Colby Genoway
(26 goals for Hartford last year)
Brian Salcido (Colorado College)
Assistant Coach Eric Weinrich
G Michael Leighton (Rochester).

The Portland Pirates have a dozen members back from the squad that went to the Eastern Conference finals last year. However, none of them are named Perry, Getzlaf, or Penner, or even Shannon, for that matter. Miller played one playoff game last year after leaving Michigan State. The club should be in good shape defensively, but will likely be not be as explosive as last year's unit.

Key Returnees:
C Martin St. Pierre
D Danny Richmond
(acquired midseason from Lowell)
G Corey Crawford
(MLN FAB50 Hockey 2006 No. 48)

Key Newcomers:
C Petr Kalus
RW Martins Karsums
C David Krejci
G Brian Finley (Milwaukee)

The Peebs are very talented and very, very young. Most of those on hand are either Boston draft choices or amateur signings, meaning that head coach Scott Gordon will have to live and die with the team's youth. If all goes well, the youngsters could jell as the season grinds alongs. Kalus, Boston's second round pick last year out of the Czech Republic, has already shown some big time skills.

Key Returnees:
LW Zdenek Blatny
(Acquired mid-season from Providence)
RW Norm Milley
D Doug O'Brien

Key Newcomers:
C Eric Healey (29 goals with Providence),
G Sean Burke (19 NHL Seasons),
D Andy Delmore
(Eddie Shore Trophy Winner with Syracuse in 05-06)
Head Coach Steve Stirling

The most interesting names are stitched on the backs of the "geezers", meaning that Stirling, and accomplished bench boss at every level, could have a veteran problem each night. The lack of youth could hurt the Falcons.

Key Returnees:
(From Cleveland):
G Nolan Schaefer
G Dimitri Patzold
D Garrett Stafford
C Mike Iggulden (22 goals as a rookie)
LW Lukas Kaspar

Key Newcomers:
RW Graham Mink (Hershey)
D Brian Yandle (New Hampshire)
D Dan Spang (Boston University)

*This is not your father's Worcester club. The Sharks are the hockey reincarnation of the Cleveland Barons.

The Barons (now W-Sharks) have done a better job of readying players for San Jose, with Jonathan Cheechoo and Steve Bernier coming to mind, than they have icing a Calder Cup contender. The two tracks could intersect this season, though. The goaltending is strong, although both Schaefer and Patzold are buried behind Evegeni Nabakov and Vesa Toskala in the Shark pecking order.