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Canadiens Sign Jacob Fowler To Entry-Level Contract

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April 4: Montreal made Fowler’s signing official this morning. PuckPedia has the terms of his deal, which carries a cap hit of $923K:

2025-26: $775K NHL salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K games played bonus
2026-27 + 2027-28: $885K NHL salary, $95K signing bonus, $500K Schedule ’A’ performance bonus

April 3: The Montreal Canadiens are expected to announce the signing of star goalie prospect Jacob Fowler to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season on Friday. The move was first reported by Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gambler. It was seconded by PuckPedia and sources available to PHR. The move was also mentioned as the likeliest outcome by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on Wednesday. In alignment with LeBrun’s thoughts, PuckPedia has added that Fowler is expected to finish the season on a try-out agreement with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Fowler is near the very top of the list for best goalie prospects currently outside of North American pros. He’s been a terror in every league he’s played in, dating back to his junior debut with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. Fowler moved to the USHL after growing up through Florida Alliance AAA and Selects Academy AAA – two programs with little in the way of superstar alums during his tenure. But he came into the USHL with full force, recording a tremendous 11-4-1 record and .927 save percentage in his first 18 USHL games playing in the latter half of Youngstown’s season. That mark continues to stand as the highest save percentage of any U18 goalie in USHL history, among those with more than 15 games played.

Fowler followed up his record-breaking introduction to the USHL with a legacy season in 2022-23. He posted an incredible 27-9-3 record and .921 save percentage through 40 games that season while leading Youngstown to a clear spot in the USHL playoffs. Not to be outdone, Fowler became a Youngstown legend in the postseason – recording an incredible 8-1-0 record and .952 save percentage in nine games played to lead the Phantoms to the first Clark Cup Championship in franchise history. He earned the USHL’s Goalie of the Year and Playoff MVP awards for his performances. More importantly, the Montreal Canadiens also landed Fowler with the 69th-overall pick in the ensuing 2023 NHL Draft. He was the sixth goalie off the board that year, after the second round saw Adam Gajan, Michael Hrabal, Trey Augustine, Carson Bjarnason, and Damian Clara all taken off the board.

With this move, Fowler becomes the third goaltender of his class to sign their first pro contract. He earned that deal with two fantastic seasons behind a loaded Boston College after his draft selection. Fowler stepped immediately into the Eagles’ starting role as a freshman last season and made them look genius for the decision. He only lost seven games on the season – posting a 32-6-1 record and a .926 save percentage in 39 games played. That performance earned Fowler the Hockey East ’Goaltender of the Year’ award, making him the first freshman to take home the hardware since Cayden Primeau in 2017-18. Primeau was himself the first freshman to win since Connor Hellebuyck in 2012-13 and Thatcher Demko in 2013-14.

In natural fashion, Fowler found a way to improve his performance this year. Behind a slightly weaker BC lineup, he recorded a 25-7-2 record and a .940 save percentage in 35 games. That was the second-highest save percentage of the college hockey season, behind only Alexander Tracy of Minnesota State. The brick-wall performance earned Fowler a unanimous vote for Hockey East’s ’Goalie of the Year’ award this season, making him just the fourth goalie to ever win it in back-to-back years and the latest since Primeau.

It is that momentum that Fowler will bring into his first pro games in the Montreal organization. But he might have even more reason to prove his worth after attending in person the NHL debut of BC teammates Ryan Leonard and Gabriel Perreault. Fowler will need the extra oomph to win out ice time on a Laval roster currently being spearheaded by none other than Cayden Primeau. The former Hockey East superstar Primeau has recorded a fantastic 19-2-1 record and .922 save percentage in 22 AHL games this season, though his year has been held just shy of truly spectacular by a .836 save percentage in 11 NHL games. Nonetheless, Primeau will be the Rocket’s clear-cut starter for the remaining nine games in their regular season.

