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Iowa Wild Hire Nathan McIver As Assistant Coach

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The American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild has continued to round out their coaching staff by adding former defenseman Nathan McIver as an assistant coach according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. It will be McIver’s second stint as a coach in the AHL and will join Brett McLean’s staff in Iowa who is entering his second season with the organization.

The hire will serve as an introduction to the Minnesota Wild organization for McIver who spent 10 years as a player in the AHL and NHL. McIver began his professional playing career in the 2005-06 season with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL and would make his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks only a year later. The bruising defenseman became known as an enforcer throughout his days on the blue line while also spending time with the Anaheim Ducks organization, the Providence Bruins, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Hamilton Bulldogs, and the Norfolk Admirals.

It didn’t take long for McIver to find a new line of work after his playing days ended following the 2015-16 season. The veteran AHL defenseman spent four years as the assistant coach with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals where the team finished either second or third in the Eastern Conference during each year of his tenure. McIver moved on to the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers in the same role for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before taking a brief stop as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Belleville Senators last year.

Tucson Roadrunners Re-Sign Three Players

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Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League have brought back a trio of players for the 2024-25 AHL season. Goaltender Dylan Wells and forwards Ryan McGregor and Hunter Drew will all be back with the Roadrunners next year on one-year AHL contracts.

Wells and Drew are the only individuals of the trio that have made their NHL debut with Wells making one start in 2023 with the Chicago Blackhawks and Drew making his a year earlier with the Anaheim Ducks. The goaltender has almost a decade of experience at the professional level between the AHL and ECHL. Overall, Wells has produced a record of 26-23-7 in 60 AHL games throughout his career while posting a .898 save percentage and 3.20 goals against average. He will likely continue his role as backup goaltender for Tucson behind Matt Villalta.

Drew has become quite the enforcer in the minor leagues as he’s accrued 452 penalty minutes in 223 games split between the Roadrunners, San Diego Gulls, and Rockford IceHogs. He usually produces mildly on the offensive side of the puck but did register 10 goals for Tucson last season in a fine year for secondary/tertiary scoring.

McGregor, the former captain of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, has become an effective bottom-six forward in Tucson. McGregor was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft but only suited up in four games for the Toronto Marlies before the organization decided not to keep him around. Since then, McGregor has scored 20 goals and 54 points for the Roadrunners in 156 games over the last four years.

Penguins’ AHL Affiliate Signs Dan Renouf

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The Penguins are gaining some veteran organizational depth on the back end, with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announcing the signing of defenseman Dan Renouf to a one-year deal today. Renouf can still sign a deal with any NHL club, but he projects to start the season on the farm with Pittsburgh’s prospects.

Renouf didn’t see any NHL action last season and made only one appearance with the Bruins in 2022-23, although he’s also seen NHL ice in the 2016-17, 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns with the Avalanche and Red Wings. The two-time Calder Cup champion was a UFA this summer after completing a two-year, two-way deal with Boston that paid him an AHL salary of $400K each season. He has three assists and a -6 rating in his 24 career NHL appearances.

The 30-year-old has been an AHL fixture since signing with Detroit as an undrafted free agent in 2016, skating in over 450 minor league games over nine seasons. He’s served as a physical, defensively sound presence and logged heavy minutes for farm clubs in Charlotte, Colorado, Grand Rapids and Providence, posting 118 career points (19 goals, 99 assists) with 577 PIMs and a +102 rating. The left-shot defender plays bigger than his 6’1″, 198-lb frame suggests.

He addresses a major need for experience on the Baby Pens’ blue line next season, which was only set to boast 27-year-old Ryan Shea and his fewer than 200 games of AHL service as its elder statesmen. He’ll likely serve as a mentor to Pittsburgh’s big-fish blue-line prospect in 20-year-old Owen Pickering – the 6’5″ 2022 first-rounder will play in his first full pro season in 2024-25, likely with WBS.

