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Cracknell was a surprise acquisition by the Canadiens last season, particularly after trading Peter Holland -- a player five years his junior-- to acquire him.There didn't seem to be a need for him, and he never made it to the parent club, but the spark plug enjoyed the best season of his AHL career. He potted 29 goals overall with 27 coming in 54 games at AHL Laval, exhibiting nice chemistry with Chris Terry, the AHL's leading scorer. Due to his service time, Cracknell became an unrestricted free agent and hooked on with another Canadian hockey town, signing a one-year deal with the Maple Leafs. He's expected to toil for the Marlies of the AHL and provide forward depth.
The AHL veteran has floated through five organizations since 2013-14 but seemed to find a home with the Stars last year, playing in a career-high 69 NHL games and scoring a career-high 10 goals. Cracknell is a pure fourth-line grit player, and the 32-year-old doesn't offer any kind of upside offensively, but he has good size and knows how to use it in his own end, leading to a plus-9 rating on a team that had plenty of defensive issues. he'll return to that role in 2017-18 and help provide some mentoring for a group of young forwards just beginning to break through with the Stars.
You have to admit -- Cracknell is a pretty cool hockey name. He's a career minor leaguerer who's seen a couple of limited stints with the Blues prior to signing with the Kings this offseason. He'll look to crack what's a pretty deep group of forwards in LA.
Cracknell showed some talent at times last season playing on what could be described as an energy line in St. Louis. A strong defensive player who also has a nose for the puck, the 6-2, 210 lb winger has a chance to make the team, but not as much more than as a checking line specialist.
Cracknell had a cameo appearance with the Blues in 2011-12, but most of his work came with Peoria of the American Hockey League. He's been improving offensively, and scored a career-high 23 goals with 49 points in 72 games. The Blues like him enough, but he doesn't project to be anything more than an emergency fill-in for them.
At 25, Cracknell got his first taste of the NHL last season when injuries hit the Blues. He didn't look out of place, giving the Blues seven points and a plus-1 in 24 games. He was re-signed in the offseason, but will begin the year at AHL Peroia. He's a good depth guy in an organization.
Cracknell was one of the leading snipers for Peoria of the AHL in 2009-10, scoring on nearly 12 percent of his shots. He's shown a scoring knack in all of his stops previous to the AHL, but doesn't project to much more than a depth player at the NHL level. And the Blues have plenty of those already in house.
Cracknell is still in the Calgary system, but has not made much of an impact so far. He will need to really up his game in the minors this year if he's going to have a shot at the NHL in 2009-10.
Cracknell chose to spend last season in the EHCL after not making the Calgary roster. He picked up 22 points in 31 games in addition to six points in eight playoff games. His status with the Flames is up in the air currently, so shy away from him for now.
Cracknell will not be in the NHL anytime soon, the prospect will really have to make a case in the minors if he's going to make an NHL squad someday.