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Minnesota Wild Reassign Sammy Walker To AHL

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The Minnesota Wild have reassigned forward Sammy Walker to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. The move lands Walker back in the AHL just four days after he was originally recalled.

Walker, 24, played in two games for Minnesota on this most recent call-up. Walker struggled in both contests and saw his ice time decline to just 7:26 last night, despite the game extending into overtime.

As the team has suffered back-to-back losses, it appears Minnesota will likely call up a different forward to fill Walker’s vacated spot on their roster with the hope that a fresh addition can help spark a return to winning ways.

This reassignment will also help out AHL Iowa, who have struggled to start the season. The team is currently 1-3 with a -10 goal differential despite playing just four games. Two of the team’s losses have been genuine blowouts and Iowa’s 11 goals scored rank 21st in the AHL.

Walker was a star rookie for Iowa last season, scoring 27 goals and 48 points in 56 games. The consistent offense he displayed as a Minnesota Golden Gopher seemed to translate to the AHL level, meaning his return to Iowa should give the team a better chance of winning games.

The priority for Minnesota, though, lies at the NHL level where the team is looking to keep pace in what will be a highly competitive Central Division.

In terms of candidates to fill Walker’s vacated role on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, 336-game NHL veteran Jujhar Khaira could get a shot if the team wants more of a defensive flavor in their call-up, while Nic Petan or prospect Adam Beckman would give more of an offensive touch.

Buffalo Sabres Assign Matt Savoie To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Buffalo Sabres have sent 2022 eighth-overall pick Matt Savoie to the AHL’s Rochester Americans on a conditioning loan.

Savoie was injured at the team’s prospect tournament and has been on injured reserve to start the season. This loan will allow Savoie to get some games under his belt in the AHL, a league he played two playoff games in at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Savoie, who will turn 20 on January 1st, misses the cut-off for automatic AHL eligibility by just one day. The Sabres have reportedly petitioned the WHL to give Savoie an exemption and allow him to play in the AHL, but while Seattle Kraken prospect Shane Wright received one such exemption from the OHL, the Sabres have reportedly not been optimistic about Savoie’s odds of receiving one from the WHL.

That reality means that once Savoie’s conditioning assignment has concluded, he’ll in all likelihood be on his way back to the WHL, where he’ll play for the Wenatchee Wild.

The WHL’s Wild have struggled so far this season without Savoie or Zach Benson, who was a surprise addition to the Sabres’ NHL roster to start the season. Savoie scored 95 points in the WHL last year and would be a massive, difference-making addition for Wenatchee.

There’s also always the chance that Savoie ends up called back to the Sabres’ NHL roster, although that possibility becomes more unlikely if Benson maintains his hold on a spot in head coach Don Granato’s lineup.

Ottawa Senators Return Jacob Bernard-Docker To AHL

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Saturday: Following their game against Detroit, the Senators announced that Bernard-Docker has been returned to Belleville.  With Ottawa off until Tuesday now, the move will allow them to bank a little bit of extra cap space between now and then.

Friday: The Ottawa Senators have announced that defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. In a corresponding move, Zack MacEwen, who cleared waivers earlier today, was reassigned to Belleville.

Earlier today, we covered the fact that Senators blueliner Artem Zub’s status for the team’s Saturday game is currently in doubt. If Zub ends up missing Saturday’s contest, the Senators will need an extra defenseman on their roster to dress in his place. With this recall, Ottawa has positioned Bernard-Docker as that player.

Bernard-Docker, 23, is a 2018 first-round pick who cleared waivers near the start of the season. The owner of a $805k cap hit through next season, Bernard-Docker has so far skated in two games this season at the AHL level. Last season, he scored six points in 41 AHL games, and got into 19 contests with the NHL Senators.

Since Zub is currently slotted into the Senators’ second pairing on defense next to Jake Sanderson, it’s possible that Bernard-Docker will end up on that pairing due to this recall.

Should Bernard-Docker end up slotted directly into Zub’s role, this recall will serve as a major opportunity for Bernard-Docker to showcase his skills in front of an NHL audience, as Zub averages nearly 18:00 time on ice per game.

Chicago Blackhawks Assign Cole Guttman To AHL

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According to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks have assigned forward Cole Guttman to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Guttman, 24, was a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks’ past two games and has seemingly played his way back to the AHL in the early part of this season.

The five-foot-nine pivot has skated in three NHL games this year for head coach Luke Richardson, tallying one goal.

The Blackhawks signed Guttman as a college free agent after his productive final collegiate season, and he had an impressive debut season as a pro last year. But despite the early success he had as a professional, especially in the AHL, he’s been passed this season on the Blackhawks’ center depth chart.

Guttman began the year as Richardson’s third-line center, skating between Boris Katchouk and Andreas Athanasiou.

He’s since lost that job to Mackenzie Entwistle, who offers far more size at the position, but scored just four more points than Guttman last season despite playing in 52 additional NHL games.

With Lukas Reichel entrenched as the team’s second-line center (despite his early-season struggles) and Connor Bedard untouchable on the Blackhawks’ top line, there simply isn’t much room for Guttman in the lineup outside of that third-line center role.

