Senators Re-Sign Donovan Sebrango
The Ottawa Senators have signed defenseman Donovan Sebrango to a one-year, two-way contract extension, per PuckPedia. Sebrango was one of two remaining restricted-free agents in Ottawa’s system, alongside defender Max Guenette.
Sebrango played the first two NHL games of his career with Ottawa last season. He only managed 20:37 minutes of ice time between the two games, and didn’t record any notable stat changes – but the games were still an important step for the 23-year-old. He has otherwise spent the last five seasons in a full-time, AHL role – spread across games with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Belleville Senators.
Sebrango struggled to produce much on either side of the ice through his early career – netting just 18 points in 135 games with the Griffins. The low scoring seemed set to continue after Sebrango recorded just seven assists in 35 games of his first year with Belleville. But the young defender finally found his groove this season, climbing all the way to 20 points in 50 games with Belleville. That jump in offense, complimented by a gritty, two-way style, earned Sebrango quick attention from the Senators. A one-year extension could be exactly what the young blue-liner needs to build on his momentum from the breakout year. Another hot year could earn him even more NHL ice time, and a much more confident contract offer from the Senators next summer. Sebrango was originally a third-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings in 2020 – after managing an OHL career that spanned 56 points in 118 games.
Brandon Yip Announces Retirement
Former Colorado Avalanche forward Brandon Yip has announced his retirement from professional hockey via a social media post from his team, the KHL’s Shanghai Red Dragons. This news confirms recent speculation. Yip spent seven of his final eight seasons with the Kunlun Red Stars, who relocated to Shanghai this summer. His sole year away from Kunlun in that span came with the Liiga’s Mikkelin Jukurit during the pandemic season in 2020-21.
Yip became a beacon of Chinese hockey in the second-half of his career. He joined Kunlun in 2017, after three years in Germany’s DEL, and earned the captaincy for the top Chinese club after just one season. He would carry the Red Stars’ ‘C’ for six more seasons. Residency in China also helped Yip – a Chinese-Canadian – join Team China at the 2022 Winter Olympic Qualifiers. He posted one assist in four tournament games, and six points in four games at the Division-II-A World Championship, that season. His performance was a major part of China’s promotion to the Division-I-B World Championship in 2023, where he scored four points in five games. Yip served as China’s captain in all 13 games he played with the club.
Yip’s career took him across the hockey world before settling in China. He earned an eighth-round selection in the 2004 NHL Draft after scoring 131 points in 99 BCHL games, through two seasons in the league. He followed his draft selection with a four-year tenure at Boston University, where he scored 108 points in 138 games. Colorado promoted Yip to the NHL the year after his collegiate career ended, and he managed a hardy 11 goals and 19 points in 32 games.
That was enough to earn Yip a nightly lineup role for the 2010-11 season – but he wasn’t able to keep the high-tempo offense rolling. He scored just 22 points in 71 games that year, kicking off a slide of underwhelming play that’d carry through the next four seasons. Yip moved to the Nashville Predators in 2012, and Phoenix Coyotes in 2013, but ultimately found himself in a full-time AHL role by 2014. He chose to move away from North America two years later, ending his NHL career at 56 points in 174 games.
Now taking the first step beyond his playing career, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Yip take on a new role with Team China. He boasts the most NHL experience of any player in the country’s brief international hockey history. Currently, 74-year-old Perry Pearn – once a journeyman NHL assistant coach – serves as the head coach of China’s Men’s team and junior team.
Pacific Notes: McDavid, Patterson, Papirny
As Canada’s Olympic orientation camp got underway today, plenty of the focus was on Connor McDavid’s contract situation with the Oilers, namely that an extension hasn’t been completed yet. Speaking with reporters today including Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, the center indicated that he has every intention to win with Edmonton and that is his only focus. However, when asked if he’d be okay opening the season without a deal, McDavid indicated that all options are on the table.
