Minor Transactions: 08/17/22
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
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
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
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
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.
Hershey Bears Hire Todd Nelson
The Hershey Bears lost their head coach Scott Allen to the NHL a few weeks ago, when the Washington Capitals promoted him to replace the outgoing Scott Arniel. That left an appealing vacancy for the Capitals affiliate, one they have filled with an equally experienced coach. Todd Nelson, who spent the last four seasons as an assistant with the Dallas Stars, has been hired as the new head coach in Hershey.
It was in 2017 that Nelson led the Grand Rapids Griffins to a Calder Cup championship but his success in the minor leagues started long before that. In 11 seasons as the head coach of an AHL or UHL team he has never missed the playoffs or had a record below .500. With two championships in the UHL with the Muskegon Fury, the Calder Cup win just a few years ago, and even some head coaching experience at the NHL level with the Edmonton Oilers, it’s hard to argue with the choice.
Fans of the team may even remember him from his playing days when he spent one season with the Bears and racked up a career-high 50 points in 70 games. The former defenseman appeared seven times at the NHL level, including six (two regular season, four playoff) games for the Capitals where he scored his first (and only) NHL goal.
Minor Transactions: 08/11/22
The hockey world has slowed to a standstill as we wade through the middle of summer, even if there is an international tournament going on. The World Juniors in Edmonton have so far barely registered as far as fan excitement, drawing only a few thousand attendees to Canada’s game yesterday (and fewer still to the other matches). It might not be prime hockey season but there are still moves being made by hard-working front office staff. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.
- The Tucson Roadrunners have re-signed Tyson Empey and Hudson Elynuik to one-year, AHL contracts for the upcoming season. Elynuik, some fans will remember, turned heads as a 6’5″ powerhouse in the WHL, earning him a third-round selection by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016. He played 22 games with the Roadrunners last season, scoring nine points and registering 44 penalty minutes.
- Julien Rod, younger brother of former San Jose Sharks forward Noah Rod, is headed back to Switzerland after one year in the QMJHL. The 17-year-old winger is eligible for the 2023 draft but scored just 14 points in 56 games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs last season after going 28th overall in the 2021 CHL Import Draft. His brother, who was picked 53rd overall by the Sharks in 2014, is back home as well, after terminating his deal with San Jose in 2018.
- Nicolas Guay, the undrafted forward who played 16 games with the Abbotsford Canucks last season after leaving the powerhouse University of New Brunswick program, has settled for an ECHL deal with the Trois-Rivieres Lions. Guay, 23, captained both the Voltigeurs and the Saint John Sea Dogs during his time in the QMJHL but after going undrafted. His father, Francois Guay, played exactly one game in the NHL but was a legendary junior player in Quebec and starred overseas for many years.
- Doyle Somerby is off to the KHL, signing with Kunlun Red Star for the next two years. The former Boston University captain split last season between the Iowa Wild and Tucson Roadrunners, scoring 11 points in 55 games.
This page will be updated throughout the day with any further notable transactions.
Minor Transactions: 08/10/22
As the hockey world watches a junior tournament and waits for Nazem Kadri to officially sign somewhere, there are plenty of minor moves being made to fill out rosters. While they won’t have much of an impact on the NHL, these are still important transactions to keep track of. We’ll do just that below:
- Luke Johnson has signed an AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda, after playing all of last season in the minor leagues. The 27-year-old forward last saw the NHL in 2020-21 and has 32 games at that level to his name. In 23 games with the Manitoba Moose last season, he scored just ten points.
- Justin Ducharme has signed a one-year contract with the Texas Stars, meaning he’ll make the jump from the Laval Rocket organization. The 22-year-old undrafted forward had five goals in 19 games for Laval last season, while also racking up 25 points in 35 games with their ECHL affiliate.
- Jake Gaudet is staying with the Cleveland Monsters, signing a new two-year AHL deal with the club. The undrafted forward managed just three goals and ten points in 40 games with them last season but was obviously good enough to earn another contract.
- Free agent defenseman Derrick Pouliot has found a home for next season, signing an AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda, the team confirms. The terms of the deal were not disclosed per club policy. The Barracuda serve as the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. The deal will give the Barracuda a responsible defenseman and a veteran of not only 239 AHL games, but also 213 NHL games. The eighth-overall selection of the 2021 NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pouliot debuted for the Penguins in 2014-15 and helped the team win two Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. His largest sample of NHL action came between 2017 and 2019, where he played in 133 games over two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. Most recently, Pouliot got into games with the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in 2021-22.
This page will continue to be updated with any further notable transactions.
Florida Panthers Announce Coaching Staff
After adding Paul Maurice as the team’s new head coach earlier this summer, the Florida Panthers have rounded out their staff. Myles Fee, Jamie Kompon, and Sylvain Lefebvre will serve as assistants, joining Tuomo Ruutu and goaltending coach Robb Tallas on Maurice’s staff. The team also announced that Geordie Kinnear will continue as head coach of the Charlotte Checkers.
Kompon’s addition was reported last month, as the veteran coach follows Maurice from Winnipeg to Florida. The long-time NHL coach has served in various roles with the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Winnipeg Jets, while also at one point sitting as the general manager and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL.
Fee, meanwhile, has been a video coach with the Buffalo Sabres for the past two years, and previously served with the Checkers, New York Rangers, and Edmonton Oilers. He also happened to be the video coach for Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup, a group that had Maurice as an assistant under Ralph Krueger.
Lefebvre may actually be the most recognizable to hockey fans, given his long playing career that lasted nearly 1,000 games. He has been with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL for the last three seasons, and previously worked in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.
Minor Transactions: 08/09/22
It’s the dog days of the NHL offseason now, though there is a bit of excitement to keep hockey fans occupied. Today marks the start of the World Juniors, with three games on the docket including the U.S. against Germany. As the next wave of talent battles for international glory, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor moves around the hockey world.
- The Bakersfield Condors have signed five players to AHL contracts, bringing in Graham McPhee, Matt Boudens, Drake Rymsha, Mark Rassell, and Samuel Dove-McFalls to one-year deals. Three of those players spent parts of last season with the Fort Wayne Komets, Edmonton’s new ECHL affiliate.
- Cole Coskey, a seventh-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2019, has signed on with the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL for the upcoming season. The 23-year-old forward never did sign an entry-level contract, meaning he is an unrestricted free agent.
This page will be updated throughout the day