Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The assignment to the AHL after training camp does not need to be permanent.
There will be a lot of chatter and debate when the top candidates for NHL jobs are sent to the AHL instead of submitting the opening roster every October. But the age-old advice from NHL front offices and coaches — go to the AHL, take care of business and perform — still rings true. Several players who have performed well during the first month of the AHL regular season have overcome this disappointment and worked their way back to the NHL.
Let's take a closer look at the players who created early NHL opportunities for themselves.
Mattei Brummell, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
After scoring a league-leading 39 goals with the Texas Stars last season, Brummell has a long list of potential suitors in free agency. He ultimately chose Boston and signed a one-year contract on the opening day of free agency.
and Marco Sturm With Brummel taking over as Boston's head coach after nearly two decades as a Stanley Cup contender and with a lot of changes happening around the team, Brummel's decision makes a lot of sense. There was an opportunity on Boston's roster, and the 25-year-old forward joined the organization at the end of his career. Boston has long offered Providence's senior players the chance to hit the ice with an NHL club.
But it didn't go as planned. Boston sent Brummel to Providence before the start of the regular season. But injuries struck like they always do, and NHL clubs needed reinforcements. Fortunately for Brummell, he has positioned himself as one of the organization's top recall options. Providence is off to a 12-2-0-0 start, with Brummel finishing third on the team in scoring with 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists) in 13 games.
Brummell got the call on Monday morning, having scored points in four of his previous five games before getting promoted. He debuted in Boston and played 13:10 in a home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. He'll likely get more playing time as Boston heads to the West Coast this week.
Brayden Bowman, Henderson Silver Knights (Vegas Golden Knights)
Bowman was undrafted by the Ontario Hockey League due to his age and received a one-year AHL contract from the Silver Knights in July 2024.
While Henderson missed the Calder Cup playoffs last season, Bowman made the most of his opportunity last season, finishing tied for second on the team in scoring with 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 68 games. That sets the 22-year-old forward up for the season. Scored 7 goals in 12 games, level with rookies Thomas Uronen Henderson led the way with two goals for the Silver Knights.
The Golden Knights called up Bowman last week, and he quickly found plenty of work. He scored his first NHL goal last Saturday night in St. Louis, and his 19:05 effort the next night in Minnesota ranked him fourth among the team's forwards.
Jared Davidson, Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens)
A fifth-round pick won't easily land a full-time NHL job.
That wasn't the case for Davidson, who was bypassed during his first two years of NHL draft eligibility before the Canadiens drafted him with a fifth-round pick in 2022. Like Bowman, he had to play an overage junior season and spend it with the Western Hockey League's Seattle Thunderbirds before landing a job with Laval for the 2023-24 season. After playing just 38 AHL games as a rookie, he broke free last season by scoring 24 goals for the Rockets. He hasn't slowed down either, scoring nine goals in 13 games, tying him for second-most in the AHL.
The forward got a call from the NHL last Friday when the Canadiens acquired him from Laval. His NHL debut came with one of the biggest highlights imaginable: Saturday night's Original Six game against the Bruins in Montreal.
Dryden Hunter, Calgary Wranglers (Calgary Flames)
Being a top producer at the AHL level and providing an easy plug-and-play recall option for the parent NHL team can be a solid niche.
Hunter went undrafted, but it was through this that he established a solid career for himself. After scoring 58 goals in the 2015-16 WHL season, the forward was offered the opportunity to sign with the Florida Panthers at the end of the season. He turned pro the following season, and by the 2017-18 season he had earned NHL recall time. He ended up playing 63 regular season games for the Panthers while also scoring 23 goals in the AHL.
From there, stop by the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs. Finally, a trade in March 2023 sent him to the Flames, providing him with a consistent landing spot.
As a consistent go-to option for the Flames, he'll also be able to drive the offense for the Wranglers. After scoring 16 goals in 49 games with the Wranglers last season, he has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his first 16 AHL games this season, tied for third in the league in scoring.
He got a call from the NHL team Monday morning ahead of Tuesday's road game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sergei Murashov, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Pittsburgh was wiped out of many preseason predictions, but they're off to a strong start at 10-5-4, just three points behind the NHL Eastern Conference.
After strong 2024-25 seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers, Murashov attended training camp with Pittsburgh and further impressed. Pittsburgh management chose to send the 21-year-old back to the AHL to continue working. But Murashov, a 2022 fourth-round pick, may appeal to Pittsburgh sooner than expected. He went to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was ultimately named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for October, finishing 5-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.
when Tristan Jarry Pittsburgh called up Murashov on November 4 after being placed on injured reserve. He made his NHL debut on November 9 against the Los Angeles Kings and performed well. He played in the NHL Global Series with the NHL team in Stockholm last weekend, and he returned to the net on Sunday and made 22 saves to help the team defeat the Nashville Predators 4-0. Between Offseason Acquisitions Artus SilovsThe Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner for last season's Calder Cup playoff MVP with the Abbotsford Canucks, Pittsburgh's Murashov has an interesting goaltending situation to monitor.
Alex Steves, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
Like Brummell, Steeves is dominant in the 2024-25 season with the Toronto Marlies and is taking advantage of new opportunities. He also signed with Boston as free agency opened.
Like Blumel, he found himself back in the AHL. But he started working in earnest, posting eight points (three goals, five assists) in Providence's first nine games. On November 8, the NHL received a call from the 25-year-old forward. He made his Boston debut that night against Toronto at Scotiabank Arena, his first NHL organization. On November 11, in Boston's rematch against the Maple Leafs, he scored the first goal of the victory.
He has started to find his way into the Storm lineup, averaging 12:31 in five games and also getting playing time in Boston's shootout.
Riley Tufte, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
Tufte complements the P-Bruins' forward trio currently in Boston.
Unlike Blumel and Steeves, this is Taft's second year with the Boston organization. The 27-year-old forward was a first-round draft pick by the Dallas Stars in 2016 and has developed into a proven AHL scorer over the past three seasons. Now, the 6-foot-6, 233-pound Tuft may find another level. His eight goals in 13 games ranked third in the AHL, and his 16 points also ranked him third in the league.
He joined Brummell on Monday's recall and scored the lone goal 15:13 into Boston's loss to Carolina.
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