It’s seemingly been made clear with the consecutive games spent as a healthy scratch that the Blackhawks want to see more from Guttman in order for him to retain a regular spot in their lineup. With this reassignment, the next step for him will be to play some impactful games for the IceHogs so he can earn a recall to Chicago and re-enter their lineup on stronger footing.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Montreal Canadiens Recall Joel Armia, Assign Filip Mešár To OHL

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The Montreal Canadiens have announced two roster moves: veteran forward Joel Armia has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, and 2022 first-round pick Filip Mešár has been assigned to the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers.

With second-line center Kirby Dach now confirmed to be out for the rest of the season, the Canadiens had a need for an extra forward on their NHL roster. The player they have chosen to fill Dach’s spot is the veteran Armia, 30.

The owner of a $3.4MM cap hit through next season, Armia has had three consecutive difficult seasons in Montreal.

The six-foot-three, 216-pound former top prospect has at times been an impact player in Montreal (such as in 2019-20 when he scored 16 goals and 30 points in just 58 games) but his consistency has been sorely lacking.

With training camp battles for forward spots highly competitive in the Canadiens’ preseason, Armia failed to secure a role on the team’s season-opening roster and was sent to Laval after clearing waivers.

An opportunity to play a top-line role and reset his game in the minors seems to have been the right call for Armia, who has scored four goals and five points in four AHL games this season.

Now back on the Canadiens’ NHL roster, Armia is likely to receive fourth-line winger duty with either him or Michael Pezzetta sitting in the press box as the team’s spare forward.

As for Mešár, the 2022 26th overall pick heads back to Kitchener after failing to earn a regular role on a Rocket team flush with quality scoring-line winger options. He did score his first career AHL point in yesterday’s win over the Rochester Americans, but was playing as a fourth-line right-winger next to Riley McKay and Jan Myšák.

The Canadiens seem to believe that the best path forward for Mešár’s development is to play a major role in the OHL rather than a limited role in the AHL.

Mešár’s underwhelming debut season in the OHL last year (he scored 51 points in 52 games) indicates that he still has some unfinished business in that league, so the hope will be that he’ll have a highly productive (if not dominant) final season playing junior hockey.

Since two Laval forwards are now leaving the team’s lineup, these departures could pave the way for Canadiens prospect Jared Davidson to play an increased role for the Rocket. The 21-year-old 2022 fifth-round pick had an impressive training camp and preseason but has fallen victim to the numbers game in Laval and played just one game so far for the team.

With Armia and Mešár no longer in the picture and fellow prospect Emil Heineman out with an injury, the roadblocks to Davidson receiving a regular role in the AHL could now be cleared.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Columbus Blue Jackets Extend AHL Affiliate

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Since the 2015 season, after changing their AHL affiliation away from the Springfield Falcons, the Columbus Blue Jackets have maintained an affiliation agreement with the Cleveland Monsters. Today, the Blue Jackets organization announced that they would be extending that agreement under a new multi-year agreement between the two parties.

Given the fact that the team already had a previous agreement for this season, and a multi-year agreement suggests the agreement is two years or more, this will cement the Monsters as the longest-serving AHL affiliate of Columbus over their franchise history. As the Blue Jackets officially became an NHL team during the 2000-01 NHL season, their first AHL affiliate would be the Syracuse Crunch, an affiliate that would last until 2010. They would then come to an agreement with the now-defunct Falcons, before finally landing with the Monsters at the start of the 2015-16 season.

Notably, in their first season as the direct AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets, the Monsters would go on to win the 2016 Calder Cup, sweeping the Hershey Bears in the final series, becoming the first Columbus affiliate to win a championship. At that time, the team was led by Oliver Bjorkstrand and has now transitioned to being led by Trey Fix-Wolansky.

In the announcement, Blue Jackets Director of Player Personnel, Chris Clark, spoke in high regard for the relationship saying:

“Giving our young players an opportunity to grow and develop both on and off the ice in a world-class environment like the one they have with the Cleveland Monsters is very special and we couldn’t be prouder and more excited that our partnership will continue for many years to come. Both organizations share a commitment to succeed at the highest level, while growing the game and having a positive impact in our communities and state and we look forward to continuing that work together.“

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg, Loan Simon Benoit To AHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that center Pontus Holmberg has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. In a corresponding move, defenseman Simon Benoit was sent to the Marlies.

The recall of Holmberg could have been motivated by a few factors. First and foremost, with Tyler Bertuzzi playing through an injury, it’s possible the Maple Leafs may want to give him a some time away from the ice to focus more on recovery. In that case, Toronto would need a forward to replace Bertuzzi in their lineup, which would be Holmberg. The Maple Leafs only have the cap space to carry one spare player, so with a need up front rather than on defense it’s easy to see why Benoit would be sent to the AHL in favor of Holmberg.

There’s another factor that may have motivated this recall, and it relates to rookie forward Fraser Minten. If the Maple Leafs are okay continuing with Bertuzzi in their lineup and playing through injury, this recall may instead have been made to allow for Minten to be re-assigned back to the WHL and the Kamloops Blazers.