Hurricanes Sign Josiah Slavin

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Josiah Slavin to a two-year, two-way contract (Twitter link). The deal will carry a league-minimum $775K cap hit at the NHL level, and pay out $150K at the AHL level – though $450K is guaranteed.

Slavin was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He transitioned to Colorado College two seasons later, then turned pro following the end of his sophomore season in 2020-21. He posted seven points through his first 15 games with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, setting him up well for a strong rookie season the following year.

Slavin took advantage of the chance, netting 18 goals and 32 points in 49 games in 2021-22. That scoring earned him his NHL debut midway through the year, though an assist in his debut would be Slavin’s only scoring through 15 games with Chicago. The tepid start in the NHL earned Slavin a move back to minor leagues, where he’s been ever since. He spent the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Marlies, where he posted 10 goals and 24 points across 70 games.

It seems Slavin will be destined for the minor leagues once again on his new deal with the Hurricanes, though he’ll get a boost of motivation by joining an organization led in part by brother Jaccob Slavin. Jaccob has carved out a proud, top-line role in Carolina over the last nine seasons, earning plenty of praise for his two-way reliability and leadership along the way. Jaccob’s “gentlemanly conduct” was recognized this season with his second Lady Byng Trophy in the last four years – placing him among a rare list of repeat winners, including Anze Kopitar, Martin St. Louis, and Pavel Datsyuk.

Snapshots: Snuggerud, Keenan, Carrick

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The St. Louis Blues will have to wait for the end of another collegiate season to see former first-round pick Jimmy Snuggerud make the full-time jump to the NHL. However, that may be the maximum length of time the team will have to wait as general manager Doug Armstrong believes Snuggerud can join the team towards the end of next season (Subscription Article).

The Blues organization drafted Snuggerud with the 23rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and he has spent the last two seasons at the University of Minnesota. During that time, Snuggerud has been an impactful player at the NCAA level as he’s scored 42 goals and 84 points in 79 games with the Gophers. The St. Louis prospect will hope that the third time is a charm for his National Championship dreams as the Gophers finished as runner-ups in 2022-23 and lost in the Regional Final this season to Boston University.

Despite his reputation as a promising prospect in the Blues organization, it may be difficult for Snuggerud to find a comfortable position in the lineup as the team has considerably improved its forward depth over the summer. If St. Louis finds themselves out of the playoff race by the time Snuggerud makes the jump to the NHL, they may have to part with Radek Faksa or Kasperi Kapanen in some manner to make room in their everyday lineup.

Other snapshots:

  • Legendary head coach Mike Keenan will not return as Team Italy’s head coach as he transitions to a consulting role while recovering from open heart surgery (X Link). Keenan had been serving as head coach of Italy’s national team since his ouster as head coach of the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2022. It appears Keenan’s career as a head coach may be coming to an official close. Infamously, Keenan spent 25 years as a head coach in the NHL while combining for a 672-531-147-36 record while being the first coach to win a Stanley Cup and Gagarin Cup.
  • Veteran defenseman of the American Hockey League, Trevor Carrick, will return to his original home as the Charlotte Checkers announced he has signed a two-year AHL deal with the franchise. Carrick spent the first five years of his professional career within the Carolina Hurricanes organization where he compiled 40 goals and 181 points for the Checkers in 347 games. Carrick has spent the last four years bouncing between the San Diego Gulls and Syracuse Crunch where he has continued to be one of the top offensive defensemen in the league.

AHL’s Charlotte Checkers Sign Aidan McDonough

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The AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the Panthers’ top affiliate, have picked up left winger Aidan McDonough on a one-year deal, a team release states. McDonough will now try and work his way back up the professional ladder after being non-tendered by the Canucks last week.

