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Minor Transactions: 08/18/22

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While Nazem Kadri has certainly stolen the spotlight today, there will be a handful of smaller moves that are also worth recognizing. As always, we’ll keep track of those notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Ontario Reign have signed Alan Quine to a one-year AHL contract, bringing over the former NHL forward after he spent last season with the Henderson Silver Knights. Quine, 29, last played in the NHL in 2019-20 and has 106 regular season games to his name.
  • One of the players that saw his exclusive draft rights expire this week, Brandon Kruse, has found a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies. The 2018 fifth-round pick failed to ink an entry-level deal with the Vegas Golden Knights by the deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent.
  • Nikita Popugaev, who once announced his retirement from hockey to pursue life as a social media influencer, has signed with HK Sochi in the KHL. A fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2017, his NHL rights are still technically owned by them and will be indefinitely.
  • Logan Day is headed from Lehigh Valley to the Hershey Bears, signing a one-year AHL deal with the latter. The undrafted defenseman had 19 points in 72 games for the Phantoms last season.
  • Lehigh Valley, meanwhile, has re-signed Charlie Gerard to another AHL contract, bringing back the undrafted forward for another year. In 55 games last season, Gerard had six goals and 12 points.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Shane Bowers

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Late last night, the Colorado Avalanche re-signed restricted free agent Shane Bowers to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $750K at the NHL level, and $100K in the minor leagues, according to PuckPedia.

This is something of a show-me season for the young forward, who was selected in the first round five years ago and has still yet to make a real impact at the professional level. While not reaching the NHL by now might not be the end of the world, Bowers hasn’t even been very productive at the AHL level, scoring just 13 goals and 18 points over the last two seasons combined.

Still, there is at least some hope that with a few tweaks he can become at least a regular bottom-six contributor, because of his strong skating ability and NHL size. He’ll likely get that chance at training camp this season as he is now eligible for waivers, meaning if the Avalanche want to send him to the Colorado Eagles again, he’ll be available for any other team in the league.

Waiver status often forces a player into the NHL, but it doesn’t often keep them there. Bowers will have to show that he can bring something to the table every night, or even a claiming team will soon be sending him back to the AHL. Still a restricted free agent at the end of this season, his chances are running out.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Anttoni Honka

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The Carolina Hurricanes have inked prospect Anttoni Honka to a three-year, entry-level contract. The young defenseman was selected in the third round of the 2019 draft and has spent the last several seasons playing at the highest level in Finland.

General manager Don Waddell released a short statement:

Anttoni is a puck-moving, right-shot defenseman. He has produced at a high level in Finland and we believe he will continue to grow in North America.

The statement suggests that Honka will be coming over to play for the Chicago Wolves this season after racking up an impressive 37 points in 57 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

While still not ready for NHL action, Honka – who is the younger brother of former Dallas Stars prospect Julius Honka – has electrifying offensive ability and could quickly grow into an important role for the AHL squad.

There are also some opportunities coming on the Carolina blueline, where Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, and Jalen Chatfield are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency following the 2023-24 season. Jake Gardiner, who has deemed himself healthy to resume his career, is only signed through this year, while Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns only have three years left on their respective deals.

For young defensemen like Honka, a little patience and practice in the minor leagues may quickly lead to a chance in the NHL, should their development continue.

Tucson Roadrunners Hire Zack Stortini

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Another familiar face to NHL fans will be joining the AHL coaching ranks, as the Tucson Roadrunners have hired Zack Stortini as an assistant. The former NHL tough guy has been with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL the last two seasons but will join Steve Potvin for the upcoming season.

Arizona Coyotes assistant general manager John Ferguson released the following statement:

Zack’s extensive professional playing experience as a team-first competitor combined with his rise on the coaching side make him the ideal complement to John Slaney in supporting and executing Steve Potvin’s head coaching strategies while developing each player’s individual skills and capabilities.

Stortini, 36, played 257 games in the NHL, all but one of them with the Edmonton Oilers, and racked up 725 penalty minutes as one of the league’s top enforcers. The 6’4″ forward had a whopping 81 fighting majors in his time in the NHL, including consecutive years with at least 23. Those numbers were nothing compared to his minor league totals, which included 33 fights in the 2013-14 season alone.

Perhaps that influence can be seen in the Wolves, who led the OHL in penalty minutes this past season, racking up 91 more than any other team.

Given his close to 1,000 games of professional hockey Stortini should be able to relay some wisdom to the Roadrunners squad, which has become a crucial development stage in the Coyotes rebuild. The experience of winning a Calder Cup in 2007 should also come in handy as he transitions to behind a minor league bench.