That means Fowler will be in contention with backups Connor Hughes and Luke Cavallin for ice time. Hughes has posted a stout 15-11-3 record and .906 save percentage in 28 games – earning the edge in most games played on the team while Primeau was with the NHL lineup. Cavallin hasn’t been nearly as exciting, with a 1-1-0 record and a .897 save percentage in three AHL games. With plenty of hype behind him, Fowler shouldn’t have a problem earning one or two games before the end of the year. Should he perform well, he could quickly become a glue guy for a Laval team with high playoff hopes in mind. The Rocket rank on top of the AHL with 92 points as the season is drawing to a close and will be a favorite to go the distance – especially after they add a star prospect with a rich history of taking home multiple pieces of hardware.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blues Assign Dalibor Dvorsky To AHL

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Dalibor Dvorsky’s first NHL stint was a short-lived one.  After being recalled for the first time a little more than a week ago, the Blues announced that the center has been sent back to AHL Springfield.

Dvorsky was the tenth overall pick back in 2023 and even though he’s just 19, he is eligible to play full-time in the minors this year since he wasn’t drafted out of the CHL.  He’s done well this season with the Thunderbirds, collecting 20 goals and 23 assists in 57 games, ranking him in the top ten in points for a player considering that he’s still junior-eligible.  Dvorsky got into one game with St. Louis while on recall but was held off the scoresheet in 10:40 of playing time.

With Jimmy Snuggerud signing and jumping right into the lineup, the Blues clearly feel that Dvorsky would be best served getting regular minutes in the minors over sporadically playing at the NHL level, a decision that certainly makes sense from a development perspective.

His assignment also helps the Blues duck a little more below the $88MM spending threshold which is notable in the sense that it allows them to bank a bit more cap space to apply against their achieved bonuses, an amount that already has reached $1.725MM thanks to Ryan Suter meeting his games played targets.  Any dollar that they can save in cap space now is a dollar less of a carry-over penalty they’ll face next season, so keeping Dvorsky up to sit him would also have served little value on that front.

Panthers Recall Jaycob Megna, Reassign Tobias Bjornfot

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The Florida Panthers have swapped depth defensemen on the roster, assigning Tobias Bjornfot to the minor league and recalling Jaycob Megna per the AHL Transactions Log. Bjornfot will return to the minors after appearing in Florida’s last six games. He manageed no scoring, two penalty minutes, and a minus-five in the appearances.

Bjornfot is now up to no scoring and a minus-three through 14 NHL appearances this season. He’s had a bit better footing in the minor leagues, where he’s potted 16 points, 22 penalty minutes, and a plus-one in 43 games. Bjornfot has developed into more-and-more of a stay-at-home defenseman as his professional career progresses, though his lack of offense at the top flight has made him hard to routinely trust.

With a three-game road trip on the horizon, Florida will opt to instead reward Megna with the first call-up of his season. He’s matched Bjornfot’s AHL scoring, with 16 points in 64 games of his own. Megna adds to that 23 penalty minutes and a strong plus-26, which ranks second on the Charlotte Checkers. The six-foot-six defender appeared in 44 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season – recording two assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-15. He’s totaled 27 points in 185 career games in the NHL, and 114 points in 434 games in the AHL. Megna could be in store to step immediately into the NHL roster on this recall, headed for the third-line left-defender role that Bjornfot previously occupied.

Predators Prospect Gunnarwolfe Fontaine Signs ATO With Iowa Wild

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It appears the Nashville Predators will elect not to sign 2020 seventh-round draft pick Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, who has instead signed an amateur try-out with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The Predators were set to lose Fontaine’s rights at the end of this season if they didn’t sign him to his entry-level contract. They’ll expedite the process here, allowing Fontaine to turn pro in the AHL after completing his graduate season at The Ohio State University.

Fontaine was drafted after his second season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. He scored 26 goals and 57 points in 45 USHL games that season, apt support to a Steel roster that also contained Brendan Brisson, Sam Colangelo, Mackie Samoskevich, and Matthew Coronato. Fontaine followed his draft selection by moving to Northeastern University for the 2020-21 campaign. He scored a stout six goals and 15 points in 21 games of his freshman season, and grew to 25 points in 39 games in his sophomore year.

But Fontaine seemed to plateau a bit after the 2021-22 season. His scoring dipped as high-tier teammates like Cameron Lund and Justin Hryckowian began challenging his ice time. Fontaine managed 30 points in 35 games as a junior and fell to 27 points in 36 games in 2023-24. He failed to find his groove as Northeastern’s leading playdriver – sparking a search for bigger minutes at OSU in his graduate year. Fontaine did grow to 40 points in 40 games in the Big Ten – marking his first point-per-game season since his draft-year campaign in the USHL. He’ll look to bring that momentum to the AHL, with hopes that strong play can push him back into the attention of NHL clubs.

