Minor Transactions: Spengler Cup Edition

The World Junior Hockey Championship isn’t the only tournament that takes place at this time of year.  The Spengler Cup, the oldest invitational hockey tournament in the world, also gets underway on December 26th, running through the 31st.  While most of the participants are club teams across various international leagues, Canada gets to send a team as well.  Most of their players also play overseas but a handful of NHL teams have loaned players out for this event.  We’ve already covered Aaron Dell (Carolina) and Nicolas Beaudin (Montreal) but here are the other NHL-affiliated players who have been loaned; the full roster (which features several former NHL players) can be found here.

• Penguins defenseman Ty Smith has been loaned by AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It has been a disappointing year for the 23-year-old in the sense that he passed through waivers unclaimed.  However, he has been quite productive in the minors so far, collecting 22 points in 27 games.
• The Senators have loaned out blueliner Dillon Heatherington from AHL Belleville. The 28-year-old has played in 24 games so far in the minors, picking up two goals and two assists.  Heatherington, a pending unrestricted free agent, got into three games with Ottawa last season.
• Jets goalie Thomas Milic has been added to the roster from ECHL Norfolk. The first-year pro had a standout performance at the World Juniors and with WHL Seattle last season, resulting in him being drafted in his final year of eligibility.  While he has four games with AHL Manitoba this season, he has spent most of the year with the Admirals, posting a 2.44 GAA and .910 SV% in 14 games.
• While not a direct loan from an NHL affiliate, the Flyers will also have a prospect in this event as forward Massimo Rizzo will be suiting up. The 22-year-old is in his junior year at the University of Denver and leads all Division I players with 31 points in 18 games.  He’s the only NCAA player suiting up for Canada in the event.