Lukas Parik Signs AHL Contract

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In an interesting move, Lukas Parik has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Colorado Eagles. A young European netminder signing in the minor leagues wouldn’t normally raise any eyebrows but in Parik’s case, his exclusive NHL draft rights are still owned by the Los Angeles Kings.

It was in the Kings system that he played last season, but since he has still not signed an entry-level deal, he can technically sign wherever he wants in the minor leagues. Perhaps because of the full cupboard of minor league goaltenders in Los Angeles, Parik will try his hand with the Eagles as he continues his development.

Now 21, Parik was the 87th overall pick in 2019 and played 32 games for the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL last season, posting a .915 save percentage. He added five appearances for the Ontario Reign of the AHL but things didn’t go as well, with an .881.

It is important to note that this does not give the Colorado Avalanche any of Parik’s rights, however, he will become an unrestricted free agent in June 2023. The Kings will have to sign him to an entry-level contract by that point or lose his draft rights.

Minor Transactions: 08/17/22

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All eyes are on the World Juniors today, where four quarter-final games will be played. Finland, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, and the U.S. are all trying to punch their ticket to the next round, and a chance at international glory. As the next wave of NHL talent continues to battle, minor league and European teams continue to fill out rosters for the upcoming season.

  • Kyle Wood, a third-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2014, has signed on with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL for 2022-23. The 6’7″ behemoth never did play in the NHL but was a strong contributor at the AHL level for several years. He left for Germany in 2020 and played in Czechia last season.
  • Similarly, Tomas Schemitsch has gone to Sweden to join the Malmo Redhawks, after playing in the AHL the last several seasons. The Florida Panthers’ third-round pick had 23 points in 71 games for the Cleveland Monsters last year.
  • The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have re-signed Alex Kile to a one-year AHL contract, after he impressed down the stretch. The undrafted forward was mostly an ECHL contributor the last few seasons but now seems to have found a spot with the Phantoms.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Tuscon Roadrunners Promote Steve Potvin

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The Tucson Roadrunners will have a new head coach this season after Jay Varady took a position with the Detroit Red Wings, but it won’t be an unfamiliar face. Steve Potvin, who has been with the club since 2017, has been promoted to head coach for the 2022-23 season.

This will actually be his second stint as head coach of the club, after serving in the same role for 2020-21 when Varady was with the Arizona Coyotes. Last season, when Varady moved back down the organizational depth chart, Potvin was given the role of associate head coach, and was still intimately involved in decision making.

Bill Armstrong, Coyotes general manager, released the following statement:

Steve is a very good coach who has great familiarity with our players in Tucson. He has done a tremendous job developing our prospects the past six seasons and we are thrilled to name him as our head coach with the Roadrunners.

Developing young players is now an extremely important part of the puzzle for Armstrong and the Coyotes front office, as they move through another rebuild by stripping the NHL roster of talent. A lot of those premium prospects haven’t reached the AHL level yet, however, meaning it not necessarily this season that is so crucial.

Still, building a “culture of winning” in the minor leagues is considered extremely important for player development these days, meaning Potvin will be tasked with getting the Roadrunners back to their previous level. The team did not qualify for the postseason this year and finished 13-20-3 in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, after leading the Pacific Division in 2019-20 when the year was shut down. Potvin has been a part of both sides of those results, and he’ll try to move the needle back toward success in the coming season.

Latest On Michael DiPietro

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The Vancouver Canucks recently gave young netminder Michael DiPietro and his agent Darren Ferris permission to seek a trade, and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that one source believes that there is interest and a deal that “could make sense” for the Canucks.

DiPietro, 23, was a third-round pick of the Canucks in 2017 and quickly became a top goaltending prospect, despite his relatively small stature. He was included as the third goaltender for Canada at the 2018 World Championship before ever playing professional hockey and earned his first NHL minutes while still playing in the OHL as an emergency call-up.

It was his performance at the 2019 World Juniors that vaulted him to “goaltender of the future” status though, as Canucks fans got to see him dominate to the tune of a .952 save percentage. He would join the AHL affiliate the following year and put up decent numbers, but now a few years later and his path to NHL relevance is basically completely blocked.

With Thatcher Demko entrenched as the Vancouver starter, Spencer Martin signed to a cheap deal as the backup, and Collin Delia in place as a viable third-string option, it’s hard to see DiPietro ever getting the net for the Canucks. Thus the trade request and search, though general manager Patrik Allvin is not under much pressure to make a deal.