Just a couple of years ago, McDonough looked to be a seventh-round steal for Vancouver. After selecting him in 2019, McDonough had a spectacular collegiate career at Northeastern that saw him produce 66 goals and 124 points in 124 games across four seasons while assuming the captaincy in his final season. He signed his entry-level deal to close the 2022-23 season and immediately made his NHL debut with the Nucks, scoring a goal and posting a -2 rating in six games while averaging 9:19 per contest.

But this past season was a tough one for the 6’2″, 201-lb winger. He didn’t crack the Canucks’ roster out of camp and was assigned to AHL Abbotsford, where he remained the entire campaign. His offensive numbers on the farm weren’t up to expectations, limited to only 11 goals and 19 points in 58 games. It was enough of a letdown that Vancouver’s front office decided they’d seen enough of the prospect, deciding not to issue him a qualifying offer and let the 24-year-old reach the UFA market early.

Now, it’s up to McDonough to produce well on his minor-league deal. While he’s playing in the Panthers organization, Florida doesn’t acquire his signing rights with this move, and he can still sign with any NHL club.

Ducks Sign Carson Meyer To Two-Way Contract

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The Anaheim Ducks have signed forward Carson Meyer to a one-year, two-way contract, shares Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.

This will be the first move of Meyer’s career, having played in Ohio through youth hockey, college, and the pros – though he did have a one-year stint with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm in 2015-16. The Columbus native was drafted by his hometown Blue Jackets in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He mad ehis professional debut in 2020-21, posting 20 points in his first 26 AHL games with the Cleveland Monsters. That scoring earned him an NHL debut in 2021-22, though Meyer couldn’t match the high scoring of his inaugural year. He scored just three points in the 13 NHL games of his career, warranting a move back to the minors, where Meyer added 27 points in 57 games.

That measly scoring continued through last season, though Meyer showed signs of improvement with 37 points in 55 AHL games this year – while serving as one of Cleveland’s alternate captains. But he’s yet to find the same spark at the top level, with just six points in 41 NHL games to this point in his career.

Meyer will now move to the West coast, where he figures to be a top option for the Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, and take a bit better advantage of his NHL opportunities.

Two-Way Signings: Schueneman, Aspirot, Gaudette, Gambrell, Poolman, Richard, Entwistle

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The first day of NHL free agency saw over $1B spent for the first time in league history. Much of that went to stars across the league, though general managers are also having to focus on building up their farm programs. Here are five smaller names signed on Tuesday. Each of these deals carry a $775K cap hit at the NHL level, unless otherwise specified.

  • The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Corey Schueneman to a one-year contract. Schueneman, 28, appeared in 64 games with the Colorado Eagles this season, netting four goals, 22 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a +2. He’s a quick-paced, hard-shooting defender who carries a lot of heft in his frame, even at 5-foot-11. He’s already made his NHL debut, appearing in 31 games with Montreal between 2021 and 2023 and scoring two goals and seven points. Schueneman is likely set for a role on the Springfield Thunderbirds lineup, where he’ll compete for ice time with Blues prospects like Marc-Andre Gaudet and Hunter Skinner.
  • The Calgary Flames have re-signed defender Jonathan Aspirot to a one-year contract. Aspirot, 25, spent 66 games with the Calgary Wranglers last season, scoring a career-high 33 points and adding 80 penalty minutes and a -6. It was Aspirot’s first year in Calgary, after spending four years with the Belleville Senators. He totaled 63 points in 161 games with Belleville, and will now be set to reassume his top-end role with the Wranglers next season.
  • Belleville is due for their own reinforcements, with the Ottawa Senators signing Adam Gaudette to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Gaudette, 27, led the AHL with 44 goals last season, in his pursuit of 71 points across 67 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. It was a breakout year for Gaudette, after totaling 27 goals and 51 points in 65 games between the Toronto Marlies and Thunderbirds in 2022-23. Gaudette was formerly a top prospect in the NHL, appearing in 220 games across six seasons in the NHL. He’s only managed 27 goals and 70 points in those appearances, though his recent scoring could suggest upside still untapped. The Senators will hope that’s the case, as they position Gaudette for a premier role in the AHL next year.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Dylan Gambrell to a one-year deal. Gambrell spent all of this seaosn in the minor leagues, playing in 66 games with the Marlies. He managed 14 goals and 36 points – his highest AHL scoring since the 2018-19 season. Gambrell has been based much more in the NHL over the last six seasons, totaling 233 games and 40 points. He’ll be set for a top line role with the Cleveland Monsters, and push for a spot near the bottom of Columbus’ NHL lineup.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Colton Poolman to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Poolman, 28, has spent the entirety of his four-year pro career in the Flames organization to date. The younger brother of Canucks defenseman Tucker Poolman had three goals and three assists in 66 games for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last season.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Anthony Richard to a two-year deal (Twitter link). Richard spent 59 games with the Providence Bruins last year, netting 25 goals and 55 points. It was a small step down for Richard, after netting 30 goals and 67 points last year. He’s also totaled 24 NHL games since 2018, scoring eight points. Richard should be set for a starring role with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with a chance to push for the NHL roster.
  • The Florida Panthers signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a one-year deal. Entwistle, 24, has spent most of the last three seasons on the Chicago Blackhawks lineup, though he’s managed just 33 points in 188 games. He’ll now join the reigning Stanley Cup champions, though his two-way deal suggests he’ll have to work his way up to the NHL from an AHL start.

