AHL Notes: Toporowski, Perets, Hookey
The AHL’s Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ primary development affiliate, announced Tuesday they’ve signed forward Luke Toporowski to a one-year deal.
The minor-league pact comes after completing his entry-level contract with the Bruins, which he signed in 2023 after beginning his professional career on an AHL deal with their affiliate in Providence. He was traded to the Wild at the 2024 deadline in the deal that sent winger Pat Maroon to Boston, but Minnesota chose not to give him a qualifying offer last month when his ELC expired.
Toporowski, 24, finished eighth on the Iowa Wild in scoring last season with a 13-15–28 line in 53 games. He was the first Iowa-born player to skate for the Wild’s top affiliate and now joins the Washington organization with 85 points in 166 career AHL games over the last three seasons.
The 5’11” winger doesn’t have any NHL experience to his name, but he’s been a generally productive middle-six winger at all levels thus far and likely has a lengthy minor-league career still ahead of him. He also had 199 points and 224 PIMs in 245 career junior games with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and Kamloops Blazers.
Here are more moves out of the AHL:
- After being non-tendered by the Hurricanes, goaltender Yaniv Perets found a new home last week when he signed an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 25-year-old backstopped Quinnipiac to a national championship in 2023 and immediately landed with Carolina in free agency, although he’s spent most of the last two seasons in the ECHL. He’s nonetheless made one relief appearance for the Canes in each of his two professional seasons, allowing one goal on just eight career shots faced. The Quebec native put up a sparkling .921 SV% in 27 games for the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison last season and will now look to turn that into an everyday role with the Phantoms. However, he faces an uphill battle with the more established Aleksei Kolosov and Philadelphia’s top goaltending prospect Carson Bjarnason set to form the usual tandem in Lehigh Valley this year.
- The Belleville Senators announced the signing of 21-year-old winger Landon Hookey to a two-year deal. While his 6’5″, 223-lb frame wasn’t enough to earn him an NHL contract after going undrafted, he’ll still stick the landing and begin his pro career after a breakout overage season with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. He served as an alternate captain last year and led the team in scoring (34-36–70) with 77 PIMs in 68 games.
Minor Transactions: Zbořil, Frasca, Fulp
Former Bruins first-rounder Jakub Zbořil has terminated his contract with Czechia’s HC Dynamo Pardubice, the club announced today. The Extraliga squad didn’t say whether the termination was so that Zbořil could pursue an NHL return or if he intends to remain overseas.
Now 28, the left-shot defenseman headed to Pardubice last summer after becoming an unrestricted free agent and failing to land a contract from a camp tryout with the Devils. Zbořil made 30 regular-season appearances, scoring 14 points with a plus-four rating. That was his best offensive output in a season since he scored 19 points in 58 games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins in 2019-20.
The 2015 No. 13 pick never panned out for Boston, but he seemed to get things back on track back home in Czechia and will now look for a different opportunity, likely in a more competitive European league like the KHL or SHL if he doesn’t anticipate returning to the NHL. He has 16 points and an even rating in 76 career NHL appearances, all with the Bruins.
There’s more minor moves from across the hockey world:
- Free agent forward Jordan Frasca has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, the Flyers’ affiliate announced. Frasca, 24, spent last season in the Predators organization after being acquired from the Penguins in last summer’s Cody Glass trade. Injuries limited him to just five appearances with ECHL Atlanta, though, where he scored one goal and four assists. He has 50 points in 81 career ECHL games over the last three years and now takes his talents to Reading after being non-tendered by Nashville.
- Ex-Islanders defense prospect Aidan Fulp has caught on in the Sabres organization on a deal with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per a team press release. Fulp was an undrafted free agent signing by the Isles out of Western Michigan in 2023 but was non-tendered this summer when his entry-level contract expired. The 25-year-old righty posted 13 points in 84 games for AHL Bridgeport since turning pro along with a -29 rating.
Red Wings Activate Carter Mazur From Injured Reserve
In the rare summertime injury transaction, the Detroit Red Wings have activated center Carter Mazur off of injured reserve, per PuckPedia. Mazur sustained an upper-body injury in his NHL debut on March 6th. The injury forced a four-month stay on IR, but Mazur told NHL.com’s Jonathan Mills that he’s back to full health, and has even added 15 pounds, this summer.