At this point, it doesn’t appear as if there have been any substantive conversations between the two sides. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports (Twitter link) that there hasn’t been a back-and-forth between the Oilers and McDavid’s camp regarding either salary or term. Given that McDavid could plausibly sign a short-term or a long-term deal, it’s not a situation as simple as focusing on an eight-year deal and only worrying about the money. He’ll carry a $12.5MM AAV for the upcoming season and is expected to beat that by several million per season whenever he puts pen to paper on a new deal.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- A day after his trade request was made public, Canucks prospect Riley Patterson is on the move in the OHL. Niagara announced that they’ve acquired the center from Barrie in exchange for five draft picks. The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2024 and has averaged just under a point per game in the past two seasons with the Colts, including a 25-goal, 59-point effort last season. Vancouver has until June 1st to sign Patterson to an entry-level deal or lose his rights so there will be a lot riding on the upcoming season for him.
- The Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate announced that they have brought back goaltender Jordan Papirny on a one-year minor-league deal. The 29-year-old has spent the last three seasons in their system but he hasn’t been able to secure an NHL deal. Last season, Papirny played in 28 games with ECHL Tahoe, putting up a 2.50 GAA and a .920 SV% along with four shutouts while getting into a pair of games with AHL Henderson.
NCAA Grants Eligibility To Two Former Pros
In another milestone decision for collegiate hockey, the NCAA has granted eligibility to two players with experience in the AHL and ECHL. Forward Connor McClennon and defenseman Hudson Thornton will both suit up for the Bemidji State University Beavers, per Jared Rubado of The Bemidji Pioneer. This decision goes against the NCAA’s previous rule that stated any players who have signed pro contracts were ineligible from playing NCAA-sanctioned sports.
The future implications, or even the present justification, for this decision aren’t entirely clear. Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore told Rubado that the team wanted to “throw some darts” after seeing the NCAA allow former pros to participate in other sports. They worked with both players to submit request to the NCAA Eligibility Center, formerly the NCAA Clearinghouse. Both McClennon and Thornton pointed towards their reinstated eligibility for U Sports – Canada’s collegiate league – as one of the reasons why they should be granted a move to the NCAA.
Bemidji also pointed towards the NCAA’s extension of eligibility to pros in both basketball and football. As pointed out by Rubado, the NCAA allowed Ethan Burg to join the University of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team on July 24, despite Burg’s participation in the Israeli Basketball Super League.
The NCAA is also currently facing a U.S. District Court ruling that challenges how the NCAA counts years of eligibility. Previously, the collegiate association would include years in JUCO, or Junior College, against a player’s maximum five years of NCAA eligibility. This new antitrust lawsuit would look to reverse that decision, and extend additional eligibility to three players at West Virginia University, as well as players at Vanderbilt University, Rutgers University, and Memphis University.
The NCAA has released a statement challenging the court ruling, though they may face a tougher task overturning it after extending eligibility to two pro hockey players. McClennon played nine total games between the AHL and ECHL, scoring just one point in the former league. He spent last season at the University of Alberta. Thornton’s pro experience is much more extensive. He appeared in 49 ECHL games, and scored 14 points, this past season, in addition to making his AHL debut. Thornton has never played at the collegiate level, though he previously expressed interest in joining the University of Saskatchewan for next season.
While the long-term impact of this decision hasn’t had time to settle, it marks another boom to the ever-changing junior hockey landscape. It seems unlikely that the NCAA will officially acknowledge changes to their eligibility until after they conclude multiple lawsuits and court cases, leaving questions of who teams can recruit up in the air for now. On the other side, NCAA eligibility could begin mirroring U Sports. Currently, AHL or ECHL players are eligible to join U Sports programs, but must sit out for a season of competition if they are on a pro roster after January 10th. Even those guidelines seem uncertain, though, as U Sports commits to future changes and expansions of their own.
Minor Transactions: Hurlbert, Boltmann, Uens
American forward J.P. Hurlbert, widely tabbed as a first-round pick in the 2026 draft class, will spend his draft year north of the border with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, the team announced.
It’s a sharp course reversal from the growing trend of CHL-committed players coming to the United States to play college hockey, as they’re now eligible to do before their usual run in junior hockey would have concluded. Hurlbert is still a University of Michigan commit – that hasn’t changed – but he wasn’t expected to join the team until his age-18 season in 2026-27. He’s still expected to attend while making the Blazers a brief detour on his development path, buying himself out of the U.S. National Team Development Program in order to do so.
