Former UAF blueliner Tyler Eckford is off to a fast start to his second season as a pro in the American Hockey League, and that's notable because he's something there's not a lot of -- offensive defensemen.

Eckford, property of the New Jersey Devils, and plays for the Lowell Devils. He started tonight tied for 13th in the league in points by a defenseman, and that standing will rise after he bagged three assists in a 7-3 win at Worcester. Eckford owns 3-8--11 totals and a +5 rating in 16 games.

Just FYI -- one of the guys Eckford was tied for at 13th in points by a D was Jeff Penner, the former Nanook and third-year pro from the Providence Bruins.

Still on the AHL front, it looks like former Nanook goalie Chad Johnson, a rookie in the New York Rangers organization, is the man in AHL Hartford. He's getting the majority of the playing time for the Wolf Pack. Johnson stopped 22 of 24 shots tonight in a 2-1 loss at Manchester. He's 6-4-0 with a 2.60 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

A few former Aces, tough guys all, leaped out at me when I ran across some AHL stats. Eric Neilson of Hamilton started Wednesday tied for third in the league in major penalties (8). Tim Spencer of Binghamton led all rookies in majors (7). And Zack FitzGerald of Albany led the league in minor penalties (16).