Predators Sign Cole O’Hara To Two-Year Contract

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The Nashville Predators have signed forward Cole O’Hara to a two-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2025-26 season. He will spend the rest of this season on a try-out with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. O’Hara’s third college season came to an end on March 29th, after his University of Massachusetts Minutemen lost to the Western Michigan Broncos in the national tournament.

O’Hara broke out in a big way this season. He scored a UMass-leading 22 goals and 51 points in just 40 games. That was more than he scored in his first two collegiate seasons – 17 points as a freshman, and 18 as a sophomore – combined. Many of those points came from O’Hara’s knack for controlling the puck from low-to-high – getting it on his stick below the goal-line and deking through defenders to find time and space at the tops of the circles. He excelled at getting the puck through traffic, and was helped along by the strong physical presence of Lucas Mercuri in front of the net.

The Predators drafted O’Hara in the fourth-round of the 2022 NHL Draft. He scored 25 goals and 73 points in 58 games in the USHL in his draft year – again on the back of a strong ability to work around the offensive-zone with the puck. O’Hara led the Tri-City Storm in scoring that season, ahead of a roster that featured Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Gavin Brindley and Seattle Kraken prospect Lleyton Roed. O’Hara will now join his former teammates in the AHL. He’ll be looking to hang on to his strong puck-handling while his slight frame adjusts to the pro ranks.

Avalanche Recall Kevin Mandolese

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The Colorado Avalanche have recalled goaltender Kevin Mandolese ahead of their upcoming three-game road trip. This is Mandolese’s second recall of the season, after previously spending four days on the NHL roster in November.

It seems clear that Mandolese’s call-up is solely for depth. He has served as Colorado’s AHL backup this season, setting a 10-6-0 record and .905 save percentage in 17 appearances. But Mandolese has begun splitting the role with Adam Scheel, who has a 10-2-2 record and .904 save percentage in the AHL this season, including three shutouts. The 25-year-old Scheel is one year older than Mandolese, and will now step into the full AHL backup role while Mandolese supports the Avalanche.

This recall could give Mandolese a chance to play in his first NHL game since the 2022-23 campaign, when he managed a .916 Sv% in three games with the Ottawa Senators. Those have been the only NHL games of his career to this point. He’s also tallied a career .898 Sv% in 83 games and five seasons in the AHL, and a .921 in 15 games in the ECHL. The Avalanche are expected to start backup Scott Wedgewood on Wednesday, per team play-by-play announcer Conor McGahey. It is Wedgewood’s second consecutive start. He was backed up by usual starter Mackenzie Blackwood on Monday, but Mandolese’s presence could give Colorado a chance to give Blackwood a break from the lineup. Blackwood has started in all but 10 of Colorado’s 37 games since the start of 2025.

Oilers Sign Damien Carfagna To Two-Year Contract

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Apr. 1: PuckPedia shared the terms of Carfagna’s two-year entry-level contract with the Oilers earlier today. He’ll earn a salary of $775K at the NHL level and  $85K at the AHL level. Additionally, Carfagna will receive an $87.5K signing bonus for each year of the deal and have access to $12.5K in performance bonuses for an unspecified number of games played. After including his signing bonus, Carfagna’s cap hit rises to $862.5K each year of the contract.

Mar. 31: The Edmonton Oilers have joined in on the race for college free agents. The team announced they’ve signed junior-year defenseman Damien Carfagna from The Ohio State University. Carfagna has agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season. There has so far been no indication on if he will join the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors through the end of the season.

Carfagna becomes yet another undrafted college free agent to earn a pro deal. He just wrapped up a fantastic season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, ranking second in scoring on the team’s blue-line with seven goals and 28 points in 38 games. Carfagna transferred to OSU ahead of the 2023-24 season, after spending his freshman year at the University of New Hampshire. He posted a modest 16 points, two penalty minutes, and minus-15 in 35 games with UNH, then fell to just six points in 34 games with Ohio State last year. At a glance, it seemed Carfagna’s search for a bigger role at a bigger school had flunked – as he fell from UNH’s second pair to Ohio State’s third pair. But he regained plenty of ground this season, and had his feet planted on Ohio State’s top pairing by the end of the season.