While Minten had an undoubtedly stellar training camp and preseason, it was always unlikely that the 19-year-old rookie would remain the third-line center for a full season on a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.

Minten scored 31 goals and 67 points in 57 WHL games last season, and this year he would likely become the centerpiece player on a Blazers team currently struggling due to the graduations of key players. Minten would also stand a strong chance of playing an important role for Team Canada at this year’s IIHF Men’s World Junior Championships.

The Maple Leafs could very well view this WHL-plus-WJC development path as more optimal for Minten’s future than playing 11-12 minutes per night in their NHL lineup, and as a result, this recall of Holmberg could allow them to re-assign Minten to take up that path.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 10/19/23

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With the ECHL starting up its season tonight, NHL and AHL teams have been shuffling players to that level in recent days.  Some of those recent moves are highlighted in our latest batch of minor transactions.

  • The Senators’ AHL affiliate announced the assignments of forward Philippe Daoust and defenceman Donovan Sebrango to ECHL Allen. Daoust was a sixth-round pick back in 2020 but was limited to just nine games last season due to injury.  He had seven points with Belleville but will get more time to work on his rehab at the ECHL level.  Meanwhile, Sebrango was acquired from Detroit as part of the Alex DeBrincat trade this summer and split last season between their AHL and ECHL affiliates.  Both players are entering the second year of their entry-level contracts.
  • Colorado’s AHL squad announced that they’ve sent goaltender Trent Miner, forward Ryan Sandelin, and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother to ECHL Utah. Miner posted a 3.04 GAA along with a .910 SV% in 37 games with the Grizzlies last season and is in the final season of his entry-level deal.  Sandelin wrapped up his college career last year with Minnesota State (Mankato), putting up 29 points in 38 games which helped him earn a minor league deal.  As for Fairbrother, the Avalanche acquired him as part of the Alex Newhook trade this summer but missed all of last season with a knee injury.  He’s also in the final season of his entry-level pact.
  • Former NHL blueliner Christian Jaros is on the move to the KHL as he has signed with Severstal Cherepovets, per a team release. The 27-year-old received a two-year deal.  Jaros has 94 career NHL games under his belts over parts of five seasons between Ottawa, San Jose, and New Jersey but opted to head overseas last season, seeing action with two separate KHL squads.

Sharks Assign Henry Thrun To Minors

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CapFriendly relays that San Jose Sharks defender Henry Thrun has been assigned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Thrun, 22, cracked the Sharks’ opening night roster after joining the team on an entry-level contract to end the 2022-23 season. After recording 31 points in 33 contests as a junior at Harvard, Thrun was ready to turn pro but informed the team that drafted him 101st overall in 2019 – the Anaheim Ducks – that he wasn’t willing to sign with them. Thus, the Ducks sent Thrun’s signing rights to the Sharks in exchange for a third-round pick at the end of February, and he put pen to paper with the Sharks after his collegiate season ended in March.

Across ten appearances thus far between this season and last, Thrun has notched four assists and has posted a relative Corsi share of 4.9% at even strength, meaning he’s managed to stand out as a positive possession force on a paper-thin Sharks blue line. Averaging 19:36 per game, the young Thrun has flashed the potential to end up in the Sharks’ top four long-term – certainly worth the price of admission they paid to the Ducks.

The Sharks, however, likely have some other depth blue-liners they’d like to give a look – namely, 23-year-old Ty Emberson, a shutdown defense prospect they claimed off waivers from the Rangers before the season. Emberson has served as a healthy scratch for the Sharks’ first three games, but with Thrun now set to play top minutes with the Barracuda for the time being, Emberson is likely to enter the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Bruins.

Thrun will be a restricted free agent at season’s end and is due a qualifying offer of $874,125, per CapFriendly.

Minor Transactions: 10/18/23

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The Champions Hockey League is entering its final day of the regular season, with five remaining games on the slate. This includes a bout between Oceláři Třinec and the Aalborg Pirates where Oceláři will be looking to solidify their spot in the CHL postseason; currently sitting one win away from a spot in the Top 16. If Oceláři can’t leave with a win, the Belfast Giants may be in place to leapfrog them with a win over Dynamo Pardubice. Belfast sits a win back from Oceláři in the standings, on the fringe of the playoffs.

The transaction wire is staying lively in light of such exciting hockey going on around the world. And as always, we’ll track those moves here.

  • 26-year-old centerman Colt Conrad has signed with the Fischtown Pinguins of the DEL, Germany’s top league. Conrad has spent part of the last five seasons in the minor leagues, recording 42 ECHL games and 115 AHL games in that span. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Conrad out of Western Michigan University in 2019.
  • The Laval Rockets have signed goaltender Joe Vrbetic to a one-year, two-way AHL contract. Vrbetic played in four games with Laval last season, recording a .871 save percentage and 2-1-0 record. The bulk of his year was spent with Trois-Rivieres of the ECHL, where he played 28 games and recorded a .896 save percentage. The 2022-23 season was Vrbetic’s first year of professional hockey, after three years of supporting the North Bay Battalion in the OHL.

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