Lightning Acquire Lukas Svejkovsky From Penguins

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins have swapped depth forwards, with Pittsburgh receiving Bennett MacArthur and Tampa receiving Lukas Svejovsky (Twitter link).

MacArthur, 23, spent the season in the ECHL, totaling 32 points through 55 games. It was his second year in the league, after playing through his first pro season to the tune of 28 points in 53 games last year. Tampa signed MacArthur as an undrafted free agent in 2022, following the end of his season with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. MacArthur only played in parts of three seasons in the QMJHL, though he always found his way to strong scoring, recording 42 goals and 77 points in 54 games during his final year in the league. He’ll spend the final year of his entry-level contract pushing for a consistent role in the AHL, before setting his sights on the Penguins roster.

Meanwhile, Svejovsky, 22, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, after a strong year in the WHL. He went on to play two more seasons in the WHL, potting 76 points in 57 games in his final year. Svejovsky totaled a stout 162 points in his 196 career WHL games – seeming like a potentially lucrative prospect for Pittsburgh when he signed his entry-level contract in 2022. But Svejovsky had a slow start in pros, with just 15 points in 47 AHL games last year followed by four points in 19 games this year. Those low totals contributed to Svejovsky’s move to the ECHL partway through this year. He was able to rediscover his spark in the third-tier pro league, scoring 37 points in 30 games. That should be enough to earn him a move back to the AHL, though he’ll have to keep up his scoring if he wants to push any higher.

Canucks Sign Jett Woo To One-Year Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Jett Woo to a one-year, two-way extension. The deal will pay him a league minimum $775K at the NHL level and $150K at the AHL level, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link).

Vancouver drafted Woo in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft – among company like Alexander Romanov, Martin Fehervary, and Sean Durzi. But Woo still sits as one of 12 players from that round to not yet make his NHL debut, instead spending the last four seasons with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate. Woo had a slow start to his pro career, scoring just 10 points through his first two seasons, and 70 games, in the AHL. He’s picked up that scoring in the two seasons since, netting 21 points in 68 games last year and 31 points in 62 games this year. Woo has also picked up his intensity, also totaling 189 penalty minutes in the last two years.

The climb towards more high-event hockey earned Woo the first NHL call-ups of his career in February, though he couldn’t slot into Vancouver’s lineup. Still, he’s begun to grab the Canucks’ attention. With the team expected to move on from Nikita Zadorov, Woo could have a chance on this new deal to fight for his NHL debut, and a more confident contract next summer.

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