Carfagna is a stout five-foot-11, 170-pound defenseman who excels at making plays over both blue-lines. He’s strong on the puck and has grown substantially in his ability to play through contact – though he’s still working on his ability to clear out the danger areas of the ice. His ascension to OSU’s top role was built on a stellar ability to move the puck, and his great stylistic compliment to fellow nimble puck-mover Aiden Hansen-Bukata. Carfagna will likely need a hardy runway to translate his smart plays and responsible positioning to the pro flight, but his ability to support the breakout and join the rush should soon stand out.

Penguins’ Emil Bemstrom Clears Waivers

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April 1: Bemstrom cleared waivers, Friedman reports. It’s unclear whether the Pens plan to immediately assign him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or purely open up roster flexibility.

March 31: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed depth winger Emil Bemstrom on waivers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Bemstrom served a fourth-line role in Pittsburgh’s last three games and didn’t manage any notable stat changes other than one shot on net.

Bemstrom has spent the bulk of his season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – intercut by routine trips to support Pittsburgh’s bottom six. He’s recorded one assist, no penalties, and an even-plus minus through 13 NHL appearances this year while averaging just over eight minutes in ice time. Bemstrom’s looked far more comfortable in the minors, where he has 21 goals and 46 points in 43 games on the season. Those marks lead the AHL Penguins in goals and points on a per-game basis. They also make Bemstrom one of just 15 remaining AHL skaters scoring above a point-per-game pace in more than 20 games.

Bemstrom has adjusted well to the Penguins minor league ranks after spending the bulk of the last five seasons fighting for a role in the NHL. He made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019-20 season and recorded 20 points, split evenly, in 56 games as a rookie. He followed that foundational performance with a brief stint in Finland’s Liiga during the 2020-21 season, where he managed an encouraging 17 points in 16 games. But Bemstrom couldn’t hold onto that scoring when he returned to the NHL, with just five points in 20 games through the end of the year. He worked his way to a career-high 22 points in the 2022-23 campaign – but hasn’t been able to maintain the scoring across a full season. It seems Bemstrom has fallen firmly into the rut of top-end AHL scoring and minimal NHL scoring – and Pittsburgh will now take the step needed to reassign him to the minor leagues.

This news comes quickly after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer, top prospect Ville Koivunen, made his NHL debut. Koivunen didn’t manage any scoring in his first shot at Pittsburgh’s lineup, but he could hang onto the mantle of bottom-six minutes as the Penguins approach their final seven games well outside of playoff contention.

It’s important to note that, should Bemstrom be claimed on waivers, he would not be able to return to an NHL roster. Post Trade Deadline roster rules would instead force his new team to assign Bemstrom to their minor leagues.

Poll: Which College Signing Will Make The Biggest Impact In 2024-25?

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A contract signing frenzy has broken out across the NHL as the NCAA season draws to a close. Teams are in a mad dash to lock up their star prospects, or sign impactful free agents who slipped through the cracks of the draft. The range of outcomes for these fresh pro recruits will stretch across the hockey world. Some will finish their seasons on amateur try-out contracts in the minor leagues, while others have earned a proud AHL shot, and even more find themselves suddenly thrust into the NHL lineup. The group of signees is headlined by prospects with years of anticipation behind them, joining teams with important games left on the docket. Those big additions lead to the natural next question – which college signing will make the biggest impact through the remainder of the year?

University of Minnesota star Jimmy Snuggerud may be an easy top guess. The 20-year-old right-wing has joined a St. Louis Blues team in the midst of a nine-game win-streak that’s propelled them into a confident playoff spot. St. Louis’ success has come in no small part thanks to rookie Zachary Bolduc, who has 16 goals and 31 points in 65 games this season. He’s been backed by other thriving young forwards, like Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours. The Blues have leaned into their youth movement by promoting top AHL scorer Dalibor Dvorsky to the top flight, after he potted 20 goals and 43 points in 57 minor league games. Now, St. Louis also adds the snappy shot of Snuggerud after he managed a dazzling 24 goals and 51 points in 40 games of his junior season. Snuggerud doesn’t shy away from physicality and plays a cool, calm, and collected game that should blend well with a Blues offense that’s firing on all cylinders since the calendar turned over.

