Looks like Akim Aliu is getting another kick at the can.
Aliu, Chicago’s second-round pick at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, has signed a 25-game professional tryout with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester, the club announced on Friday. Aliu, 25, joined the Amerks in training camp after bouncing around last season, spending time in the American League with Hamilton and Hartford and a brief stint in the Swedish league with AIK.
Once a big-bodied prospect -- listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds -- Aliu has been a controversial figure throughout his junior and professional career. He gained a level of infamy for an in-practice scrap with teammate Steve Downie while a member of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, and has bounced around a number of organizations since getting picked by the ‘Hawks.
That said, he did appear in seven NHL games for Calgary over the course of two seasons (2011-12 and the lockout-shortened ’13 campaign), scoring two goals and three points while racking up 26 PIM.