Mazur grew up just over an hour outside of Detroit, and played locally for Little Caesers AAA and the U.S. National Team Development Program in youth and junior hockey. He left Michigan for two seasons in both the USHL (Tri-City) and NCAA (Denver), but returned to Grand Rapids to begin his AHL career in 2023. He quickly became a feature of the Griffins’ offense, with a combined 58 points in 86 career AHL games.
Mazur had plenty of steam headed into 2024-25- but was knocked out of the lineup by injury just three games into the AHL season. He returned in late-January and quickly got back to routine scoring, even ramping up to a point-per-game pace through 11 games between February and March. That hot hand was enough to earn Mazur his NHL debut on a Spring road trip to Utah. But bad luck struck once again, when Mazur suffer an awkward, upper-body injury just a few minutes into the game. The injury would prove season-ending, limiting Mazur to 15 points in 20 AHL games and just a couple of shifts with the Red Wings.
The 23-year-old prospect told Mills that strengthening up has become a core focus of his development plan in the months since, including a detailed nutrition and conditioning plan. Mazur said:
I was called up for a reason. My game is still there… Gaining strength was always a big part of probably why I’ve gotten hurt a lot. I’m on the smaller side, but [Griffins Strength and Conditioning Coordinator] Marcus [Kinney] and [Griffins Physical Therapist] Zack Harvey put me in a good spot heading into the summer.
Some added bulk, and emphasized persistence, could take Mazur to new heights in the 2025-26 season. He’s found his way into a top-six role and strong scoring numbers at every level he’s played at – often on the back of gritty and fearless forechecking. He’ll be a candidate to shape the Griffins’ top-line to start the season, but could win out a depth roster spot, or top call-up consideration, with a strong training camp.
Luke Philp Signs With SHL’s Farjestad BK
Free agent center Luke Philp has signed a contract with Farjestad BK of Sweden’s SHL, per a team release. This marks the first overseas move of Philp’s six-year pro career. He’s only played in the AHL up to this point, across tenures with the Stockton Heat, Rockford IceHogs, and Hershey Bears.
Philp signed with Stockton as a college free agent in 2019. He spent the three years prior as a top forward with the University of Alberta in Canada’s USports leagues, scoring 93 points across 78 total appearances. Philp kept up his slick offense in his move to the pro flight, netting 19 goals and 31 points in 52 games of his rookie AHL season. He continued to score through a rising role Stockton’s lineup over the next two seasons – 61 points in 96 games – which set Philp up for a opportunistic move when he entered free agency in 2022.
Philp chose to leave Stockton for an improved lineup role in Rockford for the 2022-23 season, marking the Canmore-native’s first time playing for a team south of the border. It proved to be a wise bet – as he blazed his way to 29 goals and 53 points over the course of 60 games. He even earned the first three games of his NHL career – suiting up for two games in January and one in March as an injury fill-in, and recording his first assist.
The momentum seemed to set Philp up for a dominate 2023-24 season – but tragedy struck when he tore his Achilles tendon just a few games into the season. He’d return for a handful of playoff games, but ultimately scored just eight points across 19 total appearances. That halted momentum prompted a move to Hershey for this season. He again fought through injury, even sustaining an injury in the first period of Hershey’s first game of the season. Perhaps it’s that sense of bad luck that will now push Philp to one of Sweden’s top lineups. He’ll join Joakim Nygard, Oskar Steen, and Radim Zohorna as a few of many teammates with NHL and AHL experience.
Pacific Notes: Miromanov, Phillips, Cholach
The Flames haven’t done much this summer on the back end. Joel Hanley was re-signed after he became an unrestricted free agent, Kevin Bahl received a long-term deal, and Rasmus Andersson has not been moved despite plenty of trade speculation. The expectation is that 2024 first-rounder Zayne Parekh will be on the roster as well; he remains ineligible to be sent to the AHL. As a result, Postmedia’s Daniel Austin suggests that Daniil Miromanov could be the odd man out on the back end barring any further movement. The 28-year-old played in a career-high 44 games last season, notching nine points and 55 blocked shots while averaging 17:41 per contest. A right-shot defender signed for one more year at $1.25MM, there’s a good chance Calgary would be able to generate some trade interest in him in training camp if he does wind up being on the outside looking in at a roster spot.