Hurlbert, a Texas native, joined the USNTDP’s under-17 squad last year after playing his youth hockey with the Dallas Stars Elite program. He finished third on that club in scoring with a 19-18–37 line in 56 games, adding three assists in five games for the Americans at the under-17 World Hockey Challenge.
The 17-year-old joins a Kamloops roster headlined by Penguins 2024 second-rounder Harrison Brunicke on defense – assuming he doesn’t make Pittsburgh’s opening night roster. At forward, he’ll have Blackhawks pick Nathan Behm, a third-rounder this year, to help him out.
More minor moves from around hockey:
- Former Flames defense prospect Jake Boltmann is landing in the Stars organization on a contract with ECHL Idaho, per a club announcement. The 23-year-old righty was a third-rounder by Calgary in 2020 but wasn’t signed following his fifth season of college hockey, so assuming he’s submitted the proper paperwork, he’s now an unrestricted free agent in the NHL’s eyes. The 6’1″, 201-lb rearguard had 20 points and 108 PIMs in 126 games with Notre Dame over four seasons before transferring to Northeastern for a fifth year. He had a 2-10–12 scoring line with 39 PIMs and a -2 rating in 35 showings for the Huskies last year.
- Ex-Panthers farmhand Zachary Uens has signed an AHL deal with the Kraken’s affiliate in Coachella Valley. The 24-year-old was an unrestricted free agent after being non-tendered back in June before the expiry of his entry-level contract. A 2020 fourth-round pick, he saw fringe action for Florida’s AHL club in Charlotte but played mostly in the ECHL, most recently for the Savannah Ghost Pirates. The 6’2″ lefty spent all of last season there, logging 17 points and 68 PIMs in 62 games.
Prospect Notes: Behrens, Wassilyn, Bourque
The Colorado Avalanche have received a bit of good news in the quietest days of summer. Defense prospect Sean Behrens shared that he’s been fully cleared to participate in the team’s rookie tournament with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. Behrens missed all but two games of last season after sustaining a knee injury in an October practice scrimmage. The first-year pro only suited up for the very first, and very final, game of the Colorado Eagles’ season.
Hopes were high for Behrens prior to his season-ending injury. He seemed well set for a strong push into pros after finishing a three-year stay at the University of Denver with 31 points in 44 games, and a National Championship win, in the 2023-24 season. Behrens was a core part of the title-winning Pioneers, where he often found himself playing alongside or directly behind top prospect Zeev Buium. He showed off all of the sharp stickhandling and quick skating needed to keep the Pioneers offense running with Buium off the ice, and earned the NCHC’s ‘Defenseman Of The Year’ award as a result. Behrens now faces an uphill battle adjusting his slight, 5-foot-10 frame to the pro level. He’s made strong impacts in both junior and college hockey, and could earn a top role with the Eagles with a quick return.. He’ll be a name for fans to watch – though likely one that the Avalanche take their time with – as he looks forward to a healthy season.
Other notes from around the prospect world:
- Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Braidy Wassilyn will indeed return to the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs next season, then attend Boston University in the 2026-27 season, shares Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. Kennedy mentions that Wassilyn’s return to juniors wasn’t previously guaranteed. This news puts the cherry on top of a productive summer for Niagara. Wassilyn scored 39 points in 62 games of his rookie OHL season last year. He rivaled the team’s top-six by the end of the season, profiling as a sharp and mobile playmaker with a heavy, 200-pound frame. He’ll return to great company in Niagara – set to play alongside fellow top 2026 draft prospect Ryan Roobroeck, Winnipeg Jets prospect Kevin He, and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Czata.
- Dallas Stars forward Mavrik Bourque will now be represented by agent Olivier Fortier, Vice President of Wasserman Hockey, per PuckPedia. Borque just wrapped up his rookie season in the NHL with 11 goals and 25 points in 73 games. It was a relatively calm performance, after Bourque won the AHL’s MVP award with 77 points in 71 games of the 2023-24 season. He did maintain a positive plus-minus and consistent lineup role through his first NHL season, even playing second-line minutes through certain points in the year. He’ll face the task of now cementing a spot up the lineup, and discovering his scoring prowess, ahead of restricted-free agency next summer.
