It’s the dog days of summer, and while many prominent free agents, restricted and unrestricted, remain unsigned, major NHL signings are few and far between. Yet, minor league teams, foreign clubs, and college programs continue to make make moves in preparation for the coming season. Keep up with all of those minor transactions here:
- Northeastern University landed a pair of high-quality graduate transfers last week in University of New Hampshire forward Brendan van Riemsdyk and Merrimack College goalie Craig Pantano, both of whom are expected to be major contributors. However, they’ve also now suffered a loss. After two disappointing seasons to begin his collegiate career, center Bobby Hampton has opted to leave the program, reports USCHO. Hampton will enroll at Penn State University and will join the Nittany Lions for the 2020-21 season with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Hampton joined Northeastern in 2017 with high expectations after leading the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in scoring the season prior, but recorded just seven points combined in his first two college seasons.
- Trevor Yates had up and down between the AHL and ECHL last season and he’s already well on his way to a similar start to the 2019-20 campaign. After signing with the ECHL’s Reading Royals on Friday, Jason Guarente of the Reading Eagle already reports that Yates will be in camp with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, trying to instead earn an AHL contract, with Lehigh or elsewhere. A former star for the Cornell University Big Red, Yates’ pro career got off to a slow start last year, but he finished strong with a point-per-game stretch in the ECHL. The 24-year-old forward has the size and intelligence to be a key two-way forward in the AHL or, as he slowed late last season, a top-line forward at the “AA” level.
- The AHL’s Manitoba Moose have re-signed defenseman Charles-David Beaudoin to a one-year extension, the team announced. Beaudoin has played a part-time role for the Moose in each of the past two seasons, recording 15 points combined over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old righty took an unorthodox route to the AHL, spending two years at the University of Quebec – Trois Rivieres after his QMJHL junior career before jumping from USports to the pros, and will look to take on a larger role in his third AHL season.