More from the Pacific:
- Still with the Flames, prospect Mace’o Phillips has decided where he will be playing this season. Green Bay of the USHL announced on its Instagram page that the blueliner has committed to playing for them in 2025-26. Phillips was a third-round pick last month by Calgary, going 80th overall after spending last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. It should be one-and-done with the Gamblers as Phillips is expected to suit up for the University of Minnesota in 2026-27. By delaying going to college, the Flames could have up to five years to sign him to his entry-level contract.
- While now-former Golden Knights prospect Artur Cholach didn’t sign by the June 1st deadline leading to his rights being relinquished, he will remain with the organization as their AHL affiliate in Henderson recently announced that the blueliner had signed a one-year contract for the upcoming season. The 22-year-old was a sixth-round pick back in 2021 and played his first professional campaign last season, getting into five games with Henderson and 54 with ECHL Tahoe where he had seven goals and 16 assists.
Snapshots: Tsyplakov, Knyzhov, Phillips
The Islanders settled with winger Maxim Tsyplakov before an arbitration hearing earlier today, with the two sides agreeing to a two-year deal with a $2.25MM cap hit. Tsyplakov came down significantly from his initial ask of a $3MM AAV to get the deal done, reports Stefen Rosner of NHL.com. Tsyplakov’s camp lowered their ask to the $2.75MM range once they realized they wouldn’t get Isles general manager Mathieu Darche to acquiesce and dole out a $3MM cap hit. However, when that still wasn’t doing the trick, they ended up settling for the eventual $2.25MM figure out of fear that an arbitrator would dole out a lower award, Rosner reports, particularly as Tsyplakov would only have been eligible for a one-year contract if he reached a hearing, as he was only one year away from UFA eligibility.
Here’s more from around the hockey world today:
- The Canucks’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford announced four signings today, including former Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov. His brief 81-game NHL career with San Jose was derailed by a core muscle surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2021-22 season, and he hasn’t played in the NHL since the Sharks bought him out following the 2023-24 campaign. He landed a PTO with the Penguins in training camp last fall, but that only yielded an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 27-year-old lefty was later traded to the Grand Rapids Griffins in March. He totaled six points and a +1 rating in 26 appearances for the two clubs, along with one assist and a -6 rating in six appearances for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones.
- Flames defense prospect Mace’o Phillips will delay his college commitment for the University of Minnesota for a year and instead join the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers for his post-draft season, Ryan Sikes of Puck Preps reports. Calgary’s third-round pick (No. 80) in last month’s draft will now wait to join the NCAA ranks until 2026-27. The 6’6″, 234-lb shutdown lefty spent last year with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s under-18 squad, where he posted six points and a -11 rating with a whopping 103 PIMs in 60 appearances.
AHL, ECHL Affiliations For 2025-26
There haven’t been many affiliation changes between NHL clubs and their minor-league feeders from last season to the upcoming campaign. There are no affiliate swaps to report, but the ECHL’s continued expansion has shifted the picture slightly as the Double-A league looks to eventually match its NHL and AHL parents in size at 32 teams apiece. Incoming are the Greensboro Gargoyles for 2025-26, who will give the ECHL 30 member clubs and will become the Hurricanes’ full-time second-tier affiliate after they split the Bloomington Bison with the Rangers last season.