Not only is he under contract for the upcoming season but DiPietro is also still waiver-exempt this year, meaning he can be sent down without issue. It’s a tough spot for a netminder who hasn’t quite taken the step forward that many expected, and posted just a .901 save percentage in 34 appearances for Abbotsford last season. There is obviously potential there but at this point in the summer, most teams already have their NHL and AHL tandems in place. Expending an asset to acquire DiPietro might seem unnecessary, when he may well go unqualified by the Canucks next summer, if he’s still with the organization.

Minor Transactions: 08/15/22

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The dog days of summer are upon us, with even AHL rosters pretty much filled up. Training camp is right around the corner and the hot stove is about as cool as ever. Still, there are some daily transactions around the hockey world that are worth detailing.

  • 2010 first-round pick Brandon Gormley is sticking around in the KHL, after signing with HK Sochi for the upcoming season. While he played just 58 games at the NHL level, Gormley has been a strong contributor in the minor leagues and Europe.
  • Sam Anas has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears, giving the team one of the most dynamic offensive players in the minor leagues. Anas, 29, has never played in an NHL game but had 64 points in 75 games last season for the Springfield Thunderbirds and now has 284 points in his AHL career.
  • Pat Nagle is heading back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, signing a one-year AHL contract for next season. The 34-year-old veteran goaltender had a .904 save percentage in 22 games with the team in 2021-22.
  • The Edmonton Oilers opted not to sign prospect Filip Engaras today, per CapFriendly, losing his exclusive signing rights, but he’s remaining in the organization. He’s signed to a two-year AHL contract with the Bakersfield Condors, beginning this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Snapshots: Edvinsson, Rangers Defense, Staios

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With this year’s unusual August World Juniors, it’s not a surprise to see some of the biggest prospects skip the tournament in order to prepare for upcoming NHL training camps, and potentially NHL seasons. Still, not all have done that and a few players who are likely to play in the league next year, have opted to represent their country in the tournament. Among them are Mason McTavish, Kent Johnson, and Simon Edvinsson. The sixth-overall selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft to the Detroit Red Wings, Edvinsson has hopes, and a real chance, to make Detroit’s opening night roster after signing his entry-level contract back in April.

Considering the likelihood that Edvinsson will not only be at Red Wings training camp in a few short weeks but also be expected to play a full season, his first, in Hockey Town, it’s interesting to see him join Sweden at the tournament. However, as Edvinsson told Steven Ellis of The Hockey News, “I talked to Detroit about it, we had a conversation, and everything went good. I’m focused on this tournament now and after that, I’ll go back to Detroit…I’m hungry for (training camp), but right now we need to win this.” It’s not surprising to learn Edvinsson consulted the Red Wings about his decision to play, but the defenseman’s winning attitude, sacrificing himself and elongating a very important season for the sake of winning is surely encouraging to Detroit, who are hoping to develop a top pairing defenseman in Edvinsson alongside Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider.

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post wonders if the New York Rangers could make one more move by bringing in a low-cost left defenseman for the team’s third pair. Brooks cites Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant’s preference for size, especially among defenseman, and the current projection of Zachary Jones and Libor Hajek splitting time in that spot. Jones, listed at 5’11 and 185 pounds, doesn’t possess much in the way of size, though he is a talented young player who could see more ice time now as part of his development, having averaged just 15:05 of time-on-ice in 22 career regular season games. At 6’2 and 203 pounds, Hajek possesses some of that size, but as a healthy scratch for a whopping 60 games last season, seeing him jump to a full-time or even platoon role next year for a Rangers team looking for a Stanley Cup might be a bit of a question mark. The team has just over $1MM in available cap space with players like Danny DeKeyser, Ryan Murray, and especially the 6’6 Ben Harpur representing players that fit the bill: inexpensive left-defensemen with size.
  • One of the newest members of the Florida Panthers organization, defenseman Nathan Staios told NHL.com’s Alain Poupart that he’s going to do his best to try to make the Panthers out of training camp, but understands the likely trajectory of his development. “Wherever they want me, I’m good,” Staios said. “I’m gonna work my hardest to make the big team, but a couple years of development in the AHL, I’m totally good with that. And I’m really looking forward to that as well,” Staios added. Trusting the process with his development will be necessary for the Ontario native, just as it is any prospect, but after a slow yet steady rise in his value as a prospect, his eagerness to continue this way will be an essential part of the 21-year-old’s success. Having been undrafted by an NHL team, Staios continued to work on his game in the OHL, breaking out after a trade from the Windsor Spitfires to the Hamilton Bulldogs prior to the 2019-20 season. This season, though, vaulted Staios to legitimate prospect status, as he tallied 15 goals and 51 assists in 59 games from the blueline for a talented Hamilton squad.

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