But St. Louis’ Central Division rivals have a pair of new faces who could find their way to a big splash. The Chicago Blackhawks may be well outside of postseason contention, but they’ve received their own injection of young potential by signing Snuggerud’s UMN teammates, centerman Oliver Moore and defenseman Sam Rinzel. Both players filled top-end roles for the Gophers this season, to dazzling results. Rinzel took home the Big Ten’s ’Defenseman of the Year’ honors this year, after recording 10 goals and 32 points in 40 games of his sophomore season. Moore just narrowly outscored him, potting 12 goals and 33 points in 38 games of his own. The pair have already made their NHL debuts – and while neither scored, they were both instantly noticeable amid a Blackhawks offense that’s slowed down as of late. Chicago is looking towards the future as the season draws to a close, and strong performances out of Moore or Rinzel could go a long way towards cementing their top-of-the-lineup role through next season. It seems Rinzel’s spot may already be locked up – after he recorded over 20 minutes of ice time and four shots on net in his debut.

There’s even more to watch from Gopher alums in the Central Division – with Matthew Wood inking a deal with the Nashville Predators after completing his junior year at UMN. Wood ranked second on the Gophers in scoring behind Snuggerud, with 17 goals and 39 points in 39 games this season. It was an impressive performance for the fresh-transfer – but perhaps even more impressive, it was Wood’s first time not leading his team in scoring since he made his junior hockey debut in the 2020-21 season. He’s a fierce shooter, with the heft and skating to push his way into space, even against top competition. He could quickly find a role on a Predators team that lost Mark Jankowski at the Trade Deadline – and one that’s in desperate need of a booming top prospect to spark hopes.

While the Gophers look to take control of the Central Division, the Metropolitan Division could soon be controlled by Eagles. Boston College stars Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault have inked their first pro deals, signing with the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers respectively. The duo are absolute top prospects who have spent the vast majority of the last four seasons playing on the same line. Leonard is a beefy sniper capable of driving down the boards with speed and getting the puck on net quick. Perreault is a bit more nimble – and uses a strong drive to overwhelm opponents on the forecheck and quick hands to beat them in his paths to the net. Both have done nothing but sparkle with their individual efforts, and seem fully capable of translating at least some of their upside to the NHL right away. Leonard will join the best team in the league, while Perreault will join a squad currently in tight contention for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card. Both roles should lead to major roles that could lead the top names to quick scoring.

Plenty of other signings across the hockey world could pay off sooner rather than later. Even if they don’t, the chance to watch top prospects finally donning their NHL jerseys is hard no to be excited over. Who do you think will make the biggest impact? Vote below:

For mobile users, click here to vote.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Minor Transactions: 3/31/25

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It has been quite a busy day on the transaction front, with plenty of college players signing their entry-level contracts.  Meanwhile, there have been some other moves involving NHL players and prospects.  We’ll quickly run through those here.

  • The Jets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Jaret Anderson-Dolan and goaltender Chris Driedger from AHL Manitoba. Anderson-Dolan is up after Rasmus Kupari suffered a setback in his recovery from a concussion, while Driedger will cover for Eric Comrie, whose wife went into labor over the weekend.  This is Anderson-Dolan’s second recall of the season but he didn’t play in the first one.  He has 19 points in 51 games with the Moose this season.  Meanwhile, Driedger was acquired from Florida near the trade deadline, combining to make 25 appearances between their farm team and Manitoba, playing to a 3.03 GAA and a .877 SV%.
  • The Golden Knights have recalled goaltender Akira Schmid from AHL Henderson, relays Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). He’ll be covering for Ilya Samsonov for the time being who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.  Schmid is in his first season with Vegas after being acquired at the draft but has played almost exclusively with the Silver Knights, posting a 3.58 GAA and a .886 SV% in 30 outings.
  • The Predators announced that they’ve reassigned wingers Hiroki Gojsic and Kalan Lind to AHL Milwaukee. Gojsic was a late third-round pick in June and has already signed his entry-level deal.  The 18-year-old had 20 goals and 17 assists in 61 games this season with WHL Kelowna but with the Rockets missing the playoffs, he’s eligible to be sent to the minors.  As for Lind, he wrapped up his major junior career with WHL Red Deer, tallying 12 goals and 15 assists in 37 games with the Rebels.  A 2023 second-round selection, Lind has also already signed his entry-level deal and since he’s 20, he’ll be turning pro full-time next season, an option that won’t be available to Gojsic.

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