That leaves just the Blue Jackets and Senators without a dedicated ECHL team for their AHL club to work with. Here’s the full list of every club’s minor-league affiliates for the 2025-26 season:
Anaheim Ducks
AHL: San Diego Gulls
ECHL: Tulsa Oilers
Boston Bruins
AHL: Providence Bruins
ECHL: Maine Mariners
Buffalo Sabres
AHL: Rochester Americans
ECHL: Jacksonville Icemen
Calgary Flames
AHL: Calgary Wranglers
ECHL: Rapid City Rush
Carolina Hurricanes
AHL: Chicago Wolves
ECHL: Greensboro Gargoyles
Chicago Blackhawks
AHL: Rockford IceHogs
ECHL: Indy Fuel
Colorado Avalanche
AHL: Colorado Eagles
ECHL: Utah Grizzlies
Columbus Blue Jackets
AHL: Cleveland Monsters
ECHL: n/a
Dallas Stars
AHL: Texas Stars
ECHL: Idaho Steelheads
Detroit Red Wings
AHL: Grand Rapids Griffins
ECHL: Toledo Walleye
Edmonton Oilers
AHL: Bakersfield Condors
ECHL: Fort Wayne Komets
Florida Panthers
AHL: Charlotte Checkers
ECHL: Savannah Ghost Pirates
Los Angeles Kings
AHL: Ontario Reign
ECHL: Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Minnesota Wild
AHL: Iowa Wild
ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders
Montreal Canadiens
AHL: Laval Rocket
ECHL: Trois-Rivieres Lions
Nashville Predators
AHL: Milwaukee Admirals
ECHL: Atlanta Gladiators
New Jersey Devils
AHL: Utica Comets
ECHL: Adirondack Thunder
New York Islanders
AHL: Bridgeport Islanders
ECHL: Worcester Railers
New York Rangers
AHL: Hartford Wolf Pack
ECHL: Bloomington Bison
Ottawa Senators
AHL: Belleville Senators
ECHL: n/a
Philadelphia Flyers
AHL: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
ECHL: Reading Royals
Pittsburgh Penguins
AHL: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
ECHL: Wheeling Nailers
San Jose Sharks
AHL: San Jose Barracuda
ECHL: Wichita Thunder
Seattle Kraken
AHL: Coachella Valley Firebirds
ECHL: Kansas City Mavericks
St. Louis Blues
AHL: Springfield Thunderbirds
ECHL: Florida Everblades
Tampa Bay Lightning
AHL: Syracuse Crunch
ECHL: Orlando Solar Bears
Toronto Maple Leafs
AHL: Toronto Marlies
ECHL: Cincinnati Cyclones
Utah Mammoth
AHL: Tucson Roadrunners
ECHL: Allen Americans
Vancouver Canucks
AHL: Abbotsford Canucks
ECHL: Kalamazoo Wings
Vegas Golden Knights
AHL: Henderson Silver Knights
ECHL: Tahoe Knight Monsters
Washington Capitals
AHL: Hershey Bears
ECHL: South Carolina Stingrays
Winnipeg Jets
AHL: Manitoba Moose
ECHL: Norfolk Admirals
AHL Notes: Bjorgvik-Holm, MacKinnon, LaFontaine
While defenseman Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Blue Jackets last month, he’s nonetheless staying in the organization on an AHL deal with their affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
The Norwegian native is now 23 years old and was a fifth-round pick by Columbus back in 2020 from the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads. He’s now played parts of four seasons in Cleveland but only managed to land a full-time role this past season, and that’s putting it generously.
The 6’3″ lefty is a two-way defender with a physical edge, functioning as a No. 6/7 option for the Monsters while posting seven points and 50 PIMs in 44 games last year. He spent most of 2023-24 with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, where he displayed much more offensive upside with 33 points in 57 games.
He’s been a serviceable depth piece, and while Columbus was no longer willing to use a contract slot on him, Bjorgvik-Holm will at least get a chance to continue his development in a familiar environment. He’s now no longer eligible for a recall to the Jackets’ NHL roster unless he signs a new contract with them, and he remains an unrestricted free agent in the NHL’s eyes.
More news out of the AHL:
- Also returning to Cleveland this season on an AHL contract is defenseman Will MacKinnon, Portzline notes. MacKinnon, 25, was a late-season pickup by the Monsters after serving as a depth AHL/ECHL option in the Devils organization with Utica and Adirondack since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign. He played just two games for Cleveland after the trade but totaled 44 AHL appearances on the year with his time in Utica, posting four points and 42 PIMs with a minus-one rating. He and Bjorgvik-Holm will both compete to avoid ECHL reassignment and provide a depth complement to their more NHL-projectable prospects.
- Goaltender Jack LaFontaine has signed a new deal to return to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, the team announced. LaFontaine, 27, has spent the last two years in the Kraken organization on deals with Coachella Valley but has primarily played at the ECHL level with the Kansas City Mavericks. He posted a 2.22 GAA, .914 SV%, and sparkling 21-8-1 record in 31 games for them last season, so he might earn more time up with the Firebirds this coming year. The former University of Minnesota standout has a .900 SV% in 23 career AHL appearances and made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes back in 2021-22, logging a .780 SV% in two contests.
Jets Sign Parker Ford To Two-Year Contract
The Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Parker Ford to a two-year, two-way, $1.625MM contract. The deal will carry an $812.5K salary at the NHL level. Ford entered restricted free agency this summer after spending the last three seasons on an entry-level contract.
