The American Hockey League postseason has historically been a platform in which the future stars of the NHL have made their mark.
In this year's Calder Cup Playoffs, Winnipeg Jets prospect and St. John's IceCaps center Eric O'Dell is adding to that tradition.
"For every team at this point in the year, you need your best players to be just that, and he's done that for us," said Keith McCambridge, third-year coach of the IceCaps. "He's given us key goals at important times during games and has continued to just get better and better every single second here during the season."
Brendan Ranford has come a long way during his rookie season with the American Hockey League's Texas Stars.
After five seasons of junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers in the Western Hockey League, Ranford, a forward originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 but never signed by the club, signed a professional tryout contract with Texas prior to the start of the 2013-14 season.
He's now leading the AHL in goals during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Introducing the new official NHL App, available for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones and tablets. A host of new features and improved functionality are available across all platforms, including a redesigned league-wide scoreboard, expanded news coverage, searchable video highlights, individual team experiences* and more. The new NHL App on your tablet also introduces new offerings such as 60fps video, Multitasking** and Picture-in-Picture.
*Available only for smartphones
** Available only for suported iPads