Emil Bemstrom Signs In Swiss National League
Aug. 22: Bemstrom has officially made the jump to Bern, confirming a one-year deal today.
Aug. 12: Pittsburgh Penguins unrestricted free agent Emil Bemstrom will continue his career overseas. He has signed with SC Bern of Switzerland’s National League, per Henrik Sjöberg of Switzerland’s HockeyNews and Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey. This will mark a return to Europe for Bemstrom, who grew up through the Swedish junior hockey pipeline and has experience in Sweden’s SHL and Finland’s Liiga.
Bemstrom played through his first full season in the minor leagues last season, to great effect. He cemented a spot on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ top line, and worked his way to 23 goals and 48 points across 48 games. Despite that, he was only able to manage one assist in 14 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The performance continued a wave of star scoring in the AHL, followed by underwhelming play in the NHL, which Bemstrom has been riding for much of the last four seasons.
The nifty forward made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019-20 season, after posting 35 points in 47 SHL games in the 2018-19 campaign. His career started off great, with 20 points, split evenly, in his first 56 NHL games. But Bemstrom opted to move to the Liiga for the first half of the shortened 2020-21 season, and while he scored 17 points in 16 games, his NHL scoring fell to a measly five points in 20 games following a return to Columbus. He’d continue on in a depth role for the Blue Jackets through the next two seasons – and even one-upped his rookie performance with 22 points in 55 games of the 2022-23 season. His NHL performances were coupled with tremendous efforts in the AHL, marked by 47 points in just 33 games between 2021 and 2024.
Hot scoring in the minor leagues and a clear ability to outplay his opponents continued to earn Bemstrom routine NHL minutes through the 2023-24 season. But he was never able to find a true groove and found himself relegated to the minor leagues for the majority of last season. He’ll now search for a bigger opportunity on the other side of the world. He brings a resume featuring 75 points in 242 NHL games, and 95 points in 81 AHL games, with him to Switzerland.
Bemstrom will join multiple NHL features on SC Bern’s lineup, including Swedish compatriots Hardy Häman Aktell and Anton Lindholm. Bern has lost in the quarterfinals of the NL’s postseason in each of their last four playoff appearances. They’ll hope the addition of a high-scoring veteran of North American pros will be enough to boost them over tough competition, like the ZSC Lions and HC Lausanne.
Afternoon Notes: Savage, Milano, ECHL
Center prospect Red Savage is set to sign a two-year deal with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per hockey insider Ken Campbell. The Detroit Red Wings relinquished Savage’s player rights on August 15th, after choosing not to sign the 2021 fourth-round pick to his entry-level contract.
Savage’s decision to turn pro comes on the heels of a long-term shoulder injury, sustained from an awkward fall into the boards in a January matchup against the Michigan Wolverines. The injury ended what was Savage’s first season as captain of the Michigan State Spartans, and limited him to just 11 points in 20 games on the season. He concludes his collegiate career with a combined 68 points in 125 games – split 30 points coming with Miami University of Ohio and 38 with the Spartans. Savage was lauded as a responsible, two-way center for both clubs and should find some immediate impact with the Americans, assuming he returns well from injury.
A move to Rochester will mark a reunion with head coach Michael Leone, who served as an assistant coach over Savage’s two years at the U.S. NTDP. Leone led Rochester to a 42-22-8 record and Division Final loss in his first year of pro coaching last season.
Other notes from around the league:
- Washington Capitals forward Sonny Milano is back on the ice after an upper-body injury ended his season in November. He has been taking part in informal practices with his teammates recently, shares Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Silber adds that Milano hopes to make a push back onto the Capitals roster at training camp. Milano was in the midst of earning a daily lineup role when he suffered his injury. He scored an encouraging 40 goals and 90 points in 179 games in three seasons between 2021 and 2024 – though each year was limited by injury. Questions remained about Milano’s durability and defensive acumen. He didn’t have a chance to dissuade those concerns last year, but seems to be getting an early jump at proving he can stick in the NHL this season.
- The ECHL has announced the approval of an expansion team in Augusta, Georgia set to begin play in the 2027-28 season. This marks a return to The Garden City for the ECHL. Augusta previously served as home to the Augusta Lynx, who folded after 10 seasons in 2008. The new team will be owned by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, in partnership with David Hodges and Hodges Management Group, LLC. No team name or logo has been announced. The ECHL is also set to expand to New Mexico in the 2026-27 season. The league will grow to 32 clubs once both teams break ground, putting them on level-playing field with the AHL and NHL. That should allow for full partnership between three leagues. The Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets were the only clubs without an ECHL affiliate in the 2024-25 season.
Transaction Notes: Thompson, Korczak, Fusco
Former Devils forward Tyce Thompson has signed a one-year deal in Kazakhstan with Barys Astana of the KHL, according to a team announcement.
Thompson, 26, is the younger brother of Sabres star Tage Thompson. He was a fourth-round pick by New Jersey in 2019 out of Providence College and appeared in 11 games for the club from 2020 to 2023, recording an assist and a -4 rating.
The speedy 6’1″, 194-lb winger spent most of his time in the Devils organization on assignment to AHL Binghamton/Utica, where he had 50 points in 98 games before he was traded to the Islanders for AHL depth winger Arnaud Durandeau early in the 2023-24 season. Thompson remained in the Islanders organization through the end of last season but saw his offensive effectiveness tumble with their affiliate in Bridgeport. He had just 35 points in 116 games for the Baby Isles after recording over half a point per game in the Devils’ system, taking on more of an agitator/checking role with a team-leading 102 PIMs last year.
As a result of his age and professional experience with a lack of NHL games under his belt, Thompson became a Group VI unrestricted free agent this offseason and was not re-signed by the Islanders. He now lands in the KHL with Barys, where he’ll make more than the $200K guarantee he had on his two-way deal with the Islanders last year.
Here are more minor moves from around hockey:
- Ex-Rangers prospect Ryder Korczak is headed to Slovakia’s top league on a one-year deal with Vlci Zilina, the club announced on Facebook. Korczak, 23 in September, was a third-round pick by the Blueshirts in 2021. He turned pro out of WHL Moose Jaw at the end of the 2022-23 campaign and had 31 points in 107 games in parts of three seasons for AHL Hartford. He was traded to the Lightning in January for winger Lucas Edmonds. He finished the season with four points in 11 combined regular-season and playoff games for AHL Syracuse before being non-tendered by Tampa in June. With presumably no NHL or AHL offers on the table, the 5’10” center joins a club that gained promotion from Slovakia’s second division just one year ago.
- Defenseman John Fusco, who came off the Maple Leafs’ reserve list last week, has signed an AHL deal with the Capitals’ affiliate in Hershey, the team announced yesterday. Fusco, 24, was a seventh-round pick by Toronto in 2020 but went unsigned coming off his senior season at Dartmouth last year. The undersized righty had 51 points in 112 career collegiate games with Harvard and the Big Green.
Evening Notes: Gillies, O’Connor, Nardella
A former third-string option at the NHL level enjoyed his time in the ECHL so much last season that he wants another go at it. According to a team announcement, the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears have signed netminder Jon Gillies for the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite being in the professional ranks for the last decade, Gillies is best known for his work at the collegiate level. Putting together an impressive season with the NCAA’s Providence College, Gillies managed a 24-13-2 record in 39 games with a .930 SV%, 2.01 GAA, and four shutouts during the 2014-15 season. Gillies played so well behind the Friars that they were able to win the first National Championship in program history.
He put together a few good years with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, but couldn’t replicate the success he had in college. From 2015 to 2023, Gillies managed a 78-71-32 record in 184 appearances with a .904 SV% and 2.94 GAA with the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Arizona Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations. He played in seven games for the Solar Bears last season.
Other notes from this evening:
- The Colorado Avalanche are getting some good news from one of their better bottom-six players. According to AJ Haefele of the DNVR Avalanche podcast, Logan O’Connor‘s recovery from surgery is going ahead of schedule. He posits that O’Connor should only miss between 10 and 16 games, which would forecast his return to early November, nearly a month earlier than expected.
- The AHL’s Manitoba Moose are adding some veteran experience to their coaching staff for the upcoming season. Earlier today, the team announced that they’ve hired Bob Nardella as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 AHL season. Nardella has spent more than a decade with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, moving from the team’s skills coach to the assistant coach before serving as the head coach last year.