Ford went undrafted through his years of eligibility in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Those years spanned his final year in the USHL and first two seasons at Providence College. He didn’t catch NHL attention until his upperclass seasons with the Friars, where he became known for his endless motor and strong play in the dirty areas of the ice. He looked like a true coach’s favorite, made impacts in all three zones, and worked his way to 53 points in 75 games over his junior and senior seasons.
Those marks were enough to earn Ford a three-year, entry-level contract at the end of the 2022-23 season. He joined the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for their final eight games of the regular season, and jumped to scoring with four points, only to go without any points in five postseason games. Ford found better balance in the lineup as an AHL rookie last season. He finished the year with 18 goals and 41 points in 72 games, good for sixth on the Moose in scoring. That carved him out a hardy role in Manitoba’s top-six this season – a role Ford vindicated with 14 goals and 21 points in 41 games. He also earned his NHL debut this season, and scored one goal in three games with the Jets lineup.
A two-year deal will reward Ford’s carved out role in the AHL. He’ll likely head straight back to Manitoba’s top-six next season, but could find his way into a fourth-line, NHL role after fellow Jets depth forward Mason Appleton signed with the Detroit Red Wings this summer. Ford is a hard-working, well-rounded winger who is still largely undefined at the top flight, with only a few games in his NHL career and 121 games in his AHL career.
Hurricanes Promote Daniel Bochner Among Multiple Staff Changes
The Carolina Hurricanes have announced multiple staff and structure changes across their hockey operations and management departments. Most notably, they’ve hired Daniel Bochner as a full-time development coach, after he spent the last two seasons in a part-time coaching role with both the Hurricanes and the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg. Bochner will move to Raleigh, from Russia, for this hire and work with both the NHL and AHL lineups.
Bochner has built up a rich career across the hockey world. He was originally born in Toronto, but began playing for Israel’s U18 club at the age of 15. He joined the club in their debut at the World Junior Championship Division-III tournament in 2001, and debuted with the country’s men’s roster at the World Championship Division-II tournament later that year. Bochner continued to be a fixture of Israel’s national roster through 2011, and racked up three points across 13 total appearances at the World Championship.
Bochner retired from his playing career in 2011, and turned towards head coaching with the Don Mills Flyers’ AAA club in 2013. He led the Flyers’ 2000-birth year through their 14U, 15U, and 16U seasons. Current Utah Mammoth forward Jack McBain served as the team’s captain in all three seasons. Bochner left Don Mills for a youth coach role with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan in 2016, briefly returned to coach the Vaughan Kings 14U AAA team in 2017, then moved full-time into a development coach role with SKA St. Petersburg in 2018.
His role with SKA included serving as a development coach for the KHL and MHL (junior) clubs, as well as with Russia’s National Men’s roster. He also served as an assistant coach for the KHL club from 2020 to 2023. Bochner’s role spanned some impressive rosters, and allowed him to work closely with top NHL skaters and prospects – including Yaroslav Askarov, Ivan Demidov, Matvei Michkov, Kirill Marchenko, and Hurricanes prospect Timur Kol. Bochner will now leave seven years with SKA behind to work full-time with Carolina’s top two rosters.
The Hurricanes have also announced that CBA-specialist Earl Schwartz has been promoted to the role of CBA and Salary Cap Analyst. He will the title of Compliance Assistant after three years in the role. Schwartz began his niched career publicly, writing CBA-related analysis for LeafsNation and a personal newsletter. Now, he’ll take another step forward in a Hurricanes organization that’s seen multiple staff take unconventional paths into their roles.
Carolina has further promoted Jorge Alves into the role of head equipment manager. He will take over for Bob Gorman, who has worked with the Hurricanes since 1976 and will continue to support the team in a reduced role. Alves will be joined by Patrick Budds, who has been promoted to assistant equipment manager from his role of equipment assistant. Filling that latter role will be CJ Reif, who worked with the Chicago Wolves last season.
The Hurricanes have also hired Zach Ellenthal and Dennis King as pro scouts. Ellenthal spent the last four seasons with the SHL’s Rogle BK, while King previously served in the Edmonton Oilers’ analytics department. King will join former Oilers peer Tyler Dellow in Carolina.
Carolina rounds out the hires with changes in their athletic training and nutrition rooms. Koryd Lavimoniere will step into an assistant trainer role after serving as the head trainer of the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds last season; and Kristin Pirigyi will move into a newly-created, full-time nutritionist role after previously serving as a nutrition consultant.
Photo courtesy of David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports.